Take a Breather

Alright folks, pause, stop..whatever you have to do...just breathe! So far, we've had our thoughts on composition and rhetoric expanded and enhanced. We've learned, there are many tiny details (as well as large ones) that go into the composition process and that it doesn't happen when if we snap our fingers. The better we know composing, they better we will be at it.

Audience

Our voice is our vessel in our writing. Our audience is our destination. I believe a writer should leave traces of themselves in their work,

whether it's a short story or a text book. With this being said, a writers voice should always pertain to the audience they are trying to reach. In Key Terms Composition it is said that, "A successful wr

iter develops the ability to 'fictionalize his his imagination an audience he has learned to

know not from daily life but from earlier writers who were fictionalizing in their imagination audiences they had learned..and so on." In other words, writers that reach their audience imagine them prior to the

ir work, knowing in advance the best ways to reach them.

Knowledge

Knowledge is the cornerstone in writing. If we have no knowledge of what we're writing, what is the point in writing? It seems elementary and obvious but it happens. One must never exceed themselves in knowledge when writing - it makes a work uncredited and irrelevant. Knowledge goes further than just a basic understanding of what we're doing. Knowledge, or awareness of audience, language and genre are equally important as the knowl

edge of our subject. From knowledge sparks ideas, rhetoric, situations and essentially the inspiration to create. To gain knowledge, it's crucial to read, to write and to expand our minds in any way possible. As we gain knowledge, we gain a more efficient ability to convey our ideas and findings to others.

Reflection

When we reflect on ourselves and our writing, we sometimes find things that we would have never before. The reflection process helps us to sit and discover things within ourselves that can help make sense of the composition process. Typically, we reflect on

ce we first begin and once we have finished our work, contemplating our

work and where it's

gone and where you'd like

it to go. Reflection is crucial in writing, it forces us to look deeper, to delve into work and the unknown...whatever that may be for an individual. When I reflect, I take all aspects of the work into consideration. My research, thoughts, ideas and aims all go into consideration. Reflection before we begin helps to square away our thoughts on what we're composing and reflection once we're finished, reflection serves as the step before re revise and edit.

Revision

The revision process serves as a medium to improve our works and ourselves as writers. Similar to reflecting, when we revise we may think of new concepts or ideas that help to improve our work. As stated in Key Terms Composition,"Revision has been represented as a quick form of editing." Therefore, we revise before we finally edit - we make corrections but essentially our original thoughts and work are still there. When we revise our own work, we can explore our own thoughts and ideas before we are given that of others who edit. Taking revision as we work and prior to working can allow us to stay on track and keep our thoughts consistent with our work - helping to avoid rambling.

Let's wrap this thing up.....

Each of us is a composer in our own unique way. Our processes may vary depending on the individual but ultimately, the steps learned and ideas acquired in WEPO serve to make us better writers and composers. My theory remains this; if we take into consideration our AUDIENCE, our KNOWLEDGE, the use of REFLECTION and REVISION....we are sure to succeed. When we know our audience, we know how to use our voice. When we have knowledge, we can convey a multitude of ideas and principles. When we reflect, we discover new mediums within ourself and our work. When we revise, we perfect our work to make it look and seem exactly the way we want it to - flawlessly!