The Art of Written Thinking

In answering the question of what does composition means to me, I was surprised to see the sheer blandness of my first response to this question three months ago; Composition is the art of composing documents of any kind like technical reports, essays or stories. My second response argues that Composition is the art of written thinking. As teachers of composition, we are to teach students how to think. We are to teach current day students the power of the written word and how to persuade an audience of any beliefs or opinion. Written thinking is composing any type of document, however, it must have the power of language behind it.
Teaching students how, not what, to think is a challenge. We teach them how to think by attacking what they think, they think. For instance, we began this class by talking about Cannibalism and followed it up further with a Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. We talked about how language sets us apart from animals and can give us the power of choice, “selfish gene theory holds that morality cannot be explained genetically.” It is language that proves or disproves morality, since, in contrast, Jonathan Swift argues for eating and using the bodies of children, “those who may be more thrifty may flay the carcass; the skin of which artificially dressed will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen.” The written word can tell us that as humans, we have the choice to be moral, or, we can use this power to argue to have a child for dinner, which in most cultures is deemed as immoral. Taking this back to the practice of thinking, I want to ask my students what they think about this dichotomy of morals in essays that are equally persuasive. Persuading me that this idea is either right or wrong, as we discussed in our class, can show them that their thoughts matter. The very words they use whether it be saying how useful a child’s skin can be or claiming that humans can be cannibals and languages give us morality, matter. In Kelley Slack’s presentation, she discussed an article,” I Thought Composition Was About Commas and Quotes, Not Queers” arguing the need of teaching students to understand the ideas and thoughts behind language and going beyond learning simple grammar and punctuation aspects into a critical analysis of the language they use. Making students analyze the language they use everyday, such as phrases like, “that’s go gay”, can show them what they really are saying about their character and how language shapes who they are. It shapes their personal reality of who people presume they are based on the language they use.
Teaching thinking is to “argue for a version of reality” according to Lanham. We create our own reality, who we are, through what we think, which we communicate to others through language. Swift seemingly wanted a reality of eating children. Students need to realize the power they have through language to create their own reality. AJ Dickman used a quote in his presentation by David Bartholomy, an author and creative writing professor at a University in Kentucky, “If there’s no personality in your writing, it’s dead. If it’s not your personality, you’re dead. Bang,bang.” We can teach students that if their writing is not thinking, it has no point; words cannot have meaning unless they provoke a thought. In a sense, the art of writing is circular; it must begin with a thought and provoke a thought. I want my students to be lost in this circle.
Overall, while the theory of thinking as writing can de debated on for hours, it is how we put it in the classroom, the practicality of this thinking theory that matters. I’ll put it in the classroom by challenging my student’s thoughts by commenting on their essays as Meredith Cockrum talked about in her presentation on the article “The Genre of the End Comment: Conventions in Teacher Responses to Student Writing.” I’ll ask them what they think and with them argue for and against it. I’ll give them the Scarlet Letter and ask if they have ever been treated like that. I’ll make them write down their opinions on every issue and piece of writing I present and won’t offer them an umbrella for their brainstorms. I’ll make the classroom of community of ideas, and not just a group of students. Composition is the art of written thinking.