What is Composition?

A guide to what this class is all about.

What is Composition?

If you weren't aware, you're in a class called Composition II, and by now, you should've already taken a class called Composition I. From that, you might have a vague idea that “composition" has something to do with writing and maybe something about citation and essays and a bunch of boring junk like that.

But the idea of composition is more than that. After all, composition applies to other things besides writing: songs are also called compositions; dance performances use composition; paintings and photos are evaluated by their compositions.

In short, composition is the way something is structured.

What is Composition?

And that’s the point of this class: to help you learn how to use structure. Structure will not only help you write better papers for class, but it will help you communicate with others throughout your career. Learning structure not only helps you express yourself better; it also helps you to better understand what others are expressing to you.

Now hold on a minute. You might have an idea of what I mean by "structure," but how does structure actually work when you're writing something?

How does structure work in writing?

When I say "structure" you might get the sense that I'm talking about some kind of strict regiment or a specific set of rules you have to follow in order to write something "correctly." Far from it.

How does structure work in writing?

Now, my bosses, and possibly some of the other teachers, might disagree with me here. You might have been taught very specific ways to write essays. But writing is an art, and it isn't like filling out a formula. The purpose of writing is communicating effectively, not following a pre-set pattern.

How does structure work in writing?

There are a number of ways to organize something, writing included. However, it's important to know how to organize something so that it most effectively communicates what you want to say. "What you want to say" is the topic of your paper. That is, a topic is whatever you're trying to communicate to your reader.

A well-organized paper is one that supports its topic. Just like a building can't stand without a sturdy structure, an essay topic won't stand up without proper support.

How does structure work in writing?

In fact, keep that idea of a building in mind. Just like other things that can have a structure, there are a variety of ways to build a building. You wouldn't, for example, build an apartment building the same way you'd build a house, and you wouldn't build either one of those the same way that you'd build a bank. Each have different structures to serve their different purposes.

But also like anything that is structured, there are general rules that each follows that are the same for each building. For example, whether you're building a bank, an apartment, or a house, you want to build it with a strong foundation, strong walls, and a roof. In the same way as buildings, all writing might be different, but there are general rules to keep in mind that will help guide you in whatever you're writing.

How does structure work in writing?

General Writing Rules

These rules are by no mean the only thing that will make your writing good, and they might not even always be necessary. But keep these in mind (or look back over them) whenever you're working on your own writing, and they might just help you out.

Rule 1: Focus, focus, focus.

Focus, focus, focus.The biggest problem I see in all of the papers I grade is a lack of focus. Let's say, for example, that I assign a 10 page paper on the subject of apples. I will inevitably wind up with a paper that talks about apples for two pages, bananas for 3 pages, and koala bears for the last five pages.

Sometimes, it's understandable. The papers I assign can have big word counts, and you don't always feel like your topic will stretch that far. So you fill your paper up with whatever you can to make sure you hit that word count.

Here's the thing: I notice when you do that. You might hit a page count, but you've written something that has no focus, and I think that's bad writing. As I mentioned in my course overview, what I want to see in this class is that you dig deep. If your topic isn't filling up a word count, dig deeper. Always, always, always dig deeper.

Rule 2: Papers should be about one topic.

If I ask for a paper about apples, stick to apples. Save all your information on koala bears for a later date.

Papers should be about one topic.

Rule 3: Be specific.

Be specific.In the same way that I want you to focus your paper on one topic, that topic should also be very focused. Saying, for example, "Apples are good," is not very specific. However, saying "Apples are beneficial to your health" or "Granny Smith apples have a tart taste that I enjoy" are much more specific.

Why is that better? Because when you're specific I know exactly what you're talking about, and that's what you want when you're writing: you want to communicate effectively.

When you only say "Apples are good," I don't really have much of an idea of what you mean. You need to dig deeper. Ask yourself what it is exactly that you're trying to say. What, for example, do you mean by "good"? Good can mean a lot of things. How are apples good? They can taste good. They can be good for your health. They can be good for throwing at people. Any of those could make a compelling topic for a paper.

Rule 4: Write and re-write and re-write again.

Write and re-write.

Many professional writers will tell you that the real writing comes when you have to re-write. Think about your favorite book, your favorite movie, or your favorite song. Do you think that was written in one sitting?

I know that it's a pain to re-write, but when you think about it, you've already done the hard part when you've written a rough draft: you got all the content on the page. All you have to do when you re-write is to structure it so that it's clearer and cleaner.

Rule 5: Have someone read your work.

Have someone read your work.

It can be embarrassing, I know, but this will improve your writing immensely. The problem most writers have is that they already know what they want to say, so you feel like your paper is amazing because it seems so obvious to you. The value in having someone else read it is that they have no idea what you want to say until they read what you wrote. Only then will you know if you actually said what you wanted to say.

Again, these are not absolute. We'll be talking a lot about a number of different things you can do to improve your writing all throughout the semester.

If you have a question, please post it on the Facebook page, in the general questions board, or send me a message.