Why Comp Theory?

Composition is one of the last major concepts that we begin to learn as children. We start off simply with movement and motor skills. Once we are able to move on our own and maneuver in a world full of obstacles, we are ready for more challenging instruction. We learn to speak from the people around us. We can hear words and sounds from our first moments, and eventually we are able to replicate them. We move on. We are taught to count using our fingers and toes. Eventually we move on to more abstract concepts of math, such as dividing a pie or sorting out blocks. Even reading instruction begins at a young age. Doting adults read to us, hopefully, when it is time to sleep, or relax, or just take a breath. Soon we are able to pick up a book on our own and make sense of it. As we gain confidence, the books become larger, and more complicated. We move on. Composition is different. We don't really begin to study composition until much later in life.

For some, the first lessons in writing don't come until we are already well into our elementary school years. We may have been introduced to letters and the sounds they make, but the ideas surrounding how we put these together in order to make sense are still foreign to us. Composition instruction is postponed, I believe, because it is far more abstract than many of the other concepts that we learn. We can see that when we start with three blocks and take one away, we have two blocks remaining. Through practice, we can make an association between the sign "A" and the sound that it makes. Composition requires a higher level of understanding. We have to be able to assimilate an understanding of letters in order to create words, and an understanding of words to create complete sentences. Starting early, we begin to get a basic understanding with the help of our favorite canine - Spot. We compose simple sentences, but may not truly understand them. In my high school classroom, I have to explain the idea of the subject and the verb, arguable the basis of a sentence, on a semi-daily basis. Expanding on our rudimentary understanding of composition and trying to navigate through the pitfalls of rules, and multitude of exceptions to the rules, in the English language requires continued exposure and practice.

At some point we begin to establish an understanding of how we communicate through words, and stand confidently on our ability to master these words and bend them to our will. This belief is usually shattered by a well-meaning, knowledgeable professor who explains to us that words don't really exist, and we are all being deluded into thinking otherwise. This sends us reeling back to an earlier stage and we once again find ourselves crawling and mumbling incoherently. And we move on.