During the course of my life, I have had the chance to write many different papers. I have written short responses since elementary school which lead to writing essays in middle school. I have written multiple essays ranging from Persuasive essays, Argumentative essays, Descriptive essays, etc. Furthermore, during high school, I wrote even more papers including two research papers that were roughly twenty and thirty pages long, respectively. I also wrote even more essays that include synthesis, argumentative and rhetorical analysis for my AP Language and Composition class. There were so many different types of papers that I have written throughout my academic years that I have not once stopped to think about the theory behind my own writing.

Writing can be classified from writing a simple text message to writing a whole thirty-page research paper. However, both of those are two different types of writing, therefore, requiring two different types of reactions. Depending on whom you may be sending a text message, the text message can either be formal or informal, compared to a research paper that should stay formal throughout. The scenarios provided have two completely different audiences that have different educational levels and, hence requiring different responses. An important question comes to mind, what influences our writing? What makes us write one way towards one person and a different way to another way?

Writing is defined as an activity or skill of marking coherent words on paper and composing text. Yet with the advancements in technology, our writing has been evolving. Many adolescents shorten their words to mere letters that express the same word that they meant to write. Additionally, more adolescents are using other words to substitute words that are not meant to be substitute yet the meaning of the writing is still present. This is very common in text messages and throughout all social media. Additionally, some adolescents go as far as to communicate with only emojis, which is a small digital image or icon to express an idea, emotion, etc. These are prime instances of how people are evolving and communicating with each other.

To possibly answer the question of what influences our writing we must understand the basics of writing. Every writer usually starts with the basics such as genre, audience, and rhetorical situation. Throughout the semester, we have learned in-depth and gone through all these key terms. We have analyzed how the rhetorical situation, stance, purpose, audience, message, genre, and medium influences an author’s writing. For instance, if I have a certain stance on an issue that I will be conversing to my friend and the medium which I will address my stance is through text message will make so that the paragraph I will text message is much more short and coherent compared to an essay that is meant for a professor to grade. These two examples demonstrate a different audience, a different medium, yet the same stance and the same goal. However, due to the different audiences and mediums, it will change the way I express myself and the way I write.

The understanding of the basics of writing is crucial to figure out the theory of writing. However, every writer has their own theory of writing. The basics of writing only scratch the surface of the theory of writing. The theory of writing involves how the writer actually writes. The environment in which the writer does his or her best work is an important factor that contributes to the theory of writing. Additionally, the steps before a writer writes and how the author is able to synthesize his thoughts are important. These three main points influence how a writer writes. Not all writers are the same and not all of them are able to write as great as others under certain conditions. We all have our own nature and strive better under our own circumstances. Therefore, the circumstances that bring the best out of a writer, the outlining the writer does, and the synthesis the writer can do are important to address in the theory of writing.

The three points mentioned are important to mention as this is what identifies a writer. For instance, taking the first point in mind, usually, when I write I write better under pressure. Knowing that I have a certain time frame to write a paper and doing it last minute, under pressure allows me to focus more on my paper. However, other peers or writers may not be able to write as good under pressure and might have to write a paper in a couple of days or weeks by working on it, piece by piece. Working under pressure works best for me, it simply allows my mind to focus more clearly on my topic and it allows me to express myself of how I feel at the moment. Therefore, leading me to believe that the best writing is honest writing, direct writing without sugar coating and being able to write freely. However, I do take into account that I am unable to write whatever I want. Writing can be deleted and rewritten, as opposed to speaking. The phrase, “think before you speak” comes to mind since writing is done in my head and it is all typed therefore it is possible to reread, edit, and publish.

Furthermore, the steps the writer takes to achieve his or her writing is also a crucial part of writing. Some writers write down their ideas thoroughly and pick and choose before writing. Others, like myself, write in the moment. When I write, I turn my computer on, taking into consideration the environment of pressure, and I just start to write or in this case type. This allows me to write freely without any planning or hesitating. However, as I write my own Theory of Writing, I see myself planning each paragraph mentally, therefore reconsidering that I may not write down my ideas or an outline for an essay but I do take into consideration that each paragraph has a main focus that has to be accomplished.

Lastly but certainly not least, synthesizing is an important aspect of writing. Throughout the semester in English 110, I found myself struggling with synthesizing. I was unable to completely put all my thoughts into one. Whether that be due to the lack of time or the lack of an outline, I was not synthesizing as I should. In English 110, I learned that synthesizing is like a puzzle, you bring together all the main ideas of each paragraph and explain how they each come about to form a coherent writing assignment. There are writers that are able to write their ideas and connect them, however, I believe that due to writing freely, I am unable to pinpoint each idea that I present on paper. Nonetheless, synthesizing and being able to collectively gather all the ideas and connecting each of them is an important aspect of writing.

In conclusion, the theory of writing is defined by an individual. It has no clear or precise definition. It does consist of similar ideas such as the basics of writing and the conditions of which the writer is writing. Additionally, it involves every person’s own experiences. Whether it be a major experience, such as communicating with a boss, or a minor experience, such as communicating with a sibling, they allow us to understand our own theory of writing and how we communicate through writing. Writing is different for everyone, certain conditions require different responses which are according to the person writing. This allows for the theory of writing to be unique.