Journal 1

Journal 1... What is writing and what does it do?

My own definition of writing is a creative outlet for emotions as words that is unlimited in its capacity to educate and inspire.  I tend to only look at the positive impact that it is capable of.  I found that Bitzer and Estrem agree with this, but also expand upon it much more.

Bitzer states that writing and discourse must derive from a rhetorical situation, which is always present.  Therefore, rhetorical situation is one of my key terms to define writing.  Humans tend to understand specific rhetorical situations in similar manners, giving them their distinct values.

More specifically, another key term Bitzer touches upon is context.  Context is somewhat a subcategory of rhetorical situation-- it is unique to the word spoken or the speech in the moment.  A single word may be spoken in multiple different contexts, which all give it a different meaning, leading us to another key term.  Meaning is derived from the rhetorical situation and the context.

Bitzer makes an interesting analogy to help the reader understand and define rhetorical situation.  He claims that rhetorical discourse finds its meaning in response to a situation, just as an answer finds its meaning in the response to a question.

Bitzer touches a lot on physical speech rather than writing, but I believe that the two can be synonymous, especially in their purpose to communicate a message.  Therefore, understanding rhetorical situation helps us define writing, it's components and how it works well for us as a means of communication.

Estrem brings us some new key terms that help us define writing.  I derive the term, knowledge-making from the title itself because I believe writing's ability to make humans more knowledgeable is its greatest power.  She even describes it as something that brings new understandings and stimulates thought.  She also emphasizes the deep social role that writing plays, especially with students.

I would like to emphasize the term, discovery, which is not necessarily synonymous with knowledge.  Estrem defines discovery as something being uncovered that is buried deeply.  Us writers are those who make these new discoveries.  It is more of something you search for and uncover, rather than slowly learn about.  This is described as a "common cultural conception".

A final term that sticks out to me is experience.  While creating a new piece of writing, someone is going through a process they have never gone through before-- something completely unique to them.  This ultimately builds their skills as a writer, and allows them to be a person they have not already been.  The experience they gain through writing is invaluable, but not immeasurable.  It is measured by the new feelings the writer has invoked within themselves, and what they are inspired to become.

Writing is hard to define because it has so many aspects that make it special.  Bitzer and Estrem definitely helped show me some of the depths that exist when defining it, making it much more broad than I had originally thought.