The Debate over Coauthoring

When it comes to coauthoring, where more than one person is involved in the composition of a certain text, there is a lot of personal opinion concerning whether or not it is beneficial. Some would argue that "many hands make light work", while others would counter this claim and say that coauthoring leads to more conflict and to less accomplished writing. I personally think that there is no objective truth in regards to this conflict. One may claim what works for them personally, but they will never be able to proclaim that same opinion over others. People are different. They think differently. They act differently. They communicate and learn differently. They even compose differently. Although there may not be an objective answer to the question of whether coauthoring is beneficial or destructive, there is information coming from both sides of the argument that should open some eyes.

Many may assume that they are incapable of working well cooperatively with others when composing, but perhaps people are just unwilling to consider the thoughts of others. Regardless of the cause, I believe that at the core of human nature is pride and selfishness. American culture augments this genetic condition by creating extremely individualistic citizens who are biased, opinionated, and who generally do not consider the ideas of others to be worthwhile. However, I would argue that this mindset is bad. I would argue that this mindset is what causes the US to rush into war rather than opting to work alongside the "enemy" in order to find a constructive solution.

On the other side of the coin, there are situations where two people's mindsets are so different, that a compromise is out of the question. In these cases, perhaps it would be better to choose someone whom you could work alongside. But what if one person is a perfectionist? Well, I would call myself a perfectionist to a certain degree. However, I am proud to say that I am somewhat able to turn of my desire for everything to be perfect (aka what I deem right). But, I understand that many people's perfectionism surpasses my own. In these situations, coauthoring is most likely a bad choice.

The importance of citation and assigning credit where it is due

In this blog post, I will discuss the topic of citing sources. This topic is very easily applied to the writing process, however, it can also be discussed in regards to copyright issues and many other cases. If we are to borrow something from someone, isn't it only right that we give that person credit for having the creative capacity to produce that specific thing in the first place?

In life, it is often appropriate to borrow concepts from others in order to enhance our personal ideas and/or to provide evidence that backs up a claim that we stand by. For example, when I was young, I would make claims objectively and back up those claims by stating that, "My daddy said so" or "That's what my big brother said." Ideas are always more credible when they are backed up by someone who is looked up to as an expert in his/her specific field. From the mindset of a young boy, the most credible of all sources is generally his father, followed closely by his mother and/or his older brother.

When composing, it is important to understand that we are not a credible source in most areas, because we do not have experience in that field or a degree that puts us in a place of authority on specific topics. Therefore, it is necessary that we employ the expertise of people who have established credibility in certain areas that allows them to make objective claims that are not questioned. However, if we choose to implement these claims or statements in our own writing, it is imperative that we make it abundantly clear that the source of knowledge is not ourselves, but someone much more credible. When we cite the source of the information that we have included in our composition, then that information becomes credible from the viewpoint of the reader. Otherwise, there is no reason for our audience to take us seriously when we make statements that are obviously not our own.

Citing sources not only makes our claims credible, but it also gives credit to those who have worked tediously to produce something that is worthwhile. Have you ever been in a situation where you came up with something, and then a friend of yours went off and told that same thing to someone else, as if they had originally come up with the idea. Maybe it was a funny joke that you thought of. Well, I bet that made you slightly angry because you didn't receive credit for your creativity. In the same way, we ought to give credit to the original creators when we state one of their ideas.

When we choose to suck it up and cite sources, our writings will become more credible and we will be doing a good thing in giving credit to those who have spent time to come up with such brilliant ideas.

Composing in the Past

Hello to all who would so choose to give my amateur writing a glance. In this post, I will recollect how I used to compose in the past.

I'm sure there is a specific quote that concisely and eloquently voices what I am about to write, but I would rather not spend the time "googling" it, as I'm sure there are multiple quotes that proclaim the same basic truth. That truth being, that one will never understand who he is and how he got to be where he is until he is willing to recognize the past from which he came.

I would like to be the first to say that my process of composition in the past was sub-par to say the least. Throughout middle and high school, I would find a way to slap down a bucket full of words that somehow or another made some sense and acquired a reasonably good grade. Generally this would be done late at night on the eve of the assignment's due date. Ironically, this blog post in itself is a composition assignment that is being completed in the wee hours of the morning. However, a blog doesn't warrant the same amount of professional compositional process as, say, a research paper does. In the days of my compositional incompetence, I would generally have a very limited preparation time and produce only one draft. Of course, I was still able to get by while using this "strategy," although I never succeeded to the level that I was capable of.

Now that I have turned a new page in life, I truly hope that I will do what it takes to compose worthwhile papers. I am well aware of the importance of rhetorical skills to people of every career choice. Even as an engineer, I will need to develop my abilities to compose and employ good rhetorical skills in order to be successful in my field of choice.