“Digital Invention: A Repository of Online Resources for College Composition Instruction”

by Mary K. Stewart | Xchanges 10.2/11.1

Practicing Invention

The pages in this section define the three theories of invention and link to specific invention strategies with which students can experiment. Invention involves creating new ideas (where writing is a process of self-discovery and meaning-making), as well as locating known ideas (where writing helps define an argument or interpret texts based on knowledge that already exists).

Practice Classical Invention

Classical invention is the process of sifting through and interpreting existing information; by asking questions and conducting research to understand the context of a given topic, a writer can identify the argument she wishes to make. The theory draws from Aristotle’s definition of invention as a process by which a rhetor: (1) explores the writing situation, (2) uses outside materials to understand and develop an argument, and (3) looks at multiple perspectives to frame or verify that argument (Lauer).

Aristotle divided the classical topics into five categories: definition, comparison, relationship, testimony, and circumstance. Aristotle also used stasis — by which the rhetor decides whether a subject is a “question of fact, definition, or value” — to build an argument.

Classical Invention Strategies:

1. Stasis Theory. Go to Prewriting Questions (Purdue University), scroll down to “Stasis Questions,” and answer the questions of conjecture, definition, quality, policy.
2. Classical Topics. Go to Prewriting Questions (Purdue University), scroll down to “Classical topics (patterns of argument),” and answer the questions.
3. Questions of Audience and Purpose. Go to Brainstorming (UNC Chapel Hill), scroll down to “Consider Audience and Purpose,” and answer the questions.
4. Conducting Outside Research. Go to Brainstorming (UNC Chapel Hill), read “Dictionaries, thesauruses, and encyclopedias,” then read How to Find a Topic (Colorado State University). Next, do some reading and make notes on how the reading helps generate ideas.

Practice Prewriting

Rohman (1965) coined the term “pre-writing,” defining it as “the stage of discovery in the writing process when a person assimilates his ‘subject’ to himself” (7). Prewriting involves using associative thinking to identify and explore personal opinions or relate previous experiences to a topic, and then using those connections to generate new ideas. Brainstorming, mapping, freewriting, looping, talk into a tape recorder, discovery draft, and journaling are all examples of prewriting strategies.

Prewriting Strategies:

1. Read Paradigm Online Writing Assistant’s explanation of Freewriting and then complete one of the activities listed at the bottom of the page.
2. Create a Discovery Draft.
3. Read University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s explanation of Listing/Bulleting and then experiment with this technique.
4. Keep a journal throughout your course, writing in response to reading assignments, lectures, and class discussions. At the conclusion of the course, write a reflection on the experience.
5. Use 750words.com, Q10, or CSU’s Writing Studio to freewrite, create your Discovery Draft, brainstorm, or journal.
6. Create a map/web/cluster using paper or an online tool.

Practice Tagmemic Invention

While prewriting exposes and elaborates the writer’s perspective, tagmemic invention synthesizes multiple perspectives. This theory views writing as a process of inquiry that can stimulate new insights and verify judgments. Tagmemic strategies ask questions with the goal of considering a topic from as many perspectives as possible and then generating new insights by making connections between those perspectives.

Tagmemic Invention Strategies:

1. Answer Purdue University’s tagmemics questions on their Prewriting Questions page.
2. Complete the 3 Perspectives activity on University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s site.
3. Complete the Cubing activity on University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s site.
4. Complete the Journalistic Questions activity on University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s site.
5. Ask a friend to interview you about your topic, and then get the friend’s feedback and perspective.

If you try any of these activities in class, or if you have suggestions for other invention strategies, email: mkstewart at ucdavis dot edu.