Revitalizing The Canon of Memory in the Composition Classroom
Composition: Utilizing Memory Effectively
There are three significant processes in the writing classroom that are impacted by the canon of memory: reading, prewriting, and writing. All three can work together to inform a student’s understanding of the use of memory in interpreting, inventing, and meaning-making, but unfortunately a focus on memory is currently lacking in the required composition courses taken by freshmen in college. By establishing the importance of memory in the writing classroom early in a student’s college career, students can gain a greater understanding of their own potential for creating meaningful compositions and contributing to an enhanced understanding of their personal experiences and those associated with their cultural memory. In order to ascertain the perceived function of memory in the composition process, I asked several students to complete a questionnaire regarding their use of memory in their reading and writing experiences. The students are writers in a variety of genres, and represent a sampling of both undergraduate and graduate students in the English department. By examining their answers regarding the use of memory in reading, prewriting, and writing, one can discern the areas in which memory is utilized and those in which it is neglected.
The first major application of memory in the composition classroom is the interpretation of texts. Reading theorist Frank Smith refers to long- term memory as “our permanent source of understanding of the world” (Rider, The Writer’s Book 101). Therefore, when a student reads, he or she “use[s] memory constantly to understand the letters and words on the page: They select, they chunk (organize elements – like letters – into meaningful units – like words), they predict” (Rider, The Writer’s Book 102). These processes directly relate to memory; they can be more successfully accomplished when drawing on a body of “prior knowledge” (Rider, The Writer’s Book 102). Students recognize the impact of memory on their reception and understanding of texts, which was represented in their answers to the brief questionnaire.
Out of the five participants in the survey, all five indicated that memory impacts their reception of texts. One student indicated that memory enhances the reading experience as she was “able to make associations between new information and concepts” she already understood. This is similar to Smith’s assertion that memory constitutes one’s understanding of the world, which certainly applies to those ideas encountered through reading. When reading, this student made connections to information and experiences already stored in her memory in order to enable her to better understand the material. Another responded, “My memories can often help me interpret some texts. I’m sure I sometimes read too much of my own experience into some texts, but for the most part, it’s a helpful tool.” This student acknowledged that memory enhanced the reading experience, while also indicating that one can often superimpose one’s own experiences over the structure of the text, greatly impacting the reception of the text’s meaning. Without an understanding of this, students may struggle to comprehend multiple meanings of a text, since they rely primarily on their own reception. With an awareness of the impact of memory on one’s reading experience, students will more readily acknowledge differing interpretations.
Pre-writing also effectively involves functions of memory. Donald Murray asserts that “Time for staring out the window, daydreaming, thinking and not thinking, allowing the brain to collect and connect, fitting and discarding fragments of information” (Rider, The Writer’s Book 102) is essential to the successful utilization of memory in the writing process. Richard Young
further promotes prewriting as a method of discovering oneself and what one already knows (Rider,
The Writer’s Book 102). In prewriting, free-writing, and keeping journals, “ideas and forms are
discovered by provoking memory” (Rider, The Writer’s Book 103). Furthermore, the personal nature of
many of these activities assures students of the legitimacy of their memory material in the composition
classroom.
Kathleen Ryan advises the use of memory maps, building clusters around charged cultural memories,
and using scents to evoke memories as three manners of utilizing memory in pre-writing (43). One might expect to see such activities listed in response to the survey question: “Are there pre-writing exercises you find particularly useful for generating memory-based invention?”, however, the student responses were varied. The two students who professed to write mostly non-fiction responded affirmatively. One student participant indicated that she uses free-write associations, brainstorm webs, and listing as methods of recalling and organizing memory material prior to her first draft. Another agreed that free-writing was his most productive pre-writing activity for organizing memory material. Those students who wrote fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, however, indicated that they do not typically engage in prewriting activities. One such participant noted that she tries “not to do any prewriting. [She] want[s] the first draft of whatever [she] writes to get the raw emotions from the memory.” These responses indicate that while prewriting can be helpful for writing in certain genres, it is by no means the only manner of utilizing memory material.
Richard Young and Patricia Sullivan assert that “writers can hold in short-term memory the relatively simple structures for writing narrative or descriptive works” (Rider, The Writer’s Book 103). This may in part explain the reticence with which the surveyed creative writers regarded prewriting activities. Young and Sullivan continue, explaining that analytic/synthetic writing is more difficult, and “it is the writing itself that helps probe the long-term and organize the short-term memory” and that in this case “writing is ‘epistemic’; writing is thinking” (Rider, The Writer’s Book 103). This emphasizes the importance of prewriting activities for essay writing, such as would be the primary method of expression in a freshman composition course.
However, merely requiring inexperienced writers to complete prewriting activities may not be particularly effective in rendering them capable of easily utilizing memory. In 1991, a study was conducted by W. Michael Reed and Thomas Sherman to identify the effectiveness of prewriting for both honors students and basic writers. The honors students thrived when they used a prewriting heuristic and wrote down their ideas prior to composing their draft. The basic writers wrote more poorly when they used the prewriting heuristic, suggesting an incomplete comprehension of this method. Reed and Sherman concluded that “because basic writers have not developed writing habits that include cognitive strategies to generate and store ideas as part of their prewriting repertoire, they may need extensive instruction and experience in order to employ them effectively” (Rider, The Writer’s Book 103). Therefore, in order to enable basic writers to increase the quality and complexity of their writing, they may need specific instruction as to how to organize and utilize their memory material.
Unfortunately, memory is largely absent from the composition classroom. One student respondent related that her composition course “never explicitly discussed any concepts as aspects of memory.” As indicated by the above study, inexperienced writers typically need explicit instruction and explanation in order to effectively incorporate memory material into their writing. Another respondent indicated that “barring [his] creative writing courses, memory as utility and accessibility was never mentioned in [his] basic ENG 101 and 102 classrooms.” A third student lamented that she “would have preferred to explore creative outlets at least a little bit, which would have opened the way for a discussion of memory.” These more experienced writers are now able to retrospectively regret the absence of memory-building and organizing activities in their composition courses, as such material might have allowed them to enhance their writing from an earlier age.
Finally, memory is essential to the composing process. Not only does memory contribute to the combination of “smaller units of thought and discourse into larger units,” but it also has implications for the development of cultural consciousness (Rider, The Writer’s Book 104). Re-visiting memory material provides students with the opportunity to develop a fresh perspective on themselves as well as the world around them. This is particularly imperative for incoming freshmen students, as their college education is intended to promote greater cultural awareness and comprehension of the varying influences and perspectives that shape their experiences.
All of the participants in the survey attested to the value of memory in their composing processes. One writer related that she uses recollection during her writing process. When writing creative nonfiction, she writes scenes are she remembers them. She also, however, uses invention in order to “imagine it from someone else’s perspective,” as well as to write her own
understanding of “someone else’s memory.” This indicates that she uses memory not only to
comprehend and relate her own experiences, but to enable herself to experience the perspective of
others, contributing to her cultural awareness. Another writer explains that “recollection aids in the
composing of genres, invention determines which memories and images apply, and association
makes the genre and underlying arguments tangible to audiences. In essence, [he] view[s]
composition as a public memory.” Not only does this student comprehend the necessity of making
memory material accessible to those with differing contexts and perspectives, but he also testifies
to the creation of a public memory, one that will help to define the collective cultural
identity of those who consume this text.
Although memory was historically perceived chiefly as a method of memorization, one that became obsolete with the growth of a literate culture, this is far from a comprehensive understanding of this canon. Memory enables students to comprehend their personal and cultural identity, to understand existing materials, and to create new texts. The advancement of external storage devices contributes not to the obsolescence of this canon, but to an increased need for awareness of the necessity for reading, prewriting, and writing activities to utilize students’ personal memories and situate them within the context of cultural memory. In particular, freshman composition courses need to explicitly discuss the advantages of utilizing memory material in the composition process, as basic writers are often ignorant as to the manner in which this material may be recalled and organized. In teaching freshmen to write well, as is the intent of a composition course, memory is an essential component of instruction.
