McCray-Brown 1

Niya McCray-Brown
Craig Wynne
Adv. Writing: Eng. 320
29 March 2015
Brand, Alice. "Social cognition, emotions, and the psychology of writing." Journal of Advanced
Composition (1991): 395-407. Jstor. Web
Brand addresses the complicated relationship between social and emotion attitudes on writing.
The article outlines different theories of social influence on writing such as the Social
cognition theory and the Social Construction theory. It also describes the historical context of
these theories including the contributions of Wundt and Wurzberg. The author discusses the valid
argument that because emotional and social aspects of composition are so closely related they
sometimes cause discrepancies in the research and prior literature. The final claim is made that
because social aspects are more easily analyzed scientifically, that emotional aspects often
become lost in translation. The information provided in this article provides insight into the gap
of information regarding the role of emotion, which hopefully the proposed theory can fill. It
also illuminates a possible conflict that could occur in asserting the theory, the blurred lines of
social and emotional influences.
Brand, Alice G. "The why of cognition: Emotion and the writing process." College Composition
and Communication (1987): 436-443. Jstor. Web
This article provides detailed arguments concerning the relevance emotion in writing, opposing
many who view composition as mainly an intellectual task. The author argues that the act of
inclusion and exclusion in discourse as well as the concept of meaning having connotative

McCray-Brown 2
value asserts affect/emotion as major components of writing. Alice Brand also discusses the role
of morality in composition and its intertwining with emotion. In short, the intersection of
knowing, belief systems, morality, attitudes, and (most importantly) emotion is what drives the
affectual component of writing. This information is useful to the proposed theory because I
creates a foundation for emotional significance in composition that is often overlooked for
intellect. The article also proposes ideas for future research including evaluating the cyclical
nature of personality/emotion and discursive style, which is what the proposed theory hopes to
address.
McLeod, Susan. "Some thoughts about feelings: The affective domain and the writing process."
College Composition and Communication (1987): 426-435. Jstor. Web.
McLeod asserts rationale regarding the inclusion of the affective domain in writing theory and
provides means to achieve this scientifically. Lack of scientific/ empirical reasoning is a large
part of why affect and emotion have been neglected thus far. She frames her rationale using the
affective reactions of motivation, anxiety, and belief all of which are apparent in the writing
process. The theory provided by the author analyzes the role of emotion on a cognitive and
physiological basis in the writing process. This information if useful to the proposed research
because is delineates empirical contributions, which will help avoid too much of a subjective
bias in the theory.
Murray, Donald. "Teach Writing as a Process Not a Product." Cross Talk in Comp Theory. Ed.
Victor Villanueva and Kristin Arola. 3rd ed. National Council of Teachers of English,
2011. 3-6. Print.

McCray-Brown 3
Murray presents a plethora of negative consequences associated with the now abundant practice
of teaching writing as a product. When individuals learn to focus their capabilities in the
direction of the end result of writing they miss the extremely valuable contributions that the
process can make to their lives, as well as their writing style. The author distinguishes the role of
psychological concepts such as reinforcement, emotion, and ethicality as important parts of the
writing process, and mentions that these constructs add to the power of the writing process. More
specifically he notes that language should be used to discover truth and awareness for both the
writer and, consequently, the reader. The reading is beneficial to the proposed theory because it
details how quintessential the writers emotional connection to the process of writing is. The
author also highlights the importance of discovery through writing indicating that writers are
indeed impacted by their work/process, a crucial component of the proposed theory.
Walter, Otis. "Plato's Idea of Rhetoric for Contemporary Students: Theory and Composition
Assignments." College Composition and Communication 35.1 (1984): 20-30. Jstor. Web.
This article denotes the critical components of Platonic rhetoric, which is often misunderstood
because of its deviance from other philosophers of his era. Walter outlines eight intricate and
specific principles of Platonic rhetoric, and then goes on to suggest possible assignments for
teachers to convey these principles to their students. Within those eight principles of Platos
rhetoric it is clear to see that intrapersonal insight and emotion were the foundation of what he
believed composition and truth to derive from. The benefit of the article to the proposed theory
lies within the fact that it illustrates that the role of emotion is not new to rhetoric and
composition. It adds variety to the other sources because it depicts that ancient philosophers
believed in the role of emotion and personal awareness as well, increasing the credibility of the
theory.