Composition studies are writing courses offered at the college and university levels. For aspiring professionals in various academic disciplines, they focus on academic writing, rhetoric, technical writing, and written communication methods. These courses are frequently taken by students pursuing an English bachelor’s or master’s degree. Most university students, even if they are not English majors, will need to pass at least a few basic composition studies courses to develop their writing skills in order to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Composition studies are unique in that they concentrate on both the art and science of writing. Technical elements such as grammar, sentence structure, paragraph organization, and overall cohesion are included in the science of writing. The techniques writers need to transform their words into something meaningful, such as effective use of rhetoric, imagery, and logic, are more important than the art of writing. Because the technical skills required to complete and synthesize research are combined with the rhetorical skills required to develop effective hypotheses and arguments based on the research findings, composition studies also include research skills.
There is a wide range of courses available in composition studies. Beginning composition courses can teach students the fundamentals of college-level grammar and composition, as well as how to write thesis statements and essays and how to conduct basic research. Students will be required to synthesize information and express their own research-based opinions in literary research courses, which combine reading and analyzing fiction or nonfiction literature with advanced research into related facets, such as literary criticism. Advanced composition classes can help students improve their fiction and nonfiction writing skills as well as the rhetorical techniques they use in their writing. Other composition classes focus on professional, business, and technical writing, which often require students to use their composition skills to write about subjects outside of composition, such as science or sociology.
The skills that students learn in composition classes have a wide range of practical applications and implications. Students who have mastered technical and business writing as well as persuasion skills may go on to write successful grant applications professionally. Others may use these skills in graduate school to pursue careers in law, business, or politics. Award-winning authors of popular fiction and self-help books may find that the skills they learned in composition classes can help them improve their writing and communication.