Notes on Invention as Inquiry Based Learning in First Year Writing

Overview and Purpose

  • Article: "Finding Your Way In": Invention as Inquiry Based Learning in First Year Writing by Steven Lessner and Collin Craig
  • Source: Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 1 (peer‑reviewed open textbook); 2010 publication
  • Central claim: Invention should be viewed as an inquiry-based, ongoing developmental process rather than a single, momentary act.
  • Aim for readers: to explore diverse invention possibilities at the start of a writing assignment to increase effectiveness, clarity, and creativity.
  • Metaphor grounding: Scott Lloyd DeWitt’s description of invention as a toolbox/garage where multiple tools (not a single act) can be chosen based on the project.
  • Key takeaway: No single invention activity works for all writers; each activity is a generative option that writers can adopt, adapt, or combine.

Core Concept: Invention as a Continuous Process

  • Common misconception: invention is a one‑time, hit‑or‑miss event.
  • Reality presented: invention operates throughout the writing process, enabling ongoing idea generation and connections.
  • Outcome: writers develop ideas and arguments through multiple strategies, rather than relying on a singular technique.
  • Becoming skilled: the chapter offers strategies to help writers begin papers, develop ideas, and connect earlier experiences to new arguments.

The Engineering Metaphor: Tools, Garage, and DeWitt

  • DeWitt’s garage example: a generative space with various tools (e.g., wires, tools, thermometers, an ice bucket, lamp switches, intercom, first microwave) chosen to fit a specific project.
  • Parallel to writing: writers should select invention activities/tools that best suit their current paper and stage of writing.
  • Implication: invention is a flexible, tool‑use oriented process, not a rigid formula.
  • Critique of monolithic views: reducing invention to a single form can mislead writers away from ongoing development of ideas.

Invention Toolkit: The Eight Strategies

  • Reading Rhetorically
  • Freewriting
  • Focused Freewriting
  • Critical Freewriting
  • Flexible Outlining
  • Bulleting
  • Visual Outlining
  • Auditory/Dialogic Generative Outlining
  • Purpose: to begin inventing in ways that stretch writerly muscles and facilitate ongoing idea development.

Reading Rhetorically

  • Definition: reading with an eye toward a writer’s intent, the rhetorical situation (context, audience, purpose), and how strategies convey a message.
  • Goals: build structure and argument in one’s own writing; cultivate creativity within a rhetorical framework.
  • Outcomes of rhetorical reading: heightened awareness of author’s purpose, audience targeting, and delivery methods.
  • Benefits: improves ability to respond to multiple genres, audiences, and contexts.
  • Sample exercises: reading a text (e.g., a NYT op‑ed on war) and analyzing how genre, stance, and imagery shape readers’ perception.
  • Sample guiding questions for reading rhetorically:
    • How does the author organize events, evidence, or arguments?
    • What stylistic moves draw readers in?
    • Does the author rely on experts, personal experience, statistics, etc.?
    • Who is the intended audience, and how are appeals tailored to it?
  • Rhetorical reading as preparation for writing across genres and audiences.

A Rhetorical Reading Activity: Gloria Anzaldúa’s How to Tame a Wild Tongue

  • Purpose: examine how language practices shape identity and belonging; analyze rhetorical situation and emotional appeals.
  • Key prompts:
    • What is the rhetorical situation in which Anzaldúa uses different language forms? (context, audience, purpose)
    • Does Anzaldúa’s writing seek to evoke an emotional response?
    • What makes Anzaldúa credible to discuss language practices as a condition of access?
    • Are there logical appeals to persuade readers?
    • What cultural assumptions can be inferred?
  • Learning aim: develop inquiry‑based thinking about how writers make rhetorical moves.

Freewriting and Variants

  • Freewriting
    • Definition: a warmup exercise; private writing without stopping; aims to jumpstart the writing process rather than produce finished work.
    • Rationale: reduces concern for grammar or coherence to surface ideas and connections.
    • Exercise 1 (example): ~10 minutes of continuous writing; if stuck, write 'nothing comes to mind' until ideas emerge.
  • Focused Freewriting
    • Definition: concentrated freewriting on a specific topic to develop continuity and connections.
    • Purpose: sort out what is known about a topic to inform outlining.
    • Exercise 2 (example prompts):
    • What writing moves can you learn from a close rhetorical reading (e.g., Anzaldúa) to compose your own text?
    • Write about a non‑school language practice you experienced.
    • Example: Kelsey’s observation of baby sister’s language development as a non‑school literacy practice; highlights literacy as social practice and personal narrative.
  • Critical Freewriting
    • Definition: analytic reflection within freewriting; involves asking questions, responding, engaging opposing views, developing new perspectives.
    • Purpose: grapple with ideas, relate them to larger conversations, and explore multiple angles.
    • Example topic: benefits and consequences of other forms of writing (e.g., text messaging).
    • Sample excerpt: extended reflection on texting, with internal questions about efficiency, social interaction, and future implications in formal settings.

Flexible Outlining and Visual Thinking

  • Flexible Outlining
    • Motivation: students often begin with outlines; flexible outlining accommodates varying needs and styles.
    • Quotations from students (Valencia Cooper, Tommy Brooks) show different starting approaches to outlining and organizing thoughts.
    • Visual/creative pivot: writers are encouraged to visualize ideas through non‑linear representations.
  • Bulleting
    • After freewriting, bullets help isolate themes, main points, and examples.
    • Example bullets from critical freewriting on text messaging:
    • Text messaging allows keeping in touch with close and distant people.
    • It is a writing form used daily in non‑school contexts.
    • It parallels instant messaging by reducing silences.
    • It may create passive habits that hinder face‑to‑face interaction.
    • It cannot fully convey emotions compared to voiced communication.
  • Visual Outlining
    • Purpose: to represent the arrangement of ideas visually (not necessarily artistically) to spark new connections.
    • Visual metaphor ideas: a tree diagram with the trunk as central idea, branches as supporting ideas, leaves as details; or a skyscraper with internal structure.
    • Exercise 4: draw a visual outline based on the bullets; identify recurring central themes and how they might form foundations or alternative perspectives.
  • Benefits
    • Encourages seeing non‑linear relationships among ideas.
    • Supports flexible revision and discovery of new connections during early drafting.

Auditory/Dialogic Generative Outlining

  • Intent: integrate peer feedback and dialogue into the outlining process to enhance idea generation.
  • Bell hooks reference: outlining benefits when memories and ideas are discussed with others before writing (Remembered Rapture: The Writer at Work).
  • Step 1: Code the central ideas from your bulleted list (bold for central starting points; italics for supportive points).
    • Example starting points for text messaging theme are highlighted to show central vs. supportive roles.
  • Step 1 Instruction for Writer: share coded list with a partner.
  • Step 1 Instruction for Reader/Recorder: read aloud central starting points and frame questions about them.
  • Sample reader questions (to writer) include:
    1) Why do most central points express certainty, while one uses 'may'?
    2) Can you compare text messaging to other forms of communication beyond those mentioned?
    3) Do connections to emotions warrant further exploration?
  • Step 2: Writer responds aloud to questions, adding new thoughts and connections while retaining focus on central ideas.
  • Step 2 Instruction for Reader/Recorder: capture as much of the writer’s explanation as possible and check which points were originally stated.
  • Step 3: Writer revisits notes and reflects on newly generated ideas not on the initial list; collaborative dialogue often reveals further findings.
  • Rationale: dialogic outlining treats writing as a social process and expands the range of possible directions for the topic.
  • Bonus: role reversal to ensure both writers and readers gain from the exercise.

Practice, Reflection, and Process Dynamics

  • Role of dialogue: discussing ideas aloud leads to spontaneous invention and strengthens understanding of other perspectives.
  • Collaborative invention: peer support helps generate and reinforce ideas, illustrating the social aspect of scholarly writing.
  • Reflection prompts for writers after dialogue:
    • What did you learn from verbalizing your ideas?
    • How might dialogue help you conceptualize and organize an essay?
  • Overall aim: demonstrate that writing invention is an ongoing process of discovery, not a single, finished product.

Conclusion and Educational Relevance

  • Core claim reiterated: when students have space and tools for critical thinking, they engage more deeply with knowledge and participate more fully in the university community.
  • Invention strategies are interconnected and designed to work together to build reading and writing skills.
  • Realization: not all conversations are alike; some require more nuanced, non‑formulaic moves to handle effectively in higher education.
  • Final takeaway: invention is an ongoing process of discovery that nurtures multiple approaches to analyzing texts and composing in academic conversations.

Connections to Prior Knowledge, Real‑World Relevance, and Ethics

  • Connections to foundational principles: critical reading, argumentation, audience awareness, and rhetorical context are central to college writing and communication across disciplines.
  • Real‑world relevance: the strategies mirror professional and civic contexts where complex problem solving requires iterative thinking, collaboration, and revision.
  • Ethical implications: reading critically and engaging with others’ ideas responsibly, avoiding misrepresentation and assuming authorial intent, while acknowledging diverse voices (e.g., Anzaldúa’s experience with language and identity).

Additional References and Foundational Works Mentioned

  • Gloria Anzaldúa, How to Tame a Wild Tongue (Rhetorical reading excerpt used for analysis)
  • Scott Lloyd DeWitt, Writing Inventions: Identities, Technologies, Pedagogies (analogous to invention as a toolbox)
  • Peter Elbow, Writing With Power; Remembered Rapture: The Writer at Work (dialogic outlining and collaboration references)
  • Primary works cited in Works Cited: Borderlands/La Frontera (Anzaldúa), Writing Inventions (DeWitt), Writing With Power (Elbow), Remembered Rapture (hooks)

References (Works Cited, as Presented)

  • Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. Aunt Lute Books, 1999.
  • DeWitt, Scott Lloyd. Writing Inventions: Identities, Technologies, Pedagogies. New York: SUNY P, 2001.
  • Elbow, Peter. Writing With Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process. New York: Oxford UP, 1981.
  • hooks, bell. Remembered Rapture: The Writer at Work. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1999.