Department of Writing and Communication Theses

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Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Writing and Communication

Advisor

Juliette Kitchens

Committee Member

Janine Morris

Abstract

The Dynamic Unity of Writing (DUW) offers an object oriented theory of writing, based on the idea of a dynamic unit, which is the simultaneous manifestation of distinct thought processes acting as one. This thesis demonstrates how writing, while grounded in consciousness, fulfills the four characteristics of a dynamic unit: that in its unity of action, writing is a basic level structure; that writing is more than the sum of its parts; that it is observable only in a context of operation; and, that writing exhibits a pattern of correlation across elements. This theory blends the four elements of the DUW (self, technology, style, and process) as an approach to understanding the roles of exigence and emergence in textual coherence and in both a writer’s and writing’s development. As a self-reflective tool, the DUW offers a framework through which writers can self-identify areas of intervention where further development of an element or elements of writing can result in an improvement of writing skills.

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