Louise Rosenblatt is a renowned Educational theorist, and her “Transactional Theory of Reading and Writing” is a staple component of pedagogical thought within Language Arts, Literature, and English courses. Rosenblatt believes that meaning is only developed through didactic discourse between a reader and a text. She states that “reading always implies both a reader and a text in a reciprocal relationship” (Rosenblatt X). The text alone is merely words on a page, but it is the reader’s experiences with the surrounding world which are applied to the textual images that allow for the development of individual comprehension. Rosenblatt believes that the same is true in regards to writing. Writers utilize their background knowledge, as well as grammatical structure, tone, style, and other classical components of the written word, in forming works which communicate their thoughts to an audience. However, a reader’s interpretation can always differ from an author’s because no two people will be influenced by outside social and cultural interactions in the same manner.
When attempting to define “Composition,” I look back on Louise Rosenblatt’s concepts. In the Composition course I took as an undergraduate, students are required to write essays and edit them, turning the pieces into communicative works which fit the generalized boundaries required by Academia. I believe that Composition is much more than proscribed rules and standards, though those are at times necessary elements. Composition is a means of effective communication, such as email, a blog, a movie, or even the highly acclaimed essay. The key to mastering Composition is knowing when to use the proper medium and being prepared to use the appropriate language and style for the audience or reader with whom one is attempting to converse. The most positive type of Composition is one in which self reflection, inter-textual communication, and grammatical concepts meld themselves together, creating a piece which is meaningful to the author, informative/entertaining to the reader, and decipherable in a way that allows the audience to connect to the piece in their own way as well.
When Louise Rosenblatt penned her Transactional Theory in 1938, there is no way that she could have imagined the influence it would have on the Academic community or readers and writers as a whole. She highlights the inherent need for readers to connect themselves to what they read and write, the importance of reflecting on these topics, and the necessity of societal and cultural interaction which allow for the broadening of individual experiences. Her beliefs are the building blocks for modern day Composition. Without them the growing willingness to accept a wide range of communicative processes outside of the traditional modality would not exist. In essence, Composition is the didactic tug of war between personal, outside experience and the written word that Louise Rosenblatt discusses. The process is a two-way discourse, not a one-way street. It is a process which works to help authors and readers define themselves, each other, and the world around them.
Works Cited
Rosenblatt, Louise. Making Meaning with Texts. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2005.
---. ““The Transactional Theory of Reading and Writing,” Theoretical Models and Processes of
Reading.” Rosenblatt 1-37.
