        In Donald Murray’s “The Interior View: One Writer’s Philosophy of Composition,” he outlines perfectly what it means to be an individualistic, exploratory writer without actually telling the audience how to achieve it. The writing style he uses to convey his argument is extremely unique and was able to keep the reader intrigued. When we look at “The Interior View,” we can see that Murray advocates for student writers. What most people do not see is that he believes that they deserve to find themselves through their writing without being restricted by outside forces. This is important because most people seem to forget that the student writer is, in fact, still a writer with the same goals and desires as any other potential author. He takes the idea that he creates reflecting the process of writing and breaks it down into four parts: individuality, language, experience, and communication. He then discusses and analyzes each part and relates how each is important to the writing process as a whole. Murray emphasizes how individualism, language, experience, and communication are different for every student writer and teachers need to realize that individuality and start appreciating the differences. His whole structure relates back to his theme of how original and creative writing is what is most important as opposed to structured, manipulated writing.

The idea that Murray introduces is: “A writer is an individual who uses language to discover meaning in experience and communicate it” (Murray 26). Throughout the whole essay, Murray supports all writers, especially student writers, to be themselves when they write. Murray quotes: “There is no one way to write and there is no one way for the student to learn to write” (Murray 29). Writing a paper or an essay in high school was always a difficult assignment for me because I felt that I had to fit into a certain criteria in order to achieve the grade that I wanted to earn. Not being able to write what I felt was correct or write how I was most comfortable always made the writing process seem like more of a chore than something that was supposed to be enjoyable and freeing.

Murray describes how each individual has their own style of writing and that having someone else try and change that can make it extremely challenging to write that piece. He really pushes for individuality in a writer because it is what sets you apart from every other writer. A student that has to write based on a rubric or based on a certain teacher’s writing style does not have the freedom to be as creative. What makes writing enjoyable and freeing is how a writer can be their own person and express how they feel. But, if someone or something hinders that ability, it makes the writing process more of a duty rather than a good experience. According to Murray, what some teachers do not understand is that students find constrictive criticism and advantageous advice on how to maybe make the piece make more sense the most helpful. What is aggravating to a student is non-negotiable changes that need to be made to their way of thinking. Murray quotes, “We may not be able to teach our students to write, but as teachers we can create an environment which can encourage them to pass through the stages of writing necessary for effective written communication” (Murray 29). Some teachers find it difficult to teach creativity and individuality in writing. However, they need to realize that those things cannot be taught and that each writer is unique in their writing process. 

When writing, a student typically tries to find something to write that they can emotionally relate to. For example, a student may choose to write about a personal experience of their own. Murray says, “The student should discover language is fun because it is a sturdy tool for the exploration of experience. It gives the student writer what he hungers for—a way to find meaning and understanding in his own experience” (Murray 30). As young writer, it is extremely difficult to find useful language that you can utilize in a writing piece that is sophisticated, but yet also incorporates the student’s own experiences without sounding opinionated or bias. If a student was able to write from their own perspective it would make their piece much more personal and unique. Nothing is worse than reading a piece that is dry, has no meaning, and that seems like the author was forced to write. I always find that the best things to read are the pieces that are created from an author’s experience because it makes the reader relate to these experiences and it makes the piece more engaging. However, throughout high school, the books and poems that we always were assigned to read were very boring and underwhelming. Reading is an experience and if the authors are not into their own work, then neither is the reader.

Murray emphasizes how communication in writing is really the author communicating with their own thoughts. Communicating a message within your writing is vitally important because otherwise why is the reader reading that piece in the first place? For a student, creating effective communication within their piece can be very difficult because they may feel that no one would really understand their point of view. If someone else is reading their paper and they do not understand or agree with what the student was trying to communicate, then it could potentially change what the student wants to say. Of course, peer reviews can be very beneficial, but only if it can make the person's paper stronger, not more aligned with what the peer wants to be said. Effective communication can make a piece of writing better if executed and structured efficiently. A writer wants to get their point across without overloading the reader or leaving them confused. 

Donald Murray explains that the students should always write as themselves as well as write for themselves. Writing a piece that is not unique or personal is a piece that should not be considered real, authentic writing. Second, Murray believes that teachers need to quit trying to enforce a certain way to write but instead need to guide these students down a path that can lead them to a great writing experience. Lastly, it is safe to say that Murray relates the writer to the student writer because, when it comes right down to it, everyone is a student writer. Everyone learns and interprets things differently, especially when it comes to writing. Each writer is always learning and each piece of writing is a different process than the last. I can personally vouch for that statement because even since high school I have grown as a writer. All throughout high school, writing was about meeting certain criteria and not about how I wanted to incorporate myself. However, during my college writing experience, although it has been short, I have already seen a much larger difference in my writing. I enjoy it more and I seem to be putting myself into my writing more frequently. Donald Murray was extremely accurate when he says that writers need to be able to find themselves without outside help. It makes the writing experience and process worth all the time and effort that we put in. 
