Vagueness can be described by many uncertainties in life and it is based upon a persons’ natural selection of thinking. In the modern world, we tend to be guided by the fact that law creates order and subsequently through order we get common ways in understanding concepts which are simple to understand. Writing is a great example to which we can relate to through this concept. From a young age, we all have been taught the fundamental laws of writing which we have been following throughout our lifetime. Donald Murray is the author of ‘One Writers Philosophy of Composition’ where he in great effect showed us the very essence of writing. In this story he allowed readers to think outside the box on the concept of writing and through his intuition answers to many great questions in this field and in this short story he revealed it through the main question which is: What makes a great writer? I really liked the way in which he targets the main concept and mechanics of writing and has helped me my point of view in writing as well but it can also be a way for some people to be in a state of shake being the fact that the laws in what they were taught often brought clarity to their work but after they had read this short story the sense of vagueness came into their lives. The way in which Donald Murray portrayed his visions in the story was by repeating two quotes throughout the story where these quotes are the epicenter of the events occurring in this story and through the concept of repetition it is a much easier for the writer to convey his message to the reader.

‘A writer is an individual who uses language to discover 

Meaning in experience and communicate it’

This is the first of two quotes in which this story was featured around. Essentially through this case, Donald Murray creates an argument between himself and the reader on what they both think is the best skill set a writer should have. Well through his use of repetition to create an argument with a reader and the text is a really awesome way in which an author can tap into the mind of a reader. ‘I have certainly read, and unfortunately purchased, most of the bad books about how to write by writers published in the last quarter century...and what I have read in those books has been reinforced to the testimony of writers I have known’. This quote is a great way in which Donald Murray has created an argument with a reader and through this quote I can say that I don’t think he meant that the testimony has affected the people he knew but essentially every single person around the world in the education systems all around the world in the field of English literacy. I find this profoundly true and this creates a discontent feeling within the reader’s head of what they were learning their whole lives of whether they were taught the right manner in writing or the wrong manner in writing.

The first major quote kept repeating throughout the first half of the story and after giving his point of view in the lack of flexibility in the world of English literacy he gave his opinion sometime half way through his story relating to the first major quote in the story which was stated in the last paragraph which was; ‘if the writer does not feel that through writing he will discover something which is uniquely his he may soon concentrate on craft rather than content and speak with tricks rather than truth’. This quote tells us that individualism comes within ones’ self and point of view and through this concept of individualism the writer will have self-satisfaction and comfort in his own work whereas if writers concentrate more in the laws of writing which are not integrated into their style of writing they tend to get lost in words and lose the main intent in the content of the story. I totally am in favor of this argument as writing is a way of translating thoughts into words and it contents show be through intuition not by law.

At the end of his stint of using the first quote as a reference to convey his ideas, he wrote ‘the writer uses verb and noun, phrase and sentence, paragraph and page, to explore his world’. Which states that not only is writing a way to entertain the whole reading community. It is a path to self-discovery and it is one of the many pros in being a writing. As stated every single aspect of writing whether it be sentences and paragraphs can be a way of reflecting the writer's image onto himself. This quote justifies his side of the argument where he sees that writers who follow his theorem tend to be more pleased and more aware of the world their world.

Now let’s talk about the second and last major quotation in this story which states;

“A student writer is an individual who is learning to use

Language to discover meaning in experience and communicate it’

It is clear to see Murray in this quotation is not targeting the general population of writers but he is only targeting the group of writers known as students. Students are people who are in the process of learning. Through this quotation, he is now creating an argument between the content of this story and specifically the student writers. In the beginning of his argument, he states ‘There is no one way to write and there is no way for the reader to learn to write. We must accept the individual and appreciate his individualness’. This quote conveys a powerful message and it greatly supports the second main point. Where Donald tells us that in order to showcase ones’ talent we must accept and try to understand their point of individualistic ideas. I agree with this statement as if we try to understand and go along the ideas of the individual’s ideas we can truly gain a new perspective of the world we live in whereas there are people who tend to see change as a step backwards in the current progress of literature which is a false perspective in how people should view this world as.

As we approach the end of this short story Donald Murray up with the quote ‘The student should discover language is fun because it is a sturdy tool for the exploration of experience’. In this quote, Donald is trying to tell us that writing can be a tool to be free and a medium of having fun as students are usually more keen to learn new things and they do not appreciate the act of following methods which suppresses their thoughts and experiences. I honestly think that this quote applies to all readers where they should embrace their imaginations and run wild through the action of writing words but in the introduction it was stated that law brings order and clears the vagueness in everyday life and many other people agree we that concept as well and as writers break laws in writing the create ambiguity in the readers’ heads and to makes it harder for them to understand the concept. But it is safe to say only a small selected population thinks this way nowadays 

To conclude this paper, I would look to answer the question stated in the introduction which was ‘What makes a good writer?’. By assessing all the arguments that Donald had portrayed through his short story is that a writer is a person who conveys their individual characteristics into words and reflects their own experience onto himself and onto his readers without the suppression of the laws which are against them. Coincidentally a student writer should embrace their own individualism to explore their own world to understand and to help them in tackling the challenges in the world to enhance their growth process.