Often, when a student is told to write a theme, his mind seemingly emptied of all ideas; he cannot discover anything worth writing about. Yet there are the thousands of things in the world to write about. The student who remembers that composition is a wholly natural process in which he has often indulged, and who keeps his eyes open and his mind active, will not be a loss for a subject.
Sources of Material. There are three general sources of material for compositions:
What we experience,
what we study,
what we read.
The student has a wide field of experiences as possible sources of writing material. If he has ever been alone in a sailboat when a storm came up, he can put on paper the record of his experience. He can write of a visit to the Coca-Cola plant, his first dance, an excursion he attended, or a class party where he did not enjoy himself. His life is rich in experience if we develop an “experiencing” nature.
Every intelligent student may derive many ideas from his various studies. Chemistry, general science, history, literature – all have wonderful possibilities for composition. The study of Philippine history might suggest a paper on the Death March from Bataan to Capas, Tarlac, from the point of view of a participant or an eye witness. Or the student might describe Manila during the Japanese occupation or give a vivid account of Rizal’s death in Bagumbayan. Botany shows us flowers, not as Shakespeare saw them, but as marvelous contrivances, the explanation of which will give us useful training in saying exactly what we mean. It is difficult, in short, to think of a branch of study which will not give us many things to talk or write about.
The third source of subject matter is our reading: magazine and newspaper, all sorts of books; in short, what we know as literature. The most obvious and natural source of ideas is life immediately around us and the record of that life in books, magazines and newspapers.
Choosing an Appropriate Subject. Your material may come from your own experience or from your reading. In any case, the material should be of a kind that you can handle. Don’t attempt a subject that is beyond your understanding. If writing to prove profitable and enjoyable, you must at all times exercise care in choosing your subject. The choice of subject will depend upon your general background, your interest, your personal experiences, and the time given you to develop your composition.
Your general background of a subject is the first consideration in your choice of a subject for a composition. In the preparation of an oral or written composition, your first concern should be the selection of a topic or subject that you fully understand. The student may be guided by answering the following questions:
1. With which subject am I most familiar?
2. Can I deal with this subject adequately?
3. Can I make this subject clear and interesting to others?
Interest is the second factor to be considered in the choice of a subject. A writer should consider the nature and probable interests of his readers. Interest is the bridge thrown between writer and reader; it determines the success of the composition. If the reader is interested, he will give your work a chance. If you cannot arouse his interest he will not read your work. To interest the reader, you must put spirit, liveliness, and vigor into what you say.
However, arousing the interest of the reader is not the only requirement of a good subject; the interest of the writer should be considered as well. The writer must deeply interested in his subject so that he may develop it forcefully and enthusiastically. Life is full of interest to any normal college student and what is interesting to him can be made interesting to other people, if told sincerely, simply, and with enough details to make the account vivid.
The third factor in the choice of subject matter is personal experience. All of your experiences in the past can be said, without stretching the point too much, to be a training for the writing which you do now. What you write must come from your own experience. Your material must be the product of your own thinking and observing. What aspect of the subject you select will depend on what you think is significant according to your personal experience in relation to your subject.
Your writing is a part of yourself. It should reflect your personality. This is particularly true of subjective or artistic literature. Only specific papers purposely strive to be impersonal and coldly objective. Allow your own way of thinking and doing to give originality and freshness to your work. Even material obtained from reference books will become more vital and stimulating if allowed to pass through the personality of the writer.
The fourth consideration is the choice of subject matter for a composition is the question of how much time you have to develop the composition. College composition are not intended to be exhaustive; hence the necessity of limiting your subject. Write of one thing at a time. Do not select a subject which is too broad or too general such as, “Professors,” “Cars,” “Students.” It is impossible to write a short composition clearly and forcefully about broad subjects. It is possible, however, for you to derive a properly limited subject from each of these. For example, you may have no difficulty in writing successfully on one or more of the following limited subjects: “My First Day in the University,” “My Favorite Professor,” “A Car Accident,” or “A Student Leader.” By selecting a proper limited subject and presenting specific details of it you will be able to interest your readers; however, you will fail to do so if you carelessly choose a large subject and make only a few vague, general statements about it.
