Integrating Personal Ideas With Those of Others

     Collaboration. It`s the engine of ingenuity. It fastens ideas down like plywood in dusty garages called brains and sandpapers the heck out of them. We`ve all heard the phrase, “Two heads are better than one.” What does that even mean? It means that the productive power of the human brain is increased exponentially when combined with another. When collaboration is approached appropriately, ideas blossom into masterpieces with the majesty of Van Gogh`s paintings and the abruptness of a bud popping into full bloom.

      But how does this relate to the writing process? Well, if there is one thing I`ve taken away from the past couple weeks in Composition 2, it`s that the physical part- the formation of words, sentences, paragraphs and pages- is an incredibly miniscule portion of the entire writing process. Our first assignment in the series of “Argument Essay” assignments was strictly to work with our ideas. We`ve spent several class periods simply refining ideas. So, it logically follows that something like collaboration would drastically influence the end result of our thoughts- what is written down on paper.

     “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” There is a right and a wrong way to collaborate. If the wrong advice is taken or the right advice disregarded from our peers, or if too much authority is given to the ideas of either our peers or us, we are due spoiled broth. One thing I have learned is that usually, my peers who I am collaborating with are my audience. If they do not understand a point made in my paper, I do not try to explain it to them. I am not going to be sitting beside every individual in my audience when they read my work. If something is misunderstood, it must be changed. My peer is always right when it comes to misunderstanding. Otherwise, respect should be given to anything they say, and it should be applied according to what I believe. Many times, the ideas of others have not been something I desired to work directly into my work, but provided inspiration and a spark to my work simply because of the extra thinking capacity provided. Ultimately, when both parties understand what is most effective about the collaborative process, there is nothing more conducive to a healthy writing atmosphere.