Written Communication Apr 1996

Joint Composition

JUDY KALMAN

Abstract

Although notions of literacy tend to be dominated by images of solitary readers and writers, collaboration and assistance with reading and writing are widespread practices. This article presents a detailed description of a scribe and his client in Mexico producing a letter through joint composition, a term used to refer to letter-writing episodes involving two or more active participants. Through an examination of the discussions that occurred between the scribe and the client, the analysis illustrates how both actors contributed to the final outcome. This article discusses how the participants negotiated their points of view and pooled their knowledge to produce a specific type of document in accordance with their expectations and purposes. The analysis suggests that joint composition is the outcome of multiple contextual elements: authority, gender, and literacy competency. It further concludes that scribing is a complex, heterogeneous literacy activity.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1996-04-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088396013002002
Open Access
Closed
Topics
writing across the curriculum multimodality

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Kalman et al. (2023)
    “Don’t Tell Them What You Told Me”: Negotiating Paperwork in Mexico City
    Written Communication
  2. Markelis (2003)
    “Talking Through Letters”
    Written Communication

Cites in this index (3)

  1. BRADY (1993)
    A Contextual Theory for Business Writing
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. FARR (1993)
    Essayist Literacy and Other Verbal Performances
    Written Communication
  3. HAGGE et al. (1989)
    Linguistic Politeness in Professional Prose
    Written Communication
Also cites 17 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/2801598
     ↗
  2. Barton, D. (Ed.). (1994). Sustaining local literacies [Special issue]. Language and Education, 8(1/2).
     ↗
  3. Bauman, R.
    Explorations in the ethnography of speaking
     ↗
  4. 10.1525/aeq.1993.24.4.04x0064l
     ↗
  5. 10.2307/818086
     ↗
  6. Edelsky, C.
    With literacy and justice for all
     ↗
  7. 10.1177/074171368303300301
     ↗
  8. Graff, H.
    The legacies of literacy
     ↗
  9. Gumperz, J.
    Discourse strategies
     ↗
  10. Gumperz, J.
    Language and social identity
     ↗
  11. Horowitz, R.
    Comprehending oral and written language
     ↗
  12. 10.17763/haer.63.1.u0762m971p0645t4
     ↗
  13. 10.2307/3586738
     ↗
  14. Levinson, S.
    Pragmatics
     ↗
  15. 10.1525/aeq.1993.24.4.04x0065m
     ↗
  16. 10.1177/002194368802500404
     ↗
  17. 10.1080/09500789109541305
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 5 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Composition Forum Oct 2025
    Adding to the Qualitative Research Method Toolkit: Eliciting and Coding Participant Drawings ↗
    writing across the curriculum empirical research qualitative research multimodality multilingual writers
  2. Written Communication Oct 2025
    Gateways to a Different World of Meaning: Expanding Theme Use in Primary-Aged Children’s Writing ↗
    Frances Bodger
    writing across the curriculum multimodality multilingual writers
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 2025
    One Size Does Not Fit All: How Clinical Pain Assessment Scales and Tools Mask Crip Narratives of Chronicity ↗
    Adrianna Deptula
    writing across the curriculum qualitative research multimodality
  4. Written Communication Apr 2025
    Critical Incidents in the Expansive-by-Design Classroom ↗
    Brian Hendrickson; Rebecca Farias; Louis Fusaro
    genre theory literacy studies writing across the curriculum multimodality multilingual writers
  5. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Jun 2024
    The Greta Affect ↗
    Justin Eckstein; Erin Keoppen
    writing across the curriculum multimodality affect and writing