Abstract

This essay considers an essential act of seeing that is central to the composing process—a conceptual moment when the mind acquires a notional sense of what the accumulated evidence means. Yet this necessary conceptual thing cannot actually be seen in any ordinary sense of the word. Imaginal rather than pictorial, the conception is crucial to the effective teaching of writing. Without it there is no hint of idea, no basis for a coherent argument. Without it, student writers remain blinded by the evidence.