Visual compositions can be used in the content areas to address comprehension problems posed by implicit factors in any content theme. The importance of a visual presentation for writing is that it can instantly portray the theme to be learned and act as a catalyst to elicit words and sentences to help explain that content theme. Stages of visual/verbal understanding achieved through visual compositions include (1) viewing a content area theme (nonverbal receptive input); (2) composing the explicit and implicit information seen in that theme (visualizing holistic meaning and coupling visual meaning with language); (3) writing the theme's information in one's own words (expressing style and organization by applying written language code); and (4) reading the content assignment (comprehending style and organization through previous visual/verbal input). The more that teachers use picture arrangement to complement the writing styles in content areas, the more they can achieve the four stages of communication development. Essentially visual compositions provide stimuli for developing language skill while motivating students to read and write. Moreover, since patterns of written organization are unique to particular content fields, students can learn the structure of content area organization by viewing the visual composition organized in the same way. Visual composition encourages students to deal with explicit and implicit text factors, promoting a more global understanding of content themes. (HOD)