Arguing that practice without theory is destructive, this books deals with the theory, philosophy, and application of a variety of subjects within the area of composition. The nine chapters of the first section of the book constitute a state-of-the-art essay and discuss such topics as J. Emig's 1971 study of the composing process and the more recent work of L. Flower and J. Hayes, cerebral organization and writing, the process and transactional models of composition, rhetorical invention, style, and form. The five chapters in the second section, which supplement those in the first section, are entitled "Invention,""Form and Style,""Reading,""Teaching Composition," and "The Profession." Specific topics discussed within these chapters include (1) brain, rhetoric, and style; (2) dramatism in themes and poems; (3) the grammar of coherence; (4) the rhetorical transaction; (5) developing a composition program; (6) teaching composition across the curriculum; and (7) the paradox of the humanities. (FL)