In this article, the author discusses composition studies by examining how incorporating "songwriting" into a first-year writing course enables students to begin expressing their own ideas/perspectives, while also developing the ability to create the concise, detailed texts associated with academic writing. The discussion offers a detailed account of some of the individual assignments and in class activities that the author implemented over the course of a semester. Although the discussion is situated within the context of the first-year writing course, it can easily be modified to fulfill the objectives of the primary or secondary English classroom.