CHAPTER Looking for Subjects People write for lots of reasons.Sometimes it's part of the job.A sales manager is asked to report on a new market,or an executive to discuss the feasibility of moving a plant to another state.A psychology student has to turn in a twenty- page term paper,or a member of an art club must prepare a two-page introduction to an exhibit. In such cases the subject is given,and the first step is chiefly a matter of research,of finding information.Even the prob- lem of organizing the information is often simplified by fol- lowing a conventional plan,as with scientific papers or busi- ness letters.Which is not to dismiss such writing as easy. Being clear and concise is never easy.(To say nothing of being interesting!)But at least the writing process is structured and to that degree simplified. At other times we write because we want to express some- thing about ourselves,about what we've experienced or how we feel.Our minds turn inward,and writing is complicated by the double role we play.am the subject,which somehow the who writes must express in words.And there is a further complication.In personal writing,words are not simply an expression of the self,they help to create the self.In struggling to say what we are,we become what we say. Such writing is perhaps the most rewarding kind.But it isCHAPTER 4 Looking for Subjects People write for lots of reasons. Sometimes it's part of the job. A sales manager is asked to report on a new market, or an executive to discuss the feasibility of moving a plant to another state. A psychology student has to turn in a twenty￾page term paper, or a member of an art club must prepare a two-page introduction to an exhibit. In such cases the subject is given, and the first step is chiefly a matter of research, of finding information. Even the prob￾lem of organizing the information is often simplified by fol￾lowing a conventional plan, as with scientific papers or busi￾ness letters. Which is not to dismiss such writing as easy. Being clear and concise is never easy. (To say nothing of being interesting!) But at least the writing process is structured and to that degree simplified. At other times we write because we want to express some￾thing about ourselves, about what we've experienced or how we feel. Our minds turn inward, and writing is complicated by the double role we play. / am the subject, which somehow the / who writes must express in words. And there is a further complication. In personal writing, words are not simply an expression of the self; they help to create the self. In struggling to say what we are, we become what we say. Such writing is perhaps the most rewarding kind. But it is