Donald Murray's "All Writing is Autobiography"

Compared to many other scholarly writings, it is undeniable that Donald Murray’s “All writing is Autobiography” is more informal and understandable. Personally, I believe Murray wrote his article partially in laymen’s terms in order to make his argument more conversational and persuasive. When an author uses a conversational tone, it is much easier to understand and relate to the text because it feels as though the rhetor and audience are engaging in an active conversation. In addition, by using pieces of his own writings, Murray proves that even award-winning scholars like him put their own worldviews and perceptions directly in their writing. Murray highlights this fact when he says, “In writing this paper I have begun to understand, better than I ever have before, that all writing, in many different ways, is autobiographical, and that our autobiography grows from a few deep taproots that are set down into our past in childhood, (Murray 49).” He knows that as a human being, his writing is being affected by his past experiences. It’s hard to write an unbiased text when our lives are full of situations that make us more partial to one side of a conflict. Through writing this way, Murray highlights that no rhetor is above outside influence and we are always going to make our own writings appeal to ourselves first.