The document outlines the author's ideas for a dissertation exploring how students compose in both musical and written forms. The author proposes interviewing and observing students in both disciplines to understand [1] what effects students aim to achieve in their compositions and [2] how students incorporate sources into their work. The knowledge gained could be used to improve pedagogy around composition. The author identifies key areas of research that would help frame the study, such as music composition, rhetoric and composition, and intellectual property studies.