Early+Studies+of+the+Writing+Process

Early Studies of the Writing Process - Summary

Case Studies

1. Most well known and cited study on the writing process is Janet Emig's dissertation on the composing processes of 12th graders. (1971)
 * 1) Emig interviewed students about the writing process they went through when completing assignments.
 * 2) She gave students assignments and asked them to compose aloud (she recorded their responses)
 * **She concluded that writers engage in 2 distinctive modes of composing ....1) extensive: to convey one's feelings and 2) reflexive: to explore one's feelings**

2. Donald Graves (1973) conducted his research in 5 distinct phases:
 * 1) Examining writing folders
 * 2) Observation of children while they composed
 * 3) Interviewed students about their views of their writing
 * 4) Interviewed students about their concepts of a good writer
 * 5) Conducted a case study
 * **Graves concluded that multiple variables, frequently unknown to the writer, influence the writing process**

3. Peter Elbow's (1973) challenge to the emerging concept of the writing process as a linear two-step process
 * 1) **Elbow** believed that the **writing process was "a series of problem-solving steps one goes through** it order to discover what he or she knows and feels about a subject".
 * 2) Encouraged a flexible prewriting phase because he believed that it was counterproductive to envision a finished written product before you began writing.
 * 3) Writer is free to explore meaning. It is not determined before the paper is written.
 * 4) Like Graves he did not employ an experimental design.

Criticisms of Research


 * 1) The model is based on the process professional writers use. (Smagorinsky asserts that the term "professional writers" included only literary figures.
 * 2) Australian researchers challenged the assumption in American models that children automatically understood various genres.
 * 3) Educators argued that it is a major leap to assume children at various developmental stages writing for classroom audiences can properly employ the same writing process as adults.