Historical+Overview+of+the+Writing+Process

The writing process can be traced in some form back to the Greek and Roman times. It wasn't until 1947, however, that the "writing process" was mentioned in literature. Day presented a seven step writing process in an article published that year. A few years later, Mills (1953) said that the problem with teaching writing is that we fail to view writing as a process. In the 1970s, a group of San Francisco teachers began to share their writing using a method they called the "process approach". They began to compare how writing is taught with the way they actually wrote, and thus concluded that writing was indeed a process. During this time writing proponents began to emphasize that the writing process was just as important as the writing product." The process model emphasized a balance in instruction between writing processes and products" (p.277), and it has become the "gold-standard" in writing instruction today.

Originally, this "process" was based on Rohman's three stage model of "Prewrite, write, and rewrite". In 1976 however, Brozick suggested that writing was a much more dynamic process then a simple 3 step process. He argued that there were many variables to consider when one writes. In 1983, Larsen's research again changed the opinion of the writing process model from a linear perspective to a recursive model, which gained support from the works of Flower and Hayes (1980, 1981) and Bereiter and Scardamalia (1987).Larsen also argued that the writing process was contigent upon the audience, purpose, type of writing and personality of writer. This paradigm shift met with some resistance from textbook publishers who attempt to present the writing process as a linear formula that fits well within a textbook format. Instead, writers and educators view this process as a series of problem solving tasks that can occur in a varied order. In 1992, the NCTE released the following statement: "students are expected to use writing process elements strategically" (p.278). Their assertion highlights the unique nature of the writing process that can be different for every individual as well as for each writing project. Today, researchers agree that the steps of the writing process must be explicitly taught. As students apply this knowledge to different genres and authentic writing assignments, they will learn how best to employ the steps in a wide variety of tasks to produce effective writing (p.276).

The result of the changes in the writing process is changing of the way writing has been taught. Research shows that writing is a complex process like reading. It can't just be taught in one day or one session, but must instead be taught over time, just as reading does. Teachers now acknowledge that the writing process is a mental recursive exercise that includes self-regulation, awareness of intended audience, prior knowledge, and much more.