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Bobby Mahoney

Professor Wolcott

ENC 1101

10/12/2012

Writing Self Study

Introduction

Writing, along with any other activity, takes repetition and practice to become more

skilled. There are not many people in this world who are born with extreme talent in various

fields of study. Although writing does take practice like other skills, it is slightly different from

the others; take sports for instance. With sports, one focuses on how to be good at that sport

and practices drills that specializes in their game. Everything is text-book and if it is followed

correctly it will bring them close to perfect in their sport. Writing, on the other hand, is unique

to each person and cannot be practiced the same way by everyone. Everyone has their

different styles and there isnt one style that is better than another. One thing that we can all

agree on, though, is that writing can be very tedious and takes practice to become a skilled

writer. This very topic is studied by many researchers today.

For years researchers have been interested in and studied different writers processes

and what makes them write that way. So far not one has come to a final conclusion on the

subject. Researchers such as Sondra Perl have set up experiments which have done a good job

on analyzing the matter and have received some interesting results. The problem with these

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experiments is that everyone is unique in their writing and the only person who can analyze

their writing fully is themselves. Perl claimed that, until her experiment, no examination of

composing processes has dealt primarily with unskilled writers. (Perl, 193.) Well I took her

process one step further and examined my own writing, giving my information more validity. A

researcher cant sit their subject down and look at them until they get all of the thoughts and

information out of their mind. Therefore it is up to the subject to develop a technique that will

collect data on their writing process, analyze that data, and relate it to show how it effects their

writing; which is what the rest of the article focuses on.

Methodology

Before I even came to my research question, a lot of preparation was involved in the

process. Before any writing took place I was given reading assignments written by Sondra Perl,

Carol Berkenkotter, and Donald Murray. These writers took different routes in their

experiments; Perl studying new writers and Berkenkotter studying Donald Murray, an

experienced writer. I focused more on Perls article, as I regard myself as a new writer rather

than an experienced writer. Her article was very informative and brought many interesting

points which I could relate to. One thing that they brought into their experiments was the

think-aloud process, which externalized their thinking process as much as possible (Perl, 194.)

After completing the journal assignments I wrote an essay about how I write where I

described how I felt about my writing process in as much detail as possible. Everything I do

during my writing process and all the habits I have while doing it were included in the paper.

While writing this essay I verbally translated everything that was going through my head during

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all times of my process. I attempted to repeat every little thought that raced through my mind,

out loud. To keep track of all my sounds I recorded the entire process on my laptop so I could

come back at a later time and review the video. After reviewing the video I then transcribed it.

Anything and everything that was heard from the video was thrown onto a piece of paper. This

includes anything that was going on around me, any odd saying that came from my mouth, and

any side-notes that came to my mind while writing.

Once the transcribing was completed I read over it a few times. We developed a coding

rubric in class which I therefore followed to find patterns in my writing. I noticed things such as

repetitive pretzel eating, my out-loud stuttering, and me constantly talking to myself. All my

data was collected so it was time to analyze my information and come to answers about my

writing process.

Findings

The study that I performed shows that there were many environmental factors that

pose as a threat while writing but they also assist me. I noticed that while I write there are

many surrounding activities going on at the same time. These activities include unreasonably

loud music, dimwitted TV shows, obnoxious food-eating, and any side conversations with

passersby. Not only do the activities have some impact on me, the time of day also plays a role

in this.

I saw from my coding that I repeated myself on almost every thought and sometimes

changed the entire thought. The repeated thought is most likely due to the catchy beat of the

music surrounding me that can just not be avoided. While the obvious idea would be to turn

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down the music down or even off, it cant be done. I get bored easily and if the music is too low

Ill focus too much on trying to hear what beat its at. I talk to myself out loud quite often and I

noticed that I reread my work at least every other sentence. Looking at my coding, after every

time I would reread and reread the next sentence would come to my head and I would

continue to write. Another problem I came across was losing a thought completely, sometimes

while rereading and then I would critique myself or question myself as you can see in Appendix

A. I believe this is the result of the TV show that is going on while Im composing thoughts in my

head. The TV distracts me but at the same time I stay entertained so I can keep writing my

essay without getting bored; it turns into a catch 22. One last thing that really stood out in my

transcription was the countless number of space fillers I had such as umm and , I personally

said, lets see way too many times. I think this could have been for a few reasons; one of

these reasons mightve been the fact that I felt like I needed to be talking out loud at all times

to get better information for my transcription. The other reason, which I believe to be true, was

to get myself back on track and keep the train of thought going. After every lets see I

immediately followed it with a new idea and it basically got me back in the zone every time I

got distracted.

Something that wasnt just a part of this writing, but in all of them, was the time frame I

wrote the paper. During just about every essay Ive ever had to write was done the very last

minute, usually being the night before. When I wrote the think aloud essay it was night time

and I found that the outside quietness puts me in a comfort zone that allows me to write more

smoothly. The fact that I know that no one around me is doing anything, allows me to focus on

my writing. While the night time gives me a sense of quietness, Im usually more tired and my

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ideas dont come as easy. Although, there is always the feeling of being rushed when writing

essays last minute, which I usually enjoy. I do realize that if I gave myself more time to write

then I would have a good chance of obtaining better ideas. There are many different external

factors that come to play when I finally decide to begin my writing process.

Conclusion

After analyzing all my information I came some conclusions about my writing process

and myself as a person. This experiment showed me how I write and it helped me figure out

skills to improve my writing. When dealing with my surroundings I think that if I changed some

of my usual actions I would be able to focus more on the actual writing than other things

around me. Ive come to conclude that playing my music too loud distracts my thought patterns

and trying to write with a TV on isnt ideal for me. I found that the best time for me to write is

still during the night but I need to give myself more time and even plan ahead, maybe start it

the night the assignment is given. Im given more time for a reason and I need to take

advantage of that.

After going over my data and looking at my results, I noticed a few things that I

shouldve or should not have done and things that I can change if I attempt to do this again in

the future. One thing that I should have done was to write my think aloud essay in different

environments or at different time periods; although writing in comfort and in my natural

environment gave me more valid information. This would have given me two different subjects

to compare and provide me with even more information about my own writing. If I ever

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attempt this study again, I will do one of two things: I will either write the same essay in chunks

and in different contexts, or I will write multiple, shorter, writings in different contexts.

This study gave me a good understanding of my own writing and helped me gain skills to

improve it. Berkenkotter and Perls studies were very well put together, but one cannot fully

learn about anothers writing process so easily. The think aloud idea gives the writer a whole

new perspective on their writing and lets them break it down a lot more easily. I believe that

my procedure gave me great information on my unique writing and I can now use these

newfound skills to improve my writing composition.

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Works Cited

Perl, Sondra. "The Composing Process of Unskilled College Writers." Writing About Writing: A College

Reader. N.p.: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 191-215. Print.

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Appendix A

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Appendix B

Coding:

Sn:Snacking Cr:Critiquing Fr:Frustrating Ed:Editing

RR:Reread Br:Break Q:Questioning WL:Write Aloud

Ra:Rambling D:Distraction M:Motivation U:Space Fillers

R:Revising En:Encouraging

Sn..Ra..Q..U..U..Cr..Cr..WL..Q..RR..Q..RR..D..C..WL..RR..RR..RR..Q..WL..RR..RR..RR..RR..RR..Cr..Cr..U..Q..Q.

.WL..U..Cr..RR..Cr..Fr..OT..D..R..WL..Cr..R..WL..R..BR..M..U..Q..U..WL..Q..W..RR..U..Q..WL..U..U..Ra..U..U..

WL..RR..En..BR..U..R..En..Q..U..Q..U..WL..RR..R..WL..Ed..WL..RR..RR..Ra..Cr..Br..En..Cr..WL..M..D..WL..U..

U..U..RR..WL..Ed..U..WL..Cr..WL..RR..RR..RR..U..RR..Cr..U..En..Cr..Cr..WL..Cr..RR..Cr..WL..U..WL..En