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TRANSCRIPT
Running head: HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPSE? 1
How Does the Proficient Writer Compose?
Alexis Clark
Oakland University
2HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
Abstract
This essay presents the ideas and research of Sondra Perl, professor and researcher, who
created the think aloud protocol, as a tool she developed to help understand the composition
process of unskilled writers. Another researcher, Carol Berkenkotter, borrowed this idea and
made it her own when she tested it on professional writer Donald Murray. I too, borrowed the
talk aloud protocol and tested it on myself, a proficient college writer, while writing to a prompt
provided to me by my writing teacher. This essay talks about Perl, Berkenkotter, and my own
process and research along with the conclusions made by each individual on their target
audiences.
3HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
How Does the Average Student Write?
Introduction
“One must be an inventor to read well. There is then creative reading as well as creative
writing.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson. Sondra Perl, professor, researcher and author was able to
invent a whole new way of finding out how students write. By having unskilled students record
themselves aloud with the “think aloud protocol”, Perl was able to create a coding system in
which, when applied to the unskilled students, was able to show how exactly they went about
composing their writing samples. Carol Berkenkotter was able to use the same coding methods
on professional writer Donald Murray. However, no one has done this experiment on an average
student. Because of Perl and Berkenkotter, it is now apparent as to how unskilled and
professional writers compose, but what about the average, ordinary college student; a proficient,
but not yet professional writer? This paper examines how the average student composes, what
processes they use, and how they go about physically writing out a paper.
Literature Review
In Sondra Perl’s 1979 book: “The Composing Process of Unskilled College Writers”, it
was Perl’s mission to find out how non-proficient writers compose in order to learn from their
methods and find ways to improve their writing. Her goal was to find out how unskilled writers
write, can their writing processes be analyzed systematically and what would come about if these
writers had an increased understanding of their own writing. (192-193).
Perl took five unskilled college writers and had them attend five, ninety minute sessions,
two being extensive (objective) writing prompts, two relaxed (personal) prompts and then one
open ended interview question. In each session, the students would complete the think aloud
protocol, where the participants would say everything they thought and type in the hopes of
4HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
devising a system which can be reproduced and improved upon. Perl created sixteen different
codes with sub-codes to describe each writer’s methods of composition. Then when these codes
were fixed to a continuum, Perl could then see for how long each student was doing a certain
task.
Likewise, Berkenkotter used the same coding and continuum method, but used it instead
on professional writer Donald Murray. In her 1989 study: “Decisions and Revisions: The
Planning Strategies of a Publishing Writer”, Berkenkotter’s goal was to see how a published
writer revised. Berkenkotter altered Perl’s methods slightly by having Murray only complete
three stages, and having the three stages be more geared towards a skilled writer.
The first stage Murray had to complete was a very relaxed, at home, whenever he felt
like writing- situation. Murray’s writing methods consisted of him carrying around a notebook
where he would jot down ideas whenever they came to him. He would then give said notebook to
his wife to type and he would revise the ideas from there to create his works. What Berkenkotter
asked him to do for the first stage was to simply record himself doing this so it would be on tape.
What was unusual about the first stage compared to others, who have used Perl’s method, is that
Murray was not limited to a certain time restriction in the first stage. The second stage was more
traditionally along the lines of Perl’s research however. Berkenkotter had Murray come to the
university where she was a professor and gave him one hour to write according to a prompt he
was given at that time. For the third and final stage, Berkenkotter went to Murray’s home and
observed him as he revised and continued with the think aloud protocol.
Berkenkotter concluded that Murray was able to write more and faster in a natural
environment. When Murray was subject to a time limit and when he was out of his element, his
writing suffered accordingly.
5HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
Between these two professors, unskilled and published writers have been researched and
their findings have been analyzed. However, most college students are not unskilled, making
them proficient, yet not yet published. The writing strategies of these proficient or average
students have never been studied. This is why I believe the composition styles of average writers
should be analyzed to see how they differ from the unskilled, and the professional.
Methods
Like Perl and Berkenkotter, I used the think aloud protocol as I wrote on a prompt
provided (Appendix A). I initially tackled Perl’s article “The Composing Process of Unskilled
College Writers”. Once I read it though and took basic notes, I started with the prompt that was
provided for me. The first task was to summarize the article in my own words, which was all
done with the think aloud protocol. Second part was to choose from three separate questions all
pertaining to Perl’s work, as before I used the think aloud protocol recording myself on the
“voice memos” app on my iPhone.
I went about the second part, Berkenkotter’s “Decisions and Revisions: The Planning
Strategies of a Publishing Writer” in the same manner as Perl’s. The first step was to summarize
in my own words and the second was to choose from three choices; all also recorded on my
iPhone.
I did these recordings in two separate sittings, the first (Perl) in the evening and the
second (Berkenkotter) the following morning after my first class. When I was transcribing each,
I actually found it more difficult to hear the second set, because I was quieter on the recording
due to the fact I was tired. Out of a total time of about fifty minutes, Berkenkotter’s summary
and question took about two minutes longer (twenty six minutes compared to twenty four) even
though I found the time passed faster. I chose to only use a voice recording simply because it
6HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
was the easiest and most readily available in my dorm. I simple sat at my desk, put my phone
near my laptop, and went to work. It would have been much more difficult to try to film myself
and all I needed was the audio, which is why I only went with audio.
Results
Through my coding and color coding processes (see appendixes C and D) I have a better
grasp on the way I go about composition. For example, I learned that to be able to write on a
subject, I like to know as much about the issue as I can. Before I started answering any of the
prompts I went through a phase of general planning which included further research into the
author and/or topic. It was not until after I had that new information that I felt comfortable with
moving on to the rest of the essay, often going back to the research I had just found or notes I
had taken earlier before the recording began. When I started physically typing, I would always
start with typing the first thing that came to mind, thinking while writing, instead of talking
leading to writing. I found this strange because I never realized that is how I compose. I had
imagined I thought first, and then typed, but I type and think at the same time apparently.
Throughout the entire essay, I was constantly going back, rereading past passages or
sentences, editing, talking and writing a little bit more. Then I would stop again, look over my
work, edit as needed and keep talking and writing all while inserting comments along the way.
Even during my writing burst moments, I would stop, think or comment, and then continued with
my writing burst. It almost seemed like I was giving my hands a chance to catch up with my
mind in my opinion.
My coding also shows that I did not get very distracted the entire time I was recording.
This can be surprising because it is difficult for most people my age to stay still for longer than a
7HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
few minutes and solely focus on one thing. I found that when I know more about a topic, it was
easier to write about; therefore it was easier to not become distracted.
The last thing I realized about my writing style is that I have a custom system. I start with
general planning and researching, then move into talking and writing, stopping often to edit,
comment or re-read, then in the end I have writing burst while I crank out the last few words of
what I’m trying to say. Through this process, I learned how to recognize my own writing traits,
styles and my thought process while composing.
Discussion
As a college student, who is considered a skilled writer, my data fills the gap that Perl
and Berkenkotter’s studies have left ajar. Now, with the collection of all three sets of data, the
unskilled, proficient and professional writers are all represented when it comes to the think aloud
protocol. With this new data, researches and teachers alike, have a chance to learn how the
current freshmen class works and composes, therefore, new techniques can be made to adjust for
the new generation of writers that are currently proficient and have the ability to become
professional in the future.
However, there are limitations to my research. I am only a freshmen, four weeks into my
second semester. There are those who are more skilled than I am, those who are not as skilled,
and my research is bound to have flaws. Further studies need to be done in order to truly
understand the composition process in proficient writers today. More students need to be studied,
besides myself, to create an average for students my age, so we can all be fairly represented in
this kind of research.
8HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
References
Berkenkotter, C. (1989). Decisions and revisions: the planning strategies of a publishing writer.
In E. Wardle & D. Downs (Eds.), Writing About Writing. (pp.218-234). Boston:
Bedford/St. Martin.
Perl, S. (1979). The composing processes of unskilled college writers. In E. Wardle & D.
Downs (Eds.), Writing About Writing. (pp. 191-217). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin.
9HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
Appendix A
Perl
Author Sondra Perl wanted to dig farther into the mystery that is how students write. Not
just any students, but the ones that are considered unskilled. The goal for her research was to find
out how unskilled writers write and to create a more objective system to describe how exactly
those students work. She asked five students from Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College
of City University of New York in the ‘75-76 school year who through writing sample were
considered to be not proficient along with their willingness to participate in the study. Through
five 90 minute sessions (including four essays and an open ended interview question) Perl was
about to create a coding system to show when and how exactly student wrote and combine it
with a continuum to prove exactly how much time they spent doing a particular part of their
writing process.
2B.
In paragraph two of her article, The Composing Process of Unskilled College Writers,
Perl uses the terms “systematic” and “replicable” to describe the process of pre-writing and
writing as applied to an ideal writer. By these two terms, I believe she is talking about finding a
uniform system that can be replicated by teachers with students who have been deemed unskilled
so said students can learn and fix their current writing styles to become more proficient.
Berkenkotter
10HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
Carol Berkenkotter, professor at the University of Minnesota conducted an experiment on
professional writer Donald Murray (based off the research developed by Perl) to determine how
a proficient writer works and composes. Berkenkotter’s study “Decisions and Revisions: The
Planning Strategies of a Publishing Writer” was conducted in 1983 in order to discover how
writers revise. Using versions of Perl’s methods, Murray was asked to complete three stages. The
first would be whenever he felt the need to write, very much like normal. Second, Murray went
to Berkenkotter’s university and had a one hour time limit to write about a prompt that was given
and the third step was at home revision over the course of a few days. Murray found a natural
setting more appealing when writing. In other words, when he was at his home in his own
environment, he was able to write more versus when he was out of his element at Berkenkotter’s
university, where he felt like he was in a laboratory setting. Another thing that was found was
when Murray had prior knowledge of the subject he was writing about, he wrote faster and with
ease, versus a new concept.
2A
Murray spoke a lot about writing bits and pieces down in a notebook whenever he felt the
need to, then he would have his wife type his notes and he would from there revise and edit what
he had written. I think this is strange, I never really thought about how published writers go
about their writing, but I never really thought it would be like this. Murray’s method makes a lot
of sense because he writes what he thinks, whenever he thinks it; he doesn’t try to remember.
Whenever I write for fun, I just sit at my computer for hours on end. However, when I have to
write for school, I try my best to get everything done in one sitting because it’s usually not
enjoyable and I like getting it done and out of the way. Which is kind of how Murray treated the
second stage, when he was out of his element and told to write an article that would appear in a
11HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
children’s magazine and the topic was something like “tell the children about death” and he
didn’t know what to say so he didn’t really say a lot. Like Murray, I spend most of my time
planning on what I’m going to write (his stats were 45%, 56%, and 35%). Then once I know
what I’m writing about, everything usually flows out and it gets done rather quickly, like
Murray. However unlike him, I don’t spend much time revising because as I write I go back and
edit along the way, cutting the time needed in the end for revisions.
Appendix B
Transcript
Peril essay
Ok... so... The tv is off, my roommate is just kinda in her bed doing research and awkwardly
looking at me, this is gonna be fun. Um... No music is playing, only moodle and the article are
open on my computer.... Um... Going to start the Saundra Perl article... Um... So... Saun- how
does she spell Saundra, let's go back to the article.... Sondra Perl... What is she? Let's research
her. Let's find out exactly who she is. Google. Sondra Perl. Um... Let's see, author, we'll go with
author. Author Sondra Perl wanted to dig farther into the mystery that is how students write. Not
just any students, but the ones that are considered unskilled. Um... Going back to my notes
which I have taken earlier ...um... (Reading) (mumbling and rereading) ugh... (Rereading) author
Saundra perl wanted to dig farther into the mystery that is how students write. Not just any
students but the ones that are considered unskilled. Her goal no scratch that the goal for her
12HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
research was to find out how unskilled writes write and... (Pause) and... To create a more
objective system to describe how exactly those stories work. Autocorrect writers. (Pause) people
are yelling outside that interesting. Um... Ugh... She asked five students from this is a really long
university where is it (click back) uh... " Eugene Maria de Hostos Community College of City
University of New York" holy crap that really long... Ugh.. She has five students from,.. who
through um test uh sample... Um Who through writing samples were considered what's the
wording they used to make it sound nice? Um... Ok they just used writing samples of unskilled
writers who are considered um... University of New York who thought writing samples were
considered- who through writing samples were considered to be not proficient along with their
willingness to- participate in the study. Um... Author Sondra wanted to dig farther into the
mystery that is how students write. Not just any students, but the ones that are considered
unskilled. The goal for her research was to find out how unskilled writers write and to create a
more objective system to describe how exactly those students work. She asked five students from
the blah blah blah blah blah in the '75-76 ugh not what I wanted... There we go '75-76 school
year who through writing samples were considered to not be proficient and their willingness to
participate" um... Participate along with instead of and their, " along with their willingness to
participate in the study" um it's only supposed to be a hundred words and I'm at 94 ok... Um...
Through a series of writing uh scratch that uh through a series of 90 minute sessions um
parenthesis including four essays and an open ended interview question. Let's go back and read
13HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
um... Through five 90 minute sessions Perl would be able to create a coding and um... Next page
of notes, what's the word.. And number system to show when students perl would be able to
create coding and number to show students... Scratch that... Um.... Perl was able to create a
coding and number system to show when and for how long students planned, wrote, spoke, -
system to show when and for how long students planned wrote spoke and... And.... Perl was able
to create a coding system to show when and how exactly students wrote, if I could spell wrote
correctly, how exactly students wrote..... Um..... Mumbles... And combine it with a, what's the
word, continuum to prove exactly how much time they spent doing. To prove how much time they
spent doing a particular part of their writing process and that is it.
Perl 2B
Ok um just answered the summary for um the Sonora Perl article and now I have to go to
questions! For the Saundra Perl article, I am going to choose 2....B one of perks questions is
weather writing processes can be made quote systematic and replicable unquote paragraph two.
What do you think she means by these two terms. Well... I'm going to go to google, just to look
them up just in case, so systematic... Um... What was the suffix on that? Systematic... Atic...
Okay um Webster dictionary, systematic is relating or consisting a system, yup, that's what I
thought, so now we're going to look up the other word, what is replicable, I can't say but I'm
pretty sure I know what it means, but we're gonna look it up to make sure.... Loading loading
loading the internet in the dorm sucks.... Capable of replication... Ok so I was right, awesome...
14HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
Um... Let's just start this with two B, uh... Go back to the prompt, what is that? Ok don't know
what that is, that's cool too... Some add... One of Perls questions is whether the writing process
can be analyzed in a systematic replicable manor, what do you think she means by those two
terms? In paragraph two, can I spell paragraph right? Of... How do I describe what this is... Her
article?? Um... What's the title... The composing processes of unskilled college writers, um this is
going to take a long time to get right... Um the composing processes... In paragraph two of her
article, Saundra- well I've said her name before, so Perl, in her article what's the title ah what's
the title the composing process of unskilled college writers... Makes sure I got that right, yup,
and then I'm going to italicize because it's a title... Perl... Going back to the prompt... Uh... What
do you think she means by these two terms... Perl uses not using uses the terms, I already forgot
the terms, uh... Going back to the prompt the term again.... I'm going to copy and paste these,
because they're just words... Then we're going to turn them into actual font which is going to be
nice. Getting rid of- why is- are are you gonna work? Ok so that not gonna work, but that's ok,
systematic, I don't want that so we're going to get rid of that, systematic quote and recccc
replicable to describe the, back to the article, um... Go to her actual article, that weird um... I'm
just looking at the screen not really reading, um... Not I'm actually trying to read.... Um...
Mumbles... Ok we're just going to go with it. To describe how, describe, to describe the process,
uses the terms systematic and replicable to describe the process... Sigh... In paragraph two of her
article Perl uses the terms systematic and replicable to describe the process of writing. To
15HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
describe the process of writing.... Pre writing and writing as applied to a good, as a, not a good...
Describes the process of pre writing and writing as applied to the ideal the ideal writer, we'll go
with that. In paragraph two of her article the composing process of unskilled college writers Perl
uses the the terms systematic and replicable to describe the process of pre writing and writing as
applied to an ideal writer... An ideal writer, back to the prompt. What do you think she means by
these two terms? By these two terms I believe she is talking about a system cause I can spell
system s y s t e m that a student, specifically an unskilled student, uh... Pause... Ok just went
back over it and now I'm going to go back over what I wrote By these two terms I believe she is
taking about a system that a student... That's not what she means, so I believe she is talking
about a system.... Go back to there... Um... Perls question whether the writing processes can be
analyzed in a systematic and replicable manor, she is talking about. Finding a uniform system
that can... By these two terms I believe she is talking about a uniform system that can be...
Um .... That can be used by teachers with students who have been deemed unskilled..... Who
have been deemed unskilled.... Um.... Mumbles.... So said teachers... I don't like that.... So said
students can learn and fix their current writing styles to become more proficient. Ok.
Mumbles... By these two terms I believe she is talking about... Comma... I believe she is talking
about finding a uniform system... Deemed unskilled... So said students can learn and fix their
current writing styles to become more proficient... More proficient... We're going to call that
good for this one.
16HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
Berkenkotter
Ok sitting down to write the summary of Berkenkotter um it says here this is her paper
"decisions and revisions the planning strategies of a publishing writer" but I don't know exactly
who she is so I am going to try to look her up... So... Berken-kotter, two Ts... And internet issues,
let's try to connect again.... Pause I will have to search again... Berkenkotter.... Uh... Professor...
Alright so she's a professor... So... Ah double space there we go...um... How does she spell
carol... It is carol like normal... Carol Berk- that's with a k not a c, Berkenkotter.... What
university? University of Minnesota ok... At the University of Minnesota, autocorrect university
and Minnesota ... Cause I just can't spell because it's very early.... Carol Berkenkotter, professor
at the university of Minnesota.... Conducted an experiment on... Who was it published... A
professional writer Donald Murray, make sure it's Donald Murray, let's check... Yup Donald
Murray. Professional writer Donald Murray, based off the research developed by Perl, to
determine how a professional writer works and composes. Her- I'm going to say Berkenkotter,
study entitled, get the title from moodle... Decisions and revisions.... Go back, nope not that, uh...
The planning strategies of a publishing writer was conducted, let's see, go back to google in
1983, mumbles writer.... In 1983, to.... In order to discover how writers revise. Ahhh....
Berkenkotter’s study “Decisions and Revisions: The Planning Strategies of a Publishing Writer”
was conducted in 1983 in order to discover writers strategies and format to properly study a
college writer..... I'm going to go back to the notes I took earlier... Ok so, let's revise what I
17HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
have... Carol Berkenkotter, professor at the University of Minnesota conducted an experiment on
professional writer Donald Murray (based off the research developed by Perl) to determine how
a proficient writer works and composes. Berkenkotter’s study “Decisions and Revisions: The
Planning Strategies of a Publishing Writer” was conducted in 1983 in order to discover... How
writers revise... How writers revise... In order to discover how writers revise. Back to notes. In
order to... Murray was asked... Um... Let's try this, scratch Murray... Using Perls, using versions
of Perls methods, using versions of Perls methods Murray was asked to complete three stages.
The first would be whenever he felt the need to write, very much like normal. Second, Murray
was... Second Murray went to Berkenkotter’s university and had a one hour time limit to write
about a prompt, did in spell prompt right?... that was given and the third step was at home... And
the third step was at home revision over the course of a few days. Um... Murray found a natural
setting more appealing when writing. In other words, when he was at his home in his own
environment, he was able to write more versus when he was out of his element at Berkenkotter’s
university, where he felt, what was the exact quote, go back to the article... Let's see if I can
find... Not really sure where it was but I can try... I’m not finding it, it'll just scratch the quote...
like he was in a laboratory setting. Another thing that was found was when Murray knew- had
prior knowledge of the subject he was writing about, he wrote um faster and with ease, versus a
new concept. Um... In all three studies... Never mind I don't want to talk about that... I'm gonna
call that good.
18HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
2A
Now let's go back to google, I need the article any more. Um... I'm going to answer 2B I mean
2A... Two A... And this says describe, we'll not describe, what was your impression of Murray's
writing process that are described here, how do they compare to yours what do you do the same
of differently? Um we'll he talked a lot about just keeping stuff in a notebook then having his
wife write it up. Ok.. So I'm going to put that in there. Murray spoke a lot about writing bits and
piece down in a notebook, because I can spell notebook, whenever he felt not the urge, that
sounds weird... Whenever he felt the need to, then he would have his wife type his notes and he
would from there revise and edit what he had written. What he had wrote? No what he had
written. I think this is strange and I never really thought about how published writers go about
writing but I never thought it would be like this. Whenever I write for fun I just sit at my
computer for hours on end or write by hand... Well no because I write whole books... Sit at my
computer for hours on end. Murray method makes a lot of sense ..... Because he probably
doesn't have the option for five to six hours at a time um.... I don't know what I'm think of...
Um... Let's read it all again.... Whenever I would write for fun... I'm going to change this, keep
the ending of I never thought it would be like this. Makes a lot of sense, no I don't like that...
Makes a lot of sense because he writes what he thinks whenever he thinks it. He doesn't try to
remember. Back to prompt, how do they compare to yours how do they differ. When I write for
fun I just sit at my computer for hours on end, however when I have to write for school I try my
19HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
best to get everything done in one sitting because it's usually not enjoyable and I like getting it
done and out of the way which is kind of how Murray, in the lab experiment, he compared it to
being a lab, um the second, it was kind of how Murray treated the second stage when he was out
of his element and told to write an article that would appear in a children’s magazine and the
topic was something like “tell the children about death” and he didn’t know what to say so he
didn’t really say a lot. Um... Like Murray I spend most of my time planning on what I'm going to
write his states very 45, 56 percent and 35 percent then once I know what I am writing about
everything usually rolls out and it gets rather quickly..... However unlike him, I don't spend much
time revising because as I write I go back and edit along the way. However unlike him I don't
spend much time revising because as I write I go back and edit along the way cutting the time
needed in the end for revisions. Speaking of that um because I have just gone back over
everything I am going to call that the end. That was fun, I'm sure it will be doing it again.
20HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
Appendix C
GP-C-WBS-C-GP-C-R-C-R-TW-C-R/C-C-Re-TW-E-TW-WBS-TW-TW-C/Gram-WBS-C-
WBS-TW-C-R-WBS-TW-C-WBS-TW-GP-WBS-TW-C-WBS-R-RS-Gram-TW-WBS-Re-C-
TW-E/C-E-TW-Re-WBS-Gram-Re-C-RS-E-TW-GP/E-TW-C-Re-TW-WBS-GP/R-C-TW-E-
WBS-TW-TW/E-RS-TW/E-C/E-TW-WBS-TW-C-TW-GP-TW-C-R-R/C-C-R-R/C-WBS-GP-
WBS-GP-C-RP-TW-C-TW-C-TW-C-WBS-TW-WBS-Re-E/C-TW-C-Gram/C-TW-RP-WBS-
RP-GP/C-C-RP-R-C-WBS-GP-WBS-C-TW-TW-WBS-Re-RS-TW-E-RS-TW-E/C-Re-RP-
C/Gram-TW-WBS-GP-Re-E/C-C-WBS-RP-Re-TW-WBS-RS-WBS-TW-WBS-RS-WBS-TW-
C-TW/E-TW-C-WBS-Re-Gram-Re-RS-Re-GP-R/GP-C-C/R/GP-C-R-Gram/C-C-WBS-E-WBS-
C-TW-Gram-TW-C-R-WBS-TW-Gram-C-RS-TW-E/C-TW-C-R-C-TW-C-R-WBS-RS-TW-
WBS-TW-R/C-C-Re-TW-TW-R-RS-WBS-TW-WBS-C-E-TW-RS-TW-TW/WB-C-TW/WB-
C-TW/WB-C-R-C-C/E-TW-WBS-TW-WBS-C-GP-WBS-C-GP-WBS-TW-C/GP-TW-
Gram/C-TW-C-RS-E-TW-E/C-TW-C-RS-TW-WBS-TW-WBS-C-WBS-C-Re-C-E-Re-C-Re/
TW-TW-C-RP-Re-TW/WB-WBS-TW/WB-E-TW/WB-WBS-TW/WB-TW-Re-TW-C
What the Codes Mean
1. [Gp] General Planning- organizing one’s thoughts for writing, discussing how one will
proceed
2. [TW] Talking leading to writing- voicing ideas on the subject, tentatively finding one’s
way, but not being committed to those words exactly
21HOW DOES THE PROFICIENT WRITER COMPOSE?
3. [TW] Talking and Writing at the Same Time- composing aloud, so that what is being said
is what is being written exactly
4. [re] Repeating- repeating written or unwritten phrases a number of times
5. [gram] Grammar Editing- indicating concern for a grammatical rule/ going back to
correct spelling
6. [RS] Reading Past Sentence- going back and reading a past sentence in order to continue
writing
7. [RP] Reading Prompt- revisiting the prompt in order to correctly continues with writing
8. [WB] Writing Burst- Solely speaking and writing in a rapid action, no real planning
happening
9. [Wb] Writer’s Block- silence when no reading or writing happens; struggling to figure
out what is going to happen next
10. [C] Comment- sighing, making a comment or judgment about the topic
11. [S] Silence- when nothing is happening or distraction is an issue (may be combined with
Writer’s Block)