Defends the use of verbal reports, or protocol analysis, as a valid means of understanding cognitive processes and writing processes. (SRT)

Noting that recent issues of several scholarly journals have contained criticism of protocol analysis and the use of verbal reports in the analysis of the writing process, this paper examines some of the charges made and then explores the implications of the criticisms. Specific charges addressed in the paper include the following: (1) protocols…

Replies to Steinberg's article on protocol analysis in this issue and argues that even if the writing process is a problem-solving process, it is too complex to analyze sufficiently using protocols. (SRT)

In "The Politics of Education" Paulo Freire considers writing evaluation to be the expression of educational ideologies. An examination of the scholarly writing in composition and rhetoric research shows a division between formative or process evaluation and summative or product evaluation, with advocates for each side. As readers,…