Empirical research on composing processes is virtually absent in our field. What "do" contemporary writers actually do when they compose? I argue that we need a return to research on composing processes, as writers are every day weaving together the social and cognitive through writing. One writer's composing process think-aloud suggests…

Around 1986, inventional researchers began to presuppose an externalist philosophy of mind, thereby ushering in the postprocess era. Ecological composition and posthumanism, now understood as postprocess inventional models, present direct pedagogical applications, allowing different objects (e.g., databases, search engines) to qualify as writing…

Examines the "cognitive process theory of writing" expounded by writing researchers Linda Flower and John R. Hayes, discussing problems with their theory and with the methodology on which it is based. (HTH)

Explores the alternating mental perspectives that writers assume during the composing process, from inner experience to outer judgment and back to experience. (HTH)

Writing is not the result of thinking but rather a way of thinking, and it is distinct from editing, which involves making one's writing conform to agreed upon rules. (DD)

Flower defends her book "Problem-Solving Strategies for Writing," stating that contrary to Petrosky's interpretation, it does not take an out-moded, logical positivist view of communication theory that treats thought as an object to be transferred while ignoring the constructivist nature of both reading and writing. (HTH)

Argues that, like making stew, there is more than one sequential writing process, and that while one cannot discern the process by examining the product, the product (or purpose) cannot help but shape the processes. (HTH)

Presents and discusses research on the intellectual processes that writers engage in to attain what is commonly called "audience awareness." (RL)

A study of the composing processes of 17 college freshman writers revealed the importance of reflection during composition--pausing and rescanning what has been written before continuing to write. (DD)

Argues that an integrated vision of the composition process is needed to explain how context cues cognition, which in turn mediates and interprets the particular world that context provides. Explores some ways that observational research might be used to create a well-supported, theoretical understanding of the composition process. (RS)

Linda Flower and John Hayes respond to Marilyn Cooper and Michael Holzman's "Talking About Protocols," pointing out errors in their understanding of protocol analysis and a study in which the data appear to contradict what Cooper and Holzman assume the researchers should see. Includes reply by Cooper and Holzman. (HTH)

Introduces a theory of the cognitive processes involved in composing in an effort to lay groundwork for more detailed study of thinking processes in writing. (RL)

Suggests that a written text and its revisions are documents of decision processes controlled by the writer's outlook on information priorities. (DD)

Describes a case study of the composing strategies used by a professional writer, Donald Murray, concentrating on his planning and revision processes. (FL)

The negative relationship between the structural rules usually taught in composition classes and writer's block is explored. Suggestions for helping a student with this writing problem are given. (HTH)