The three papers in this report set forth the research methodology and the theory used in one research project to identify the processes involved in writing. The first paper proposes a method, termed protocol analysis, for use in identifying the organization of writing processes. It defines protocol analysis as a means for examining the detailed…

An application of reader response criticism, with its abundance of ways of construing readers, permits writing teachers to identify sets of readers for students more effectively than simply exhorting them to remember their audience while writing. Composition teachers can employ the concept of "narratee" (the author's alter ego) as a…

One segment of a year-long descriptive field study of school writing is described in this paper. In particular, the paper examines some of the uses to which writing is put in the first weeks of school in one second/third grade classroom. In doing this, the paper speculates on the writing curriculum in elementary schools and on the realization of…

In an effort to identify some factors that interfere with effective writing in adult writers, a three-page questionnaire was administered to 165 adults, most with technical degrees, who worked in the Washington, D. C., area. Respondents were top to middle management personnel who spent a significant portion of their time on the job writing and who…

This paper lists and describes inventionist themes that writers and writing teachers can use during rhetorical invention. It defines invention as the process whereby writers discover ideas to write about, and the inventionist as one who focuses on this discovery process, whether that focus be pedagogical or theoretical. The items included and…

This paper explicates and compares theories of composition that use heuristic or problem solving procedures in order to determine what can logically be expected from the application of a particular heuristic during the composing process. The heuristic models examined include E. P. J. Corbett's selection from the classical topics; R. Young, A. L.…

In an examination of two alternative hypotheses about the role played by pauses in the planning of writing, this paper focuses on the long, "pregnant" pause. The first section of the paper examines the two alternative hypotheses about planning, one based on the theoretical perspective of linguistics and the other on the assumptions of…

Clinical report writing involves two interlinking processes--creation and communication. There are six stages of clinical inference that find parallels in generative writing stages: possessing a postulate system, constructing the major premise, observing for occurrences, instantiating (classifying) the occurrences, reaching a referential product,…

A study examined the written communication at the technical/professional and managerial levels in a "Fortune 500" corporation to determine whether managers/executives had different communications purposes and, therefore, used different rhetorical strategies and approaches than did professional/technical staff. Rhetorical analysis was conducted of…

Intended for the reluctant writer who finds writing difficult or is unable to put ideas on paper, this guide examines the characteristics of the reluctant writer and suggests strategies for teachers to use when dealing with these characteristics. It also reviews the writing process, categorizes the reluctant writer according to grade level, and…

The contributions made by Donald Graves to research on written composition are examined. Particular attention is given to his case studies of the writing processes of young children. The results of these studies and their implications for instruction are analyzed and discussed. (Author/FL)

Recent studies and theoretical constructs pertaining to textual revision (the process of editing and reformulating written discourse) are discussed. The relative effectiveness of various revision strategies is examined, with particular attention given to different strategies employed by skilled and unskilled writers. Implications for researchers…

Information derived from an informal study of the processes through which students go as they complete papers assigned for class shows that most freshman students spend little time preparing for their writing and use a simple drafting technique in composition. This paper offers a model of the student composing process which is generalized from the…

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)

Discusses the prewriting process in terms of forces that affect prewriting, prewriting as rehearsal, and eight signals that tell writers that a piece of writing is near. (DD)