Introduction
In my study of the writing process, I chose to examine one student’s approach to writing a research paper for her religion class. My subject, to whom, for purposes of anonymity, I will refer by the pseudonym Jill, is a 20-year-old, native English speaker student in her junior year at the Leavey School of Business of Santa Clara University. I conducted the research on the enclosed balcony of the third level of Santa Clara University’s library—a place that was suitably quiet in addition to being familiar and comfortable to the subject. The empirical method I used was a post-writing interview about the subject’s writing process; the questions focused on her approach to this specific research paper as well as on her writing methodology in general. It was comprised of fifteen questions and lasted roughly between 10 and 15 minutes. Because the research paper is an extensive process that involves several stages, I found it most useful to rely on post-writing reflection, which would more easily and more lucidly cover all aspects of the process than would other methods, such as observation notes or composing aloud. This method was the most suitable because it enabled me as the researcher to address specific aspects of the writing process that I wanted to analyze, and it gave my subject structured and focused questions to help her engage in a reflective response.
Presentation of Findings
In describing her writing process, Jill places a heavy emphasis on the beginning of the process; she does not start the process of writing until she has organized all of her notes and research, and she also says before she sits down to write, “I have some form of outline, so I have direction to where I’m writing.” She furthermore identifies the introduction as the most difficult and time consuming part of the process for her, stating, “for some reason I can’t start writing my paper until I have the direction from the introduction, which sounds really strange, but yeah I have to start with the introduction.” She reveals that she will sit and write an entire first draft, even if it is “crappy”: “I’d rather have something written down, so then, when I come back to it the next day, I have something to work with. Which probably isn’t smart because you have to rewrite it anyways.” She further expresses a degree of doubt about the success of her emphasis on the introduction, as she acknowledges, “I’ve heard that sometimes it’s better to just start writing your first, I guess, content paragraph, but for some reason I can’t start writing my paper until I have the direction from the introduction.”
Although these comments leave the impression that Jill is slightly unconfident in the success of her writing strategies of emphasizing the beginning of the process, she comes across more confident on her subsequent focus on the revision process:
“I revise, with the audience in mind, because usually when I write, it’s more of my own voice coming through, so when I go back and spend a lot of time revising it, I kind of have to tweak certain things to make sure that it’s in the format and is appealing to the audience that it’s intended for.”
Thus Jill’s writing process emphasizes activities such as outlining and well-developed introductions, but where her real focus lies is in the revision, in the altering of her voice to fit a more academic audience.
Jill’s consciousness of audience and voice throughout her composing process connects to some of the ideas in recent outside scholarship concerning such issues in student writing. The pressure that Jill feels to conform to a specific voice for a research paper can be better understood within the context of Harris’s analysis of Flower and Emig’s sense of the composing process—they believe that this process should be taught by “positing an ideal text and working backward from that” (Harris 90). Jill has clearly caught on to this idea that there is an “ideal text” her teachers would like to see from her and that her voice is expected to change between different academic discourses—namely, between “business English” and “research paper English.” In defining what “business writing” is, Jill says:
“Yeah I think it’s definitely more concise and to the point… um… because especially with research and paper writing, you have all of these nice transitions and kinds of like fluffy words, whereas in business writing, the content isn’t as interesting either, or stimulating, so it’s easier to kind of just get to the point really quickly, and be done with it, whereas a paper, an English kind of paper, you’re trying to tell a story, you have your kind of normal intro, body, and conclusion.”
Jill has been taught to strive towards Flower and Emig’s “ideal text” as presented by her teachers, and, in order to do this, she has found that her voice must change from assignment to assignment. This is why the revising process is of such great importance to her; as she says above, she writes her first draft with her own conversational voice, and then feels the need to go back through it and “tweak” it to her audience’s—her professors—expectations. Without these revisings, she sees her paper as inadequate.
Another aspect of Jill’s writing process that can be usefully examined here is her habits in terms of private time versus social time throughout various stages of the process. This study reflects Prior and Shipka’s research on chronotopic lamination, in which, through their method of having subjects illustrate their personal processes by drawing, these researchers came to the conclusion that writing is a “complex and dispersed activity that is, across time and space, both intensely private and intensely social and collaborative” (Prior and Shipka). Like the subjects in their studies, Jill begins the process on her own, writing solitarily in her room or the library, and later—during the revision stage—seeks out advice from a friend. The layers of differing levels of sociality at separate stages of the process provide the researcher with a better appreciation for the complexity behind this seemingly individual process.
Critical Reflection
This study gave me insight into one student’s perception of her own work, but it did not give me the chance to actually observe her at work first hand. For a future study, I would consider using multiple methods on one subject, as Carol Berkenkotter did when studying Donald Murray. While for this study the process of composing aloud was not the most practical in terms of time constraints and lucidity, it would be useful in the future to see Jill compose aloud for both a research paper and a business paper. This may also enhance her reflections on the differences between these two types of writing. Additionally, my interview questions covered a broad series of topics, so I would want to create a narrower, more specific set of questions to hone in on one particular topic—for instance, the role of audience and voice in the writing process.
Although the results can easily be linked to and used as support in previous scholarship, this study used only one subject, and, consequently, the results cannot be generalized to a great extent. My subject is a middle-class, well educated 20-year-old business student, and this sets her apart from other writers in terms of previous and current writing experience. Perhaps with a larger subject sample the study results would yield results that are more relevant—it would allow for greater variety in backgrounds and different majors, and thus could potentially offer trends that would be more applicable to all writers.
My research participant did want her privacy ensured, which I was able to do by creating a pseudonym. She also did not wish to be videotaped or photographed. Other than this, she was very open to sharing any information with me. I believe there was little conflict due to the fact that we are both students and she trusted that she would not be judged for being honest about certain parts of her process, such as writing a “crappy” first draft.
Works Cited
Berkenkotter, Carol and Donald M. Murray. “Decisions and Revisions: The Planning
Strategies of a Publishing Writer, and Response of a Laboratory Rat: Or, Being
Protocoled.” College Composition and Communication 34.2 (1983): 156-172. Print.
Harris, Joseph. A Teaching Subject: Composition Since 1966. Utah: Utah State
University Press, 2012. Print.
Jill. Personal Interview. February 22, 2015.
Prior, Paul and Jody Shipka. “Chronotopic Lamination: Tracing the Contours of Literate
Activity.” Center for Writing Studies. University of Illinois. Web. Feb. 22, 2015.
Transcript of Interview with Jill
Where do you write? What does the room look like when you set up your writing space?
So usually I write either in the library, or um on the desk in my room, and I put away all other subjects and I have my notebook and notes out um around me and I have two um documents up on my computer at once, so one for all of my notes and resources and then the other one is a blank document and before I start writing I usually have all of my notes and research typed out and I have some form of outline, so I have direction to where I’m writing.
Do you write alone or with others in the room?
Usually I write alone.
Do you move around between different stages? Do you take breaks or extend the process over separate days?
Um I like, I usually separate it out into different days, so I like to write a rough draft one day and will go back to it the next day with a fresh set of eyes. And usually when I’m writing my first draft, if I hit a, a writing block I’ll kind of get up and do something else so I can come back with a clear mind.
At what time of day do you write?
Usually in the evening after my classes, so probably around five or six PM. [Interviewer: And how late do you usually stay up writing?] Oh probably until one or two in the morning, but I know when it gets toward that late of night that it’s not, my writing’s not as clear but… but I usually try to get one draft done at once… even if it’s crappy. Cause I’d rather have something written down so then, when I come back to it the next day, I have something to work with. Which probably isn’t smart because you have to rewrite it anyways.
Do you have to have music, noise, or silence?
I have to have silence, or if I’m listening to music it’s just instrumental, so no words in the music. Cause I get distracted very easily.
Do you usually have a snack or particular beverage while writing?
Um since I’m usually working later at night I’ll have some form of caffeinated beverage whether it be tea or coffee, um, and then if I need to take a break it’s usually to get food.
Regarding questions about the writing process more specifically, in the writing assignment that you last worked on, is this a type of writing assignment that is easier or harder for you than other types of writing assignments? Why?
Um, I think it’s harder in the sense that it’s a research paper so I had to go out of my way to find different sources, but the content of the assignment wasn’t that hard because it was based on a movie I watched in class and it was about different marketing techniques and different points of view that we learned in class so I had, um, that knowledge, but I think it was harder in the sense that it wasn’t my own personal analysis on something because I now have to bring in outside sources. To back up my writing analysis. [Interviewer: And what kind of assignments do you usually do for your classes, like not research papers, or…?] Yeah, because I’m in the business school it’s usually more of memo kind of writing assignments, and I haven’t written a paper since…. since spring quarter. So that’s a long time.
How did you approach this assignment—what were your first steps? Did you do any prewriting? If so, what kinds? If not, why not?
So… I gathered all of my notes from class and sources from class first, um, because it was based on certain topics that we learned in class, and then I went and found different sources, um, to back up my analysis. And then I wrote out an outline so I had some sort of direction when I started writing.
During what part of the process did you spend the most amount of time?
Usually the introduction of my paper is always the hardest, so starting off… um… and also I guess the thesis, but the thesis usually comes during my, um, my outline process. But I think the introduction is the hardest because I know that it will set the direction and tone of my paper, so usually out of all the paragraphs, that will take me the longest, usually one or two hours to draft my introduction. [Interviewer: And then, do you usually start with the introduction or do you like write the rest of your paper and come back to the introduction?] So, I usually always start with the introduction, and I’ve heard that sometimes it’s better to just start writing your first, I guess, content paragraph but for some reason I can’t start writing my paper until I have the direction from the introduction, which sounds really strange, but yeah I have to start with the introduction. I kind of go in order of how a typical paper I guess is set up.
Do you feel like you write with the audience in mind or revise with the audience in mind?
Oh… um, I think I usually write, or I revise, with the audience in mind, because usually when I write, it’s more of my own voice coming through, so when I go back and spend a lot of time revising it, I kind of have to tweak certain things to make sure that it’s in the format and is appealing to the audience that it’s intended for.
And then this kind of goes along with the last question; do you feel pressure to use a particular tone for this work that you would not usually use when, for example, writing for another class or writing to a friend?
Um, I think because it’s a research paper there’s definitely a different tone than if I’m writing to a friend, and then there’s also a different tone than writing more business kinds of documents… and I think usually research papers can have more of a scholarly tone anyways because you have to be unbiased and you have to kind of quote and integrate the, um, sources into your writing, so.
Do you seek help from others during certain stages of the process? For example, do you go to a friend or a professor for assistance editing? Why or why not?
Mhm. Um, usually after… my first or second draft I’ll go to my sister or a trusted friend, um, and I’ve gone to the HUB in the past. Just because I think sometimes it’s helpful… to have somebody else read what you’re writing, because things that I write may make sense to me, but when somebody else reads it it may sound awkward or may not, um, make sense. So it’s helpful to get I guess a new perspective and point of view. And in terms of going to teachers…Um… I usually go to a friend or, yeah I usually go to a friend first before I would go to a teacher.
When you revise, do you focus more on grammar, overall organization, or content? Why? Which do you feel is more important to you in revising?
I mean everything’s important, but… cause I think when I first write it, I am pretty, I’m able to include all the content I want, so when I revise it, it’s, the focus is more on… I guess organization and grammar. Because even though I have an outline sometimes when you actually write out all the content and kind of add the transitions, it doesn’t really, the flow of your paper doesn’t make sense, so that’s why when I’m revising it I can see where, I can move different parts around to make the paper sound more cohesive.
What class, teacher, or experience do you think has influenced your current process of writing the most?
Courses in college, or…? [Interviewer: Yeah if you think a college course helped you more, or a high school course…?] Um… I think initially, in high school my AP English class helped me with my writing process, but I’ve definitely seen an improvement in my writing through classes, um, in college… and the only classes that I’ve really had to write papers here for were, or was, CTW, so probably that course, although we only had to write two papers…. But yeah I guess English class in high school.
How would you characterize your writing style?
Not very good! No, I think my writing tends to sound very… conversational, which I guess makes sense because you’re writing it from your own voice…and… I don’t know… and because I think I don’t write as many research kinds of papers and I now write more business style papers that my style of writing has become more, more attuned to business. [Interviewer: And would you say business writing compared to English paper writing is… How would you say it’s different? Do you feel like it’s more concise, or maybe in English you’d say you use more adjectives?] Yeah I think it’s definitely more concise and to the point… um… because especially with research and paper writing, you have all of these nice transitions and kinds of like fluffy words, whereas in business writing, the content isn’t as interesting either, or stimulating, so it’s easier to kind of just get to the point really quickly, and be done with it, whereas a paper, an English kind of paper, you’re trying to tell a story, you have your kind of normal intro, body, and conclusion.
English 16 