Caroline Eberhart Leslie Wolcott ENC 1101 10/12/12 My Writing Self Study Introduction Knowledge of unskilled writing processes

and the manner in which these processes are analyzed have been of great importance for the past few decades. Unskilled writing is a problem many people have or think they have. According to Mike Rose, what separates unskilled writers from skilled writers is not skill, but ones emotional realm. Examples include anxiety, fear of evaluation, insecurity, etc. College students, more specifically, tend to draw more attention to the subject because of their lack of knowledge and/or fear of college writing. Sondra Perl, Carol Berkenkotter, and Mike Rose, all investigated unskilled college writers who experienced writers block, wasted excessive amounts of time, and completed work that went unfinished and contained many grammatical and structural errors. Knowledge of how unskilled writers write and the manner in which these processes are analyzed are still of great importance to this day. Unskilled writing is a common finding in students, particularly in college students. Although anyone who writes, skilled or unskilled, professional or unprofessional, can all experience miscues that unskilled writers run in to. According to Sondra Perls think aloud study, such miscues include pauses and repetition between sentences, excessive prewriting and writing in the extensive

Eberhart 2 mode, and long amounts of time spent editing, revising, and proofreading. The process of an unskilled writer and the best way to analyze it is still not understood, hence my own research I have conducted at this time. Writing implies no right or wrong answer. This is why unskilled writing processes will never completely be understood and the investigation continues. Both Perl and Berkenkotter conducted experiments using the think aloud method. Although these authors experiments were different, they used the same concept. The think aloud method is defined the writer has to say aloud everything they are thinking while they are writing. Then a transcript of this thinking aloud process, which is recorded, is analyzed for further study. Rose conducted a more clinical experiment using interviews, which he would record. He would then listen to the recordings of his three interviewees and base further questions to ask. These three studies have all inquired much information but have suggested that further research needs to be done. Earlier studies seemed to suggest that the think aloud technique used to analyze unskilled writing processes is the best and most scientific. To verify their findings, more work is urgently needed. Because I put myself into the unskilled college writer category, I am conducting the think aloud method on myself to examine more results and to continue looking for answers. In this article I argue that I write effectively after certain patterns occur. My research tries to clarify any questions I have about my writing process. The main question I have about my process is what patterns occur that I will detect in my think aloud transcript that my most effective writing happens. I have learned what

Eberhart 3 other unskilled writers need to do to improve their writing by reading Perl and Berkenkotter. I now want to understand how to get the most effective writing out of myself. This paper describes one study I conducted of myself in October 2012. I was given the prompt to write about my background of writing. When writing a onepage paper about this prompt is when I recorded my think aloud process. The results of this study suggest I write the most effectively when I plan ahead, write out loud, re-read, say encouraging statements, and am in the perfect conditions. Writing at night, a 74-degree temperature, food and drink readily available, and silence are all conditions necessary for my effective writing. This paper is structured beginning with an introduction, followed by a methodology, my data, a works cited page, and appendix A and B. Methodology The objectives that I began with are extensions of Berkenkotter and Perls research. I wanted to further their research by examining myself. I was given the prompt to write a one page single-spaced paper about my background as a writer. I was then instructed to say my thoughts aloud while writing the one page paper into a recorder. After writing the paper about my background as a writer (Appendix B), I listened to the recording of my think aloud process and transcribed it. I then decided to color code my think aloud process (Appendix A), after making a code that specifically applied to my writing. Then I analyzed my think aloud process and drew conclusions. I was instructed to then compare and contrast my writing process with Perl and Berkenkotter and summarize my data in following paper. Data

Eberhart 4 Planning ahead is the first major step I take when beginning to write. I do not normally plan ahead by writing an outline. I plan ahead and think to myself what I should write. Because the study I conducted of myself required me to say aloud everything I was thinking, is how I discovered the importance of planning ahead is to my writing process. This strategy is highlighted in orange in Appendix A. Each time I plan ahead, effective writing out loud or re-reading occurs. Planning ahead helps me not get sidetracked and leads to writing with a structure. As you can see in Appendix A, planning ahead (orange) always comes right before writing out loud (blue) and re-reading (purple). The next major step I take in my writing process is writing out loud. I define writing out loud by speaking everything I write down on paper. Writing aloud helps me remember what direction I am writing in. Hearing myself talk is encouraging because I know I am making progress. My write out loud strategy is highlighted in blue in Appendix A. This strategy usually follows planning ahead (orange) and is followed by re-reading (purple). Every sentence I wrote in Appendix was stated aloud in my think aloud process. Writing out loud is necessary for me to get my thoughts on to paper. After writing out loud, I put to use the re-reading strategy. After every one to two sentences, I went back and re-read the sentence(s) I just wrote. Re-reading is a strategy with both negatives and positives. After my research, I found that this strategy does make my writing effective when I am not rushed, but does not make me writing effective when I am rushed. During the first twenty minutes of writing Appendix A (pages 1 and 2), I was not rushed. Whenever I re-read (purple),

Eberhart 5 revisions (light pink) came right after. Revising, which is the change of content, is a positive that develops my writing. However, the last twenty minute of writing Appendix A (pages 3-5), I felt rushed because I was getting tired and wanted to go to sleep. On pages three through five, I felt that re-reading made me pause every couple sentences to backtrack. My flow of writing was stopped and the thoughts in my mind that I wanted to get down on paper were forgotten. Re-reading on pages three though five allowed me to get distracted easily and lose my train of thought resulting in silence. Silence (black background, white writing) usually followed every re-reading strategy (purple). Revisions never followed the re-reading strategy after I got tired, only silence did. An observation I made from this specific piece of data is that the re-reading strategy could be helpful to me if I were to allow myself plenty of work time and was well rested. Revising is another strategy I put to use in Appendix A. I define revising as changing content of a sentence because of not liking the sound of it when re-reading. Revisions mostly took place on pages one and two of Appendix A when I was not feeling rushed. Making revisions help my writing sound more profound and less childish. Whenever I made revisions on the first two pages, my liking of the sentence structure increased, which made satisfied and wanting to write more. On pages three through five, I was in a hurry to complete the paper, which led to me making no revisions at all. I felt that this made the last three pages of my paper sound not as profound. Revising is a positive strategy that I know would have made my writing effective if I was not in a hurry to finish.

Eberhart 6 Encouraging statements were a strategy I used in all of Appendix A. These statements would come after I wrote out loud (blue), after I re-read (purple), and after I made revisions (light pink). Encouraging statements would follow every strategy that I made progress on. I would say positive things to myself because I was satisfied with making progress. Any type of satisfaction that comes to me while writing makes me want to keep writing. Encouraging statements definitely lead to effective writing because it means I am satisfied with making progress. I also define perfect conditions as a strategy I used when writing. In order for me to write, I have to be in the perfect temperature (74 degrees), I have to have food and beverage readily available (preferable caffeine), and it has to be nighttime. Writing Appendix B was only possible if these three conditions were met. These three conditions are necessary when I want to write effectively.

Eberhart 7 Works Cited Berkenkotter, Carol. Decisions and Revisions: The Planning Strategies of a Publishing and Writer. Writing by Writing. Leasa Burton. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 218-229. Print. Perl, Sondra. The Composing Processes of Unskilled College Writers. Writing by Writing. Leasa Burton. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 190-215. Print. Rose, Mike. Rigid Rules, Inflexible Plans, and the Stifling of Language: A Cognitivist Analysis of Writers Block. Writing by Writing. Leasa Burton. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 236-249. Print.

Eberhart 8 Appendix A All right so I dont even really know where to begin. Im tired. Ew look at this hair. Im going to gag oh my god im going to gag. Oh my god thats disgusting. I have to throw this away. Im going to write for thirty minutes say everything thats on my mind. Not stop, I wish I could use that website but I cant because it costs money. All right. Writing for me has always been a challenge. My sister. My roommate is coming. My sister who is two years older than me loves absolutely loves to write is a journalism major at Boston University. Unfortunately her love for writing. studies journalism at Boston University. Unfortunately her love for writing did not wear off on me. I will first tell you a little bit of a background of me as a writer, some good and bad experiences Ive had and how ENC 1101 has developed me into a skilled writer already. Writing for me has always been a challenge. My sister. My sister who is two years older than me absolutely loves to write and studies journalism at Boston University. Unfortunately her love for writing did not wear off on her younger sister. Spelled that wrong. My background as a writer, good and bad experiences dealing with writing, and how ENC 1101 has already started developing my writing skills will be explained alrighty thats fine. I need a closing sentence. My love for writing might not change, but maybe my perception can with experience. My love for writing might not ever change, but maybe my perception can with experience and becoming knowledgeable about skilled writing. okay good. My first memories of me as a writer were at the Stanley Clark School in South Bend, Indiana. I remember being in the fourth grade in a pod of chairs with three other students. My first memories of me as a writer were at the Stanley Clark School in South Bend,

Eberhart 9 Indiana. I remember being in the fourth grade sitting with three other classmates in a pod. Much better. My teacher Mrs. Smith was at the board using her favorite pink chalk. All right I just made that up. My teacher Mrs. Smith, an old little lady with bleached blonde hair, good, was at the board using her favorite pink chalk. Good night Clare. Silence. I need a drink. Im sure she taught about writing with more detail than I remember but the one main thing that stuck with me is how the structure of the paper should be written. Im sure she taught about writing with more detail than I remember but the one main thing I do remember is how the structure of the paper should be written. Silence. She made a diagram on the board that I can still picture in my mind. There was an introduction box on the top, three body boxes below, and a conclusion box at the bottom. She made a diagram on the board that I can still picture in my mind. There was an introduction box on the top, three body boxes below, and a conclusion box at the bottom. My roommates are so inconsiderate. The TV is blaring. Silence. Getting a drink. Okay just write what you remember about the structure and dont stop. The introduction had to have a topic sentence that grabbed the readers attention followed by a thesis, followed by a closing sentence. Each body box also had to have a topic sentence, as well as body information, followed by a closing sentence. The conclusion had to have a topic sentence as well, followed by a restatement of the thesis, and followed by a closing sentence. This format that my 4th grade teacher taught stuck with me for some reason as I can still picture the diagrams on the board to this day. The conclusion had to have a topic sentence as well, followed by a restatement of the thesis, and followed by a closing sentence. This format that my 4th grade teacher taught stuck

Eberhart 10 with me for some reason as I can still picture the diagrams on the board to this day. Silence. Other writing techniques I learned as a young writer were that quotes could be used for the topic sentences of the introduction or conclusion as long as it grabbed the readers attention and a thesis had to follow the topic sentence in the introduction stating the exact information that was going to be found in the three body paragraphs. Im thirsty. Other writing techniques I learned as a young writer were that quotes could be used for the topic sentences of the introduction or conclusion as long as it grabbed the readers attention and a thesis had to follow the topic sentence in the introduction stating the exact information that was going to be found in the three body paragraphs. Silence. Keep writing. Spelling and grammar had to be perfect or else the ethos would be thrown off. The main thing my childhood writing teacher was worried about was structure, which makes me to this day worried about proper structure. Silence. Other writing techniques I learned as a young writer were that quotes could be used for the topic sentences of the introduction or conclusion as long as it grabbed the readers attention and a thesis had to follow the topic sentence in the introduction stating the exact information that was going to be found in the three body paragraphs. Spelling and grammar had to be perfect or else the ethos would be thrown off. The main thing my childhood writing teacher was worried about was structure, which makes me to this day worried about proper structure. Ehh not bad for midnight. Silence. Getting a drink. Dont stop and keep going with the bad ones. Some bad experiences I have had with writing have come in high school. I am a big procrastinator which leads to cramming and making writing processes not fun, but stressful. I remember waiting until the

Eberhart 11 night before a paper was due in high school and not getting the grade I wanted. I would wait until the last minute to write the paper because I hated writing and wanted to put it off for as long as possible. Little did I know, if I wouldnt have procrastinated the writing, I wouldnt have been stressed or pressed for time and actually might have enjoyed writing and thought it was relaxing. However, I never figured how to not procrastinate in high school, which lead to bad grades. Bad grades made me think I was an unskilled writer. thats fine. Some bad experiences I have had with writing have come in high school. I am a big procrastinator which leads to cramming and making writing processes not fun, but stressful. I remember waiting until the night before a paper was due in high school and not getting the grade I wanted. I would wait until the last minute to write the paper because I hated writing and wanted to put it off for as long as possible. Little did I know, if I wouldnt have procrastinated the writing, I wouldnt have been stressed or pressed for time and actually might have enjoyed writing and thought it was relaxing. However, I never figured how to not procrastinate in high school, which lead to bad grades. Bad grades made me think I was an unskilled writer. Silence. Now write about the class. I feel that ENC 1101 has already started shaping me into a better and more confident writer. Some things I have learned already are shitty first drafts are necessary, how to rhetorically analyze, and how to execute a think aloud protocol. I feel like a more profound and confident writer already. I feel that ENC 1101 has already started shaping me into a better and more confident writer. Some things I have learned already are shitty first drafts are necessary, how to rhetorically analyze, and how to execute a think aloud protocol. I feel like a more profound and confident writer

Eberhart 12 already. thats fine. I know I am rushing through this right now but whatever. Silence. In conclusion, my writing has started at a young age and is still continuing to improve. Writing has put me through some good and bad experiences. I am ready to take my writing to the next level with the help of Ms. Wolcott and the ENC 1101 course. I need a better conclusion. In conclusion, my writing has started at a young age and is still continuing to improve. Writing has put me through some good and bad experiences. I am ready to take my writing to the next level with the help of Ms. Wolcott and the ENC 1101 course. Ehh good enough. Color Coding U RR Sn OT Ed S WL WS DW D En R C Uhms/ Space fillers Rereading Snacking off topic Correcting grammar/ editing Silence Writing out loud Silently writing Describing the writing you are doing Distractions Encouraging revise (changing content, not grammar) Complaining

Eberhart 13 Appendix B Writing for me has always been a challenge. However my sister who is two years older than me absolutely loves to write and studies journalism at Boston University. Unfortunately her love for writing did not wear off on her younger sister. My background as a writer, good and bad experiences dealing with writing, and how ENC 1101 has already started developing my writing skills will be explained. My love for writing might not ever change, but maybe my perception can with experience and becoming knowledgeable about skilled writing. My first memories of learning how to write were at the Stanley Clark School in South Bend, Indiana. I remember being in the 4th grade sitting with three other classmates in a pod. My teacher Mrs. Smith, an old lady with bleached blonde hair, was at the board using her favorite pink chalk. Im sure she taught about writing with more detail than I remember but the one main thing that stuck with me is how the structure of the paper should be written. Im sure she taught about writing with more detail than I remember but the one main thing I do remember is how the structure of the paper should be written. She made a diagram on the board that I can still picture in my mind. There was an introduction box on the top, three body boxes below, and a conclusion box at the bottom. The introduction had to have a topic sentence that grabbed the readers attention followed by a thesis, followed by a closing sentence. Each body box also had to have a topic sentence, as well as body information, followed by a closing sentence. The conclusion had to have a topic sentence as well, followed by a restatement of the thesis, and followed by a closing sentence. This format that my 4th grade teacher taught stuck with me for some

Eberhart 14 reason as I can still picture the diagrams on the board to this day. Other writing techniques I learned as a young writer were that quotes could be used for the topic sentences of the introduction or conclusion as long as it grabbed the readers attention and a thesis had to follow the topic sentence in the introduction stating the exact information that was going to be found in the three body paragraphs. Spelling and grammar had to be perfect or else the ethos would be thrown off. The main thing my childhood writing teacher was worried about was structure, which makes me to this day worried about proper structure. Some bad experiences I have had with writing have come in high school. I am a big procrastinator which leads to cramming and making writing processes not fun, but stressful. I remember waiting until the night before a paper was due in high school and not getting the grade I wanted. I would wait until the last minute to write the paper because I hated writing and wanted to put it off for as long as possible. Little did I know, if I wouldnt have procrastinated the writing, I wouldnt have been stressed or pressed for time and actually might have enjoyed writing and thought it was relaxing. However, I never figured how to not procrastinate in high school, which lead to bad grades. Bad grades made me think and still make me think I am an unskilled writer. I feel that ENC 1101 has already started shaping me into a better and more confident writer. Some things I have learned already are shitty first drafts are necessary, how to rhetorically analyze, and how to execute a think aloud protocol. I feel like a more profound and confident writer already.

Eberhart 15 In conclusion, my writing has started at a young age and is still continuing to improve. Writing has put me through some good and bad experiences. I am ready to take my writing to the next level with the help of Ms. Wolcott and the ENC 1101 course.