The Writing Process

To discuss the process of constructing and completing a paper.
To clarify understanding of the nature of the process.

We all know that the process of writing up a paper is a painful one. It is often a matter of not being able to get started or finished, of staring at the page or a computer screen and struggling hard to make something out of the data. Our research findings may be valid and of interest, but getting them down on paper is no easy matter.

The Writing Process

We will first explore some of your views about the writing process.

Task one

In the table below are some common beliefs about writing. Please indicate, in the appropriate column, whether you agree (A) or disagree (D) and give reasons for your answers.

Statements	Agree/Disagree/Reasons
A "good" writer must get the paper right the first time.
Writing a paper can only start after all the data have been gathered and analyzed.
Writing a paper must start with the abstract, and proceed in a linear way from the introduction to the conclusion.
Writers must decide on possible journals they wish to publish in after the final draft is ready for submission.
Writers should revise a paper only after it is written.
Writers need not get peers to read and comment on a paper before submitting it.

The Writing Process: Commentary

Although every individual develops a unique writing process, there are certain findings about the writing process that apply to most of us. The writing process is the complex route through which the final text gets completed. At the end of the process we have the written product. Research into the composing process has revealed the following facts:

	writing is a recursive not a linear process
	writing generates thinking
	writing helps us to organize our thoughts
	writing is a socialising process - a kind of written dialogue with the readers who belong to a particular discourse community
	writing is a social act which takes place within and for a specific context and audience
	a piece of writing is NEVER finished

On the basis of these findings, we would disagree with all the statements in the table above.

Writing: A Recursive Process

Researchers have found that the writing process is not a linear one (Emig, 1971; Flower and Hayes, 1981). We, as writers, do not necessarily start at the beginning and end at the end. As writers, we can engage in any act of composing at any time during the writing process. The act of composing involves:

	finding ideas
	thinking about ways to organise the ideas
	imagining ways of expressing and elaborating these ideas
	revising and evaluating what has been written or what has been planned
	transcribing
	rewriting

These facets of the process enable the writer to create the finished product, the written text. We often perform these acts many times in a different order as we complete a paper. As we write, we think a little, write a little, go back and cross out something already written or add something. We also may re-read and think some more. In this recursive process we do NOT have to start at the beginning – we can start with the easiest or most difficult part-whatever is conceptually ready.

Writing as Thinking

Thinking does NOT stop as soon as we start writing but often looking at the writing and re-reading what is written generates new ideas. Similarly, decisions about organisation are often difficult to take and extremely difficult to stick to. The parts of an argument, a paragraph or even a whole section in a paper, are often changed and re-organised as writing unfolds and we think more about what has been written. It is a common strategy for many writers to write a part of the paper and, through reading and tightening up the part already written, conceptualise the other parts.

Writing as a Social Process

An academic paper is not written for the consumption of the writer – it is not a private act such as writing a diary or a letter. It is a bold attempt to be part of our discourse community. Knowledge and the authority of knowledge is community-generated and community-maintained (Bruffee, 1986:777). The ways in which this knowledge will be disseminated, expressed, presented and accepted as truth is determined by the academic discourse community.

The academic discourse community consists of a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant experience and expertise to take part in the communication between members through participatory mechanisms such as journals, newsletters and associations. Such a community has a common set of public goals, and specialized vocabulary and genre conventions (see Swales, 1990 for a fuller description of discourse communities). Conventions of the community genre are reflected in the way members expect other members to use language. One way in which academic discourse communities maintain their solidarity is through scholarly exchanges and feedback at conferences and in publications. Such publications play an important role in profession building (Bazerman and Paradis, 1991).

We, as writers of academic papers, negotiate our private thoughts about a piece of research into public expression and thus abide by certain conventions that are accepted in our discourse community. Writing therefore becomes an expression of solidarity, a way of affiliating not just with a handful of readers but with significant others. These others are often the gatekeepers of knowledge in our disciplines. So, writers are writing for a specific discourse community of readers and have a specific purpose in mind (Brandt, 1992). This purpose and understanding of our discourse community need to guide our writing process. A little help from a colleague can go a long way towards increasing our understanding of the reader’s perspective.

It is a common strategy for many writers to consult a number of journals even before the writing has taken shape so that they can cater to the needs of the discourse community. Within a discourse community there can be a host of journals, each with a slightly different focus. An awareness of the journal requirements helps us to complete the process more effectively and more successfully.

What the Process Tells Us: Some Dos and Don'ts

We can start a piece of writing wherever we please. For example, we can write the methods section first and write the introduction last. The process of writing is recursive and so a piece of writing can start anywhere depending on individual preferences.

Writing generates thinking. If you are experiencing a block and just cannot get that paper started, write a part of the paper, or a part of a section. Writing will start your thought processes and the more you write, the more focused your thoughts are likely to become.

Writing is a public move – an attempt to belong to the discourse community of our particular discipline. It is, therefore, worth our while to get feedback from colleagues and take careful account of that feedback.

Writing is a purposive activity. Our purpose needs to be clear from the outset. Consulting the kinds of journal we wish to publish in is a useful way of helping the process.

We cannot achieve a perfect piece of writing at the very first draft. We need to be prepared for some serious revision.

Summary

This unit has looked at some of the process factors that can guide us as we complete our academic papers and grant proposals. It has been pointed out that the process of writing is not linear but rather recursive; thinking and writing go hand in hand. In writing a grant proposal or a paper, we are striving to become members of our discourse community and a knowledge of what this community expects and the conventions it follows can aid the process and hasten a piece of writing towards completion.

References

Bazerman, C. and Paradis, J.R. (1991). Textual dynamics in the professions: historical and
    contemporary. In Bazerman, C. and Paradis, J.R. (Eds.), Studies of writing in professional
    communities. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.

Brandt, D. (1992). The cognitive as the social: an ethnomethodological approach to writing
process research. Written Communication, 9, 315-355.

Bruffee, K.A. (1986). Social construction: language and the authority of knowledge: a
bibliographical essay. College English, 44, 765-777.

Emig J. (1971). The composing process of twelfth graders. National Council of Teachers of English
Research Report No. 13. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English.

Flower L. and Hayes J.R. (1981). A cognitive process theory of writing. College Composition and
Communication, 32, 365-387.

Swales, J.M. (1990). Genre analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.