Jasmin Raja

9/15/14
ENC 1101-0M10
Everyone holds conversations but after a couple days or weeks normally we forget the words
that were spoken. A written language can be read forever by anyone with the capability to understand
it. Without reading and writing we wouldnt be able to survive as a society today. For instance, only one
ancient civilization, The Incas, failed to develop a written language. This shows us that for life to improve
and evolve we need reading and writing are a necessity.
Recently there has been a lot of talk surrounding reading and writing processes and what
studying them can do for us. There are many reasons why we should study other individuals reading and
writing processes. By studying a students writing habits we are able to understand how they write and
why they write what they do. The information that is provided from this will help teachers and
instructors understand writing processes and better teach others how to write. Studying ones own
reading and writing habits will assist in enhancing their own work. Practice makes perfect. But if one
doesnt analyze what they are doing wrong they will never learn. So we now know that studying your
own writing processes is greatly beneficial to yourself as a writer.
As a result of the phenomena surrounding the analysis of reading and writing multiple studies
and experiments have taken place on those processes. According to Paul Prior, professor of English at
the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in order to study a persons writing processes we first must
trace their inner thoughts, perceptions, feelings, motives, exchanges between others and so much more.
To trace the process it takes more than studying what they do while they are sitting at their desk. (Prior
494) Normally writers find inspiration while they are taking a shower, lifting weights at the gym, or even
when they are shopping for groceries. While tracing the process we must look at what the writers
initiation and motivation and why they started writing in the first place. (Prior 494) Then from there we
get an idea of what their writing purpose was. (Prior 494) Several studies used think aloud protocols to
better understand what goes through a persons mind while they are reading and writing.(Prior, 505,
Perl, 617) Think aloud protocols are recording what is actually said aloud while reading and writing. The
recording is then transcribed and coded which results in information that can determine many things;
for instance, strategies for rereading text, frequency of editing behaviors, why people relate ideas to
themselves, etc. Then this information in turn is analyzed and studied to learn about the ways people
write.
Sondra Perl, professor of English at Herbert Lehmann College studied five unskilled college
writers. Other than think aloud protocols Perl analyzed miscue analysis in the writing process. Miscue
analysis is based on Goodmans model of the reading process. Miscue analysis refers to when a
discrepancy exists between what was said aloud and what was on the paper. Using this technique Perl
was able to find patterns in composition, especially in unskilled writers. Perl also concluded that the
writing process forms in all different ways. Composing does not occur in a straightforward, linear
fashion. The process is one of accumulating discrete bits down on the paper and then working from
those bits to reflect upon, structure, and the further develop what one means to say. (Perl, 631) With
fourteen successfully published books and novels Anne Lamott definitely has a worthy opinion. She
believes that there is no writer in the world who can sit down and compose well thought and flawless
words, and she knows this because of studying her own writing process. Almost all good writing begins

Jasmin Raja
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ENC 1101-0M10
with terrible first efforts. (Lamott, 530) In other words the composition process begins with a really,
really shitty first draft. (Lamott 530) Perl and Lamott both agree that the writing process isnt a fluid
motion; one doesnt start at the beginning and smoothly write the entire work, transitioning from the
start to end. The idea that people can naturally write skillfully with great ease is very unrealistic.
Author, teacher, and current faculty member at UCLA Graduate School of Education and
Information Studies Mike Rose has great understanding of the writing process, including rules, plans and
writers block. He explains that a students experiences and what they have been told over their lives
influence the way they write. In the piece he uses an example of a girl, Ruth, and she develops writers
block because she was once told that a good essay must always grab the readers attention first. This
rule that she has set in her head prevents her from being able to write unless she has a perfected
opening hook. A heuristic could be defined as a rule of thumb to follow, whereas an algorithm is
more of a strict formula. Rose explains the ways the both of these inhibit the writing process.
All of these studies I have mentioned are very important in understanding the writing process.
Although they are extremely significant they lack a focus on the writing and reading processes of
average college students. There is also a need for a extensive study to be done by ones own self. I
consider myself to be an average entry level college student and I have also studied writing processes.
Examination of my own writing and reading processes will bring something new to the table. I didnt
just use one technique to analyze my own writing; I took advantage of two different methods. Previous
research lacks this essential idea. With two different methods we will have an immense understanding
of an average college students reading and writing processes.
Over the past week I have tracked every time I read or write. This detailed data I collected over a
week gives me the ability to study my reading and writing pattern and habits for school, work, and play.
In addition I also used think aloud protocols, which is vocalizing all thoughts while reading a written text
and also writing a summary and analysis at the same time. The vocalized thoughts were recorded and
written down, broken into units of meaning, then coded for what each behavior was. In my coding and
analysis I am able to observe specific behaviors as I read. As well as, understand why I do certain things
and why I dont certain things. By studying two different ways I read and write I will get a remarkable
understanding and comprehension of how a typical college student performs reading and writing
processes. Including both the think aloud data and the weekly log data is completely necessary for a
good understanding of the reading and writing processes. After analyzing the data we will see which is
more imperative to writing and reading processes.
CO / FI / DS / FR / RR / AS / REP / FI / WA / RAW / RR / DO / REL / CO / ROL / REL / FI / DO / ROL /
CO / DO / ROL / DO / REP / QU / ROL / DO / FI / WA / CO / AS / CO / DO / ROL / FI / ROL / AS / DO / DO /
Above is part of the data I collected from performing think aloud protocols while reading Sondra
Perls The Composing Process of Unskilled College Writers. As you may recall think aloud protocols occur
by a reader saying aloud everything that they think while they are reading and taking notes/analyzing
the reading. What is said is transcribed, broken into units of meaning, and then coded with what each

Jasmin Raja
9/15/14
ENC 1101-0M10
thought represents. For example, in my completed code there was a prevalence of distractions (DSschool related distraction, DO-other distractions), comments (CO), fillers (FI) and reading aloud
(ROL). After putting the code together and seeing what I do more often and when we can then begin to
analyze why the tendencies occur the way they do.
A typical pattern I was able to pull out of the code was comment, filler, distraction, write aloud,
and then reread aloud what I just wrote. To begin the code with a comment isnt out of the norm
because most people already have a preconceived idea of what they are about to read. I was surprised
about the frequency of fillers that I said because when I normally converse I dont include fillers. I
defined a filler as an uhm, ugh, uh, yeah, oh my gosh, oh and so on. Although, I wasnt
surprised to see multiple distractions in my coding because I have always been an easily distracted
person. There were also multiple times when I reread what I just previously read. I found that I normally
reread after a time of distraction or confusion. Often times while reading I related the text to personal
experiences. Relating usually preceded reading aloud. Constantly I summarized everything that I was
reading. Using think aloud protocols I was able to dissect everything that I thought and makes sense of
it.
From the week of Wednesday September 3rd to Tuesday September 9th I collected daily data on
when I read and wrote something. In each daily log I recorded the time, activity, affect (how I felt about
the work), productivity (how much I felt like I did), media, interruptions, distractions, environment,
willingness to complete the task, co-author, and time length. Doing this gave me an impeccable
understanding of my weekly reading and writing routines. Overall academic studying and homework
generally occurred during the morning hours. When I wasnt distracted with texting, social media, and
food I had higher intensity and affect levels. I also found that the longer I worked on the homework or
studied I felt more productive. These two conclusions are very understandable because when a person
isnt distracted they are better able to focus. The longer a person works on a project the more they will
get done so they will feel more productive. If I was less willing to complete the task I normally ended up
taking multiple breaks and eating while I was reading and writing. I commonly spent more time reading
and writing academically than not. A couple times throughout the week I went into work. I work as a
sales associate at a store called PacSun, after I clock in I am required to set and record my selling goals
for the day. This takes reading of last years sales and writing of what I need to sell for the day or night.
During my goal setting at work I wasnt normally distracted unless I needed to help a customer. This
made me concentrate well and feel good about my work. Its a little humorous but while I studied over
the week I found that I had a more pleasurable experiences reading and writing if I had Starbucks. As a
whole over the week my location also played a considerable role in how I felt about the work I was
doing. If I was in a lecture hall I was more focused and felt like I was getting more done as opposed to if I
was studying in my living room. The reason behind this might possibly be the distractions that occur in
the living room like my siblings, TV, talking, and more. One time in the week that I kept the daily log I
went grocery shopping. This involved reading the list of items I needed. I found that I had a very low
intensity level and many distractions including, social media, texting, looking around, picking up items,

Jasmin Raja
9/15/14
ENC 1101-0M10
and more. Using the week long journal of my reading and writing activities I was able to look over my
routine habits.
The data that I collected and analyzed gave me good comprehension of how an average college
student reads and writes. Both methods I used do have flaws, but because I used both methods the
flaws cancel each other out in a sense. During the think aloud protocols of course it wasnt natural for
me to say aloud everything I thought in my head, some of it was a little forced. And during the week
long study I may have missed a couple of times I read or write and forgot to record them. Using both
think aloud and the week long journal I had enough data to dismiss these miniscule errors.
In conclusion, I feel like using both think-aloud protocols and keeping a daily log gave me a
better understanding of my reading and writing processes as opposed to just one. If I only used thinkaloud then I would have a more narrow view of my long term reading and writing habits. In opposition,
if I only used the week long log I wouldnt be aware of my tendencies and behaviors in the smaller scale.
So to answer the question of which process is more imperative it would be neither because both are
absolutely necessary. This is what previous research has been missing.

Jasmin Raja
9/15/14
ENC 1101-0M10
Works Cited
Lamott, Anne. Shitty First Drafts. Writing About Writing: A College Reader. Ed. Elizabeth Wardle.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 527-531. Print.
Perl, Sondra. The Composing Processes of Unskilled College Writers. Writing About Writing: A College
Reader. Ed. Elizabeth Wardle. Boston: Bedford/St.Martins, 2014. 615-639. Print.
Prior, Paul. "Tracing Process: How Texts Come into Being." Writing About Writing: A College Reader. Ed.
Elizabeth Wardle. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 492-526. Print.
Rose, Mike. Rigid Rules, Inflexible Plans, and the Stifling of Language: A Cognitivist Analysis of Writers
Block. Writing About Writing: A College Reader. Ed. Elizabeth Wardle. Boston: Bedford/St.Martins,
2014. 532-546. Print.