Blander Brioso

Dr. Taylor
ENC 1101
November 2, 2015
My Writing Process
Throughout the long, never-ending course of my education, I have attended a number of
different schools; many of which are not found in this country and have, therefore, different
regulations and expectations for and from the students. Transitioning from school to school
allowed me to meet new teachers; all of whom looked at writing from a different angle,
therefore, causing me to encounter a number of writing styles and modus operandi from my
many teachers. Moreover, in order to meet the prospects or expectations of each new teacher, I
found myself obliged to adapt my writing style. Nevertheless, due to the numerous requirements
I have had to meet, my writing style can be explained as an assortment of the many methods I
have learned throughout the years.
I prefer beginning the process of writing by thinking about the topic. This includes
brainstorming and collecting data to expand my knowledge of the subject. Unlike most people,
when brainstorming I do not utilize a paper and pencil to write down any ideas that come to
mind. When I brainstorm, I prefer researching a subject and then I start thinking about what I
want to say and the tone I want to use to deliver that information. I then go into developing a
more concrete and thorough mass of ideas and points I wish to expound on. After gathering my
thoughts, I begin to think about the paper's format: what it is going to look like, what phrases, if
any, I am going to use, how I am going to explain abstract thoughts in a way that the audience

could relate, and, lastly, how I am going to go about synthesizing my writing and attract the
audiences attention.
Furthermore, I make the effort to comprehend my readers or audience and what I want
them to grasp from my paper, including clues, passages and especially the message. Since most
of my writing process is mentally arranged depending on the meaning or purpose of the writing,
I mentally choose a layout that helps me best arrange my thoughts for my paper. Additionally,
after having organized all my thoughts and ideas and developed a general understanding of the
paper as a whole, I compose a thesis statement, which acts as the head or topic sentence of the
paper and informs the reader of how one may construe the significance of the matter to be
discussed. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will
persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation. I then begin to construct a more organized
outline.
After prewriting, I normally take a break to clear my mind before beginning my first
draft. Usually I go for a short walk or run to eliminate any clutter that might constrain my
concentration. After creating a peaceful environment, I begin writing my essay: no proofing, and
no grammar checks, just get the ideas on my computer or tablet. In the first sentence I often
attempt to hook my readers (capture the reader's attention). The last sentence of my introduction
is the thesis statement. My introduction is always a broad set-up for the body of the essay. Here, I
attempt to get the readers exited for the rest of my paper.
Once I'm done with my first draft, I ignore it for at least a half hour, sometimes more.
Then, I re-read it all and start making edits and grammatical corrections, go through and delete
anything that is irrelevant, then go through and re-write any sections that don't feel right which
by improving your paper gives chance to your second draft. Next, I rewrite out the entire piece

whilst using only the second draft as a guide, not a definitive copy; this usually helps me with
generation of new ideas for the final draft. When I go through this final time I shift words
around, add new sentences, and replace sections again - because Im thinking over it all for the
third time. After this, I do a quick run through for spelling/grammar errors, and bam! Final copy.
Aforementioned, for more effectiveness I take a break between each step so that I can view it
with fresh eyes each time. This way seems to work best for me, for it empties every single
thought out and eliminates the poorly formed or poorly written ones.
In Lucille McCarthy's "A Stranger in Strange Lands", McCarthy followed college student
Dave Garrison around hoping to find out how writing is influenced by social settings. She
wondered if writing in different classes was genuinely harder due to different teachers writing
styles or was it harder for some students because they are in different surroundings or are
writing in a different genres. One example she gave that is known is the fact that some people
write well in one setting (e.g., at home alone) and not very well in another (e.g., on a timed
exam), or that some people write well in one genre (e.g., poetry) but not very well in another
genre (e.g., a literacy criticism essay). I personally like writing in my bedroom. When I am in
my bedroom it makes me feel like a prisoner coming out of his prison cell this meaning my
freedom to write about anything and everything, my thoughts, experiences as well as to think
about tomorrow and what my tomorrow is going to bring. It is the place where I feel comfortable
enough to be and express myself. Additionally, McCarthy continues to talk about how it is
important to try to adjust to unfamiliar academic settings. As I mentioned in the previous pages
my writing style is a collection of the many settings and teachers I have encountered throughout
the course of my ongoing education.

On another note, in her study McCarthy interviewed David, his three friends, and three
professors in this study and observed and analyzed classes, their interviews, and how they write.
She found that although the writing assignments in three classes she observed were generally the
same, David found them to be completely different and different from anything he had ever done
before. Moreover, she believes that it is due to different social settings. However, although I
dont think her experiment is valid or very reliable for she had a very small study group, it is
possible that writing has something to do with the social settings.
As far as my writing experience goes, throughout the years I have noticed several factors
that may affect an individuals writing due to their social settings. Some people write better when
in an open environment, others prefer a more private environment, end of story everybody has
their own way and process when it comes to writing. Personally Id rather be in place where I
can be at peace with myself, like my room for instance. Although I dont consider myself that
good of a writer I manage to write way better when in my room as compared to a classroom per
say. I like to take my time when writing, which is why I probably dont do as well on timed
essays as I should. Therefore in order to better her experiment I believe McCarthy should study
more people and observe more classes to get more reliable evidence and facts.
Similarly, Carol Berkenkotter did a unique experiment on Donald M. Murray to try and
study an accomplished academics writing processes. Berkenkotter separated the experiment in
three parts. The first part took place in a realistic setting; where he lived or worked, basically his
place of comfort. While working all day, he recorded his thoughts onto a voice recorder. He then
sent Berkenkotter pictures of his notes and drafts from before the study began. For the second
stage he was given an audience, subject, and purpose to study how, and if, his writing
processes would change. This time he was to record his thoughts, but only for an hour,

comparing the difference between writing in a protocol laboratory setting and writing in his
own environment. The third stage she observed him at his home for two days, writing an article
for a professional journal.
As we can absorb from the reading, during the second stage Murray was given a task he
was unprepared and unaccustomed to. He had to write an article for the magazine Jack and Jill
explaining the concept of death to a much younger audience. The audience of this magazine
would be ten to twelve year old children, and he was given an hour to perform this task. Clearly
Murray encountered much difficulty trying to relate and picture his audience as well as the topic.
These variables prevented him from writing well. Sure, perhaps the situation inhibited him from
pursuing his writing; however more is to be taken into account such as the social settings that
McCarthy previously mentioned and the environment in which he was given the assignment.
This could affect little things of much value such as focus and concentration when it comes to
writing.
Berkenkotter observed Murray reconceiving, meaning scanning and rescanning ones
text from the perspective of an external reader and to continue re-drafting until all rhetorical,
formal, and stylistic concerns have been resolved, or until the writer decides to let go of the text
(Berkenkotter). Murray continually does this throughout the entire writing process, and probably
owes much of his success to this monotonous method.
As a result, Berkenkotter concluded that the setting a writer works in dictates how the
writer will perform. If they are comfortable in a naturalistic setting, they are more likely to do
well and write freely and openly. However, if they are in a laboratory type situation they are
more likely to have a difficult time and acquire writers block explained further below. She also
learned much about the small and big decisions and revisions that go into planning. Planning is

such a recursive process and differs greatly depending on the author. All through high school, for
instance, we were told that we needed to write more and think less. That we needed to write
faster in order to get better at writing. There were times where we had to write something in a
short amount of time, for example an essay for a test. This article clearly reaches the conclusion
that in order to do better, you must have more time, and when you are forced to write something
is a certain amount of time, it lack your true talent, one does not get to express themselves well.
And it is all because of the pressure forced upon you. I never believed in timed essays. I still did
them, for it was my responsibility to make sure I got good grades; but I never really understood
the reason why my teachers gave us timed essays. When told to write something in a short
amount of time, how can one be expected to write a spectacular, flawless piece? Revision is an
essential process for writing, and just as planning, it requires time.
I can easily relate to Berkenkotters experiment, by assessing Murrays reflection on
being a research subject. Although we might not share similarity on the steps we take as
individual writers, I found the article very resourceful and it truly made me comprehend the
boundaries of the method. And she was right when she said that the setting a writer works in
dictates how the writer will perform. We all have different styles of writing, and assigning
anything and expecting it to be perfectly done in a timely manner inhibits a person from doing
so.
If you are an incubator like I am, you would know that it requires a lot of thinking, and it
is a matter of time before you can put all your ideas and thoughts together. My personal
experience as an incubator happens like some sort of magic. It all goes down usually when
switching between classes, or when exchanging words with a classmate about the topic, or even
just a random thought. It sort of happens as an indirect thinking like process. Moreover, even

though mi mind is not completely focused on that subject matter of discussion, somehow I
manage to keep thinking about it in the back of my mind. I literally write the entire essay or
piece in my head and then I put it on paper or my computer.
As briefly introduced in previous lines, writers block, is very common in many students
across the globe. Nevertheless, there are those who never get stuck; they mess up and pick up
exactly where they left off and keep going without a problem. Moreover, some say it is how
every student follows their own individual writing rules and I agree. Mike Rose better explains
the concept in her study Rigid Rules, Inflexible Plans, and the Stifling of Language. In
general, her article synthesized what causes students with writers block to stuck up and not be
able to write smoothly. All through the course of the excerpt Rose makes comparisons between
students that easily write to students that find it tense and difficult to not uphold the rules of
writing. A constant variable in determining the cause for a writers block comes from the fact
that the introductory paragraph has to be fascinating. I do uphold the belief that the writing has to
make sense. Although writing might not always be interesting, I believe it has to be engaging and
captivating, which comes along with knowing your audience. People that do not suffer from
writers block do not stress this rule as it comes naturally to them doe to their heuristic point of
view. This means that they can loosely view a rule as well as make it fit to the plan that they
already have for their papers. Algorithmic writers in the other hand, that is, people with writers
block, tend to fright, for they feel threatened when not following the rules to the letter.
Rose made these examinations by interviewing with the students and by evaluating the
writers ability to write, produce, plan, and revise a paper. He found that the five of whom
suffered from writers block wrote according to "writing strategies that impeded rather than

enhanced the composing process ... and that the other five "utilized rules, but they were less
rigid ones, and thus more appropriate to a complex process like writing" (Rose)
Here, Rose not only makes a good point about these types of writers, but also he makes
it a point to discuss that the writers who suffer from the block aren't necessarily bad students but
rather delayed because of the fact that they follow guidelines. Now, not necessarily do these
guidelines have to be bad. Mike Rose does not have anything against the rules, however he does
elucidate that these guidelines are the top cause for a writer's block. He goes on to say that
instead of allowing the student to use his/her imagination and really "free write," they are
automatically told what to do and what not do by means of these guidelines. I strongly agree with
Roses assertions for the cause of writers block. I believe guidelines to deprive a person from his
or her creative freedom. In this process they freeze up because they are having trouble applying
these rules and guidelines to what they already have planned in their minds. The fact that they
are instructed to do so, impedes their abilities when they are actually asked to write something
outside of what these rules and guidelines require.
As a final point, Rose details that those students who did not suffer from writers block
were more open minded. In the study, for the group of students who excel at writing, their rules
are much simpler and less harsh as compared to those of the other group. This is perhaps because
they do not just focus on these rules. They use them more as a guideline or some sort of an
outline to help through the process of writing, the rules are in fact the same, however the
approach is quite different. Although I do NOT necessarily like rules, I find myself in no trouble
in trying to follow them. I personally use rules and procedures as a helping hand since I fall
directly under this stereotype. While I know to follow guidelines, I combine them with my own
styles and use the guidelines as a reference to keep on track.