A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing

Like some of the other articles we have read, this one attempts to break the practice of writing down into steps, explaining the physical and cognitive processes a writer goes through in order to create a work. However, I liked this article slightly better, if only for the grants it makes towards individual process and creativity. "The problem with stage descriptions of writing," the author states, "is that they model the growth of the written product, not the inner process of the person creating it." My process is different for almost every single type of writing, and I assume this must be true for many other writers as well. Why the great minds in the comp theory field seem so obsessed with dissecting and investigating the intangible workings and processes of the inner mind, I'll never know, but it just seems so futile to me.

I think what this article does really well is further illustrate the cognitive processes that go into writing, expanding and explicating on some of the topics Emig touched on when she wrote of writing as a means of learning. The steps of planning, translating, reviewing, etc., explained in such detail, show how a writer learns through the process of composing a paper,and makes corrections as such as they go. These thoughts on revision, or "regeneration" as Flower and Hayes put it, also tie in nicely with the article of revising process.