Sierra Zarate Ms.

Martinez ENC 1101-0005 February 20, 2013

For as long as I can remember, writing has been a struggle for me. Whenever an assignment is made and the due date is set, my anxiety sets in. Writing scares me because unlike math and science, there is usually no right answer to what is being asked. Rather, I am given a prompt and must address it as best I can, with the best supporting evidence to back everything up. What worries me the most about it is if I not understanding the prompt. Whenever this happens, which it has, I know that my paper is doomed. However, I always seem to end up figuring everything out, and my paper turns out well. How though? How do I go from being completely lost to completely understanding the prompt and establishing my point of view? Through the think-aloud study I made on myselfconducted, I discovered that I use strong planning methods, constant editing, and even some rhetorical consideration- while also having to overcome some distractions- to get to my final drafts. It seems as if everyone has the same general outlook on writing- it is something that may not be the easiest or most fun thing to do at times, but in the end, it is very beneficial. Writing is a large part of mostly everyones daily lives. Singing, texting, Face booking, and writing something down in an agenda are just some of the forms of writing that are very common. However, the way in which we go about these various forms of writing typically differs. Someone will feel more concerned about a text they just
Comment [LM1]: The wording is a little hard to follow here

received than they will about jotting down something their professor just said in class. This would be an example of not only two forms of writing, but a distraction that caused someone to lose focus on something else they were writing. Distractions are very common and a lot of the reason why we often times have such trouble writing- at least for me they are. When reading over my think-aloud transcript, I notice that I was distracted every time my phone buzzed from receiving a text message. I immediately felt the need to open the text and read it and once I did so, it caused a chain reaction. Next thing I knew I was on Facebook, then Twitter, then Instagram, checking out the latest things that my friends posted. I had such focus on my paper until that one little buzz. After visiting all of the social media sites, I seemed to lose complete track of where I was, and would have to either re-read the prompt or everything I had written up to that point. Going into it, I already knew that having my phone with me while Im trying to write a paper is never a good idea, but I never noticed how deeply it affected my train of thought. After being distracted a couple of times, I decided to put my phone somewhere out of my sight and on silent so that there was no chance of it catching my attention and distracting me. Once I did this, nothing could stop me from finishing my paper. This was the ultimate step that made me realize just how much my phone affects my writing. The moment it was gone, I had no other distraction problems. I left my internet browser closed on my computer as well so that I didnt get tempted to go on social networks through there. What stood out most to me on my transcript was how much planning I did. From the start to the end, a large majority of the transcript consists of planning out exactly what I
Comment [LM2]: Youve mentioned your transcript twice now, but you havent discussed your methodology. It would be helpful for you to discuss your study in detail earlier on, probably in your second paragraph

am going to do and how I am going to go about doing it. The first thing I said was I wonder if this has to be in MLA Formatyeah Im just going to do it in that format. I went on to plan who I was going to compare my writing process to, and why. For example, I said, I definitely think I want to discuss Tony because hes the person I remember reading about the mostyeah definitely going to do Tony. Just looking at these two quotes Ive used as examples, a pattern can be seen. Not only am I concerned with planning, but I like to come up with a plan (I definitely think I want to do Tony) but I come up with a reason why (because hes the one I remember reading about the most) and then reassure myself that I like it and am going to use it (yeah definitely going to do Tony). I continued to do this type of planning throughout the entirety of my paper. Another trend in my transcript was my constant re-reading and editing. After I typed a few sentences, I would re-read, then change a few minor things, and then continue writing. In the beginning, mainly in the opening paragraph, I would re-read everything I had written after each sentence I wrote. The opening paragraph is what took me the longest to write because of both this constant re-reading and my intense planning, as aforementioned. This continual editing and re-reading made a large time addition to how long it took me to complete my paper. While all of this editing may be beneficial in the end when I dont have much to fix from my first draft, I think that it hurts me more than helps. As Anne Lamott discusses in her article titled Shitty First Drafts, the rough draft is supposed to need a lot of editing. The important in the first draft is to get all of your thoughts and ideas down onto paper, and once that is done, you may begin editing and formalizing what you have down. By

constantly re-reading and editing my paper, I believe that I put a constraint on my thoughts, a negative one that is. I was too concerned with perfecting what I had already written that by the time I got back to writing each time, I had probably lost a valuable thought. Lamotts article helps me realize that I need not to stress over editing until I have completed my first draft, because that is the entire point of a rough draft. What matters is that I get everything on my mind about the subject down on my paper. Although I was not nearly as considerate of my audience as Murray was in Berkenkotters study, I detected an instance or two in my transcript in which I used rhetorical thinking. For example, towards the beginning of my essay when deciding who I was going to compare writing processes between, I said, Although if I do Mike I could talk about how he use algorithms like we discussed in classthat may look better that Im using terms we discussed in class. I took into consideration that my teacher would be reading and grading my paper, so I was thinking about what would essentially get me a better grade. I later went on to say, I need something good to start it offsomething that is very general but will grab the readers attentionsomething clever or smart. Here I was again considering my reader and how she would be affected by my opening sentence. Keeping audience in mind is very important when it comes to writing because they are the entire reason that you are writing, and who your writing is directed towards and trying to appeal to, whether for a grade or for entertainment. In future writings, I can expand my rhetorical thinking a lot more than I did in this one, as Murray did. If I were to use Sondra Perls code that she established, I would give myself the following characteristics: General Planning, [PL], Local Planning [PLL], Commenting [C], Questioning [Q], Repeating [re], Reading the directions [Rd], Reading the question

[Rq], Writing silently [W], Editing [E], and Periods of silence [s]. I would also add a few categories to this code including: Re-reading leading to writing [RR], Getting Distracted [D], and Rhetorical Thinking [RT]. All of these codes characterize my writing based off of my transcript. When it comes to writing, everyone has his or her own way of going about it. Expressing your feelings or views on a piece of paper is not as easy as it sounds. Even the most renowned writers have trouble getting their thoughts down on paper sometimes. This is where your unique skills and processes come in. Whether you like to take breaks, get it all down at once, edit throughout, or edit multiple times, you end up completing what youre writing eventually. Its those in-betweens and processes that you go through that got you there. Through studying my own personal writing process using the thinkaloud method, I discovered my specific process and how it affects my writing. From this I have gained not only knowledge of the skills I possess, but also what I can work on to further improve my writing.