Every person has a different process when it comes to writing. Some people like to create multiple different drafts, and others such as myself like to make one draft and revise it in that same document. Berkenkotter’s study shed light on the writing process and just how valuable it is. In one of the processes she used the thinking out loud method. Whenever Murrary was working she would have him tape his thoughts. In my opinion, if I was aware of the recorder I think it would only cause me to have writer’s block because I’d be too worried over minuscule things like “Did I just say that word funny?” or “Did that sentence sound dumb?” instead of just naturally getting my ideas out. However, I can see how it can be a useful tool to writers as it captures things we may not realize we do while writing.
Berkenkotter’s revision processes suggest a lot of back and forth between planning, editing, and reviewing. Although I do agree that those things should be done, I tend to just make a brief outline of how I want my paper to be then just write one draft for it. I do make revisions afterwards, but it doesn’t make sense to me to create an entirely new document when I can just edit the one I already have done. I also try to occasionally ask one of my friends or family members to read my paper because sometimes a fresh set of eyes can pick up on things I might not have realized. Murray had done something similar in his study. He would write a draft then pass it along to his wife for feedback/corrections. Then based on that he would go back over his writing and make any changes he deemed necessary. It’s always a good idea to have someone else look over your work; however, I also found it a little odd that his wife was working with him without being paid because she was doing a lot of the hard parts but to each their own.
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