Synopsis
Judging from Carol Berkenkotter’s study, Decisions and Revisions: The Planning Strategies of a Publishing Writer, and also from the response of the subject in this study, Donald M. Murray, Response of a Laboratory Rat: or, Being Protocoled, studies that attempt to analyze a writer’s ‘writing process’ are often flawed and can produce untrustworthy results. The attempt is, of course, admirable, especially when considering how helpful and/or useful a set of trustworthy results and analysis from an experiment such as this could be in the hands of a writing student or any writer, at that. Analyzing the ‘writing process’ as it is happening would be an excellent way to learn more about how our brains work while writing, notice our good habits and bad habits, things we might want to work on and things we could be more conscious in repeating, as well as understanding ourselves better as writers.
Benefits of the Study
In Berkenkotter’s study of Murray’s ‘writing process’, there were actually a few key aspects about his habits that surprised both the writer and the conductor of the study. This shows that there is in fact great potential for these kinds of experiments and this realm of study to improve the ways we think about writing, as well as the ways in which we write in the first place. It is an interesting field of study and is definitely valuable and worth pursuing.
What to Keep in Mind
Like any study and/or experiment, though, there are unmeasurable variables that impact the results and conducting of the study and/or experiment. In particular, a study, such as Berkenkotter’s, is difficult to claim as completely reliable, as the subject of the study, the writer Murray, will unintentionally and inevitably be conscious and aware of the observations being made on him and his ‘writing process’. This will impact his behaviors and habits, shifting the settings and environment of the experiment further and further away from the natural, normal, or common setting that is being attempted to study and observe. This does not completely mark the study and its results as invaluable, but it is something to keep in mind when reviewing its implications.
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