Similarly to Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts,” Berkenkotter looks at the process of writing. While Lamott writes about her own writing process, Berkenkotter does a study on Donald Murray, a well established writer. However, studies have been conducted to look at the writing process of students, expect they were timed and they were in an uncomfortable position. I am not sure how anyone can expect to get good results when the conditions are not favorable for the subject. In fact at some point in the study, Berkenkotter had Murray go to her university and she gave him a one hour limit to write. Murray says himself that “I have rarely felt completely trapped and so inadequate.” But, Berkenkotter mostly allowed him to write as usual. She had him tape his thoughts for whenever he happened to be working. Then “Another coder and [Berkenkotter] independently coded the transcripts of the protocols made in the naturalistic and laboratory setting.”
Murray mentions how he had already made it a career to study himself; he wrote notes, suggestions and changes for his writing in a daybook. I believe that he was already on the right page when it comes to studying the process of writing. Murray would right a draft and then based on feedback he had to go back over his writing and make necessary changes. I would say that this forced him to think about his own writing. Either way, Murray and Berkenkotter learned a lot about his writing process from this study. Contrary to what Murray thought he considers his audience when he writes. She mentions that this might be due to the fact that it has become an unconscious part of his writing. Berkenkotter recorded how a majority of Murray’s writing is dedicated to planning. But, he did not realize this fact until the study was done. I believe that conducting a study like this can help me learn some new things about my own writing.
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