SQR 1

SUMMARY

Understanding Composing

In 1979, at the New York University, a study was performed giving the chance to investigate writers' composing methods at work. Writers' thoughts were taped and frequent patterns were evident during the thinking and composing process. Would this assignment prove that all writers undergo similar behaviors in the development of composing a paper?

At the outset, it was noticed that a writer rereads subsequenty after writing a few sentences. Then came the observation of writers returning to the topic given to change what has been written and fit the topic more appropriately. This is called recursive behavior. It was described by Anne as "gaining momentum". Additionally, a third backward action was recorded. It's a nonverbal percepton that occurs when a writer "feels something inside of them". According to Eugene Gendlin, this is a "felt sense"; "it is body and mind before they are spilt apart". Felt sense can create images, words, ideas, and feelings inside a writer's body, which I believe is the moment a light bulb clicks in your head.

Felt sense has many forms to mold our writing. We, as writers, begin with thoughts which are not fully developed, and we turn that into something real, something actual. The structuring, on the other hand, is the knowing how to write what the reader wants them to write, rather than what the writer wants to write. Writers "go inside", attend to what they are feeling (felt sense), and assess the words that obtain the meaning. In the processes explained, we undergo recursive patterns, which are the building blocks to composing a paper.

QUESTION

How do you think Sondra Perl's "Understanding Composing" can help you become a better writer? How can it help a struggling writer construct their thoughts on paper?

RESPONSE

When reading the article, I immediately felt a connection with the text. As I read more and more of the article, I became so interested in ways to improve the way I write my papers, since I stress and struggle whenever I'm assigned a paper. I usually take a while writing due to all of the distractions going on around me. It's hard to focus most of the time, but this article taught me how to keep my flow of though, and write a paper effectively.

I know that a majority of students, just like myself, struggle to understand the elements and processes that go into composing a paper. Therefore, I view Sondra Perl's article as a tool, and a way to discover how to craft and construct ideas onto paper. Ways to continue moving forward are to reread your sentences, go back to the topic, and most importantly, listen to your felt sense. If we students are able to comprehend the structures of writing such as retrospective structuring and projective structuring, we will have a better understanding of how to develop an intelligible paper, which is a huge benefit.