SQR 5

Mario A. Garcia, Vanessa Magdaleno
ENG. 1301.28
Instructor: Trang Phan
9/26/10

Writer-Based Prose: A Cognitive Basis for Problems in Writing

SUMMARY:
Linda Flower. “Writer-Based Prose: A Cognitive Basis for Problems in Writing”. College English, Vol. 41, No. 1. (1979), pp. 19-37

If a writer is composing using writer based prose, they are not keeping their reader in mind, and writing their ideas in a way that is only understandable to them, such as in reader based prose. Problems that occur with writer based prose are underdeveloped ideas, which then lead to poor discussions. A study was performed in order to study the egocentric nature of a person. It was seen through children telling a story using only body language, that the audience is not kept in mind, and that the children assumed the audience understood what they were doing.
The functional system used in writing is the way a writer manipulates his/her knowledge into some acceptable form of meaning. The structure of writer based prose shows strategies for working with information. The style of writer based prose come from internal thoughts, as well as using code words. Using sematic memory, episodic memory, and short term memory all can help get your ideas across to the reader more effectively.


QUESTION:
What can you do to diminish writer-based prose in your writing and how will this help you to become a better writer?


RESPONSE:
Writer-based prose as we discussed is when a writer focuses too much on a certain subject and makes it only comprehendible to himself/herself and not to people that are reading their work. The best and most certain way to make your writing be easier for others to understand is to have someone read your work. They can give you feedback as to what they do not understand and then you can concentrate on those certain areas and make them more explanatory for your readers. Also using this short term memory technique is very useful when many things are going to be explained. You cannot go ahead and give brief quick examples of all the ideas you have in mind for fear that you will forget what to say. Instead you have to take each idea and give clear examples of each giving all the thoughts you have in mind about each individual subject. When this is done you can still cover everything you want and be able to express your thoughts with enough depth that anyone who reads what you have read will understand your writing. Imagine trying to tell a story to someone without words. The only way to get your point across would be by using body movements. In your mind you are processing so many ideas at a time that you think everyone knows what you are talking about. Instead what you should do is try to gather all the information possible for a certain part of a story and think of the best way possible to act it out. It is the same way with writing. You cannot expect everyone to know what you are talking about when all you are doing is putting down things that only you understand. It is obvious as to how this will make you a better writer. When writer-based prose is eliminated from your writing you know that you are not only speaking to yourself which is the first step to making you a much better writer.