Monica Torres, Emily Perez
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
The article goes in to brief details about the differences between Writer-based and Reader-based prose. When using writer-based prose the readers aren’t kept in mind because it mainly focuses on the writer, making the text difficult for the reader to understand. A writer using this method is only capable of getting their point across best explained by in their mind. These writers don’t seem to put much thought in the readers and automatically assume they understand what they’re trying to say. In the article they experimented on children as they attempted to tell a story with no verbal action. Their own body language made total sense to the child but the audience couldn’t put the pieces together. These are undeveloped ideas which occur when using writer-based prose. The functional system seems to be the mind manipulating the writers into creating some sort of meaning for every statement in their mind, causing the statement to make sense to them and not to others. When using sematic, episodic, and short term memory it benefits the writer in thinking about the audience and prevents the readers from getting lost. They briefly explain what reader base prosed is, reader base prose is for the reader. The writer writes for the reader instead of him or herself, so then the reader understands the point the writer is trying to get across.
Q: Do you think Writer-Base prose is good for a person in particular? Why or why not?
A: I think it’s both good and bad. Good because the writer expresses what it is that’s going on in their head. Writer-base prose reflects the purpose of what the writer is writing about. Everything the writer explains all makes sense in their head, every single detail. Also, another reason why I think it’s good is that it helps the writer with creativity. The writer can talk about anything they choose to, they can add exquisite details and just go on about the story and in their head it will all make sense. That’s where the down fall of writer-base prose comes in. The writer writes about whatever they want but it only makes sense to them. The reader has no idea what he or she has just read and if they do it’s still a little confusing to them. The writer is only using terminology that makes perfect sense to them. If the writer were to re-read the statement they have just written it would still make complete sense. Therefore to prevent this from happening the writer should allow other peers to read the statement and revise the passage to make it more understandable.