A STUDY OF PROFESSIONAL AND EXPERIENCED WRITERS REVISING AND EDITING AT THE COMPUTER AND WITH PEN AND PAPER.

摘要

This study uses text processing and pen and paper protocols, a standard method of text analysis, and interviews to explore cognitive strategies involved in making changes in texts. Specific areas of investigation are as follows: differences between revising and editing; differences between writers working at a word processor and with pen and paper; differences between professional and experienced writers; differences between professionals writing on-the-job and professionals in a research context; and differences between writers with experience in the genre of the research and those without experience in this genre.;Statistical analyses (a split-plot factorial ANOVA, Newman-Keuls, and T-tests), graphs of interactions and changes, scattergrams, and responses to interviews indicate that, in this study, editing, like revising, ought to be distinguished from routine proofreading activities; that revisers and editors at a word processor do these tasks differently than those who work with pen and paper; that there are no differences between professional and experienced writers or between professionals on-the-job and in a research context; and that differences between writers with and without genre experience suggest that even expert writers may require practice to develop detailed plans for an unfamiliar rhetorical problem. Implications for teaching, pedagogy, and future research are discussed.;Seven writers--three experienced teachers of writing and four professionals--provide data for this study. Subjects performed four research tasks and answered questions about each task: They composed and revised a press release at a word processor; edited a press release at a word processor; composed and revised a press release using pen and paper; and edited a press release using pen and paper. Two of the professionals also completed an on-job task and interview.