CREATIVE ESSAY

Creative Essay

Creative Essay

Introduction

Theories about how writers compose texts frame current research and pedagogy. Informed by LeFevre's (2002) paradigms for writing, Applebee's (2000) models of writing development, and Ward's (1994) analysis of various dialogic pedagogies, this chapter uses four frames to characterize research and practice in writing: emergent, cognitive, social constructivist, and critical.

Emergent

The emergent frame has its roots in a diverse set of sources: (a) phenomenological philosophy, (b) Bruner's (2004) studies of cognition and creativity, (c) Chomsky's 2003) view of language acquisition, and (d) the Paris Review interviews (Plimpton, 2001). Phenomenology is based on the idea that reality is organized and experienced by the individual through language. Bruner's early work focused on the ways in which children's learning developed through manipulation, representation, and symbolism of the external world, and Chomsky theorized that children acquired language through a series of successive grammars. The Paris Review interviewed 20th-century poets, novelists, and essayists about their work, highlighting the creative and often challenging process of exploration and discovery. The common focus was the writer finding voice and perfecting the craft of writing.

Two major studies of writing instruction in the classroom, one conducted in Britain (Britton, Burgess, Martin, McLeod, & Rosen, 2002) and the other conducted in the United States (Applebee, 2005), found that writing assignments tended to be limited in scope and purpose and typical assignments were fill-in-the blank exercises or frrst-and-final draft reports written for the teacher. Britton et al. (2002) developed a model that suggests learning to write is a process of learning to use language in different ways, from everyday language to formalized language in new genres to inform, persuade, or entertain. Writing follows a developmental continuum in which younger students engage in more expressive writing and older students move toward transactional and literary writing.

Educators enacted Britton's ideas, emphasizing writing for multiple purposes and audiences other than the teacher. For example, freewriting could help students generate ideas, and teachers and students could discuss those ideas with instructors asking open-ended questions about texts and processes. Elbow (2005) argued for using writing groups in which readers pointed to effective features of the text, summarized the author's ideas, described what they experienced reading the text, and showed their understanding by suggesting metaphors for the text. Instructors in this model are experienced coaches with whom a student can consult.

Cognitive

Proposing a model of writing derived from cognitive psychology, Hayes and Flower (1980) challenged previous assumptions about how writers composed text. They identified three major components: (a) the task environment; (b) cognitive processes involved in writing such as planning, translating, and revision; and (c) long-term memory including knowledge of topic, genre, and audience. Emig's (2003) seminal study on the writing processes of twelfth graders reinforced that writing is a tool for reasoning and learning rather than a means to demonstrate knowledge already acquired. These researchers initiated cognitive studies that (a) identified recursive aspects of composing such as planning, organizing, drafting, and revising; (b) focused on the differences between novices and expert writers; and (c) suggested processes ...