I would hope that such a study would prompt exactly what you suggest: a
great deal more thinking. I'm more interested in what we, as teachers,
could learn about what we do in the writing classroom as far as our
material practices go. Maybe if the writing process is so variable for
individuals across the full spectrum of novice learner to expert, chosing
to focus on a writing process that leads invariably to the same kind of
communicative "artifact" (essay) is something that bears more thinking.
In other words, there are deeper issues at hand than what means best lead
to the same end. There are many things we could learn from such a study
-- *new* contributions we could make to the field, not just a rehashing of
what's been studied before.
Beth
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Beth Baldwin, Ph.D. *
Office of Continuing Education *
University of North Carolina at Greensboro *
Greensboro, NC 27412-5001 *
910-334-5140 *
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