Re: Freewriting

Steve Krause (skrause@BGNET.BGSU.EDU)
Wed, 24 Jul 1996 08:13:37 -0400

I tried to post on this thread earlier, but the listserv rejected me for
some reason :(. Anyway, I think asking "why" before embarking on a
research project is important, but I think it's _really_ important to
examine the "anti" portion of this thread. Anti-textbook?
Anti-research? Anti-protocol? What does that really mean? A protocol,
after all, is just a method for doing something, the "rules" of research;
why would you want to research without any protocol at all? Wouldn't
that more or less be the "Calvinball" of research (making it up as you go
along)?

Personally (and I actually have to credit a teacher of mine for this
point), I think one of the problems with the research in our field is
hardly any of it is long-term. We assume that learning how to write is a
life-long process and that writer's methods and motivations change year
to year, yet almost all of the research projects that I can think of take
place over a semester or two in college. And of course, the reason for
that is because long-term research in a field like ours would be really
expensive and really hard.

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Steve Krause * Department of English * Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH * 43403 * (419) 372-8934 *skrause@bgnet.bgsu.edu
*Soon to be at Southern Oregon State College in Ashland, OR*
*http://ernie.bgsu.edu/~skrause/Steve.html*
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