Sondra Perl's Theory of Rewriting in the Writing Process.

The writing process or as some others might know it, the composing process plays an essential role in the making and proper structuring of a written piece of work. Throughout many passing years, many English analysts and majors have incorporated their theories, trying to give a better and more detailed explanation and description as to what is involved during this process. Researcher Sondra Perl is an example of one of these famous researchers, who contributed to the development of the three main stages of the writing process being prewriting, writing and rewriting. These strategies have been found to overlap and repeat multiple times throughout the writing process and can be complex for both the older, younger, advanced and beginning writers.  Regardless, if one were to propose the most important and enduring idea which Sondra Perl has contributed to the theory of the writing process, it would have to be her theory on revision and the many routes involved which one can take when engaging in this particular strategy.

            Revision is important because it not only helps the writer check for unnoticed spelling and grammar mistakes but, it ultimately helps make sure that what we have written down has evidently made the point which we were trying to make and that we have the right ideas to support it. Although revision occurs at different times of a written piece, depending on the writer, in order to be successful in doing so, Perl suggests we must ask ourselves a series of questions such as “Is this what I’ve been wanting to say?” “What is this all about?” “What’s missing? What haven’t I written about?” Not only can we ask ourselves these questions but one has the chance to also ask once again the initial questions which we pondered over in the beginning of the writing process as well. Two of these questions which are truly important are “What’s on my mind?” and “What would I like to write about?”  

In order to successfully engage in the process of revision and be able to answer these questions, English analysts recommend that the writer make sure he is in a place where the mind is able to think freely and not be interrupted with distractions. The reason why this is encouraged is mainly because it helps the writer get in touch with what Perl called “The felt sense.” Felt sense according to fellow English analyst Eugene Gendlin is “this internal awareness that we call on.” In other words, one can say that their felt sense is the basis for being able to conclude why we were able to say what we wanted to say or why we were not able to do so. Perl adds to this idea and believes that the crucial operation in the process occurs when one pauses and attends to that felt sense. Perl also explains that the most productive situation ironically occurs when you answer “No” to the question “Have I said what I intended to?” As Perl further explains, “In that moment of experiencing a mismatch or ‘nonfit’ between your words and your felt sense, you tend to experience a click or shift that moves you close to knowing this thing that you can’t yet say. In short, pausing, checking, and saying “No” usually lead you to better words.”

Perl analyzed the research and an experiment to understand and enforce the importance of the felt sense theory. She later described her findings and conclusions in the book “College Composition and Communication.” The research began when a group of twenty teachers who were taking a course in research and basic writing at New York University were given the assignment to tape their thoughts while composing aloud on the topic “My most anxious moment as a writer.” The purpose of this experience was designed to not only gain information but to also allow the teachers the chance to see the way their own composing processes worked. As a result the teachers began to detect basic patterns and also determine if whether or not they were a part of the recursive process. Among the many findings from this experiment, they were able to conclude that the recurring parts seemed to vary from writer to writer and from topic to topic. An example of this finding would be of one of the teachers named Anne. Perl writes “For some, like Anne, rereading occurs after every few phrases; for others, it occurs after every sentence; more frequently, it occurs after a “chunk” of information has been written.” In other words one must keep in mind that the guidelines can work differently for different people or for different occasions so Perl’s analysis leads us to conclude that one must know that these guidelines allow for a certain extent of flexibility on the part of the writer.

As one can see, revision contains much more than simply looking over your work for errors, and when done in an appropriate manner, one can truly benefit from its advantages. If one continues to practice proper revision skills, it is possible to lose the fear of being wrapped up in the negativity of the word “No” when asked “What is it you want to write about?”  Revision can eventually lead to a better understanding of the point, the writer is trying to make. Aside from that, when working on the skill of “felt sense”, one can gain the ability to recognize where it is they need to go, say, and write what otherwise they would have not dared to write about before. Sondra Perl quotes “Thus when we are successful at this process, we end up with a product that teaches us something, that clarifies what we know, and that lifts out or explicates or enlarges our experience.” This is important because one cannot pick up on another writer’s felt sense unless they themselves have experienced what it truly means to get lost in their writing. Thus by following Perl’s theory of revision in the writing process any writer can be able to create stronger and more focused compositions.

Works Cited

Understanding Composing. Sondra Perl. College Composition and Communication, Vol. 31, No. 4. (Dec., 1980), pp. 365-369.

Writing Process. Wikipedia. Website. Last modified on 31 August 2011 at 02:47. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_process

Sondra Perl Composing Guidelines. A Community of Writers: A Workshop Course in Writing. Peter Elbow (University of Massachusetts at Amherst) and Pat Belanoff  (State University of New York at Stony Brook) (pp. 118-120, 124, 126-128) Copyright © 1987 by Peter Elbow and Pat Belanoff. Website. Last Modified: 30 May 2006. http://www.focusing.org/perlprocess.html