Reflecting on Sondra Perl's "Understanding Composition"

Reading through these composing guidelines, I couldn't help but let my thoughts drift to the moments when I'm home staring at my computer screen; my mind acting as the stage to a great inner dialectic debate. "What am I trying to say? Where should I place this sentence? Does this paragraph flow to the next one? Is this appropriate to the assignment, or is it excessive information?" Whether many believe it or not, Perl's guidelines for composing and the cognitive processes that accompany them are actions that many of us already engage in when writing. Often when coming across an individual caught up in the writing process, we witness them stop abruptly and begin to look around after they've written something. For some this may be misinterpreted as a loss of focus, but many times this is reflective of the large stop sign in their mind that says "No". Though (as stated in the reading) many people are afraid because of this notion that they may not have the "right idea", and that the "no" that they've just given themselves is a white flag the paper is waving; this part of the process many times proves to be the most productive. When a student can keep in mind that the "No" is more of a type of constructive criticism and that it reflects revising much more than it does correcting, they are more likely to retain confidence in the piece they are working on. It is also common to see students reread their work as a whole. Most of the time, I find myself asking "Is there anything major or important that I've left out?" Here, the concept of felt sense comes into play and I can begin to ask myself other questions that will greatly improve my work and fill in the blanks I found through rereading the piece: "Did I say enough about this? Is it clear WHY this is important? Have I given enough examples?" All of this is integral towards composition, down to the bit at the beginning about how comfortable one feels. From personal experience, I understand that outside factors can also greatly harm a piece's potential. It is important to be comfortable and largely focused on writing (and its processes!) when trying to create or improve a piece.