How do we conceive of writing?
 

• Writing As a Product
  This model sees writing as static, as an object that can be broken down and analyzed. Anyone who thinks deeply about writing does this almost automatically, and it helps us understand and deal with the complex interrelationships of a text. BUT the danger is that we will try to advise students about every aspect of a text all at once, and less important aspects of a piece of writing may assume more importance than more critical elements. Also, the student will be overwhelmed with all the bits and pieces he/she must address. Finally, it ignores the fact that the reader's impression of a piece of writing is of the WHOLE text, not just selected elements.

• Writing as a Process
  This model views writing as ongoing, either in a linear progression or in a circular (recursive) fashion. There are several altlernatives:
• The stage-model theory. This viewpoints sees the writing process as a series of distinct, ssequential steps: planning, prewriting, drafting, revising. It does not view the writing process as something that circles back on itself--that is, that one revises as one drafts, or that you have to stop in the middle of drafting and rethink your plan. It's a good model for structuring writing assignments and tutorials at the Writing Center (in other words, it fits into the constraints of time that institutions force on us), but it may not be an accurate reflection of what happens when people write.
• The recursive-cognitive process model. Based on the work of Emig, Flowers, Hayes, Britton, and others, this model argues that the writing process is recursive (stages are constantly re-visited) and that it is rooted in the psychological environment of the writer, as well as the communication situation at hand. While adopting the basic tripartite structure of the stage-model theory (planning, translating [drafting], reviewing [revising]), this model places that structure in the context of the rhetorical situation and the memory and thinking patterns of the writer. How does this impact tutoring? First, while we generally tackle invention, global revision, and local revision in that order, we may have to backtrack (or look forward) to other stages during a tutorial. Second, we should question the client about the "environment" of the assignment: previous assignments, what was discussed in class, the expectations of the teacher, etc. Third, we need to plumb/query the student's recollection and organization of knowledge about the topic, and try to get him/her to see where and how to use those memories and ideas in the text.
• The conversation or social constructionist model. This model argues that a writer is actually tapping into a whole social context when he/she writes--that he/she is responding to a multitude of voices and other texts when she/he writes. In otherwords, writing is part of a wider dialogue. A piece of writing then is constructed socially, as part of social communication. This has less immediate apparent implications for tutoring, but it does have a few implications. First, we need to look at a student's paper as part of scholarly commentary on a particular topic. This means understanding, if only broadly, some of themajor issues and writers on that topic is essential to a successful paper. If content/authority is thin, the paper will not succeed. Second, again, papers need to be seen within the social and intellectual context of the class in which they were assigned--the topic of the class, the sequence of writing assignments, the instructions and expectations of the instructor, etc. Third, the writer's task is difficult, because he/she has to find his/her own voice but still synthesize many others.