In the writing consultation at the TU Dresden Writing Center, many good questions are asked. To the question "I should actually write, but then keep doing something else...How can I change that?" Paulina, trained writing peer tutor since 2016, gives a first answer:

As early as 1981, Hayes and Flower found that writers basically make use of two "diametrically opposed writing strategies" that guide their writing actions (Sennewald 2021: 146). Bräuer has titled these two tendencies as structure-creating and structure-following writers (Bräuer 2014: 262f.), with neither strategy being the better one - both have advantages and disadvantages.

Structure-following writers correspond more to the image that is often perceived as "the right one." First the structure is created in the form of the outline, a plan is made, and then the text is written. In my experience as a writing tutor, and also in Nadja Sennewald's study (2021: 151), students report that this is also the way they were taught to do academic work - and that they often have problems with it. At the other extreme are the structure-creating writers, who "[develop] their ideas while writing and [structure] the text only afterwards" (Sennewald 2021: 147). This approach is often perceived as chaotic, and thus has negative connotations. In my opinion, however, a bit of chaos in scientific writing is also useful, for example, to discover new contexts, to think outside the box, and to sometimes deviate from the pre-planned path.

"Chaotic" and yet productive

As a structure-creating writer, I can say from my own experience - in science, the path is just as important as the goal. Learning and trial and error must be understood as an active part of the process. However, when the path is still open and uncertain, it is even more important to set a clear goal and always have that in mind. To do this, it makes sense to write down the goal and post it on a large sheet across your desk, for example, or in the header of your Word document. I actually find it easier when I don't have to stick strictly to the plan, but can also do some more unstructured research.

However, in order to stick to the plan (the deadline will come at some point), it helps me to name my tasks and work packages as precisely as possible and to divide them into the smallest possible steps. This creates a dynamic system that grows every day and can thus be adapted to my erratic way of working. It also helps me a lot to really write down all the thoughts that come to me in the work process. For that, I have the actual document I'm writing in, and then I have a notebook where I just write down everything that comes to mind while I'm writing: other ideas, cross-references, thoughts on literature, my shopping list, and so on. In this way, I can make my rather confused thought process visible and later follow it myself.

Basically, there are many small methods and approaches that make the structure-creating process a bit more predictable. You can work chaotically just as well as you can work according to a plan and I don't think that it has to make life more difficult for students (and all writers) if they prefer to work in an unstructured way.

Sources:

Bräuer, Gerd (2014): Grundprinzipien der Schreibberatung. Eine pragmatische Sicht auf die Schreibprozesstheorie. In: Stephanie Dreyfürst und Nadja Sennewald (Hg.): Schreiben. Grundlagen-texte zur Theorie, Didaktik und Beratung. Opladen, Toronto: Verlag Barbara Budrich UTB, 257–282.

Sennewald, Nadja (2021): Schreiben, Reflektieren, Kommunizieren. Studie zur subjektiven Wahrnehmung von Schreibprozessen bei Studierenden. Bielefeld: wbv Publikation.

© Sven Ellger

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Paulina Hösl

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This post appeared on the occasion of the December 2022 Writing Center Newsletter. This and other newsletter issues are linked in the Writing Center Newsletter Archive.

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The Writing Center of the TU Dresden (SZD) supports students and lecturers with offers for planning and writing various texts in studies such as vouchers, protocols, seminar papers and theses and for teaching academic writing in teaching and supervision. All information about offers and possibilities of support can be found in the areas for students and teachers.