Case studies of basic writers processing topics both concrete to abstract and abstract to concrete : a relationship between personality type and writing process

Abstract

Contempory writing theories do not explain many of the writing behaviors exhibited by basic writers in the classroom. Many theorists (Emig, Fitzgerald, Rose, and Perl) have identified similar and distinct writing behaviors which have also been identified by instructors of basic writers. This study focuses on two college-level basic writing students by using the results of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and identified writing behaviors of theorists; these case studies shed light on writing processes in relationship to personality. The results suggest a correlation between writing behaviors and personality types which affects the writing and the teaching of the writing processes.