To quantify or not to quantify: a commentary on Perl

      
            While reading about Perl's study of unskilled college writers, I had to overcome feelings of ambivalence. Certainly scientific analysis has a place in the teaching of composition. Seeing patterns in the composing process of novice writers will undoubtably be valuable to those who teach the writer's craft. After all, scientific analysis has been performed on everything from second language acquisition patterns to the study of the Bible.
            Yet the creative artistic part of me is uneasy with attempting to analyze and quantify the complex process that occurs when a human being seeks to communicate through the written word. By subjecting the writing process to the microscope, one runs the risk of reducing writing to a mere mechanical procedure such as changing the oil in an automobile. Something inside me refuses to except the possibility that composing an essay could be on the same level as auto repair. In my view, composition is , to some degree, an expression of one's self and in a very real way helps reveal that self. .When I compose, I am sharing my particular perspective of the world, my voice. Well written texts do not come off the assembly line, but rather are the product of a unique and thoughtful human beings.
              Nevertheless, the findings are valuable and will prove beneficial to those wish to help their students master the art of composition. Being able to pinpoint specific behaviors that assist or detract from the writing process is a significant advance in the teaching of writing. As in all things, balance is the key. While examining the composing patterns of skilled and unskilled writers can provide valuable information, one must not lose sight of the complex human beings from whom the words come.