| A gap in the research exists concerning how successful writers learned to write. This gap affects how writing instructors approach teaching writing. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to address this gap by gaining insights on how successful writers have learned to write. The conceptual framework for this study was based on the theories of Emig and Kent concerning areas of weakness in writing pedagogy. The research questions asked how successful writers experienced the process of learning to write, how experienced writers knew when they had learned to write successfully, and what knowledge about the essence of writing could help educators. The researcher interviewed ten teachers of writing who are also successful writers and performed an analysis using NVivo software to categorize and code the data and then construct themes that the data revealed. The researcher found the participants often referred to experiencing an epiphany, or a change in their knowledge provoked by learning. Participants also stated their writing processes were not linear and did not follow a set process, such as what is taught to students for test preparation. This research offers teachers insights on possible flaws in current teaching methods. The study suggests that teachers might foster students toward an epiphany as a writer through multiple writing opportunities, teacher feedback, and one-on-one instruction. All of these approaches to teaching writing could lead to positive outcomes on standardized tests without teaching formula writing. Knowing more about how people experience the process of learning to write successfully could affect how teachers teach writing, and, in turn, could produce a society of stronger writers who are better communicators. |
