There's been some interesting buzz around the pedagogical campfire and on digital platforms lately: generative AI is being celebrated as a revolutionary "process-over-product" tool for writing. While it's exciting to see renewed interest in writing pedagogy from other disciplines, we might want to consider that writing studies scholars have championed process-oriented methodologies for decades. Generative AI, rather than introducing something entirely new, aligns with many of these historical concepts, offering fresh pathways for exploration. As with the nuances of writing processes themselves, balancing generative AI with mindful, human-at-the-helm practices, can amplify our creativity and rhetorical prowess in specific use cases. In this post, I think about specific connections between writing practices and generative AI and draw connections that have helped me in my own teaching. I hope they are helpful to you as well.
Revisiting the Legacy of Process Writing (1970s)
Janet Emig fundamentally reshaped our understanding with her groundbreaking 1971 study, The Composing Processes of Twelfth Graders, demonstrating that writing is inherently reflective, recursive, and cognitive. Emig's method of "composing aloud" mirrors how generative AI can now "think aloud" alongside writers, providing real-time reflections, ideas, and prompts that foster deeper metacognitive awareness.
Donald Murray advocated for writing as a process of continual discovery, emphasizing iterative drafting and revising. Generative AI can enhance this exploratory practice by swiftly generating alternative drafts and stimulating new ideas, thus facilitating richer, more dynamic revisions.
Peter Elbow introduced freewriting, advocating for writers to liberate their ideas without initial self-censorship. When prompted well, generative AI can parallel Elbow’s method by quickly generating expansive content, encouraging writers to explore possibilities freely and creatively.
Linda Flower and John Hayes’ cognitive model depicted writing as an intricate interplay of planning, drafting, and revising. Generative AI can echo this nonlinear and iterative nature, actively participating in each stage to offer timely feedback, alternative phrasing, or structural recommendations, thus reinforcing the recursive process.
Beyond Steps: Post-Process Writing has a Moment (1990s)
Post-process theory, championed by scholars such as Thomas Kent, underscores writing as a socially situated, interpretive act, inherently context-dependent. Kent argued against a universal writing process, emphasizing interpretation and adaptability. Generative AI connects to this idea when human writers critically interpret and adjust AI-generated content to specific rhetorical goals, underscoring the importance of human oversight in AI collaborations.
Lee-Ann Breuch also challenges rigid pedagogical frameworks, advocating for adaptable, dialogic interactions. Generative AI might extend Breuch’s vision by acting as a responsive dialogic partner, enabling fluid and context-specific interactions where students and AI collaboratively negotiate meaning and rhetorical choices.
Generative AI: Enhancing, Not Replacing, Human Creativity and the Writing Process
We may be able to agree that generative AI is powerful; perhaps we can also agree that it should always serve to complement, not replace, human creativity. AI-generated text, devoid of nuanced social awareness, relies heavily on human interpretation and contextual judgment to achieve rhetorical success and effective communication. We may not agree on how, when, or even if we deploy it in first-year writing, but I want to offer that we keep the conversation going.
I cruised through the Bedford Bookshelf and drew some insights from a few Macmillan textbooks and authors that holistically embrace process and post-process methods (all available as low-cost options). I’m sure you have others we could add to this abbreviated list:
Writer/Designer (Ball, Arola, Sheppard): Emphasizing writing as intentional design, generative AI invites students to critically evaluate and intentionally integrate AI-generated suggestions, ensuring alignment with specific rhetorical purposes.
Andrea Lunsford's Collaboration Model: Viewing writing as a collaborative social act, generative AI functions as a digital co-writer, stimulating essential discussions about authorship, agency, voice, and ethical human-machine collaborations. This thread that runs through all of her work could not be captured in a post, but her prolific presence demonstrates the validity of viewing writing this way.
Understanding Rhetoric (Losh; Alexander; Cannon; Cannon): exemplifies both process and post-process writing pedagogies through its innovative, multimodal approach to composition instruction. It aligns with traditional process pedagogy by guiding students through the stages of writing. It also encourages recursive writing practices, allowing students to revisit and refine their work continually. This approach fosters a deeper understanding of writing as a dynamic and evolving process.
The Writer's Loop (Ingraham and Law Bohannon): a smaller, born-digital text that adds to the body of literature on socially-situated writing that reflects on writing as continuously recursive. Generative AI aligns with this looping model, providing ongoing iterative feedback that encourages perpetual reflection and revision, thereby strengthening students' writing agency. Built with intentional social and cultural consciousness in readings and activities, the text also invites inclusion.
Keeping Humanity at the Helm
Ultimately, our role as educators seems clear, at least in this moment: to ensure human creativity and critical reflection remain central in the writing process. As generative AI evolves, it holds potential to expand upon foundational theories of process and post-process writing, fostering deeper human engagement, contextual responsiveness, and creative exploration in our digitally enriched writing practices. What generative AI can't do is replace the human edge required for authenticity, agency, and voice in how we engage with the communication practices of fellow humans. I hope this brief stroll through our field's history will be helpful as you respond to colleagues and work across disciplines at your own institutions!
