Catherine Vallorani

Enc 1101
Professor Wolcott
September 15, 2014
Self Study

A self study is vitally important for improving your writing method and study habits. I
conducted a week long study which allowed me to see the different areas in which I do my best
work and where I fall short. During this self study I recorded everything I did within a five day
period. I constructed a graph with multiple columns that reflected on what I was doing during
that specific time period, how much I accomplished, and how I felt about the work I did. To
acquire the most accurate results, I also recorded my environment and the possible distractions
around me. By analyzing my weekly schedule, I have learned useful information about myself
which has allowed me to better manage my time. Early on I began to notice that the quality of
my work correlated to the time of day. To determine if this speculation was in fact correct, I
mostly focused on the time of day and what activity I was engaging in.
Paul A. Prior, a professor in the english department at University of Illinois, has written
many books including Writing/Disciplinarity: A Sociohistoric Account of Literate Activity in the
Academy. In his article titled Tracing Process: How Texts Come into Being he speaks about the
process and influences that make up writing. We can only understand where texts come from-in
terms of their authorship and social contexts as well as their content and textural organization-by
careful tracing of their histories. (Prior 520) In Priors case study he uses the think aloud
protocol. This methodology requires a person to speak everything that they are thinking while
reading and writing. With this method you are able to gather and interpret information regarding

your actual writing process. While this is very useful to understand common and personal
writing habits, it also possesses many flaws if not executed correctly. There is a lot of room for
error while using the think aloud protocol. For example, someone might be self conscience and
watch their habits because they know they are being recorded. That is why I chose to use a
different methodology. I decided to conduct a week long self study so that I can look not only at
my writing process but at the big picture, my study habits in general.
Based on my observations and recordings it is evident that I work best at certain times of
the day and in familiar environments. I am the most productive at night before going to bed. I am
able to focus more because there is less going on and I am more relaxed. During the day, I tend
to take more breaks because of the distractions around me. Coming home having accomplished
what I needed to do that day allows me to focus solely on my school work, therefore I tend to get
better results. I also work really well under pressure. For example, I do my best work on
Sundays or the night before an assignment is due. It is quite obvious that I am a procrastinator.
The stress of waiting before the deadline might not be the most practical but for me it is the most
effective method to get my assignments completed.
Once all the data from the self study was collected, I could begin examining it and
looking for patterns. This method was very tedious and time consuming but it definitely paid off
in the end. I have learned more about myself in the past week than I ever could before. The
knowledge I have gained about myself has already proven useful. Since the study ended, I have
altered my day to day routine and many things have already began to improve. Knowing this
information about myself will not only help me now but also in the future.