Stotsky, Sandra. "On Planning and Writing Plans. Or Beware of Borrowed Theories!" CCC 41.1 (1990): 37-57.

Abstract:

This article illustrates the current research and pedagogical problem caused by the lack of a cohesive definition of planning and writing plans, gives reasons why the problem is occurring, and offers a new definition of writing plans. Stotsky argues that the absence of a precise definition has stunted research in planning, because without a clear conceptual definition, theories cannot be produced, tested, refined or shared. She claims that composition's borrowing of other disciplines' theoretical frameworks have caused the ambiguity surrounding writing plans. Cognitive psychology's theory that thinking precedes writing created a binary between product and process, a binary that is challenged in writing plans because of the difficulty of separating mental planning from physical writing action. She proposes that researchers adopt a Vygotskian view of language and offers a new theory of planning as the composing (not writing) process, which she defines as "the activity of creating ideas and connecting them coherently, internally, and visibly."