AnnoBib -- The Construction of Negotiated Meaning

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Flower, Linda. The Construction of Negotiated Meaning: A Social Cognitive Theory of Writing. Carbondale and Edwardsville IL: Southern Illinois UP, 1994. Print.
    Defines writing in terms of an interactive social and cognitive process and proposes a convincing and compelling theory of the construction of negotiated meaning. Supported by social and cognitive research in rhetoric, education, and psychology, she portrays meaning making as a literate act and a constructive process. The social cognitive process is a source of tension and conflict among the multiple forces that shape meaning: the social and cultural context, the demands of discourse, and the writer’s own goals and knowledge. Discusses a generative theory of conflict. With this conflict central to her theory of the construction of negotiated meaning, she examines negotiation as an alternative to the metaphors of reproduction and conversation. Through negotiation, social expectations, discourse conventions, and the writer’s personal goals and knowledge become inner voices. The tension among these forces often creates the hidden logic behind student writing. In response to these conflicting voices, writers sometimes rise to the active negotiation of meaning, creating meaning in the interplay of alternatives, opportunities, and constraints.
        Chapter 6, “'Welcome to College': Construction and Negotiation in a Freshman Class” uses case studies and protocol analysis to describe the negotiation of students with a specific writing prompt, including their collaborative discussion and private reflections. Tables, graphs, transcripts are provided for review of the process and strategies.

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