Written Communication Apr 2018

Distributed Cognition and Embodiment in Text Planning: A Situated Study of Collaborative Writing in the Workplace

Ashley Clayson University of West Florida

Abstract

Through a study of collaborative writing at a student advocacy nonprofit, this article explores how writers distribute their text planning across tools, artifacts, and gestures, with a particular focus on how embodied representations of texts are present in text planning. Findings indicate that these and other representations generated by the writers move through a spectrum of durability, from provisional to more persistent representations. The author argues that these findings offer useful insights into the relationships among distributed cognition, materiality, embodiment, and text planning and have implications for practitioners and students of writing. Additionally, the author recommends that scholars further investigate the ways in which embodied representations of texts are generated through lived experiences with the materials of writing.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2018-04-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088317753348
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
collaborative writing body and rhetoric
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (11)

  1. Shahri et al. (2025)
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  2. Vaughan et al. (2024)
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  3. Nissi et al. (2022)
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CrossRef global citation count: 13 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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