This research proposed a new model of representational change in writing. In this
model, two processes — the construction phase and the expression phase — are al
ternatively repeated. In the construction phase, a mental representation of writing
tasks changes from a propositional representation of sentence-by-sentence in text to a
representation such as a summary of text, and finally changes into an abstract repre-
sentation reflecting deeper understanding. The expression phase is the reverse of the
construction phase; representation changes from abstract to propositional. Addition-
ally, this research assumed that the expression phase consisted of an automatic process
and a controlled process. The automatic process involves writing the main message,
and the controlled process involves writing another sentence that adds information to
the previously written sentence or gives concrete examples. After two experiments were
conducted to confirm the hypothesis, the results revealed that a portion of the main
written message was not related to the amount of resources necessary for the function-
ing of the control system; moreover, the amount of resources required for the proper
functioning of the control system facilitated a portion of the added sentences. These
two results are significant in proposing a new model and understanding the writing
process, and show that the mental process of writing includes an automatic process
and a controlled process.
