This paper presents a tentative model of the writing process that has been developed according to the technique of protocol analysis. (A protocol is a description of the activities, ordered in time, in which a subject engages while performing a task.) The model identifies subprocesses of the composing process and their organization; minor variations of its simple control structure allow it to describe individual differences in composing styles. On the basis of this model it is proposed that composition consists of three major processes: planning (retrieval, inferencing, and organizational subprocesses), translating (generating text corresponding to the internal representation under the plan's guidance), and editing (examining the text for grammatical and semantic errors and for failure to match the plan). Diagrams and references are included. (DF)