The Looping Technique It is within the first stage – Creating – that the experienced, disciplined writer is able to rise above those annoying distractions and obstacles brought on by writer’s block which so often will stymie the young, inexperienced student writer. This is because the disciplined writer is aware of and has mastered the repertoire of various creating techniques available. Those techniques are found under three distinct categories dependent upon the nature of the writing task: (1) the Simple techniques that include, among others, free writing, brainstorming, clustering, mapping, listing, chaining and the Reporter’s Formula; (2) the Expanded techniques which include looping, cubing, track-switching and Classical Invention; and (3) the Enhanced techniques of Reading and Research (i.e., R&R) and Noticing Inside Purpose. For a more in-depth discussion of these techniques, consult Elizabeth Cowan-Neeld’s excellent Writing (Scott, Foresman and Company). For many, knowledge of these techniques ended in that Senior Composition course during high school where the instructors covered one or more of the simple creating techniques. Those in AP courses may have been given the majority of the simple techniques. In either instance, none of the expanded or enhanced techniques were presented to the student.