Slides: Writing is a Process

Writing is a Process

Writing is a process that involves at least four distinct sub-processes:

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Prewriting

1. Prewriting is anything we do before we write a draft of our document.

It includes thinking, taking notes, talking to others, brainstorming, outlining, and gathering information (e.g., interviewing people, researching in the library, assessing data).

2. Organize the ideas by putting them into categories of main ideas and corresponding details. This organization can take various forms, depending on your student’s style or preference (outline, notes, graphic organizer, semantic map).

Drafting

1. Drafting occurs when we put our previously organized ideas into sentences and paragraphs. Here we concentrate upon explaining and supporting our ideas fully. Here we also begin to connect our ideas. Regardless of how much thinking and planning we do, the process of putting our ideas in words changes them; often the very words we select evoke additional ideas or implications.

2. This draft tends to be writer-centered: it is our telling ourselves what we know and think about the topic.

Revising

1. Revision is the key to effective documents. Here we think more deeply about our readers’ needs and expectations. The document becomes reader-centered. How much support and evidence will each idea need to convince our readers? Which terms should be defined for these particular readers? Is our organization effective? Do readers need to know a certain fact before they can understand other?

2. At this stage we also refine our prose, making each sentence as concise and accurate as possible. Make connections between ideas explicit and clear.

Revising your work is about making “big picture” changes. You might remove whole sections, rewrite entire paragraphs, and add in information which you’ve realized the reader will need. Everyone needs to revise – even talented writers.

Editing

1. Check for such things as grammar, mechanics, and spelling. The last thing we should do before printing our document is to spell check it.

2. We should never edit our writing until the other steps in the writing process are complete.

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Drafting

 
Sentence: A set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command, and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses.

 Paragraphs: A distinct section of a piece of writing, usually dealing with a single theme and indicated by a new line, indentation, or numbering.

Slide 4

Revision

Revising your work is about making “big picture” changes. You might remove whole sections, rewrite entire paragraphs, and add in information which you’ve realized the reader will need. Everyone needs to revise – even talented writers.

 The revision sub-process consists of:

 Adding

What else does the reader need to know? If you haven’t met the required word-count, what areas could you expand on? This is a good point to go back to your prewriting notes – look for ideas which you didn’t use.

 Rearranging

Even when you’ve planned your piece, sections may need rearranging. Perhaps as you wrote your essay, you found that the argument would flow better if you reordered your paragraphs. Maybe you’ve written a short story that drags in the middle but packs in too much at the end.

 Removing

Sometimes, one of your ideas doesn’t work out. Perhaps you’ve gone over the word count, and you need to take out a few paragraphs. Maybe that funny story doesn’t really fit with the rest of your article.

 Replacing

Would more vivid details help bring your piece to life? Do you need to look for stronger examples and quotations to support your argument? If a particular paragraph isn’t working, try rewriting it.