The Writing Process

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The Writing Process
Introduction Prewriting Writing Revising Publishin
g Your Turn Describe the writing process
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Introduction
Have you ever watched someone make pottery? Build
a birdhouse? Cook a fancy meal? Doing these
things well takes time, planning, and
concentration.
Its the same with writing. Good text must be
carefully planned and properly put together.
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Introduction
Writing is a process, done in stages or steps,
each of which builds on the ones that came before.
There are four stages to the writing process
Publishing
Revising
Writing
Prewriting
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Writing Tip The Writing Process
The writing process is recursive, which means
that you can return to an earlier step any time
you need to.
For example, you might be writing a body
paragraph when you realize that your thesis
statement needs clarification. You can then
return to revise your thesis statement.
You can revisit any stage of the writing process
at any time.
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Prewriting
The Prewriting stage is where you build the
foundation for your writing project. You choose
and explore a topic, consider your purpose and
audience, and generate and organize your ideas.
Putting thought and effort into this stage will
pay off later when its time to draft your paper.
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Prewriting
Sometimes you will choose a topic for your
writing at other times youll be assigned a
topic. In either case, try to find an aspect of
your topic that you find interesting.
If you are interested in your topic the writing
process will be easier and you will get better
results!
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Prewriting
Along with your topic, consider the form of your
writing.
Are you writing an essay, a letter, a narrative,
a newspaper article?
Each has its own standards and requirements.
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Prewriting
Be clear on the purpose of your writing.
Ask yourself some questions
What am I trying to accomplish?
Am I writing to convince, inform, or entertain my
readers?
Understanding your purpose and remembering it as
you write is essential to achieving the goals of
your writing.
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Prewriting
Identify your audience! The audience is the
person or persons who will be reading what you
write.
Ask yourself
What are they like? How can I make the best
impression on them through my writing?
Keep your audience in mind as you select details,
develop support, and choose the language for your
writing. This will ensure that your final product
will appeal to the people for whom it is intended.
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Prewriting
Now begin to gather information on your topic.
How you do this will depend on the type of
writing you are doing.
You may need to do research, make observations in
person, jot down details from memory, or
interview people.
Be thorough, but dont forget that you can gather
more information later if necessary.
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Prewriting
Once youve collected your information, create a
plan to organize it. Consider creating an outline
or graphic organizer to get your information into
shape.
Choose an organizational method that fits your
topic and form of writing. Arrange your ideas and
details in the order that will best present them.
Plot the ways these ideas and details relate to
one another.
Main Idea
Supporting Detail 1
Supporting Detail 2
Supporting Detail 3
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Writing
In the writing (or drafting) stage you take the
work that you did in prewriting and develop the
first draft of your composition.
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Writing
First, draft an introduction that will grab your
readers attention and familiarize them with your
subject. Give whatever background information
will be needed for them to understand the rest of
your paper.
Your thesis, or main idea, will often appear in
your introduction.
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Writing

• Now proceed with the body of your paper. Follow
  your organizational plan so that your writing
  remains focused, but be prepared to modify your
  plan as new ideas and better ways of presenting
  them occur to you.

Remember You dont have to make your text
perfect the first time through. Review and
revision will come later.
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Writing

• Wrap up your paper with a conclusion. This part
  of your text will often include a restatement of
  your thesis. You can close your paper with a
  final image, thought, or reflection that will
  leave your reader with something to think about.

The conclusion is your last chance to make an
impression on your reader!
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Revising

• Once youve finished your first draft, evaluate
  and revise your work. Read your paper at least
  twice.

During the first reading, consider the content
and organization of your work.
Is your main idea clearly presented?
Have you included enough information on your
topic?
Are your ideas in an order that makes sense?
Identify what is good and what needs improvement
in your work, and revise it.
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Revising

• During your second reading, concentrate on your
  stylethe word choice and sentence structure in
  your writing.

Ask yourself
Is my language specific?
Are my thoughts expressed clearly?
Have I used a variety of types of sentences?
Remember Even if your ideas are good, poor style
will make your work uninteresting!
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Publishing

• To publish your writing means to share it with
  the audience for whom it was intended.

Prepare for publishing by proofreading your work
to eliminate mistakes in grammar, spelling, and
punctuation. Little mistakes can ruin the impact
of well-crafted writing.
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Publishing
Some writers find it hard to proofread their own
writing. Consider sharing your work with someone
else or finding a proofreading partner with
whom you can swap papers.
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Publishing

• Finally, reflect on your writing experience.
  Think about what you wrote and about the writing
  process itself. Ask yourself questions such as

• 1. What did I learn from this assignment that can
  help me in future writing?
• 2. What mistakes will I avoid next time?
• 3. What were the strongest and weakest parts of
  my paper? What made them the strongest
  and weakest?
• 4. What strategies did I use that I might use
  again in the future?

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Test Tip Prewriting
If you have to write an essay as part of a
test, these four steps are essential
Analyze Get a clear idea of what youre being
asked to do and how much time youll have.
Prewrite Use about 15 of your available time to
plan and outline your essay.
Write Allow about 70 of your time for your
first draft. Follow your plan and develop each
idea fully and thoughtfully.
Revise Use the final 15 of your time to revise
and proofread. Focus first on your organization
and content, then on grammar and spelling errors.
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Your Turn Describe the writing process
Describe how you would follow the stages of the
writing process if you were writing each of the
following.
1. a persuasive essay
2. an autobiographical narrative
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Your Turn Possible response
Writing a Persuasive Essay
In prewriting I would choose an issue that
Im interested in and about which I have a strong
opinion. Next, I would consider my purpose in
writing and then identify and consider my
audience. I would gather different types of
information to support my opinion. Then, I would
create an outline to organize my information. I
would use that to write my paper, stating my
opinion, arguments, and support. Finally, Id
evaluate and revise my essay. I would publish in
a way that would reach people whose opinions I
want to influence.
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Your Turn Possible response
Writing an Autobiographical Narrative
In prewriting I would pick a significant
personal experience that I felt comfortable
writing about. Then, I would make notes on my
experience, jotting down a general description of
the series of events. Id arrange these details
in chronological order and gather specific
descriptive details. Next, Id think about the
meaning of the experience. Then I would write my
narrative, focusing on giving details to make it
seem real to my audience. I would then evaluate
and revise my narrative and publish it in a place
where others could read about my experience.
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The End