The Writing Process

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The Writing Process

• Student Instructional Unit

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Student Objectives

• Students will
• Define the elements of the writing process
• Write following the writing process
• Learn to pre-write
• Learn to draft
• Learn to share for the purpose of revision
• Learn to revise and edit your paper
• Learn to publish a professional paper

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The Writing Process

• At the start of her career, author Annie Dillard
  thought that all you really
• needed was paper, pen, and a lap to write
  something. But before too
• long, she discovered that in order to write so
  much as a sonnet a 14 line
• poem, I needed a warehouse. Of course, the
  author is exaggerating, but
• only to make a point. Dillard soon learned that
  she had to spend a lot of
• timeand write numerous draftsto produce
  effective finished products.
• You may know from experience what Dillard is
  talking about.
• Think of your best essays, reports, and stories.
  You probably put forth a
• great deal of effort (enough to fill a
  warehouse?) to produce each one,
• changing some parts many times from draft to
  draft. You may also know
• that writing really becomes satisfying when it
  reflects your best efforts. If
• you work hard at your writing, youand your
  readerswill almost
• always be pleased with the results
• Sebranek, Patrick, Dave Kemper, and Verne Meyer.
  Writers Inc. A Student Guide for Writing and
  Learning.
• (Wilmington, Massachusetts Write Source, 2001),
  3.

Annie Dillard
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The Writing Process

• Writing and Past Misconceptions
• Traditionally, the teaching of writing assumed a
  one-draft
• only mentality. The object was to get it done,
  have the
• required number of pages, and move along.
  Students were
• forced into instant writing with one-shot drafts
  being
• published in a single sitting. The emphasis has
  shifted from
• analyzing finished products to looking at what
  students think
• and do as they write. Writing is now viewed as a
  multistage
• process. However, it is misleading to think of
  these stages as
• occurring in a sequential and linear fashion. The
  stages are
• interactive and frequently occur simultaneously.
  The writing
• process consists of experience, prewriting /
  rehearsing,
• drafting, sharing, revising, editing, and
  publishing.

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What you will learn. . .

• Experience
• Prewriting / Rehearsing
• Drafting
• Sharing
• Revising
• Editing
• Publishing
• Assessment

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Experience

• Definition Each of your experiences becomes part
  of what you know, what you think, and what you
  have to say in your writing. Writing is the
  process of capturing those thoughts and
  experiences on paper.
• The first two pre-writing tools may help
  incorporate
• your experiences in your writing.
• Journal Writing
• Free-Writing

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Experience
Quotes "Sometimes people give titles to me, and
sometimes I see them on billboards."


Robert Penn Warren Television has raised
writing to a new low.
Samuel Goldwyn (1882 - 1974) It
is not a bad idea to get in the habit of writing
down one's thoughts. It saves one having to
bother anyone else with them.

Isabel Colegate Experience is a good teacher,
but she sends in terrific bills.
Minna Antrim
Never be entirely idle but either be reading,
or writing, or praying or meditating or
endeavoring something for the public good.

Thomas a Kempis If writers stopped
writing about what happened to them, then there
would be a lot of empty pages.

Elaine Liner Major writing is to say what has
been seen, so that it need never be said again.

Delmore Schwartz "The more that you read, the
more things you will know. The more that you
learn, the more places you'll go."

Dr.
Seuss, Author Read, read, read. Read
everythingtrash, classics, good and bad, and see
how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works
as an apprentice and studies the master. Read!
Youll absorb it. Then write.

William Faulkner The greatest part
of a writers time is spent in reading, in order
to write a man will turn over half a library to
make one book.

Samuel Johnson
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Journal Writing

• Definition Write in a journal on a regular
  basis. Explore your personal feelings,
• develop your thoughts, and record events and
  happenings of each day. Underline
• ideas in your journal writing that you would like
  to explore at a later time.
• Why write in a journal?
• When you write regularly in your personal
  journal, you will begin to discover
• meaning in your writing. You will begin to enter
  the world of you inner thoughts.
• You will be able to recognize the value of your
  experiences, and how they deeply
• affect your writing. Recognizing and remembering
  the experiences from your life
• will make all of your writing much more vivid,
  alive, and full of your personality
• and voice.
• The Process
• Write as often as you can in your journal.
• We are constantly having thoughts and experiences
  so it is good to have a notebook on hand.
• Writing regularly is the key.
• We will NOT be doing a personal journal
  assignment, but it is something to think about
  for your personal growth. We will be journaling
  on pieces we read!

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Free-Writing

• Definition Free-writing is writing nonstop for
  5-10 minutes to discover possible
• writing ideas. Begin with a particular focus in
  mind that is somehow related to
• your assignment.
• Why Free-write?
• When you start to write your paper, often times
  your voice is lost after you start to
• Focus on the details of the assignment.
• Remember, voice is your personal fingerprint on
  the paper. Voice is your
• personality, life experiences, and creativity
  shining through your paper.
• Pros Free-writing is a terrific memory
  stimulator. This activity reminds you of what we
  already know and helps you to make connections
  you might not otherwise make. It helps you to get
  past the sterile, static, surface responses so
  that you can burn through to the insightful and
  fresh "meat" of what you really want to say.
• Cons Free-writing is a time-consuming activity
  and does not guarantee brilliant results. It is
  possible to achieve only a clear idea of what you
  don't want to write.

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Free-Writing Assignment

• The Process
• Write at least 10 minutes without stopping.
• Dont stop to fix or edit what you have written.
  This is only exploratory writing.
• Keep writing! Even if you are drawing a blank,
  keep writing about something.
• When you are done, underline ideas you like and
  may include in your assignment
• Create a Free-Write Draft
• Open a word document or write by hand the
  free-writing
• assignment. Your essay topic is a personal
  narrative (event or person).
• Before you start adding all of the details, take
  10-15 minutes
• and simply create a free-write draft of your
  paper. This will allow your
• personality and voice to shine through. Just
  write what comes to mind.
• When you are done, remember to save your work in
  your student folder/portfolio.
• When you are done free-writing, underline the
  ideas that you might include in
• your assignment.

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Prewriting / Rehearsing

• Definition Prewriting is the stage when writers
  are getting ready to write.
• In preparing for writing, writers have to decide
  on a
• topic, identify an audience and purpose for
  writing,
• determine the appropriate form for the piece, and
  
• gather ideas and data.
• By many educators prewriting is now considered
  the most
• crucial of the stages in the writing process,
  although it was
• previously the most neglected. Just as athletes
• need to warm up before a game or an
• athletic event, writers also need to
• warm up and get ready.

Prewriting
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Writers Block and Prewriting

• Writers Block "I believe 'writer's block' is
  the normal state of writing that is,
• you rarely have anything just flow easily from
  your brain to the keyboard. And if
• it does, it's usually pretty bad. Good writing is
  almost always hard, and what
• I think sometimes happens is that writers forget
  how hard it is, or don't
• want to do the work any more, and they call this
  'writer's block.'"  Dave Barry
• Why Prewrite?
• Prewritingeven for 5 to 20 minuteshelps me to
  work past initial, and
• often unoriginal, responses to my topic. It
  prevents me from committing to
• superficial and boring answers. Prewriting helps
  me to find strong,
• thoughtful, and clear answers to questions posed.
  It enables me to
• discoverconcretelywhat I already know and to
  unearth areas of
• personal interest within the writing task
  prewriting enables me to discover
• myself within the context of my topic. Prewriting
  also helps me to nail
• down responsesto move ideas from short-term
  memory into long-term
• or written memoryso that I can get to the work
  of writing rather than
• trying to remember what I want to say. I think
  better when I write.
• Tracy Duckart's Instructional Website at Humboldt
  State University

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Prewriting / Rehearsing

• Quotes
• That everybody is allowed to learn to read
  spoileth in the long run not only
• writing but thinking. Friedrich
  Nietzsche
• Don't agonize. Organize.
  Florynce
  Kennedy
• In preparing for battle I have always found that
  plans are useless, but planning is
• indispensable. Dwight D. Eisenhower
  (1890 - 1969)
• Let our advance worrying become advance thinking
  and planning. Winston Churchill (1874 -
  1965)
• Meticulous planning will enable everything a man
  does to appear spontaneous.
• Mark Caine
• The best time for planning a book is while you're
  doing the dishes. Agatha Christie (1890
  - 1976)
• When a play enters my consciousness, is already a
  fairly well-developed fetus. I
• don't put down a word until the play seems ready
  to be written. Edward Albee

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Prewriting / Rehearsing in Action

• Steps to Choosing a Subject and Gathering
  Details
• Search for a meaningful writing ideaone that
  truly interests you and meets the requirements of
  the assignment.
• Use a selecting strategy (listing, clustering,
  free-writing, etc.) to identify possible
  subjects.
• Learn as much as you can about the subject you
  choose. Conduct a broad search.
• Decide on an interesting or important part of the
  subjectyour focusto develop. Express your
  focus in a thesis statement, a statement that
  helps map out your writing. (See page 59 in St.
  Martins)
• Think about an overall plan or design for
  organizing your writing. This plan can be
  anything from a brief list to a detailed outline.
  (See Chapter 11 in St. Martins)

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Graphic Organizers

• Organizing your information
• The second major step of prewriting is organizing
  your information and ideas. The
• following is a list of graphic organizer methods.
  There are two categories of
• graphic organizer activities generative /
  associative activities and more linear
• organizing activities. They are not mutually
  exclusive, meaning they do not work
• independently of each other. Often times it is
  more effective to use a
• generative organizer and then a more linear
  organizer like an outline.

Generative / Associative Organizers Linear Organizers
Journal Writing (Already Covered) Listing
Free Writing (Already Covered) Matrixing
Clustering Outlining
Cubing 5 Paragraph Essay Outline
Dialoging
Dramatizing
Topical Invention
Brainstorming
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Clustering

• Begin a cluster with a nucleus word related to
  your writing topic or
• assignment. Then cluster ideas around the nucleus
  word. Circle each idea
• you write and draw a line connecting it to the
  closest related idea.
• Example Clustering or Web-Diagram.
• Pros Clustering is a generative tool (i.e. makes
  use of the unconscious in retrieving information)
  that helps us to connect thoughts, feelings, and
  ideas not connected before. It allows us to
  loosely structure ideas as they occur in a shape
  that allows for the further generation of ideas.
  It taps our associative powers in a
  self-organizing process, encouraging us to create
  personally meaningful patterns.
• Cons Clustering can frustrate more linear
  thinkers, those who need neatness and order to
  think clearly.

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Cubing

• Cubing asks you to probe your topic from six
  different perspectives. First,
• select a topic (issue, person, idea, event,
  problem, person, object, scene)
• and write it at the top of your page to help you
  keep it firmly in mind.
• Then give yourself three to five minutes to write
  from each of the
• perspectives listed below.
• Pros Cubing is an excellent tool for rapidly
  exploring a topic. It reveals quickly what you
  know and what you don't know, and it may alert
  you to decide to narrow or expand your topic.
• Cons Cubing asks us to examine a topic in an
  unusual way and this may prove frustrating to
  some writers. It may at first feel awkward at
  first to describe something like abortion and
  this may cause a writer to abandon this technique
  or, worse, the topic itself.

Describing Physically describe your topic. What does it look like? What color, shape, texture, size is it? Identify its parts
Comparing How is your topic similar to other topics/things? How is it different?
Associating What other topic/thing does your topic make you think of? Can you compare it to anything else in your experience? Don't be afraid to be creative here include everything that comes to mind.
Analyzing Look at your topic's components. How are these parts related? How is it put together? Where did it come from? Where is it going?
Applying What can you do with your topic? What uses does it have?
Arguing What arguments can you make for or against your topic?
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Dialoging

• Dialoging asks that you interact on a personal
  level with your topic. Just
• as dialogue captures a conversation between two
  people, dialogues
• involve conversing with your topic. First you
  need two characters. You
• may imagine two particular people or two sides of
  an issue, or you may
• choose to speak as yourself to your topic or
  aspect of your topic. You may
• want to label the speakers "1" and "2," or give
  them names, to help you
• keep track of who's speaking as you write. Try to
  keep the dialogue
• moving fast don't get bogged down in rehearsing
  or planning responses.
• If you get stuck, have one of the speakers ask
  the other a question.
• Pros A dialogue can be especially practical in
  the invention stage of a narrative or a
  persuasive essay. You might also find it useful
  when searching for topics, looking for focus,
  exploring an idea, or considering opposing
  viewpoints.
• Cons When using dialogues, it is easy to get
  caught up in characterization, to become tied to
  the way you're producing information rather than
  the information produced. Dialogues, especially
  in conjunction with an expository essay, may also
  engender a too narrative or too conversational
  tone when a more objective or reserved tone is
  appropriate.

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Dramatizing

• Dramatizing has a limited but powerful scope.
  Many writers find it
• invaluable when writing personal narrative (to
  learn more about
• themselves or other significant people), when
  writing about literature, or
• when writing to inform or persuade (to analyze
  the intended audience).
• We first need to define a few key terms
• To use dramatizing, write answers to as many of
  the following as possible.

Actor Who?
Action What happened?
Setting Where and When?
Motive Why?
Method How
What is the actor doing? How did the actor come to be involved in this situation? Why does the actor do what he/she does? What else might the actor do? What is the actor trying to accomplish? What do the actor's actions reveal about her/him? How do other actors influence the main actor? What does the actor's language reveal about him/her? How does the event's setting influence the actor's actions? How does the time influence what the actor does? Where did this actor come from? What might the actor become?
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Topical Invention

• Topical invention is a worksheet that walks you
• through a series of questions to discover more
  about
• your topic.
• To use this resource, simply insert your topic in
  the
• spaces provided and answer the questions. Open
  the
• link and read through the worksheet.
• Topical Invention Worksheet

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Brainstorming

• The same idea as listing. Just write down all the
  ideas that come to mind. This is not a time
• for judging the ideas, just get them down. There
  are no bad ideas, because all ideas can lead
• to some other idea you may not have thought
  about. Besides, really great original writing
• often comes from some pretty off-the-wall
  brainstorming. This definitely works better as a
  
• group activity, because you can piggy-back off
  of the ideas of someone else.

Here is a simple brainstorm about WAR.
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Listing

• Begin with a thought or a key word related to
  your assignment and simply
• start listing words and ideas. Listing ideas with
  a group of friends or
• classmates (brainstorming) is also an effective
  way to search for writing
• ideas.
• Pros List making is, for many, a natural
  activity and makes concrete or tangible ideas
  that might otherwise remain "slippery" in
  short-term memory. Lists allow you to focus
  initially on your ideas rather than the shape,
  form, or organization of those ideas.
• Cons Lists are linear and rarely allow for
  associative activity. Too often we feel
  restricted, when confronted by our list, to
  remain true to the order of our initial thinking.

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Matrixing

• A matrix is a two-dimensional display of
  information. One axis lists the
• questions or criteriabased upon our analysis of
  the assignment or essay
• questionto be applied to the items, or focuses,
  listed on the other axis.
• Pros A matrix helps us to more fully elaborate
  ideas via recognizing relationships and by
  requiring us to ask the same questionsto use the
  same lens, if you willof each area of support of
  focus. A matrix imposes a systematic and
  self-organizing method of inquiry based upon an
  analysis of the writing task.
• Cons When used as the initial and sole
  prewriting technique, a matrix can restrict
  association/recall and limit discovery.

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Outlining

• The outline is perhaps the most common organizing
  tool. It provides a
• shorthand version of the text yet to be generated
  based upon ideas already
• formed. Outlines are best used following, and
  building upon, a
• more generative and associative prewriting
  activity (free-writing, listing,
• clustering, etc.).
• Pros An outline provides a clear and easy to
  follow representation of the shape and texture of
  the text. Linear thinkers are particularly fond
  of this organizational technique, and
  less-disciplined writers benefit from the clarity
  it engenders.
• Cons Rigidly followed outlines tend to produce
  stale, static, and brief texts. Too often,
  followers of outlines tend to generate one stiff
  and short paragraph per entry, fail to make
  smooth connections, and produce stilted texts
  fraught with rough transitions.

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Generative Organizer Assignment

• In order to maintain your voice and personality,
  you should have completed the free writing
• assignment. Now, to practice the generative
  organizers, you will create a generative graphic
• organizer using the style that works best for you
  and the type of paper you are writing. You
• should start to include the great details and
  specifics you have found during your research.
• Generative Organizer Assignment
• You may use the Inspiration software available at
  school, or found at
• http//www.inspiration.com/ Inspiration will help
  you create many of the different types of
• organizers. (You make create a generative outline
  and save it to create your post-draft
• outline. Pushing the Outline View command will
  convert your organizer to an outline).
• Inspiration Software Helpful Job Aide and Guide
• You may use
• Clustering or Web-Diagram.
• Your paper topic (thesis statement) goes in the
  middle circle.
• Then, branch out to your three or four main
  points.
• Finally, add your details.
• Line Diagram or Branching.
• Your paper topic (thesis statement) goes in the
  top circle.
• Then, branch out to your three or four main
  points.

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Post-Draft Outlining Assignment

• In order to maintain voice and personality, many
  writers experience success with a post-draft
• outline an outline composed following a drafting
  session.  One post-draft outlining method
• involves using the just-completed draft as a
  memory jogger, a way to reveal what the writer
• has been thinking.  The post-draft outline, then,
  simply organizes and/or rearranges those
• recently revealed thoughts and starts to include
  the details and information found during
• research.  Another method involves creating an
  outline that maps the just-produced draft,
• that uncovers the draft's organization.
• Post-Draft Outlining Assignment
• You will be creating a post-draft outline,
  because you should have already completed some
  free-writing,
• and one other generative organizer. Now you
  should take those great ideas and organize and
  rearrange
• them by using a linear outline.
• You may use the 5 Paragraph Essay Roman numeral
  type organizer.
• You may use the Inspiration software available at
  school, or found at http//www.inspiration.com/
  (You
• may take your saved generative outline and push
  the Outline View command to convert your
  organizer to
• an outline) Inspiration Software
  Helpful Job Aide and Guide

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Drafting

• Definition Getting your ideas down without
  letting concern about correct spelling,
  punctuation, and grammar get in the way of
  composing.
• During the drafting stage, some students will
  have difficulty
• getting started while others will plunge right
  in. Some will
• draw pictures and make doodles on their paper
  while others
• will write continuously and seemingly without
  effort. It is
• important that during this stage students are not
  hampered
• with the mechanics of writing. A "free flow" of
  ideas is
• encouraged. Students need to be aware that first
  drafts are not
• finished products and that any piece of writing
• can be improved. Revisions will take place
• during the next stage in the writing process.
• For now, students should sit back and let
• their creativity flow forth.

Drafting
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Drafting

• Quotes
• "Writing to me is a voyage, an odyssey, a
  discovery, because I am never certain of
• precisely what I will find."
  Gabriel Fielding
• The first draft of anything is _at_!
  Ernest Hemingway
• I write longhand and I type and I rewrite on the
  typed pages. Joseph Heller
• The work was like peeling an onion. The outer
  skin came off with difficulty... but
• in no time you'd be down to its innards, tears
  streaming from your eyes as more
• and more beautiful reductions became possible.
  Edward Blishen
• My wife took a look at the first version of
  something I was writing not long ago
• and said, "Dammit, man, that's high school
  stuff." I have to tell her to wait until
• the seventh draft, it'll work out all right. I
  don't know why that should be so, that
• the first or second draft of everything I write
  reads that way. James Thurber
• There seems to be a sort of fatality in my mind
  leading me to put at first my
• statement or proposition in a wrong or awkward
  form. Charles Darwin
• All writing begins life as a first draft, and
  first drafts are never any good. Theyre
• not supposed to be. Patricia T. OConner
• The only true creative aspect of writing is the
  first draft. Thats when its coming
• straight from your head and your heart.
  Evan Hunter

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Drafting in Action

• Steps to Writing the First Draft and Connecting
  Ideas
• Write the first draft while your prewriting is
  still fresh in your mind.
• Set the right tone by giving your opening
  paragraph special attention.
• Refer to your plan for the main part of your
  writing, but be flexible. A more interesting
  route may unfold as you write.
• Dont worry about getting everything right at
  this point just concentrate on developing your
  ideas. (If youre working on a computer, save a
  paper copy of each draft.)

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1st Draft Assignment

• Starting Point You are ready to write your first
  draft once you. . . .
• Completed your free write assignment to help
  maintain your voice.
• Know enough about your subject by completing your
  note cards assignment (research paper
  assignment).
• Established a thesis.
• Completed the Generative Organizer and Post-Draft
  Organizer Assignment.
• Remember the Big Picture When writing a first
  draft, give special
• attention to these traits of effective writing
  ideas, organization, and voice.
• Ideas - Develop all the worthwhile thoughts and
  ideas you have collected, and consider new ideas
  or directions as they come to mind.
• Organization - Use your prewriting and planning
  as a general guide when you write. Try to work
  logically through your draft from the opening to
  the closing paragraph.
• Voice Speak honestly and naturally so the real
  you comes through in your writing.

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1st Draft Assignment Continued

• Assignment
• _____ Remember the topic and focus of your paper
• Essay Topic
• Write an essay about an event in your life that
  will be engaging for readers and that will, at
  the same time, help them understand the
  significance of the event. Tell your story
  dramatically and vividly.
• Write an essay about a person who has been
  important in your life. Strive to present a
  vivid portrait, one that will let your readers
  see the persons character and the significance
  of the relationship.
• _____ Write your first draft with a pencil and
  paper or on the computer.
• _____ Be sure to include the following in your
  first draft assignment

Hook Thesis statement Introduction Body
Conclusion Topic Sentences Transition Statements Clincher
Use a variety of details Maintain your voice and personality throughout the paper. Maintain your voice and personality throughout the paper. Maintain your voice and personality throughout the paper.
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Sharing

• Definition Authors share their writing by
  reading aloud to themselves, reading in pairs, in
  writing circles, during peer reviews, and during
  a conference with the teacher.
• Listeners respond to the writer by noting what
  they liked
• about the piece, asking questions about the
  author's intent or
• any confusing parts, and providing suggestions
  for
• improvement. The author always has the option of
• incorporating the suggestions or ignoring them.
  Ownership is
• a must! Students should have control of the
  responsibility for
• their own writing.

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Sharing

• Three keys to more abundant living caring about
  others, daring for others, sharing with
• others. William
  Arthur Ward
• The greatest good you can do for another is not
  just to share your riches but to reveal to him
• his own. Benjamin Drisaeli
• Get around people who have something of value to
  share with you. Their impact will
• continue to have a significant effect on your
  life long they have departed.
• Jim Rohn
• The greatest gift is to give people your
  enlightenment, to share it. It has to be the
  greatest.
• Buddha

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Reading Aloud Assignment

• Read your paper aloud to at least one other
  person.
• _____ As you read, make notes on your paper of
  any rough or confusing areas.
• _____ As you read, make notes on your paper of
  particularly effective areas.
• _____ Summarize any comments and suggestions in
  your notes.
• _____ Decide which comments and suggestions you
  might want to take into account.
• _____ Save this information for later.

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Revising

• Definition The purpose of revision is to clarify
  and shape the meaning and to organize and polish
  the writing.
• "Writing, like a potter's clay, only becomes a
  thing of
• usefulness or beauty through repeated smoothing
  and
• shaping" (Walshe, 1981, 40). It is at this stage
  that the author
• rethinks what has been written. Revision involves
  adding,
• substituting, deleting, and moving ideas and
  words around as
• writers rework and polish their pieces.

Revision
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Revising

• Quotes
• "As you continue writing and rewriting, you begin
  to see possibilities you hadn't seen
• before." Robert
  Hayden
• Words and sentences are subject to revision
  paragraphs and whole compositions are
• subjects of prevision.
  
  Barrett Wendell
• There is no such thing as good writing, only
  good rewriting. John
  Irving
• The beautiful part of writing is that you dont
  have to get it right the first time, unlike say ,
  
• a brain surgeon. You can always do it better,
  find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping
• smile.
  
  Robert Cormier
• The great thing about revision is that its your
  opportunity to fake being brilliant.
• Will Shetterly
• Books arent writtentheyre rewritten.
  Including your own. It is one of the hardest
• things to accept, especially after the seventh
  rewrite hadnt quite done it. Michael Crichton
• The most essential gift for a good writer is a
  built-in-shock-proof _at_!-detector.
• Ernest Hemingway
• My sense of a poem - my notion of how you revise
  - is you get yourself into a state where
• what you are intensely conscious of is not why
  you wrote it or how you wrote it, but what
• you wrote. Philip Levine
• I found I'm quite happy working on a sentence
  for an hour or more, searching for the right

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Revising

• Leave time in your writing schedule for revising
  your paper. Before writing your final draft,
• put your paper aside for a day or two (another
  reason to leave time) and then reread it. This
• way, you will gain a fresh perspective and may
  detect weaknesses that you hadnt noticed
• before.
• A rough draft always needs smoothing out. As you
  reread your paper, ask these questions (1) Does
  the paper have thematic unity, and do its parts
  clearly follow one another? (2) Is there
  adequate support for the major claims and
  interpretations? (3) Are the
  points made clearly and convincingly?
• While you examine the overall structure of the
  paper for defects, you also need to look
• closely at the language itself. If you have
  repeated yourself, eliminate the repetition if
  you
• have included material that is unrelated, discard
  it. Check the connections between
• paragraphs to see if the reader can follow your
  argument. Make sure that you accomplish
• what you set out to do in your introduction and
  that your conclusion makes it clear that you
• have done so. Go over the footnotes or endnotes
  citations and the bibliography to check
• style and accuracy.

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Revising in Action

• Steps to Improving Your Writing
• Review your first draft, checking the ideas,
  organization, and voice of your writing.
• Ask at least one classmate to react to your
  workdo a peer review.
• Add, cut, reword, or rearrange ideas as
  necessary. ( You may have to change some parts
  several times before they say what you want them
  to say.)
• Carefully assess the effectiveness of your
  opening and closing paragraphs.
• Look for special opportunities to make your
  writing as meaningful and interesting as
  possible.
• DO NOT worry about conventions at this point.
  That will come later during the editing process.

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Revision Assignment

• Starting Point You are ready to revise once you.
  . . .
• Completed your first draft.
• Set it aside for a day or two (if possible).
• Remember the Big Picture When revising, pay
  special attention to these
• traits of good writing ideas, organization, and
  voice.
• Ideas Make sure that you have included
  sufficient information to support or develop your
  thesis. Always keep your readers in mind when
  you evaluate the effectiveness of your ideas.
  Have you answered their pressing questions about
  your subject?
• Organization Check the overall design of your
  writing, making sure that it moves smoothly and
  logically from one main point to the next. Also
  check the effectiveness of each main partthe
  introduction, body, and conclusionin your
  writing.
• Voice Does your writing sound like you are
  genuinely interested in your subject? Does the
  tone or your writing match your purpose (polite,
  serious, lighthearted)?

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Revision Assignment Continued

• Revision Self-Evaluation Checklist Assignment
• Print the Revision Self-Evaluation Checklist
  Worksheet.
• Complete the worksheet as you read your paper.
• Peer Review Assignment
• Print the Peer Review Worksheet.
• Have 2 fellow students complete the Peer Review
  Worksheet after reading your paper.

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Editing

• Definition Editing is the process of getting the
  piece ready for the audience. The writer is
  expected to attend to the surface features of
  writing -- mechanics, grammar, and spelling.
• Students must recognize that in order to
  communicate
• effectively with an audience, writing must be
  free of errors
• that can interfere with the understanding of the
  message or
• can distract from the writing itself.

Editing
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Editing

• Quotes
• "Pause when you come across a well put sentence
  or idea in your reading.
• Study it and learn from it."
  -Anonymous
• Typos are very important to all written form. It
  gives the reader something to look for so
• they aren't distracted by the total lack of
  content in your writing. Randy K.
  Milholland
• Editing should be, especially in the case of old
  writers, a counseling rather than a
• collaborating task. The tendency of the
  writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he
  should
• say to himself, ''How can I help this writer to
  say it better in his own style?'' and avoid ''How
  
• can I show him how I would write it, if it were
  my piece? James
  Thurber 
• It is perfectly okay to write garbageas long as
  you edit brilliantly C.J.
  Cherryh
• Books are never finished, only abandoned.
  Paraphrased from Leonardo da Vinci
• You write to communicate to the hearts and minds
  of others what's burning inside you. And
• we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.
  
  Arthur Polotnik
• The Review's labyrinthine editing process does
  to the written word what the Cuisinart does
• to broccoli David Marqolick

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Editing in Action

• Steps to Checking for Style and Accuracy
• Edit your revised writing for sentence smoothness
  and word choice.
• Then check for errors in usage, punctuation,
  capitalization, spelling, and grammar.
• Have a dictionary, thesaurus, and your St.
  Martins handbook close at hand as you work.
• Ask a reliable editora friend, a classmate, a
  parent, or a teacherto check your writing for
  errors you may have missed.
• Prepare a neat final copy of your writing.
• Proofread the final draft for errors before
  submitting it.

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Editing

• Starting Point You are ready to edit once you. .
  . .
• Completed your major revisionsadding, cutting,
  rewriting, or rearranging, the ideas in your
  writing.
• Make a clean copy of your revised writing.
• Set your writing aside for a day or two (if
  possible).
• Remember the Big Picture When you edit and
  proofread, pay attention to the following three
  traits of effective wiring sentence fluency,
  word choice, and conventions.
• Sentence Fluency Rewrite any sentences that
  disrupt the fluency or flow of your writing. Vary
  sentence beginnings and lengths.
• Word Choice Replace any words or phrases that
  get in the way of your message or set the wrong
  tone. Also replace any overused words, words
  that are not specific enough, and so on.
• Conventions Make sure that your writing follows
  the basic standards of spelling, punctuation,
  mechanics, grammar, and usage.

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Editing

• Finally, examine your writing for errors in
  spelling and grammar. Proofread carefully and
• slowly. At a normal reading speed your eyes can
  go right by major errors. You are so
• familiar with your paper that you may not see
  what is on the page. Reading your paper
• aloud will help you catch unclear phrases.
  Showing it to a friend will let you know where
• your readers might have problems.
• Editing Self-Evaluation Checklist Assignment
• Print the Editing Self-Evaluation Checklist
  Worksheet.
• Complete the worksheet as you read your paper.
• Remember to have a reliable editor check your
  work as well student, parent, teacher. (You
  could do another peer review.)

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Publishing

• Definition This stage of the writing process
  occurs when a completed text is reworked and
  edited to the satisfaction of the author. This
  includes white space, formatting, and neatness.
• Although many young authors will want to publish
• everything they write, not all pieces will reach
  the publishing
• stage. A high standard should be set for overall
  correctness
• and presentation for the pieces that are to be
  published.

Publishing
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Publishing

• Quotes
• To write what is worth publishing, to find
  honest people to publish it, and get sensible
• people to read it, are the three great
  difficulties in being an author. Charles
  Caleb Colton
• All those people whose faces decorate the
  shopping bags of Barnes and Noble, with a few
• exceptions, would never get published today.
  Mark Crispin Miller

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Publishing in Action

• Steps to Sharing Your Final Work
• Share the finished product with your teacher,
  writing peers, friends, and family members.
• Decide if you are going to include the writing in
  your portfolio. Post it on your personal or class
  Website or publish it on-line. Consider
  submitting your work to a school, a local, or a
  national publication. (Ask your teacher for
  recommendation for places to publish.) Make sure
  to follow the requirements for submitting
  manuscripts.

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Publishing Assignment

• Pick at least two of the appropriate on-line
  student publishers on the next two slides.
• Send your final draft to be published at those
  two sites.
• Send it to more if you would like.
• OR
• 4. Ask your teacher for any current writing
  contests. Sometimes you can win money or
  scholarships with your writing.

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Publishing Your Paper

• Some links for publishing your paper

A young writers magazine http//www.merlynspen.org/
A magazine published by teens http//www.positiveteensmag.com/ptonline/ptonline.htm
A magazine written by teens http//www.teenink.com/
A teen forum for writing http//cyberteens.com/cr/
Publishing for teens http//www.teenlit.com/
African-American themed writing http//www.timbooktu.com/
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Publishing Your Paper
Click Back to Main Page

• More links for publishing your paper

An anthology for teens http//teenlink.nypl.org/WordSmiths-Current.cfm
Produced by writing students http//www.susqu.edu/writers/apprentice.htm
Club for amateur young writers http//www.geocities.com/writestuffclub/
Non-fiction submissions http//www.the-squid.com/guidelines/guidelines.htm
Created for the young writer http//www.youngwriterssociety.com/forum/index.php
Teen writings http//www.writers-voice.com/Teen.htm The Writers VoiceThe World's Favorite Literary Website
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Assessment

• Definition At the end of every writing
  experience, you should ask yourself, What can I
  do better next time?
• Writing is a continuous process. Written works
  are never
• done, writers just stop working on them. Each
  writing
• experience should make you a better writer.

Assessment
What can I do better next time?
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Assessment

• Reflection Assignment
• _____ Answer the reflection questions in your
  writing_process_notes_assignments_worksheet.
• Keep this in mind as you reflect
• The only way to raise the quality of writing in
• school is to create, share, and celebrate the
  specific
• criteria for that quality with everybody on a
  regular
• basis.
• Barry Lane

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The Writing Process and Six Traits
How do they work together? 8 steps
Notice that step 5 (Revision) is where you use
five of the six traits
Start
1. Experience Prewriting
1.Ideas
8. Assessment
2. Ideas Organization
2. Rehearsing Pre-writing
7. Conventions Presentation
Six Traits
7.Publishing
8. All Traits How can you do even better next
time?
3. Organization Structure
3. Drafting
6. Editing
6. Conventions
Writing Process
4. Sharing
5. Revision
5. Ideas Organization Voice Word Choice Sentence
Fluency
4. Voice
Notice that step 8 Assessment connects you
back to step 5 Revision This is so you can
assess how well you did on your paper and plan
for how you can do even better on your next
paper.
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