The Writing ProcessBy: Brittany Council

Stages of the writing Process

There are several stages of the writing process.Each stage is essential.

Prewriting Outlining the structure of ideas

Drafting Revising Editing

Prewriting Choose /narrow your topic Determine your audience, purpose,

tone, point-of-view, and tense Explore your topic Make a plan

Choose a topicAdvice for Topic Selection

The topic should be interesting to you. The topic should be researchable. The topic should not be too broad. Avoid topics that are overworked.

Prewriting

Using experience and observations Reading

Free writing Asking questions

The four strategies below are best used when initially deciding on a

topic:

Determine Your Audience

Your audience is composed of those who will read your writing.

Ask yourself: Who are my readers? What do my readers know

about my topic? What do my readers need

to know about my topic? How do my readers feel about my topic?

Determine Your Purpose

Purpose is the reason you are writing. Whenever you write, you always have a

purpose. Most writing fits into one of 3 categories: expressive writing, informative writing, or persuasive writing.

More than one of these may be used, but one will be primary.

Determine Tone Tone is the mood or attitude you adopt

as you write.

Serious or humorous? Intimate or detached?

Determine Point-of-View

Point-of-view is the perspective from which you write an essay.

There are 3 point-of-view: first person (I, we), second person (you), and third person (he, she, they)

One of the most common errors in writing occurs when the writer shifts point-of-view unnecessarily.

Determine Tense

Tense is the voice you use to designate the time of the action or state of being.

Present tense Past tense Future tense

Explore Your Topic

Pre-writing Techniques: Brainstorm Freewriting

Ideal Mapping Questioning

Searching the Internet Discussing

Outlining Organize ideas

Write a thesis statement Write an outline

Organizing IdeasThree common methods of organizing:

Chronological order - a method of organization that arranges ideas according to time.

Spatial order - a method of organization that arranges ideas according to physical

characteristics or appearance. Order of importance - a method of organization that arranges ideas according to their significance.

Advice for Organizing Look at the question you answered when you were

developing you working thesis. Look at your prewriting. Find the main ideas or categories of your thinking. Put less important items under more important

items. Make an outline. Decide how you will set up you paper. How can you organize the paper to achieve your

objective?

DraftingStrategies for drafting:

Begin writing with the part you know the most about.

Write one paragraph at a time and then stop. Take short breaks to refresh your mind.

Be reasonable with your goals. Keep your audience and purpose in mind as you

write.

Basic Elements of a First Draft

Introduction Thesis statement

Topic Sentence Supporting sentences

Conclusion

Revising Revising is finding & correcting problems with

content; changing the ideas in you writing to make them clearer, stronger, and more convincing.

Revising looks at the “Big Picture”.

Revising Strategies

Look for… Unity

Detail and support Coherence

Unity Does everything refer back to the main

point? Does each topic sentence refer to the

thesis? Does each sentence in the paragraph

refer back to the topic sentence?

Detail and Support

Does each paragraph contain at least two examples?

Is each example followed by at least one supporting detail?

Coherence Are all points connecting to form a

whole? Are transitions used to move from one

idea to the next?

Revision Tips Take a break from your draft before

attempting to revise. Read your draft out loud and listen to your

words. Imagine yourself as your reader. Look for consistent problem areas. Get feedback from peers. Get help from a tutor!

Editing Editing is finding and correcting

problems with grammar, style, word choice & usage, and punctuation.

Editing focuses on the “Little Picture” – words.

EditingCheck list for editing

Are your capital letters correct? Have you used your punctuation correctly?

Have you avoided run-ons? Are you using verbs, pronouns, and

modifiers correctly? Have you read your work aloud to listen for

problems? Did you check every possible misspelling in

a dictionary?