Six Steps of the Writing Process

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Six Steps of the Writing Process
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Six Steps of the Writing Process

• I. Planning
• II. Shaping
• III. Drafting
• IV. Revising
• V. Editing
• VI. Proofreading

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I. Planning
consider purpose, audience, tone choose topic
discover ideas
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A. Determining the Purpose
Purpose determines the material you choose, the
way your arrange it, and how it is
expressed 1. to express emotion? 2. to
inform? 3. to persuade?
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B. Identifying the Audience

• 1. Who will read the paper?
• 2. What are the audiences age, sex, education?
• 3. What are their needs, expectations, biases,
  interests?
• 4. What are their political, religious, and
  other beliefs?
• 5. What biases do they have about the writer,
  subject, or opinion presented?
• 6. Does your audience need definitions,
  overviews, examples, analogies?
• 7. What does the audience expect?

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C. Setting the Tone

• 1. Formal
• 2. Informal
• 3. miscellaneous
• a. remain consistent w/ purpose/audience
• b. reveals the writers attitude toward
  audience
• 4. word choice
• a. denotations--dictionary meaning
• b. connotations--beyond literal meaning

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D. Analyzing the Assignment

• 1. specific topic or free to choose?
• 2. word, paragraph, page limit?
• 3. due date?
• 4. review of drafts?
• 5. require research/documentation?
• 6. specific format? (APA, MLA)

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E. Choosing a Topic

• 1. How?
• a. instructor chosen
• b. something you know or want to know about
• 2. Narrow the topic
• a. length

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F. Finding Something to Say

• 1. reading and observing
• 2. keeping a journal
• a. use a special book
• b. write daily and date the entries
• c. use your imaginationwrite down dreams,
  daydreams, songs, poems, story ideas, etc.
• d. if you use someone elses quote, tell why
  you like it

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• 3. freewriting
• a. time three to five minutes write
  continuously
• b. start with a word or topic important to
  you and write whatever you think about
• c. if you cant think of anything new, copy
  the same word or phrase until something
  comes to youdont quit writing

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• EX
• Freedom. Freedom. Freedom. Feeling free.
  Statue of Liberty I saw last year. Freedom.
  Feeling free on warm spring day when coats come
  off.. Bell ringing at 240. Being outside in
  the sun and wind. Not everyones so free. What
  about animals in cages at zoos? What about
  animals in cages? What about whales that swim
  around in small tanks? Do we have a right to do
  that to animals? IS FREEDOM ONLY FOR HUMANS?

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• 5. clustering (webbing, mapping)
• a. write the subject in the center of the
  paper and circle it
• b. in the space around the subject, write
  whatever related ideas occur to you.
  Circle these new ideas and draw lines
  connecting the new ideas with the original
  subject
• c. dont stop writing

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• Kinds of cameras
• Photography
• restoring old photos
• early photography
• Matthew Brady

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• 4. Graphic organizers
• a. write the subject at the top of the paper
• b. list every idea that comes to mind
• c. dont stop to evaluate the ideas
• d. if you cant think of anything new, copy
  the same word or phrase until something
  comes to youdont quit writing

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• EX
• MUMMIES
• Mummies graves
• Daddies grave robbers
• Egyptian mummies movie mummies
• Famous mummies Brendon Frasier, not
• Pyramids horror movies
• Pharoahs mummies w/ bandages
• King Tut religion
• Afterlife mummies how preserved

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Pippin Merry Sam

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Merry-- Pippin--
Why they pledge their service
The manner which their lord treats them
How serve country
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• 6. asking journalistic questions-- a. who
• b. what
• c. when
• d. where
• e. why
• f. how

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• Who Who were the major political figures in the
  American Revolution?
• What What were the causes of the American
  Revolution? What were some of the results?
• When When did the American Revolution take
  place?
• Where Where did the American Revolution take
  place?
• Why Why did some colonists fight for the
  British?
• How How did the American Revolution affect
  Britain?

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II. Shaping

• Decide how to organize your material

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A. Developing a Thesis

• 1. Understanding
• a. thesis main idea
• b. support the information that explains
  and develops it
• c. introductory paragraph opens essay and
  states thesis
• d. body paragraphs support thesis
  statement
• e. concluding paragraph closes and gives
  completion

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• 2. Four characteristics of an effective
  thesis
• a. clearly communicates the essays main
  idea
• 1. what the topic is,
• 2. how you will approach that topic
• 3. what you will say about it

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• b. it is more than
• 1. a general subject
• a. The draft
• 2. a statement of fact
• a. The United States currently has no
  peacetime draft.
• 3. an announcement of your intent
• a. In this essay, I will consider our
  countrys need for a draft.

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• 4. good thesis statement Once the
  military draft may have been necessary to
  keep the armed forces strong however,
  todays all-volunteer force has eliminated
  the need for a draft.

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• c. carefully worded, direct
• 1. Ineffective The real problem in our
  schools does not revolve around the absence
  of nationwide goals and standards the
  problem is primarily concerned with the
  absence of resources with which to implement
  them.
• 2. Effective The real problem in our schools
  is not the absence of nationwide goals and
  standards the problem is the absence of
  resources with which to implement them.

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• d. suggests the essays direction,
  emphasis, and scope
• 1. Thesis Widely ridiculed as escape
  reading, romance novels are becoming
  increasingly important as a proving ground
  for many never-before- published writers, and
  more significantly, as showcases for strong
  heroines.
• 2. Do not use The reasons why tennis is
  such great exercise are

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• 3. Checklist for thesis
• a. Does it clearly communicate the main
  idea, suggest the approach, and reflect the
  purpose?
• b. Is it more than a subject, a statement of
  fact, or an announcement of intent?
• c. Is it carefully worded to avoid vague and
  confusing language?
• d. Does it suggest the essays direction,
  emphasis, and scope?

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• 4. Revising the thesis statement
• a. begin writing w/ thesis in mind
• b. thesis will evolve as you write and rewrite,
  think of new ideas, etc.
• c. Examples
• 1. rough draft Professional sports can
  easily be corrupted by organized crime.
• 2. revised Although supporters of legalized
  sports betting argue that organized crime
  cannot make inroads into professional sports,
  the way in which underworld figures
  compromised the 1919 World Series suggests
  the opposite.

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B. Support with Evidence

• 1. Types of evidence
• a. examples
• b. reasons why
• c. facts
• d. details
• e. statistics
• f. anecdote
• g. quotation

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• 2. Evidence is found...
• a. in prewriting
• b. personal experience
• c. interview
• d. library
• 1. encyclopedias
• 2. books
• 3. magazines/newsprint
• e. Internet

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• 3. Characteristics of evidence
• a. relevant and unified--must clearly
  support the thesis
• b. specific, concrete
• c. adequate (enough concrete evidence)
• d. accurate
• e. representative--not an exception
• f. borrowed evidence is documented

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C. Organize the Evidence

• 1. Pattern of development
• a. description
• b. narration
• c. exemplification
• d. division/classification
• e. process analysis
• f. comparison-contrast
• g. cause-effect
• h. argumentation-persuasion

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• 2. Select an organizational approach
• a. chronological/time sequence
• b. spatial--from a certain location
• c. emphatic--most compelling evidence saved
  for last
• d. simple to complex

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D. Prepare an Outline

• 1. Reread and evaluate your material.
• 2. Write purpose, audience, tone, and thesis at
  the top of the outlining page.
• 3. Below the thesis, enter the pattern of
  development that seems to be implied by the
  accumulated evidence.
• 4. Record the which of the four organizational
  approaches that would be most effective.
• 5. Reevaluate supporting material. Delete
  anything that doesnt support thesis.

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• 6. Add any new points or material.
• 7. Group related items together and give each
  group a heading that represents a main topic in
  support of thesis.
• 8. Label main topics w/ roman numerals.
• 9. Identify subtopics.
• 10. Group subtopics under appropriate main topic,
  indent, and label w/ capital letters.
• 11. Identify supporting points (reason,
  examples).

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• 12. Group them under appropriate subtopics,
  indent, and label with Arabic numbers.
• 13. Identify specific details (secondary
  examples, facts, statistics, expert opinions,
  quotations. Group them under appropriate
  supporting points, indent, and label w/
  lowercase letters.
• 14. Examine the outline for places where evidence
  is weak, and add new evidence.

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E. Types of Outlines
1. topic outline--phrases or topics for the
entry 2. sentence outline--uses full sentences
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III. Drafting

writing first draft
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A. Strategies for Writing
1. Prepare work area 2. Fight writers
block--return to pre-writing if necessary 3. Take
breaks 4. Get ideas down quickly a. Begin with
body of paper. b. Introduction and conclusion
will be written last 5. T/S the first draft if
typing D/S by hand 6. Write on only one side of
the paper
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B. Strategies for Writing
1. Write the supporting paragraphs
first. a. often focused by a topic
sentence b. organized around a pattern of
development 2. Connect ideas in the supporting
paragraphs. 3. Write the introduction. a. Broad
statement narrowing to a limited
subject b. brief anecdote c. idea that is the
opposite of the one developed d. series of short
questions
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• e. definitions, quotations, controversial
  statement
• f. refutation of a common belief
• g. dramatic fact or statistic
• 4. Write the conclusion.
• a. summary
• b. prediction or opinion
• c. quotation
• d. statistic
• e. recommendation or call for action.
• f. refer to the introduction

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• 5. Write the title.

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• A teachers personality is an important factor in
  creating a good learning environment for
  students. In this computer age when students
  have grown up playing video games, a good teacher
  has the ability to entertain his/her students.
  Teachers who entertain students create interest
  in the classroom and the subject matter. An
  interesting teacher uses many tools, such as
  humor, to grab a students attention. As a
  result, student performance in class may increase.

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Body paragraph 1

• In this computer age when students have grown up
  playing video games, a good teacher has the
  ability to entertain his/her students. Computers
  have become a primary source of entertainment for
  children who, as early as age two, are learning
  via Leap Frog (find source and cite). By first
  grade, most are proficient with Windows or Mac
  and others are already hooked by Playstation,
  Nintendo, or Wii (source). With this
  competition, a teacher must hook the interest
  of students through new methods of teaching. No
  longer can teachers just lecture a good teacher,
  instead, must rely on innovative activities that
  facilitate student learning by requiring active
  participation in their education.

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IV. Revising

• re-see write additional drafts

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A. Suggestions for Revision

• 1. set draft aside for awhile
• 2. work from typed material if possible
• 3. read draft aloud
• 4. participate in peer review
• a. dont be too easy or too critical
• b. requires tact and kindness
• c. should be constructive and include
• observations about what works well

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• d. ask questions that need more than a yes
• or no answer
• e. take notes on someones oral
  observations
• f. be open-minded
• g. evaluate and respond to feedback, whether
  from instructor or from peer
• h. view revision as a series of steps it
  may take more than one draft
• i. see peer checklist page 73-75 in MR

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V. Editing

• A. check grammar
• B. spelling
• C. punctuation
• D. mechanics
• E. see editing checklist page 41 in HH

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VI. Proofreading

• check for typographical errors