The Writing Process Part 1

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The Writing Process Part 1

• Dr Desmond Thomas,
• University of Essex

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What does being a successful writer involve?

• Planning what, when, how, where
• Monitoring achieving distance
• Awareness of the writing process of drafting,
  re-drafting, editing, revising
• Self-motivation
• Self-discipline

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What will you write?

• Abstract table of Contents
• Introduction with aims, methods etc
• Background/context chapters
• Literature review sections/chapters
• Exploration of key concepts, theories etc
• Data reporting analysis
• Conclusions
• Bibliography appendices
• Different drafts of all of the above

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When will you write?

• Importance of breaking down work into specific
  tasks use the Doctoral Planner for recording
  weekly targets
• Linear monthly plans have their advantages
  disadvantages
• Daily routine writing schedules are key
• Plans can be useful mediation documents with
  supervisors

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How will you write?

1. Directly onto a PC screen?
2. Make rough notes on paper type up?
3. 1st draft on paper copied to PC?
4. Typed notes/chapter profile fleshed out?
5. Audio-recorded notes typed up?
6. POST-Its and STICKIES?
7. Mind maps eg with FreeMind?
8. Other software eg Speech Recognition?

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The Basic Cycle

• Planning the structure of chapters
• Producing a 1st draft (before editing!)
• Reflecting on 1st draft printout
• Getting feedback from various sources
• Re-planning where necessary
• Editing making changes
• Developing the next draft

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Some key principles

• Writing not just the end product
• Oral presentation helps
• Productive routines help A time and B time
• Need to manage reader expectations
• Use planning documents to improve communications
  with supervisors
• Need to set yourself targets
• Need to print out at regular intervals for
  monitoring purposes
• Need to get feedback
• Self-motivation self-discipline are vital

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Self-motivation/self-discipline

• Talk about your writing! To yourself (frequently)
  and to others
• Repeat to yourself I am not alone
• Make sure that you take ownership of your topic
  and defend it passionately
• Develop effective strategies for the dreaded
  Writers Block

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Some concepts to unpack

• Clarity what is clear writing? Does it mean
  coherence at sentence level?
• Coherence is it something built in to a text or
  in the mind of the reader?
• Structure how is this different from coherence?
• Style do the demands of academic style clash
  with clarity coherence?