The Writing Process

The Writing Process

Writing is so hard!

I think we have all thought this before. I have also had the same thoughts. Writing is not easy, but there are some steps we can follow to feel better about writing and to improve our writing.

The biggest mistake!

The biggest and most common mistake people make about writing is thinking that it should be a smooth process. This is not true at all! In fact, there is a lot of back and forth, lots of changes, and lots of rewriting involved in the writing process. Let's take a look at what's involved:

The 7 Steps of the Writing Process

• Brainstorming

• Planning

• Drafting

• Editing

• Rewriting

• Proofreading

• Publishing

Brainstorming

• The first step of any writing process

• Write down all possible ideas

• Use mind maps, lists, free-writes, or whatever you feel comfortable using

• Research your topic for more information

Multiple Choice

The brainstorming step of the writing process should take about ten minutes.

• True

• False

Brainstorming

Are you surprised that the answer is false?

Brainstorming is not a step that you can finish in a given amount of time. You might spend 10 minutes writing down ideas, but you might also spend a few days thinking of your topic as you eat, exercise, sleep, or talk with friends and family. This is all part of brainstorming, and it never "finishes."

Planning

• Choose a topic, purpose, and audience

• Select your ideas and information carefully

• Organize your ideas and information

• What will be the best way to show your ideas to your readers?

Drafting

• Start writing according to your plan

• Explore new ideas as you write

• This is not the end of the writing process!

Editing

• Take a look at your writing

• Focus on content and information, not grammar or mechanics (yet)

• Ask other people to read your writing: friends, classmates, teacher, family members

• Ask questions about how you can make your writing more clear, more interesting, more logical

Multiple Choice

In the editing step of the writing process, we should look for spelling mistakes and punctuation errors.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

In the editing step of the writing process, we should look at our word choice and sentence variety.

• True

• False

Rewriting (Revising)

• Make changes to your draft

• Add new information to make your writing better

• Remove information you don't need

• Move sentences so it makes sense

Proofreading

• This is almost the last step

• Focus on accuracy

• Check your grammar, spelling, and mechanics here

• Ask other people for help: friends, classmates, teachers, family members

Publishing

• Officially the last step of the writing process!

• Showcase your writing to your readers

• It might be submitting an assignment, sending it to a hiring manager, posting to an online website, printing into a book or magazine, or any format where others can read your writing

Multiple Choice

At which step of the writing process would you create a plan or outline to help write your first draft?

• brainstorming

• planning

• drafting

• editing

Multiple Choice

At which step of the writing process would you add more details?

• brainstorming

• planning

• drafting

• revising

Multiple Choice

At which step of the writing process would you check for sentences that don't make sense or are confusing?

• drafting

• editing

• revising

• proofreading

Multiple Select

At which two steps of the writing process would you research your topic?

• brainstorming

• planning

• revising

• publishing

Multiple Choice

At which step of the writing process would you check your sentences for grammar mistakes?

• drafting

• editing

• revising

• proofreading

Multiple Choice

At which step of your writing process would you share your work so that others can read it?

• planning

• drafting

• revising

• publishing

A recursive process

The last thing to remember about the writing process is that it is a recursive process. That means the steps are repeated, and it is not necessarily a step-by-step process. The linear model to the right is not what usually happens for most writers. The accurate model is more correct.

Multiple Select

Which of the following is true about the writing process?

• The entire writing process can be finished in one day.

• Sometimes, you can skip steps in the writing process.

• The editing and proofreading steps of the writing process are basically the same thing.

• The writing process is not linear and you will go back and forth and repeat steps.

Great job!

Now go to Canvas and look at the assignment for your own brainstorm for our next writing topic.

Please let me know if you have any questions: [e-mail]