Steps of the Writing Process FIVE PARAGRAPH ESSAY

STEP ONE: PREWRITING  UNLOCK THE PROMPT  TO DO THIS YOU MUST BE ABLE TO DETERMINE THE FOLLOWING:  FORMAT – the form in which you write (ex: persuasive essay, research paper, letter of complaint, compare/contrast essay, etc.)  AUDIENCE – for whom you are writing (ex: school board, CEO, teacher, child)  TOPIC – what you are writing about (ex: a character, school lunches, poor service )  PURPOSE – why you are writing (ex: to inform, to persuade, to complain, to explain )

PREWRITING (continued)  Brainstorm ideas  Narrow topic, select topic  Gather and organize information – internet, books, magazines, databases, newspapers, textbooks, novels, notes, lectures, interviews, etc.  Identify 3 supports = THESIS  Organize information into a graphic organizer

STEP TWO: FIRST DRAFT  INTRODUCTION – attention getter, transition sentences, three part divided thesis statement  BODY PARAGRAPHS (3) – topic sentence, 3 majors, 3 minors, concluding sentence  CONCLUSION – restate thesis, refer back to the attention getter

STEP THREE: REVISING  READ ESSAY FOR : clarity, organization, focus, content, style  GOAL – to improve content, organization, and style  HOW TO DO THIS:  add, delete, replace, or rearrange information  elaborate on information, explain in detail  eliminate clichés and slang  vary sentence beginnings and sentence structure  add appropriate transitions, replace overused or incorrectly used transitions

STEP FOUR: EDITING AND PROOFREADING  READ TO MAKE CORRECTIONS AT THE SENTENCE LEVEL  Focus on: grammar, spelling, mechanics, punctuation, sentences errors, fragments, run-ons, short choppy  READ ALOUD TO “HEAR” ANY ERRORS

STEP FIVE: PUBLISHING  CHECK FOR:  CORRECT MLA FORMAT FOR ESSAY AND WORKS CITED:  1” MARGINS, TIMES NEW ROMAN FONT, SIZE 12 FONT, DOUBLE SPACED THROUGHOUT PAPER, CORRECT MLA HEADING, CORRECT HEADER, WORKS CITED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER  PRINT AND SUBMIT FOR A GRADE