The Writing Process: An Overview 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

The Writing Process What is the writing process? The stages of the writing process. Key features of the writing process. Teaching the writing process. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

What is the writing process? The writing process is simply the steps that a person takes to put together a piece of writing. The focus in the writing process is on what students think and do as they write. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

The five stages of the writing process Prewriting Drafting Revising Editing Publishing 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Writing a recursive process Writing moves through five stages, but it is also a continuing cycle. Writing is not a linear process, but involves recurring cycles. In the classroom the stages merge and recur as students write. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Key features of the writing process Stage 1: Prewriting Students write on topics based on their own experiences. Students engage in rehearsal activities before writing. Students identify the audience for whom they will write. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Prewriting Students identify the function of the writing activity. Students choose an appropriate form for their compositions based on audience and purpose. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Prewriting Techniques To help you think about and develop a topic and get words on paper. Freewriting Questioning Making a List/Brainstorming Clustering/Diagramming/Mapping 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Freewriting Jot down in rough sentences or phrases everything that comes to mind about a topic – (10 minutes or more). Do not worry about punctuation, spelling or organization. Focus on what you want to say about the subject. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Questioning Generate ideas and details by asking questions about the subject. Use the reporting questions who, what, when, where, why, and how to learn about the topic. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Making a List/Brainstorming Collect ideas and details that relate to your subject List everything about the subject that occurs to you, no sorting or putting in order After listing, you are ready to plan an outline of paragraph/essay then write first draft 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Clustering/Diagramming 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Stage 2: Drafting Students use prewriting ideas to write a rough draft. Students mark their writing as a rough draft. Students emphasize content rather than mechanics. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Step 3: Revising Making substantial changes to improve the content, organization, and expression of your ideas by adding, deleting, replacing, and moving material. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Stage 3: Revising Students reread their own writing. Students share their own writing in writing groups. Students participate constructively in discussions about classmates’ writing. Students ask: “What else will my audience want to know?” “Is my purpose clear?” 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Revising Students make changes in their compositions to reflect the reactions and comments of both teacher and classmates. Between the first and final drafts, students make substantive rather than only minor changes. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Revising Techniques Adding material – missing details, examples, transitions to connect ideas, adjectives to make writing clearer or more vivid Deleting material – unnecessary or unrelated words, phrases, clauses, or sentences 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Revising Techniques Replacing material – sometimes weak parts of a piece of writing can be replaced with parts that are stronger, more concrete, more vivid, or more precise. (E.g. weak examples, vague or imprecise language, etc.) Moving material – words, phrases, clauses, sentences, or paragraphs that are out of place 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Revision Exercise To make a room look really [1] nice, try adding some colour. First go to a [2] store and choose a light but rich colour for the walls. [3] You will be surprised what a little paint can do! [4] Choose a complementary colour for the baseboards, windowsills, and other trim. Peach and forest green make an interesting, unusual combination. [5] Don’t be afraid to experiment! 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Stage 4: Editing Students use a checklist to proofread their own compositions. Students help proofread classmates’ composition. Students increasingly identify and correct their own mechanical errors. Students meet with the teacher for a final editing. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Proofreading Questions Are all words spelled correctly? Does each verb agree in number with its subject? Are verb tenses consistent and correct? Are irregular verbs formed correctly? Is correct paragraph form used? Are capital letters and end marks used correctly? 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Proofreading Exercise 1 The geese has made their home in a small pond in the middle of a slightly larger plot of earth between two main streets. Often, driving to work in the summer Ive set in traffic, waiting for a goose and her gosling’s to cross the road. The little ones some times get confused they run back and forth in front of the cars while impatient drivers honk there horns, making matters worse. The best part, of course is when the geese honk back. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Proofreading Exercise 2 Here in the mines, its dark and dirty. the coal dust covers every thing. There isn’t hardly any light and a person has to watch his step. Especially when water seeps into the hole from the surrounding earth. When a miner comes up from that world underground, hes covered with dust, and they ache in every muscle. Cave-ins were a constant worry, of course every miner wonders, at times, whether she is diging his own grave. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre

Stage 5: Publishing Students make the final copy of their writing. Students publish their writing in an appropriate form. Students share their finished writing with an appropriate audience. Students sit in the author’s chair to share their writing. 1/1/2019 Marilyn Pierre