The Writing Process Introduction Prewriting Writing Revising Publishing Your Turn: Describe the writing process

Introduction Have you ever helped on a home-improvement project, such as painting a room or tiling a floor? Have you ever worked on a creative project, such as writing a song, painting a landscape, or creating a mural? These types of projects require thought, planning, and careful execution. The same is true of writing.

Introduction Writing is a process in which each stage builds on the one that came before. There are four stages to the writing process: Publishing Revising Writing Prewriting

Writing Tip: The Writing Process The writing process is recursive, which means that you can return to an earlier step any time you need to. For example, you might be writing a body paragraph when you realize that your thesis statement needs clarification. You might be revising your paper when you see that you need to do more research to add details. You can revisit any stage of the writing process at any time. Prewrite Write Revise Publish

Prewriting The prewriting stage is where you plan your writing project. You choose and explore a topic, consider your purpose and audience, and generate and organize your ideas. Putting thought and effort into this stage will help keep you focused and organized when it’s time to draft your paper. I. History of modern cars A. Gas motor engine 1. Nikolaus Otto: “Otto cycle” 2. Edouard Delamare Debouteville: one-cylinder engine 3. Gottlieb Daimler: prototype of the modern gas engine

Prewriting Sometimes you will have the option of choosing a topic for your writing; at other times you’ll be assigned a topic. In either case, try to find an aspect of your topic that you find interesting. If you are interested in your topic the writing process will go more smoothly—and you will get better results, since your voice will reflect your interest.

Prewriting Along with your topic, consider the form of your writing. Planning to write a humorous personal narrative would be very different from planning to write an impassioned letter to the editor of your local paper. You would take different steps to plan an informational report and a business letter. Each form of writing has specific standards and requirements.

Prewriting Be clear on the purpose of your writing. What am I trying to accomplish? Am I writing to convince, inform, or entertain my readers? Understanding your purpose and keeping it in mind as you write are essential to achieving the goals of your writing.

Prewriting Identify your audience. The audience is the person or persons who will be reading what you write. Ask yourself: Who are they? What do they already know about my topic? How can I make the best impression on them through my writing? Keep your audience in mind as you present ideas, elaborate details, and develop a voice for your writing. This will ensure that your final product will appeal to the people for whom it is intended. 9

Prewriting Now begin to perform research on your topic. The way you gather information will depend on the type of writing you are doing. You may need to do library or Internet research, make observations in person, jot down details from memory, or interview people. Be thorough, but don’t forget that you can gather more information later if necessary.

Prewriting Once you’ve collected your information, create a plan, such as an outline or graphic organizer, to get your information organized. Choose an organizational method that fits your topic and form of writing. Arrange your ideas and details in the order that will best present them. Plot the ways in which these ideas and details relate to one another. Main Idea Supporting Detail 1 Supporting Detail 2 Supporting Detail 3 11

Writing In the writing (or drafting) stage you take the work that you did in prewriting and develop the first draft of your composition. In your draft, you will present your thesis and elaborate on the details from your prewriting plan.

Writing First, draft an introduction that will grab your readers’ attention and familiarize them with your subject. Give any essential background information that readers will need to understand the rest of your paper. Your thesis will often appear in your introduction.

Writing Now proceed with the body of your paper. Follow your organizational plan so that your writing remains focused, but be prepared to modify your plan as new ideas and better ways of presenting them occur to you. Remember: You don’t have to make your text perfect the first time through. Review and revision will come later.

Writing Wrap up your paper with a conclusion. This part of your text will often include a restatement of your thesis. You can close your paper with a final image, thought, or reflection that will leave your reader with something to think about. The conclusion is your last chance to show your reader why your writing is important.

Revising Once you’ve finished your first draft, evaluate and revise your work. Read your paper at least twice. During the first reading, consider the content and organization of your work. Ask yourself: Is my thesis clearly presented? Have I included enough supporting details and elaboration on my topic? Is the flow of ideas logical and smooth? Do transitions show the relationship between ideas? Identify what is good and what needs improvement in your work, and revise accordingly.

Do I sound interested, involved, and knowledgeable about the topic? Revising During your second reading, focus on your writing style: your word choices, sentence structures, and the tone and voice of your work. Remember: Even if your ideas are good, repetitive language and structure or an indifferent voice will make your work uninteresting! As you revise for style, ask yourself: Are my words vivid and specific? Have I used a variety of types of sentences? Do I sound interested, involved, and knowledgeable about the topic?

Publishing To publish your writing means to share it with the audience for whom it was intended. Prepare for publishing by proofreading your work to eliminate mistakes in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Little mistakes can ruin the impact of well-crafted writing.

Publishing Some writers find it difficult to proofread their own writing. Consider sharing your work with someone else or finding a “proofreading partner” with whom you can swap papers.

Publishing Finally, reflect on your writing experience. Think about what you wrote and about the writing process itself. Ask yourself questions such as: 1. What did I learn from this assignment that can help me in future writing? 2. What mistakes will I avoid next time? 3. What were the strongest and weakest parts of my paper? What made them the strongest and weakest? 4. What strategies did I use that I might use again in the future?

Test Tip: Prewriting If you have to write an essay as part of a test, these four steps are essential: Analyze: Get a clear idea of what you’re being asked to do and how much time you’ll have. Prewrite: Use about 15% of your available time to plan and outline your essay. Write: Allow about 70% of your time for your first draft. Follow your plan and develop each idea fully and thoughtfully. Revise: Use the final 15% of your time to revise and proofread. Focus first on your organization and content, then on grammar and spelling errors.

Your Turn: Describe the writing process Describe how you would follow the stages of the writing process if you were writing each of the following: 1. A persuasive essay 2. An informational article

Your Turn: Possible response Writing a Persuasive Essay I would choose an issue that I’m interested in and about which I have a strong opinion. Next, I would consider my purpose in writing this essay: to persuade my audience to think in a certain way or do something. I would analyze my audience and consider what arguments would appeal to them. I would gather different types of information, such as expert opinions and statistics, to support my thesis. Then, I would create an outline to organize my information. I would use that to draft my paper, stating my thesis, arguments, and support. Finally, I’d write, revise, and proofread my essay.

Your Turn: Possible response Writing an Informational Article I would pick a subject that I’m interested in and about which I would like to learn more. Then I would make notes or create a graphic organizer outlining the aspects of the topic on which I’d like to focus. I’d think about who my audience is and what they would like to know about my topic. I’d find a variety of sources for information about my topic, making sure that each source was up-to-date and reliable. I’d then make a more detailed outline, arranging details according to the main ideas I want to cover. For the last part of the process, I would write, revise, and proofread my article.

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