Chapter 16 The Writing Process: A Case Study of a Writing Assignment
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 2 Chapter overview Reviews stages of the writing process Presents a case study of a writing assignment (Krista Guglielmetti writing an essay for a mass communications course)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 3 The writing process includes Invention Planning Drafting Peer review Revising Editing, proofreading, and formatting the final document
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 4 Collaborating to understand Many students find it helpful to work together to better understand the requirements of writing assignments, even when doing individual papers Two heads are better than one
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 5 Readers and writers Reading and commenting on other people’s papers is a way to strengthen your skills, both as a writer and a reader. However, both have responsibilities to the other.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 6 A writer’s responsibilities Provide reader with legible draft (typed, double spaced, if possible) Communicate the status of the draft (an early attempt, still pretty rough, or a working draft). Keep an open mind. Try to understand the reader’s comments and why there were made.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 7 A reader’s responsibilities Give honest feedback, not from the perspective of a teacher but as a peer Don’t give empty praise or vague remarks. Give a clear and accurate explanation of how and why you reacted to the essay.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 8 Shared responsibility Readers and writers share the responsibility to handle disagreements in such a way that they keep talking to resolve the conflict.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 9 Case study The chapter takes a detailed look at an essay that Krista Guglielmetti has been assigned for a mass communications course. It begins with the writing assignment description, suggesting that the first task is to analyze the assignment
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 10 Three guidelines to analyze an assignment Find key words in the writing assignment (describe, summarize, evaluate, for example) Discuss information needed to complete the assignment; is it based on class readings and texts, or is outside research required? Look for directions about the format and genre (essay, report, review, or proposal)? Anything about the length or documentation style?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 11 Understanding readers Krista discusses the assignment with her roommate, Tamika. Their conversation is on pages Her friend helps her clarify some of her ideas, and Krista decides she has found her focus.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 12 Exploring topics and outlining Krista does an exploratory writing; it is on page , followed by a short response from her friend Eric. Next, she lists her main ideas and puts them into a simple outline form, as shown on page
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 13 Drafting Her first, or working, draft is found on pages She now needs to find a reader, who can provide feedback to help her revise.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 14 Three kinds of commentary Describes the writer’s strategy Analyzes the organization Evaluates the argument You may ask a reader to do one of those tasks, more than one, or all three, depending on the circumstances.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 15 Describing the writer’s strategies Asks the reader to look at the essay in terms of how each part functions. Helps to see how ideas are developed and supported. See example on page 511. It presents the main point and then the main idea of each of the paragraphs.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 16 Describing the organization Builds on the rough outline done for the previous task. Five guidelines focus on how ideas are presented and connected, and whether more details are needed or if some points should be omitted.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 17 Evaluating the argument Four guidelines are listed, pages 513. Focus on analyzing the parts of the argument (claim, evidence, assumptions, etc.). Asks if you agree with the main point, and then gives a series of questions for both possibilities.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 18 Guidelines for revising See page 515 for five key points. Focus on how the readers see your essay, with suggestions for how to revise various aspects, including the main point, the evidence, the way you connect the evidence to your main point, and the ending.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 19 Student sample Notice Krista’s sample working draft and revised essay, which appear on pages Final touches are also mentioned—the need to edit and proofread an essay to catch final problems (awkward sentences, missing words, typos, etc.).
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 20 Writing centers The chapter closes with a reminder that most campuses have a writing center, with tutors or peer editors.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 21 Student Companion Website Go to the student side of the Web site for exercises, chapter overviews, and links to writing resources for this chapter: