©2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Planning, Writing, and Revising Module Four Copyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Learning Objectives LO 4-1 Apply processes for writing quality improvement. LO 4-2 Manage time for writing projects. LO 4-3 Plan writing and speaking projects for increased success. LO 4-4 Apply strategies for revision. 4-2

Learning Objectives (cont.) LO 4-5 Support writing with grammar and spell-checkers. LO 4-6 Apply strategies for feedback and revision with it. LO 4-7 Apply strategies for form letter use. LO 4-8 Apply strategies for writer’s block and procrastination solutions. 4-3

Planning, Writing, and Revising Planning  Analyzing the problem, defining your purposes, and analyzing the audience  Gathering the information you need 4-4

Planning, Writing, and Revising Writing  Putting words on paper or on a screen.  Writing can be lists, fragmentary notes or a formal draft. 4-5

Planning, Writing, and Revising Revising  Evaluating your work and measuring it against your goals  Getting feedback from someone else  Editing the draft to see that it satisfies the requirements of standard English  Proofreading the final copy to see that it’s free from typographical errors 4-6

Planning, Writing, and Revising  The activities do not have to come in this order.  You do not have to finish one activity to start another. 4-7

Planning, Writing, and Revising  You may do an activity several times, not just once.  Most writers do not use all activities for all the documents they write. 4-8

Does it matter what process I use?  Realize that the first draft can be revised.  Write regularly.  Break big jobs into smaller chunks.  Have clear goals for purpose and audience. 4-9

Does it matter what process I use?  Have several different strategies to choose from.  Use rules flexibly.  Edit after the draft is complete. 4-10

I don’t have much time. How should I use it?  To get the best results from the time you have, spend only a third of your time actually “writing.”  Spend at least one-third of your time analyzing the situation and your audience, gathering information, and organizing what you have to say. 4-11

I don’t have much time. How should I use it?  Spend another third evaluating what you’ve said, revising the draft(s) to meet your purposes and the needs of the audience and the organization, editing a late draft to remove any errors in grammar and mechanics, and proofreading the final typed copy. 4-12

Allocating Time in Writing a Memo 4-13

What planning should I do before I begin writing or speaking?BrainstormFreewriteCluster Talk to Your Audiences Storyboard 4-14

Clustering Helps Generate Ideas 4-15

Customized Planning Guides for Specific Documents 4-16

What is revision? How do I do it?  Revising  making changes that will better satisfy your purposes and your audience.  Editing  making surface-level changes that make the document grammatically correct. 4-17

What is revision? How do I do it?  Proofreading  checking to be sure the document is free from typographical errors. 4-18

Thorough Revision Checklist Figure

Light Revision Checklist Figure

Can a grammar checker do my editing for me?  You need to know the rules of grammar and punctuation to edit.  Editing should always follow revision.  There’s no point in taking time to fix a grammatical error in a sentence that may be cut when you clarify your meaning or tighten your style. 4-21

I spell-check. Do I still need to proofread?  Read once quickly for meaning to see that nothing has been left out.  Read a second time, slowly.  To proofread a document you know well, read the lines backward or the pages out of order 4-22

How can I get better feedback?  Cycling  process of drafting, getting feedback, revising, and getting more feedback 4-23

Questions to Ask Readers Figure

Can I use form letters?  Form letter  a prewritten fill-in-the-blank letter designed for routine situations  Boilerplate  language—sentences, paragraphs, even pages—from a previous document that a writer includes in a new document. 4-25

Revising After Feedback  When you get feedback that you understand and agree with, make the change  If you get feedback you don’t understand, ask for clarification  Paraphrase.  Ask for more information.  Test your inference. 4-26

Revising After Feedback  When you get feedback that you don’t agree with  If it’s an issue of grammatical correctness, check this book.  If it’s a matter of content, recognize that something about the draft isn’t as good as it could be.  If the reader thinks a fact is wrong (and you know it’s right), show where the fact came from. 4-27

How can I overcome writer’s block and procrastination?  Participate actively in the organization and the community.  Practice writing regularly and in moderation.  Learn as many strategies as you can.  Talk positively to yourself.  Talk about writing to other people. 4-28

How can I overcome writer’s block and procrastination?  Set a regular time to write.  Develop a ritual for writing.  Try freewriting.  Write down the thoughts and fears you have as you write.  Identify the problem that keeps you from writing.  Set modest goals and reward yourself for reaching them. 4-29