The Writing Process

Style

1. Informal 2. Familiar 3. Formal

Active Reading

1. Surveying 2. Engaging 3. Writing an informal outline 4. Conversing 5. Summarizing 6. Critiquing 7. Synthesizing

Free writing

5 to 10 minute exercise where you write down any thoughts and ideas to stimulate the writing process

surveying

A quick review of the text paying attention to titles the introduction and conclusion to catch the main thrust of the piece/ also called previewing

Clustering

A technique of creating a visual diagram linking your ideas together. Also known as mapping is a useful method for stimulating ideas sure I know when I can ship them on ideas and organizing material. Also known as a bubble map.

Listing

All possible thoughts connected to your central idea formatted into a mess

Purpose

Asking yourself what you want to achieve? once you determine why you are writing, you can start to get a sense of the type of content your work will require based on your audience.

Formal Writing Style

Consider your audience unknown both personally and professionally when you write a formal paper. In this case, you want to put your best work forward.

Outlining

Creating the basic structure of your essay into groups and subgroups

Drafting

Creating versions of your essay, with each new version improving upon previous

Prewriting

Exercises used to collect and roughly organize the necessary information required before the actual writing of your paper

Questioning

Ideas are produced by asking yourself as many questions as you can generate. Process of generating ideas for creating questions and answers and relation to your team. Can be done alone or in groups

topic sentence

The basis of a paragraph stated in a sentence that supports the thesis of your essay

Audience

The person or group who is the focus of your writings objective. Who is going to be reading your work.

Thesis

The principal theme or subject in which your essay is built

Revising

The process of rewriting to ensure your paper has good flow, strong support and organization

Narration

The telling of a story in order

engaging

To take rough notes in the margins of the text about the actual material presented while reading it for the first time

formal style of writing

Used for writing essays

Listing

Writing what occurs to you in relation to your topic but put it in the form of a list. Focused free writing and listing an be combined.

scratch outline

an informal list of the main points you will discuss in your essay. Also known as informal outline

slang

an informal, often short-lived kind of language used in place of standard words ex gang banger

Colloquialism

informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing

Familiar Writing Style

maintain a relaxed style because you are presenting ideas to someone you know or someone associated with a particular group in which you belong, such as a co-worker, but these associated parties may not know you on a personal level.

Cliches

phrases that are used over and over again and do not really mean anything

Informal Writing Style

typically content that you would create for someone you know fairly well using very casual and even slang or generation-specific language.