The Writing Process
Writing Process
A series of steps that go into writing a successful essay or other writing project
Essay
A short piece of writing on a particular subject
Prewriting
A stage in the writing process during which the writer brainstorms on the topic & generates ideas prior to composing a first draft Games include listing, clustering, & free-writing
Clustering
Creating a map connecting your ideas & support
Outline
Crucial element of prewriting stage Drawing sketch of essay where you plot out images you're going to draw on Main idea (as thesis statement), & section summaries of body paragraphs of essay
When you edit, you're looking for
How well each piece of language is working How clear your ideas are How precise your language is How effective your choice of words is How much variety you have in sentence length & structure Whether your sentences are all complete
Plagiarism
Presenting someone else's ideas or writing as your own, whether intentionally or unintentionally To avoid this, carefully & consistently give credit where credit is due
Stages of the Writing Process
Prewriting Drafting Revising Editing Proofreading
Drafting
The act of composing a piece of writing
Proofreading
The process of fixing errors in grammar, mechanics, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, commonly confused words, & formatting in an essay or other piece of writing
Editing
The process of improving the sentences, word choices, & overall style of essay or other piece of writing
Revision
The process of re-envisioning an essay or other writing project You're re-seeing your ideas, what kind of evidence & support you use, & overall organization of your text Involves starting at thesis statement & then looking at each individual paragraph's examples to assess their connection to main idea
Listing
Writing down any ideas as they come
Free-writing
Writing down fully-formed thoughts about the topic