The Writing Process Study Guide

Freewriting

Prewriting Technique 1 = means jotting (or writing down) in rough sentences or phrases everything that comes to mind about the topic - don't worry about spelling, punctuation, organizing - a way to break mental blocks

Questioning

Prewriting Technique 2 = means to generate ideas and details by asking questions about the subject = who, what, where, why, when, & how

Making a List (Brainstorming)

Prewriting Technique 3 = means to collect ideas and details that relate to the subject - without sorting out or putting them into order - write down everything that occurs to you

Clustering (mapping or diagramming)

Prewriting Technique 4 = means to use lines, boxes arrows & circles to show relationships between the ideas and details

Preparing a Scratch Outline

Prewriting Technique 5 = A Framework to build the essay = often follows freewriting, questioning, list making diagraming. = Think carefully about the point you are making and support - if you can't make a solid outline then you know you have to do more prewriting to clarify you r main point or get more support

The Steps Of the Writing Process

Prewriting, First Draft, Revising, Editing

Grammar

Rules and standards which are to be followed to produce acceptable writing and speaking.

Thesis Statement

Support for the topic of the writing.

Prewriting

The first stage of the writing process. It is when a writer gathers their thoughts before writing. There are 5 techniques: Free Writing, Questioning, Making a list, Clustering, Preparing a scratch Outline. You can use these techniques to brainstorm and quickly get your ideas on paper.

Editing (Proofread)

The fourth stage of the writing process, in which writers check to make sure the document makes sense and there are no errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, sentence structure, word usage, spelling.

The Writing Process

The key concept of writing. The sequence of steps in writing an effective essay.

Main Idea

The main point(s) of a text.

Drafting = First Draft

The second stage of the writing process, be prepared to put additional thoughts and details down that were not in the prewriting. Writers pour out ideas in a rough draft. Write! Don't worry about making it perfect.

Revising

The third stage of the writing process, means rewriting an essay - in which writers make the essay stronger by improving writing = adding, removing, and rearranging words, details, and ideas.

Body

The writing that comes after the introduction and before the conclusion. For example, "There are 3 body paragraphs in a 5 paragraph essay."

The topic sentence

_____________is a statement of the main idea in a paragraph.