...The Writing Process Whether you know it or not, there’s a process to writing – which many writers follow naturally. If you’re just getting started as a writer, though, or if you always find it a struggle to produce an essay, short story or blog, following the writing process will help. I’m going to explain what each stage of the writing process involves, and I’ll offer some tips for each section that will help out if you’re still feeling stuck! 1. Prewriting Have you ever sat staring at a blank piece of paper or a blank document on your computer screen? You might have skipped the vital first stage of the writing process: prewriting. This covers everything you do before starting your rough draft. As a minimum, prewriting means coming up with an idea! Ideas and Inspiration Ideas are all around you. If you want to write but you don’t have any ideas, try: * Using a writing prompt to get you started. * Writing about incidents from your daily life, or childhood. * Keeping a notebook of ideas – jotting down those thoughts that occur throughout the day. * Creating a vivid character, and then writing about him/her. See also How to Generate Hundreds of Writing Ideas. Tip: Once you have an idea, you need to expand on it. Don’t make the mistake of jumping straight into your writing – you’ll end up with a badly structured piece. Building on Your Idea These are a couple of popular methods you can use to add flesh to the bones of your idea: * Free writing: Open...
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...The Writing Process Step by Step Have you ever felt like writing an essay just wasn’t for you? Well, you were wrong!! Here are 4 easy steps to writing an essay: 1. Prewriting 2. Outlining the structure of ideas 3. Write a rough draft 4. Revising and rough draft Step 1: Prewriting Prewriting is the way to get your ideas out of your head and on to the paper. Starting with your topic. Ways to find your topic • Using experience and observation Use your past experience to find a topic. The more you know about the topic the easier it is to write about the topic. • Reading Use reading as a tool. This is a way to get different viewpoints to use when discovering a topic. • Brainstorming and Free writing This exercise is used to help you write freely about your topic. Write down whatever comes to mind about a topic. During this exercise there is no need to worry about grammar or punctuation. You will be the only one to see it. • Ask questions When discovering your topic, it is important to ask questions such as: • Who or what will I be writing about? • Why did I pick this topic? • How will I approach my audience? Any of these steps can be used to find a topic. Step 2: Outlining the structure of ideas The outline helps you to organize and arrange different part of the subject. Start with a general idea and support it with specific examples. All outlines should begin with a Thesis Statement...
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...The Writing Process The five steps of the writing process are; Pre-writing or think which is deciding on a good topic to write about, consider who your audience will be, and do the proper research beforehand. The next is Drafting or write. This is to put the topic into your own words, write all or most of the paragraphs even though they might not be perfect, and get it proofread for suggestions to help make it better. The third step is Revising or making it better. With this you read and re-read what you have written, you take into account what opinions or criticism you may have received, and remove or add parts as needed. The fourth step is Proofreading or making it correct. In this step you do all of the proofreading and making sure your sentences are complete, spell checking, changing words that aren’t used correctly, and recopying it nice and neat like. The last step is Publishing or sharing the finished product. This step you can read what you have written aloud to a group, create a book of the work, illustrate or perform you work into music form, and maybe even put your work on display. These steps are in this order for a reason so we as students can get the best grade possible by following them. If we would just skip all the steps and just go straight to publishing there could be all sorts of errors like spelling and incorrect grammar. There would be a lot of bad grades in the future of students if these steps were not followed. For the final assignment I have chosen...
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...The Writing Process This week, I have chosen option 1: Strategies for Becoming an Effective Academic Writer. After reading the writing process in this week's reading material, I have discovered that my actual writing process is much different. My personality is such that I rush and jump straight into whatever assignment or task I am given. I would normally, if research was needed for the assignment, just go straight into the research and gather the general basic information that I needed to complete the assignment. Once I read the information for this week, I found that the initial step I should take was to think of the audience I was writing for. I need to make the topic interesting for those individuals and ensure I stay on topic and not broad. By staying on topic and writing to the right audience it will make my paper more objective and interesting. One of the most important parts of writing a paper is to organize your paper. By organizing you would prewriting, drafting, revising and editing. If a writing does all these things, the paper will be organized, stay on topic and be interesting. When looking at the writing process, I find that the prewriting is the most easiest to do. I love to research and depending on the topic, really enjoy it. The most difficult part of writing is the wrap up part. I just never seem to know when to stop. In the future, I plan to overcome the wrap up difficulty by following the writing process as it is meant to...
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...Writing Process My writing process is based on what I learned in high school. I graduated from York Suburban High School and all the English teachers basically worshiped Jane Schaffer. I personally think that Jane Schaffer is a great way to write. Jane Schaffer, from what I learned and remember from high school starts with an intro paragraph. Gain the readers interest, build up the topic through logic and then state your thesis which should capture your whole idea and opinion on the topic. It doesn’t matter how many paragraphs you have as long as all your points have their own separate paragraph. They also need to be in the order in which you listed them in the thesis. Once you start the first paragraph you need to have a topic sentence that matches with your thesis. The TS needs to state your point for the paragraph. Next comes the concrete detail (CD) and this need to be a fact from memory and statement with a citation or a quote with a citation. After the CD comes the commentary (CM). The CM is your opinion on the CD. This continues on until you have a solid paragraph with at least 2-3 CD’s and CM’s. At the end of the paragraph you then need to add a conclusion which sums up ideas in the paragraph. I then do this process for all the paragraphs. To end the paper I add a conclusion paragraph with paraphrases the intro paragraph in reverse. I have always used Jane Schaffer and it has always worked for me so I tend to stick with it. This is how I write all and it takes...
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...ENGL 112.07 September 3, 2010 Essay #1 As a student, there are few things that should be known before writing a essay. This includes knowing the research question, the process of locating effective sources, and the writing process. It is crucial to understand the research question fully before writing a research essay. Without comprehending what the question is asking, you are liable to writing an entire essay incorrectly. Thus being said, the research question needs to be understood because it will determine the direction of your essay. The research question will also make you think about what to write about in your essay. After you think of possible answers for the question, your mind will eventually decide the best way to write it down. When it comes down to locating effective sources, it important to understand what a effective source actually is. An effective source is a source that can be used and eventually be credited to someone who has creditability. If you happen to stubble upon a source that comes from a Yahoo Answers website, by “Jeff-Dog1992”, and was posted during 2006, then you should probably not use that source. In fact, any sources from a websites where random people can answer and edit such as Wikipedia are not to be to used during a essay. In order to locate an effective source you first need to access to the your school’s library database and books. The library database includes many approved sources that were written by creditable authors. Although...
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...The Writing Process The five steps in the writing process are as follows: • Prewriting- Gives you the opportunity to narrow your topic, if needed. • Outlining the structure of ideas- Gives you a chance to organize your paper and create your Thesis statement. • Writing a rough draft- This is your first version of your paper. • Revising- This gives you a chance to go through your paper to delete any parts that are not on topic. • Editing- This gives you a chance to go through your paper and look for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. I think it is very important to follow the writing process no matter what project you are working on. The reason it is important is so that your paper can be well written and well structured. If you were to write an essay without following the writing process there is a very good chance that your paper can be all over the place and not exactly on topic. When you are writing you want it to follow a certain order. If you were to skip the writing process it might not follow in the order you want it to be in. All of the steps are vital to a well written paper. The topic that I choose for my final paper is, Two Methods for Losing Weight. The reason I chose this topic is because maintaining a healthy weight is important to maintain health and wellness. I feel that it is good to know what the differences are between different ways of losing weight. There are some ways of losing weight that can be harmful in many ways. In my paper I want...
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...The differences between the writing processes I have read for this class would probably be that now I have to start brainstorming, free writing, researching, and editing. Whereas, before I would just write a paper and proofread it then correct the mistakes that I feel would need to be change and turn it in. It also has different structures and dynamic of the process. The easiest step for me to complete in the writing process would be step one: Prewriting. The reason that step one is easiest for me is because I like to just free write. When I am free writing I am usually able to answer the 5w’s and 1h. This would help me understand what I am writing about. Editing would probably be the most difficult for me. Editing is difficult because when I am finish writing it’s kind of hard for me to go back and proofread and see the mistakes that I have made. The reason for it begin hard for me is because I write like I talk. For me to become a more effective writer I would do a research on how to edit papers. While researching how to edit I would take notes and apply it to my paper while I am editing. What are three specific strategies you might use to overcome these obstacles to become a more effective academic writer? Write something every day. This instruction may be the most irritating piece of advice that writers receive, but it is the most practical to implement. Daily writing keeps your diction and style in good repair. Writers and writing websites will give different pieces...
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...24 April 2014 Process of Writing Looking back to when I learned how to write, so much has changed. How I read a piece of writing, to how I set up my own writing. Writing is a very beautiful thing and amazing way to express yourself. My favorite type of writing would be freestyle, mainly because I express my feelings the best this way. I learn something different each year while taking English. English is a very important subject to be educated in. Taking English 101 is my first English college class. I love it, I have already learned so much in the past couple weeks. Writing has a very structural process. I’ve learned that it is very easy to get lost in your words, while writing a piece. I have been told by my peers and also my professor to add more detail. I try to emphasize to the best of my abilities. I can already tell I’m having an easier time starting off my papers. I’ve never really been a strong writer and I hope to improve that in this class. I have learned that hooking the reader and keeping them hooked is the hardest thing. Different readers have different interested so you have to be proficient on the topic. I have learned a lot just by reading flowers passage. I am glad I read her entry on “writing for an audience”. I learned a lot reading this. She does a really well way of explaining how to connect with the reader. Knowledge, needs and attitude are the most important details when writing a piece. “A good piece of writing closes the gap...
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...The writing process is a systematic process wherein a step-by-step procedure is followed to attain a desirable and effective output, it doesn't necessarily mean that it should be followed in the most accurate manner since each one has their own way of expressing their thoughts about a certain topic through their own way of writing. For the beginners, here are the five ways on how to develop an effective writing piece: 1.) PREWRITING This is the part where brainstorming happens in order to formulate ideas. Story webs, charts, and graphic organizers are usually used to aid in developing a word list, determining the type of writing, and knowing the purpose for writing. First, we look for ideas around us or even to whatever things that come out in our minds. Then, we construct those ideas by freewriting. In freewriting, we let the ideas flow freely and jut them down without minding the mistakes. Finally, we plan and organize whatever we have written and choose among those ideas which we think might be helpful in our piece. 2.) WRITING/DRAFTING This is now the most messy area yet the start of our writing piece. Since we now have an idea or topic, we now write all our ideas in relation to the topic without minding the errors like grammar, punctuations, and the like. It is also similar with the freewriting mentioned previously where we just let ideas flow freely. The purpose of this is to focus ourselves to our ideas and neglecting any distractions. 3.) REVISING AND EDITING ...
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...The five steps in the writing process are, * Prewriting, this I believe is the most important part in the writing process because you write your ideas down and what you are going to write. Without this step, I don’t believe you would have a good, well thought out essay. * Outlining, I believe this is very important for the writing process because it helps you write your ideas down so that way when you go to do the writing you have all the ideas and thoughts down right in front of you. * Drafting, this is really where all the thoughts and ideas come out on paper so that way you can put them together and perform a legit letter, essay, etc. I think that when you go through and write these drafts it makes it easier to find the mistakes and fix them before the actually writing * Revising and editing, this step to me is very important to me because it gives the person the chance to fix any mistakes and make new improvements and add things they think need to be there. * Editing this is very important because it helps you find mistakes and learn from them so you will already know when it comes to doing your first real essay. It is important to follow a structured writing process when writing an essay because it will help you a lot with writing and show you step by step how to write a successful essay. By following these steps, you can develop a nice, well organized, well thought out essay and be able to get a good grade. But if you do not follow these...
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...The writing process in this class differs from prior writing processes I have used in the past. For example generally I just am the type of writer who just sits at a computer and starts typing. Now there are several different steps that are given to complete an effective essay. I often find myself using free writing and brainstorming to write down my thoughts and ideas on a topic. This seems to be the process easiest for me since it is like writing in a journal and I still do that. I like to research my facts and main sources to support a topic I am writing about. This gives me as a writer the feeling I have gather the facts first. I want my readers to consider my point of view and then come to their own conclusion from my reading. I believe this is why free writing and brainstorming are easiest for me to do. The most difficult writing process is clustering and mind mapping for me personally. I have never been much of a fan of drawing and putting my thoughts in circles and drawing lines would just confuse me. It could be that I am just so adjusted to how I write and would rather not try new ways. To overcome this nerve racking use of mind mapping and become a better writer I should attempt to try new writing processes. I can map out my ideas in a more organized manner and not be searching through my notes for my...
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...The Writing Process COM/150 Shelly Karl The writing process I have read about in class this week most certainly differs from the way I have written in the past. After reading “The Writing Process”, I have realized how many errors I have made and why it has been hard for me to write my thoughts and ideas down clear and concisely. In the past, I have read assignments and written down my thoughts but without a plan of action or a smooth transition. I often get jumbled and jump from one idea to the next. I have had a hard time to make sure I get all my points across and sometimes I even have an issue with contradicting myself. I sometimes have so many ideas and if not written down the correct way, it can confuse the reader. I believe the easiest step for me in “The Writing Process” is the “Pre-writing” step. In that step I can jot down the things I am thinking without having to have a format and correct grammar. These things are sometimes the hardest for me. Even at my age I sometimes struggle with where to put a comma and where to put a semi-colon. I do not believe I was taught properly while in grade school. The simple foundations of writing have clearly escaped me at some point and I have noticed for a long time that I have issues in making a clear point and transition. I believe outlining for me is going to be the hardest part. Being able to take my research, thoughts and ideas and put them in to a correct format is difficult. I mentioned above that I...
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...The Writing Process Writing is a process; a writer is someone who uses this process to put his thoughts down on paper in an organized manner. As in all processes, this process has a beginning, middle, and end. The start of this process is the writer’s initial receptivity and finding a place where he is not going to be interrupted. Having pen and paper at the ready, letting one’s thoughts flow onto the paper. No thought is given to content; let one idea pull another, accepting anything that occurs to you. As one moves along putting random thoughts down on the paper, one will see that these thoughts are not random at all, but somehow, surprising they are all connected. Along with this receptivity there is a price, the willingness to fail. A writer, at this point, must not insist on high standards. By standards this does not mean the mechanics of writing, but the social significance, positive values, and consistency of the writing. Worrying about standards will slow the flow of ideas. This attitude toward writing creatively causes problems in terms of how other writers’ perceive one’s writing skills when using this technique. Does the writer’s skill come into play when trying to bridge the gap between not knowing and knowing what to write? Can this particular skill be witnessed to? It remains a mystery. Maybe writing is a skill learned before the age of three or four. Writing takes practice. This beginning cracks open the door to the whole...
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...LECTURE 2 – POWELL THE WRITING PROCESS KINDS OF WRITING/DISCOURSE TYPES: THE BASIC PURPOSES OF WRITING ARE TO INFORM, TO PERSUADE, AND TO ENTERTAIN. Prose is ordinary written/spoken language without poetic structure. Prose that informs is called exposition/expository writing. Expository writing explains how things work, ideas, how to solve a problem, facts about everyday life, history, controversial issues. Expository writing is constructed LOGICALLY – organized around structures like cause and effect, true and false, less and more, positive and negative, general and specific, sequences or series of steps/procedures, chronology, etc. Ideas in exposition are moved along by connectives like therefore, however, but, in fact, and, for example. An example of expository writing is the information report – facts about a subject with descriptions, definitions and classifications, e.g. scientific reports or business reports with diagrams, technical language or jargon (words/expressions specific to a particular profession). Certain descriptive and narrative writing can also fall under the category of writing that informs. Descriptions of the details of experiences, people, places, situations, processes should be arranged into a meaningful pattern, and narration should give an account of related events/incidents as in a report and in a logical sequence. Prose that persuades is often called argumentative writing. The writer takes a stand, proving an opinion/argument...
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