It's possible you're heard an instructor or professor say, "Writing is
a process." That process is made up of a variety of stages and envelops
everything from thinking about an assignment or writing project to performing
a final edit of an essay before you turn it in. Each writer personalizes his
or her process. Maybe you can't write unless you have a glass of ice water right
by the computer, and you know you have to start halfway down the page, because
a full, blank page intimidates you. Maybe you like to make a list instead of
a formal outline.
Every writer goes through steps while planning and composing an essay. You
might not think that the way you write a paper is anything like the way your
roommate writes a paper; she spends a full week just thinking about the essay
and planning it in her head and then sits down and writes out a complete draft:
introduction to conclusion. In fact, ff you filmed a hundred writers writing
essays in response to the same assignment and then looked at all the stages
of their written work, you might see a lot of variation, but you'd also see
many similarities. There are more valid ways to work through the "writing
process" than we could count, but there are some basic components to the
process-- basic stages that writers go through. Knowing about these stages and
thinking about writing as a process (not just an end result) can help you to
understand how writing actually works and to become a better, more confident
writer.
So, in order to work toward that end, let's take a look at some of the phases
of the writing process that are "common" to many writers. Let's look
at them in terms of a college writing assignment, but keep in mind that you
can apply this process to any writing that you have to do.
- Analyzing the assignment
Before you start, you need to understand what you want this piece of writing
to do. Trying to write an essay before understanding and analyzing the assignment
is kind of like jumping out of a plane without a parachute (okay, maybe
it's not that dramatic, but we're exaggerating for effect here). So, before
you start to plan or write, try to answer the following questions:
- For this piece of writing, what is my goal?
- What is the focus of the piece? (You'll find that information by looking
closely at the assignment and what it requires.)
- What kind of writing will I do to fulfill the requirements of the
assignment?
- Who is the audience for the assignment?
- Do I need to do any additional research for the assignment?
These are the kinds of questions you should ask yourself when you're first
thinking about your writing. If you're feeling a little shaky about the
assignment, it's probably a good idea to sit down and write out responses
to the questions listed above. Once you've answered these questions, you'll
have a better sense of what you want to do and what you need to do to begin
to formulate a plan for writing the essay.
If the assignment seems unclear to you, ask your teacher to clarify or
provide more information. Once you have the information you need, take a
minute and put the assignment into your own words. Look up any words in
the assignment description that you don't know.
- Planning
After you figure out what the assignment is asking you to do, you next have
to decide how you're going to do it. You'll want to answer some basic questions
as you plan your essay.
- What is the main idea for your assignment?
- What are the supporting points you're going to make?
- How are you going to put them together? People plan in different ways.
For some people this stage involves writing an outline. For others it's
the time for free writing. Still others find that they can do this best
by simply trying out a draft. You need to discover what process works
best for you at this point. If you're not sure, think about the best
paper you ever wrote. How did you write that paper? Can you duplicate
that process? If you're still unsure, try a variety of methods in order
to plan for the same assignment: making a list; making an outline, freewriting.
Which method brings the best results?
Sometimes if you're "stuck," a little experimentation helps to
get you unstuck; in other words, one process isn't always the "right"
method for every, single writing project. However, for many people, many
basic tactics hold true for every piece of writing. Discovering your own
individual writing process can save you time and frustration. If you know
that you can't write a good introduction until you've written your first
draft, don't waste your time writing an introduction you'll just discard.
Start with the body of the paper and write the introduction after you've
finished the draft. If you know you need an outline, don't waste your time
writing a draft you'll just toss. Jot down an outline before you start!
- Drafting
Everyone writes drafts, or at least everyone should write drafts! People
who publish their writing write many, many drafts before they are satisfied
with their work. Most proficient writers aren't able to complete a project
satisfactorily the first time they attempt it. How many drafts you write
depends on many different things. Sometimes you might write two drafts,
and sometimes you might write six. The draft is where you begin putting
words down on the page. Without a draft, you'll have nothing to revise,
so at some point you have to put those words on paper or on the screen.
When you write your draft, try not to think too much about fine-tuning issues
like documentation and grammatical correctness. It's just a draft, and there
will be time for polishing and revising later. Get your thoughts down; follow
your "plan" as you write, but don't be so rigid that you fail
to leave room for evolution of your ideas. Always remember that a draft
is a work in progress.
- Revising
After you've finished your draft, you need to look at it to see if it does
what it needs to do and to see if you really said what you wanted to say.
(Go back to those initial "analyzing the assignment" questions,
and make sure your-before you revise-that your draft is on track and fulfills
the expectations of the assignment.) If possible, it's always a good idea
to let a draft sit for a while to get a little distance from your writing.
If you don't have a lot of time, you should at least walk away for a little
bit before you try to revise your draft.
Revising is more than fixing the spelling and the punctuation. To revise
something is to visit it again, and to make major changes if necessary.
In this stage of the process you look at the organization and the development
of your paper. Look at the way you've stated your main idea. Look at the
unity and the coherence of the paper.
When you revise, you look at the writing in two ways-through the eyes of
the reader and through the eyes of the writer. As the writer you have to
ask yourself if the paper conveys the ideas that you wanted it to convey.
Does it say what you wanted to say?
It's not enough, however, to think that the paper says what you wanted
it to say. You also have to ask if the reader is able to understand what
you wanted to say. You have to look at your paper through the eyes of someone
who doesn't know the same things you know about the subject. (If your assignment
asks you to write to a specific audience, put yourself into the shoes of
a member of that audience and read the paper as if you were that person.
Is your main idea clear? Do you have enough support for your main points?
Have you established clear connections between your ideas? Can your reader
follow your thinking? If you have the luxury of a peer writing group to
give you input, use it! Ask your readers what works for them and what doesn't
work. Don't let them get by with telling you it's "okay" or "fine"-that
doesn't help you at all! Ask for specific feedback from your peers or from
a tutor. Once you've reviewed the essay and gotten feedback, you might want
to make a revision plan: a list of the items you want to attend to as you
construct your revision. This list can serve as a reminder of what needs
to be taken care of as you revise.
- Editing
When you have the content the way you want it, then it's time to look at
the sentences themselves. This is the editing phase of the process. Here,
you'll look at your sentences to make sure that you have a subject and a
verb in each sentence. You'll look at your punctuation and your spelling.
If you're not good at spelling, use the computer to help you, but don't
rely on it completely. When the computer gives you more than one choice
for a word, be sure you know that you've chosen the right one. You'll look
to see if your sentences flow together and if the reader is able to get
the meaning from each sentence. This is the time to look at the little things,
the details that will make your writing solid and convincing. After all,
you can have a great argument or a great description, but if your paper
is full of grammatical and technical errors, it won't carry as much weight;
those errors will distract your readers. Formal writing follows the conventions
of Standard American English and so it's important that you make sure you've
got grammatically correct sentences and that you've used the right words.
Use the editing phase of the process to put the polish on your piece of
writing. If you're not sure of the conventions, keep a good handbook by
your side as you revise, and refer to it as questions arise.
Summary
This lesson has given you information about the basic stages of the writing
process. Most writers spend time in each of those stages of the process. However,
don't worry if you sometimes move out of the "order" in which we've
listed the stages. In fact, the writing process isn't always really as clear-cut
as that. We don't always proceed nicely and neatly from planning to drafting
to revision. . Most of us go back and forth; sometimes we might be revising,
and then suddenly when things don't work we're back to planning. Or we might
do a bit of editing while revising. That's fine. It's not so important to
do things in a strict order, but it is important to do them. Your final product
should have been through each of these stages, in some way or another! So,
give yourself time before a deadline or due date; work through the stages
before you turn in or submit. And don't get discouraged; keep reminding yourself
that all writers work through the stages of the process and that any polished
piece you see in a magazine or newspaper or journal started out as a bunch
of random thoughts in the head of the writer.
  
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