The Writing Process

How to diagnose needs and provide help at different

stages

Writing often occurs in four recursive stages.

Writing(Drafting)

Rewriting(Revision or

Editing)

Copyediting &Proofreading

Prewriting(Invention & Arrangement)

RECURSIVE?

“Recursive” means to return or to repeat. Recursive stages are not linear—they do not occur one-by-one in regular succession but may repeat or skip.

Writers differ in how they write. The writing process changes both for

individuals and for documents. Writers may benefit from changing their

usual habits. Blocked writers may spend too much

time trying to perfect one stage or may proceed too linearly.

Often blocked writers are uncomfortable with the messiness of prewriting or drafting.

Different styles are no problem. Some writers are

predominately top-down; that is, they prefer to plan before they write, and they often begin with larger concepts or generalizations then work in details. They prefer outlines (hierarchies) to lists.

Others are predominately bottom-up, meaning they begin with a draft, often in the middle, and organize, cut, and shape after they have poured out all their ideas on paper. When they do plan, they prefer lists.

Don’t try to change a style, but work with it. Preferences and habits are usually deep-

seated. Don’t waste time trying to change them.

Top-down writers may need to spend more time drafting and go back to prewriting after planning.

Bottom-up writers may need to write an outline after the first draft, and should realize that they can go back to prewriting even after they have done a full draft.

Prewriting or Invention Some of these

activities include research, note taking, outlining, and brainstorming.

Prewriting is all the activity the writer engages in before producing the draft.

Listing

Talking

Outlining

Researching

Freewriting

Brainstorming

Prewriting

Some types of prewriting

Research In books, periodicals, web sites,

government documents, or other printed media;

Via interviews, surveys, experimentation, observation, or other means of gathering data;

Prewriting also includes: Discussing your project with someone; Listing ideas; Brainstorming alone or in a group; Freewriting; Making a visual map or diagram of your

idea; Reading or viewing documentaries; Or, any activity that helps you think about

your project more deeply and fully.

A student needs to do more prewriting when he/she. . . Has “writer’s

block”; Is stuck on finding a

topic or thesis; Has a draft with

short, underdeveloped paragraphs;

Has a draft with unsupported claims;

Has not yet met an assigned length;

Has a draft that is boring, lifeless, pointless, or unoriginal.

As a consultant, you can stimulate prewriting. Talk and make notes Look together for resources Ask the client to do a freewriting exercise Use the handouts on the web at http://

writingcenter.tamu.edu/handouts/getting_started/

Help the writer brainstorm; keep notes Encourage the student to talk to his/her

professor

Once the writer has generated content, he/she must decide how to arrange it.

Write a thesis statement at this point. A thesis is an argument. See

http://writingcenter.tamu.edu/resources/handouts/developing_a_thesis for more on a good thesis.

Use a list or simple outline to try out some organization schemes. Remember that the plan is not a blueprint but a guide. The organization should support the thesis.

Drafting and Revising A draft doesn’t have to

start with an introduction, but it helps to have a thesis statement.

Novice writers tend to write too few drafts.

Most drafting occurs after prewriting, but sometimes a portion of drafting occurs during prewriting.

It’s hard to say where drafting ends and revision begins—but it doesn’t matter as far as the writing goes.

Draft 4OrganizationCoherence

Draft 3Argument

MorePrewriting

Draft 2AudiencePurposeThesis

From prewritingDraft 1

Drafting

Each draft demands its own revisions On the first draft, the writer is often

most concerned with following a plan or getting ideas on paper.

In an early draft, writers should attend to rhetorical concerns, in other words, to their thesis, audience, and purpose.

As drafts progress, writers will want to check for content (development, argument), organization, and coherence (transitions flow).

How many drafts are needed?

Many novice writers skip or skimp on the prewriting and drafting (revision) stages. One or two drafts are OK for very short and simple documents but seldom suffice for the typical college paper.

Think of revision as looking from a new perspective

Every time you review a document with a client, you encourage a new view. Clients are here to get another perspective on their writing. It helps when you react to their content, their arguments, their proof. If you only respond to errors or stay at the sentence level, it will be more difficult to re-see the larger picture.

Local and Global Revision Local Revision

Changes in sentence structure, grammar, mechanics, format, diction.

Changes at the sentence level.

Global Revision Changes in

paragraph structure or order, changes in content.

Changes at the whole document level.

Both local and global revision are important, but writers are more productive when they attend to global revision first.

Copyediting and Proofreading

Copyediting and proofreading are really the same as local revision, and are usually done at the end of the writing process.

Check documentation

Checkgrammar

Checkformat

Check punctuation

Check spelling

Proofreading

To help with copyediting and proofreading, explain: Proofreading is most efficiently done in stages:

look for one type of error at a time. Spell checkers and grammar checkers are not

foolproof! Read from hard copy. Try to leave time between writing and

proofreading. Go slowly to prevent reading what isn’t there. Read aloud—it slows you down. Know your typical errors so you can check for

them.

Consultants can help with proofreading. . .

Help students to identify and understand their typical errors.

Give them practice in identifying and correcting their errors.

Don’t try to catch every little thing. Work from the most serious to the

least serious errors.

Serious errors interfere most with reading. Usually considered more

serious: Spelling errors Fragments not intended

for stylistic effect Run-ons Comma Splices Wordiness Poorly supported

arguments Fallacious arguments Incorrect fact Plagiarism or incorrect

documentation Use of wrong word

Often tolerated but minimally annoying:

Most comma errors Dangling modifiers Pronoun/antecedent

errors (especially “students…they”)

Word choice, if the word is a bit inappropriate but not outright wrong

Variable usage like using hopefully as an adjectival modifier, who for whom, or ending a sentence with a preposition

Format errors

For further information, please consult the following sources:

Scott, Julia D., Edna M. Troiano. The Contemporary Writer. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2001.

Clouse, Barbara Fine. A Troubleshooting Guide for Writers: Strategies and Process. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.