The+Writing+Process

The Writing Process

**Pre-writing** //Collecting Information//. **Make a list** of all your impressions about the topic. The list doesn’t have to be in complete sentences, and don’t worry about spelling, grammar or punctuation—just get //all// of your ideas down. Don’t censor yourself and be as **specific** and **detailed** as possible. //Focus//. You now need to **develop** your descriptive list. Ask yourself, “What is the dominant impression I want to give my reader? What point do I want to make?” (This will help you create your thesis statement.) Choose the descriptions which convey your dominant impression. You do not have to use your whole list in your paper. Just pick the descriptions and information that works best and add to whatever you take from your list (**develop**). //Organization//. Think about how to organize your descriptions and ideas—what order will be the easiest for your reader to follow? **Drafting** //Fast Draft//. I encourage you to write a “fast draft” first, one in which you try to follow your organizational plan, but don’t worry about mechanics (spelling, grammar, punctuation). //Rough Draft//. Rewrite your fast draft, making any changes you think are needed. This, or a third, or fourth draft, will be the one you bring to peer response. (Remember to bring three copies. I urge you to type the rough drafts you bring to peer response.) **Revising** Look over the notes from peer response and re-read the essay to yourself with a pen or pencil in hand, making notes to yourself. Revise your draft as often as necessary to make it clearer and more fully developed. Make sure your paragraphs have topic sentences and you have a main point that you stick to throughout the essay. **Proofreading** Proofread your draft, combining your sentences to make them smoother, correcting the mechanical errors (spelling, punctuation, etc.). Make the corrections necessary to complete your **final draft**. Audience One undeniable fact about writing is the impossibility of interaction between the writer and the reader. Unlike a listener, a reader cannot interrupt to ask for clarification. Furthermore, conversations usually take place between people whose roles are well defined from the social context in which the conversation takes place. Your special challenge as a writer is To fix your reader so firmly in mind that you see in advance any need for clarification the reader may have, and To make your role so clear in the way you write that the lack of conversational context does not weaken communication. **Your Reader** The first question to ask yourself is, **Who is my reader?** Sometimes you write for yourself, in a diary or in your writer's notebook, but when you write edited English you are usually writing for someone else. Ask yourself, Is it someone I know or someone I do not know? Then ask, How well do I know my reader? Answers to such questions determine how much information you should include and how you should express it. Other related questions are, Is my reader friendly to me? Is my reader friendly to my views? Suppose you need to write a letter about the physical conditions of the house you live in. (Your ultimate purpose is to obtain help.) If you are writing to a close friend who has visited it several times you might begin like this: The seals on the living room window are leaking air. I have badgered the builder about fixing them. I don't know if he'll ever get around to it. I'm really bugged! But if you are writing to the local Better Business Bureau, your letter might begin something like this: I live in a two-year-old house that is equipped with double-paned weather-proof windows. The seals on the living room window are leaking air. I have asked the builder four times to repair it, but he has not yet done so. Notice that the second version, written to people whom you do not know, contains more information and does not reveal that the situation has you emotionally upset. You want to build your case on facts so that they will support your cause. When you sit down to write, the lens of your imagination must bring the image of your reader into sharp focus, and you must keep the resulting picture firmly in mind throughout the whole process of planning and writing. **Who Is Your Audience?** Thinking about your readers—your //audience//—is one way to organize your paper. For some writers, picturing real people reacting to their topic gives them the best ideas about what to include and in what order. Below are some questions that will help you answer the broad question, “Whom am I writing to?” Who is my audience? What background on my topic do they already have? How do they feel about my topic? What questions will they have? What do they need to know? In what order will they want to know it? //Hint: When writing for a class, the teacher wants to know what you know, what you think. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that the teacher will know what you’re talking about.// **What’s Your Purpose?** Your //purpose// is the reason you are writing the particular paper for your audience. Some of the most common purposes for writing include: **Informing** your reader about new information. **Persuading** or convincing your reader to think or act a certain way. **Describing** an experience or feeling so your readers will be able to understand and share that feeling or experience. **In Other Words, Is Someone Who Reads Your Paper Most Likely to Think:** I learned a lot of new information. (**inform**) I think the author wanted to convince me to think or act a certain way. (**persuade**) I feel like I understand an experience or feeling the writer has been through. **(describe)**

** Many, if not all, of the essays you write have elements of ALL 3 kinds of purposes. The trick is to focus on your //primary// purpose without losing sight of the other two purposes. ** Think about it. How can you successfully persuade a reader without sufficiently describing the problems or positions, or informing the reader of pertinent facts and analysis?