The Writing Process
By Kimberly James
The Writing Process consists of 4 major parts:
1)Invention Strategies
2)Drafting
3)Revising
4)Proofreading/Editing
The parts of the process are supposed to be recursive, which means that you should be able to go back to any of the different parts whenever you need to. For instance, what if you run out of something to say about your topic? You may need to do some more invention activities in order to draft another section of the paper. The writing process exists to help you build strong papers, so let’s dig into the different parts.
Invention Strategies
Invention strategies are methods, techniques, and activities you can use to help you “invent” or come up with ideas for your writing tasks. Clearly, you should consider the topic for the paper as one of the first steps. Once you’ve chosen your topic (or you’ve had one assigned by your teacher), there are a lot of different invention strategies to choose from to help you get started, but brainstorming seems to be one of the most common, so we’ll spend some time here talking about it. Once you know what you want to say, you should spend some time organizing your thoughts, and outlining can be a great way to do that.
Selecting a Topic
When selecting a topic, it is important to keep a few things in mind:
1) Is the topic relevant to the assignment?
It is always important, before any type of writing is done for a class, to understand the assignment. Some topics may be more or less suitable than others, depending on the outline the teacher has provided. For instance, if a student chooses the topic of "Automobile Construction and Repair" then they may have a good informative paper, but the topic would not make a solid argumentative paper.
2) Personal interest in the topic
Having a personal interest in the selected topic can makethe writing assignmenta much more enjoyable experience. It helps to bridge the gap between the classroom and the student's personal interests. When given an assignment, try to think of topics that would be interesting to learn more about. However, it is important to keep in mind that selecting a topic that invokes strong personal feelings could be counter productive, depending on the assignment. For instance, if the assignment is to write a pro-con paper, then it is necessary to stay completely unbiased. If the student chooses a topic he or she feels strongly about, this might accidentally put a bias in the paper that could reflect on the student's grade.
3) How difficult will the topic be to research?
Some topics are more difficult to find information on then others. While it is important to try and find unique and interesting topics, try and run a few searches before making the final decision. If visits to the local library and searches on dependable websites turn up very little useful information, it may be in the student's best interest to reconsider their choice.
4) Is the topic cliché?
A cliché is essentially a phrase, situation, or topic that has become overly common and repetitive. Phrases like, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger" or "time will tell" are both examples of clichés that have been worn out over time. This applies to topics as well, and while there is going to be exceptions depending on the class, instructor, and assignment, the cliché topics are generally best to avoid. Two examples of cliché topics are the death penalty and same sex marriages. Long standing political/social points of dissension are often cliché topics that have been written about to the point of redundancy. The best way to get a feel for what might be a cliché topicis to ask the instructor.
Brainstorming: Freewriting and Listing
Freewriting means just what it says - to write freely. Now, this doesn't mean you should run out of your house barefoot, pen in hand, and leap across your lawn pausing to write random words on tree limbs and garden gnome statuary. What I mean is you should simply put pen to paper and write whatever pops into your head. Don't stop to think about whether or not you're on the right track or if grammar and spelling are correct. If you take a tangent into left field, that's fine, as long as you are writing. The concept of the freewrite is similar to that of a diving board. Sometimes the diving board (topic) is provided and all you have to do is jump -it's up to you, or rather your mind, where you jump. Remember that it doesn't matter where you jump, as long as you get on the diving board and push off.
I've provided a short list of topics below, select one and dive into a freewrite:
MONEY
FLOWERS
WINTER
WORK
FREEDOM
Freewriting is a wonderful way to get thoughts onto paper, but then what do you do with the thoughts you've generated? Make a list. Now, if you are not a list person, that's OK, but I still suggest you try this . . . I promise, it really works.
When I was a little kid and my mom would tell me to clean my room, I would make a list: (1) pick up toys, (2) make bed, (3) dust dresser, (4) dust nightstand [the dresser and nightstand were a good 10 feet from each other, so they couldn't be counted together], (5) clean out stuff from under the bed, (6) vacuum, (7) put clothes in closet or dresser ? NOT ON FLOOR [my mother usually added this one to my list when I wasn't looking]. The point was that if I had a list, I couldn't forget what was left to finish when I was halfway through.
I don't use lists anymore to the extent that I used to, probably because now I have a whole house to clean, not just a bedroom, but I certainly use them when I write. A list is like a road map. Not only does it tell you where you've been, but it tells you where you're going. Granted, sometimes your lists may be haphazard column-less globs of chicken scratch, but that's fine. Take that mess and make another more organized list. Know this- you can have as many stepping stones as you need on the path leading to your goal, just as long as you stay on the path. If you need to make list after list in order to refocus yourself and the vision of your paper, go list-happy!
Creating an Outline
Outlining is very similar to listing. Basically, it's just a series of lists. For a basic paper, an outline should have three (3) things: Introduction, Body, Conclusion. The Introduction and Conclusion are small, but the body is the big part of the paper. There are several sub-categories to the body, depending on your topic and the angle at which you are examining your topic. Remember that your Introduction is the reader's first meeting with you as a writer about this topic. Make sure you capture their attention. Likewise, the Conclusion is your last opportunity to leave then with a final thought- make it a powerful message.
Keep your outline as detailed as you want it to be, but don't worry about getting caught up in the roman numerals and all that stuff, worry about the stepping stones, the path and the goal.
Drafting
Drafting is the point where you take the sections ofyouroutline and turn them into paragraphs. Don't worry about spelling or punctuation; drafting is just another stepping stone. Just focus on "fleshing out" the items on your list into coherent sentences. Once you've done that, tie those sentences together to make paragraphs and tie those paragraphs together to make your essay.
Revising
Sometimes, when you get caught up in what you’re writing, you can’t always keep track of everything that you’ve said. Revising gives you an opportunity to look back over your work for several reasons. First of all, you need to decide if everything you’ve written is really necessary and clearly tied to the focus of the paper. Did you go off on a tangent somewhere? Did you forget to mention a key point? Second, revising lets you go back once everything has been written down and make decisions about how the paper is organized. Would the paper be more effective if you switched the third and fourth paragraphs? Third, revision lets you look at the paper with a critical (as opposed to a creative) eye to make sure that everything you’ve written will make sense to your readers. Are you talking about an important point but not explaining it enough? Are the words you’ve chosen easily understood by most readers?
Proofreading/Editing
Proofreading/Editing is the final stage of the writing process because you don’t want to spend a lot of time worrying about spelling and comma placement on a draft that doesn’t make sense content-wise. Also, worrying about fixing run-on sentences while you’re writing can often zap your creative energy and lead to writer’s block. So, save the nit-picky stuff for the end. I’m not saying that if you misspell a word and have an insane desire to correct it that you should put a mousetrap over the backspace key; go ahead and correct it. Just don’t stop yourself in the middle of writing to check back over what you’ve written for errors. Do it all at one time when you are finished.
Summary
It may help to think of writing like cooking for a dinner party. In order to prepare the best meal possible, a creative cook will often think of the occasion for the party and if the party fits a particular theme or type of cuisine and then plan out a menu (invention). Next, he/she will gather the ingredients for the various dishes and start putting the different foods and flavors together (drafting). Sometimes, the chef will notice that one of the ingredients for the chosen dessert is missing, or he/she may decide to make a different side dish. When a substitution or change to the menu is made, the cook has to consider the other flavors present within the meal and to include a food that will complement, or go with, those flavors. The new dish shouldn’t appear to be something thrown in at the last minute but should be integrated into the menu (revision). Once the cook has prepared all of the food, you’d think that he/she is finished, but not quite. The presentation and serving of the foodrequire attention as well so that the guests feel invited to enjoy the meal (proofreading/editing).