The writing process consists of three stages: pre-writing, writing, and post-writing. The writing stage involves drafting the document by putting ideas into sentences and paragraphs. When drafting, writers should include a thesis statement, topic sentences for each paragraph, sufficient support for ideas, coherence between sentences and paragraphs, and unity with the overall thesis. The post-writing stage includes responding to feedback, revising for content and structure, editing for grammar and mechanics, proofreading for errors, and finalizing the document for publication or distribution.

1. 1
THE WRITING
PROCESS

2. Previous Lecture
 The writing process
 Pre-writing techniques with examples
2

3. The Writing Process: An Overview
3
• The writing process is recursive.
• The three steps are dynamic and overlap.
• Improves correspondence and enhances professionalism.

4. The Writing Process
4
 Three Stages
1. Pre-writing – Planning
2. Writing – Drafting
3. Post-writing – Finishing

5. Stage 02: Writing
5
 About Writing
• Drafting: Compose a draft
• Order: The sequence for presenting ideas
• Organization of paragraphs
o Unity – everything refers back to main point
o Support – examples
o Coherence – connect to form a whole

6. Stage 02: Writing
6
 Organize according to some logical sequence which your
readers can follow. For Example:
• Chronology – good for instructions
• Spatial – good for technical descriptions
• Importance – good for reports and memos
• Problem/Solution – good for proposals
• Comparison/Contrast – good for showing alternatives

7. Stage 02: Writing
7
 Chronological Writing
• Method of organization to present events and actions as they
occurred in time, e.g., Narrative Essays.
“I woke up in the morning at 08:00 AM. Then, got ready and reached
office at 09:30 AM. I collected all the points to discuss them in the
meeting at 10:00 AM. The meeting carried on till 01:00 PM. I finally
had some time to take my lunch…”

8. Stage 02: Writing
8
 Spatial Writing
• Method of writing in which items are described and explained
according to their physical position or relationships, e.g., top to
bottom, left to right or even Toyota Corolla.
“3-D floating interior with soft touch padding creates a luxuriously
spacious, ergonomic, and prestigious environment.”

9. Stage 02: Writing
9
 Writing for Importance
• To highlight the significance of a subject matter.
“National University of Technology is gaining momentum across
Pakistan, offering education at par with international standards.”

10. Stage 02: Writing
10
 Writing for Problem/Solution
• To provide solution for a problem.
“Eco-Idle System has been integrated in the modern automobiles to
reduce the percentage of Global Carbon Emissions, which are
responsible for increasing Green House Effect and, consequently,
Global Warming.”

11. Stage 02: Writing
11
 Writing for Comparison/Contrast
• To provide a comparative analysis.
“Uber is comparatively cheaper as compared to Careem and all kinds
of automobiles are easily accessible. This is not the case with Careem,
as it prefers a Japanese automobile compared to the other common
brands in Pakistan.”

12. Stage 02: Writing
12
 Writing for Clarity
• Format the content to allow for ease of access. Use highlighting
techniques, such as:
o White space
o Headings
o Bullets
o Graphics
o Font changes
o Color

13. Stage 02: Writing
13
 Writing a Draft
• Draft is a piece of writing which will probably be changed and
improved: not the final copy!
• The dictionary definition says, “a draft is preliminary piece of
writing”.
• Writing more than one draft allows you to develop your ideas
and to find the best way to present your ideas to your reader.

14. Stage 02: Writing
14
 Think About How to Generate Your Own Ideas
• Ask yourself questions as you experiment with different ways
to organize your ideas, such as:
o How can I group my ideas in paragraphs?
o What is the focus and purpose of each paragraph?
o In what order should I present my ideas?

15. Stage 02: Writing
15
 Rough Draft
• You write a rough draft by letting the ideas flow freely and then
craft a structure for your thoughts.
o Follow a specific structure.
o Alternatively, restructure your ideas to follow a certain order.
o A strong sense of organization that supports your main idea.
o You are clear about the reason to choose a specific structure
for your ideas.

16. Stage 02: Writing
16
 Steps in Writing a Draft
1. Research
o Data collection
o Background reading
2. Organizing
o Practice divergent thinking (creativity (d/f directions))
o Practice convergent thinking
• Correct answers to standard questions
3. Composing/Drafting
o Write one section of the rough draft at a time
o Develop connection between ideas

17. Stage 02: Writing
17
 Drafting [1/3]
• Drafting occurs when you put your ideas into sentences and
paragraphs, concentrating upon explaining and supporting
your ideas fully, and connecting your ideas.
• This draft tends to be writer-centered: you are telling yourself
about the topic.
• You don’t need to pay much attention to such things as
spelling, but pay more attention to the purpose and focus of
your work.

18. Stage 02: Writing
18
 Drafting [2/3]
• Research: This stage allows the writer to gather any
information, data, and facts that are needed to write the
message. Research can involve search engines, books,
personal surveys and interviews, among other methods.
• Organize: Use diagrams and outlines to help group similar
ideas together and narrow the focus of the message. A good
rule of thumb is to combine information into groups of three
to five categories which will ultimately become the main ideas
or headings of the message.
• Compose: First drafts are often written quickly and are in no
way perfect, but they serve as a way to initially lay thoughts
down on paper for future refinement.

19. Stage 02: Writing
19
 Drafting [3/3]
• When you begin to draft your writing, you need to keep in
mind five separate writing techniques that will help your
reader understand your paper:
1. Thesis statement
2. Topic sentences
3. Sufficient support
4. Coherence
5. Unity

20. Stage 02: Writing
20
 Drafting: Thesis statement
• Introduce your topic and write a one-sentence statement that
is the basis for your entire paper.
• A good thesis statement lets the reader know what your
paper will cover.
• For example, you might write this thesis statement: “There are
four possible causes of smoking, yet not all smokers smoke for
these reasons.”
• The paragraphs that follow should support this statement, and
each paragraph should focus on one of the possible causes.

21. Stage 02: Writing
21
 Drafting: Topic Sentences
• Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that states
the main idea of that paragraph.
• Just like the thesis statement, the topic sentence lets you
know what the paragraph contains.
• For example, for the first paragraph on the causes of smoking,
you might write a topic sentence that states: “The most
compelling cause of smoking is genetics.”
• From this, the reader will know that you will cover the
concept of heredity and smoking within this paragraph.

22. Stage 02: Writing
22
 Drafting: Sufficient Support
• Support your topic ideas by developing the paragraphs with
evidence from credible sources.
• Support comes in many different forms: statistics, researched
information, observations, descriptions, case studies,
interviews, personal experience, hypothetical situations, etc.
• The more specific the information, the more interesting the
paragraph.
o So, instead of writing about all smokers, you might want to
write about one particular smoker – someone you know,
someone you observed, someone you interviewed, someone
you researched.

23. Stage 02: Writing
23
 Drafting: Coherence
• This means it all comes together.
• If an essay is coherent, all the paragraphs relate to the one
before it and all the sentences relate to the one before it.
• Transitional words and phrases help to create bridges
between sentences, words such as: however, for example, in
other words, in contrast, nevertheless, etc.
• A coherent writing has sentences that all logically follow each
other; they are not isolated thoughts.

24. Stage 02: Writing
24
 Drafting: Unity
• The idea here is not to veer off into the woods. Stay on the
path.
• Make sure all sentences relate to the topic sentence and all
paragraphs relate to the thesis.
• In a unified writing, all the supporting sentences serve to
illustrate, clarify, and/or explain the main idea set forth in the
topic sentence.

25. Stage 02: Writing
25

26. Class Activity
26
 Prepare a draft on description and working of an
Electric Generator
• Use the Mind Mapping done during the Pre Writing Stage
• Keep it brief and remember that its just a draft at this stage
• Remember the technique of Spatial Writing studied earlier

27. The Writing Process
27
 Three Stages
1. Pre-writing – Planning
2. Writing – Drafting
3. Post-writing – Finishing

28. Stage 03: Post-Writing
28
 Steps
1. Responding
2. Revising
3. Editing
4. Proofreading
5. Publishing

29. Stage 03: Post-Writing
29
 Steps: Responding
Self-
Evaluation
Peer-
Evaluation

30. Stage 03: Post-Writing
30
 Steps: Revising
• Revising your work is about making “big picture” changes.
• You might remove whole sections, rewrite entire paragraphs,
and add in information which you’ve realized the reader will
need.
• The revision stage is sometimes summed up with the A.R.R.R
approach:
1. Adding
2. Rearranging
3. Removing
4. Replacing

31. Stage 03: Post-Writing
31
 Steps: Revising – A.R.R.R Approach[1/4]
1. Adding:
• What else a reader needs to know? If you haven’t met the
required word-count, what areas could you expand?
• This is a good point to go back to your prewriting notes –
look for ideas which you didn’t use.

32. Stage 03: Post-Writing
32
 Steps: Revising – A.R.R.R Approach[2/4]
1. Rearranging:
• Sections may need rearranging.
• Reordering paragraphs – better flow of argument.
• Short story that drags in the middle but packs in too much
at the end requires rearrangement.

33. Stage 03: Post-Writing
33
 Steps: Revising – A.R.R.R Approach[3/4]
1. Removing:
• Sometimes, one of your ideas doesn’t work out. Perhaps
you’ve gone over the word count, and you need to take out
a few paragraphs.
• E.g., maybe that funny story doesn’t really fit with the rest
of your article.

34. Stage 03: Post-Writing
34
 Steps: Revising – A.R.R.R Approach[4/4]
1. Replacing:
• Would more vivid details help bring your writing to life?
• Do you need to look for stronger examples and quotations
to support your argument?
• Try rewriting paragraphs.

35. Stage 03: Post-Writing
35
Revise the following sentences to avoid flabby (weak)
expressions, long lead-ins, and unnecessary there is/it is fillers.
A new health benefit
plan is available for
employees.
I would like to take this
opportunity to inform everyone
that in all probability we expect
to win the contract.
We probably will win the
contract.
This e-mail message is to inform
you that there is a new health
benefit plan available for
employees.

36. Stage 03: Post-Writing
36
Revise the following sentences to achieve conciseness.
Two contracts are also
attached.
Despite the fact that most
information is posted on the
company intranet, please feel
free to call whenever necessary.
Although most
information is posted on
the company intranet,
please call whenever
necessary.
In addition to the above, there
are contracts that are attached
hereto.

37. Stage 03: Post-Writing
37
Revise the following sentences to avoid redundancies, dull and
overused expressions, jargon, and slang.
Ms. Miller, who is
straightforward,
demanded completion
by January 1.
Pursuant to your request,
enclosed please find a check for
$150.
As you requested, a
check for $150 is
enclosed.
Ms. Miller, who shoots straight
from the shoulder, demanded
final completion by January 1.

38. Stage 03: Post-Writing
38
In the following sentences, unbury verbs and control
exuberance.
The seller promised to e-
mail (telephone or fax)
you.
We must give encouragement to
our team.
We must encourage our
team.
The seller said he definitely
would contact you.

39. Stage 03: Post-Writing
39
Arrange the following in a concise, bulleted vertical list.
The next training session
will demonstrate:
• creating podcasts
• sharing multiple
• programs
• maintaining an
internet directory
In the next training session, the
trainer will demonstrate how to
create podcasts, how to share
multiple programs, and how to
maintain an Internet directory.

40. Stage 03: Post-Writing
40
Improve the readability of the following instructions that will
become part of a student’s employment booklet.
You can prepare for
interviews by:
• studying the job
description.
• itemizing your most
strategic skills and
qualifications.
• practicing giving
responses in a mock
interview.
In preparing for an employment
interview, you should begin by
studying the job description.
Itemizing your most strategic
skills and qualifications is also
important. Giving responses in a
mock interview is another good
practice technique. Lastly, you
should be prepared to ask
relevant questions.

41. Stage 03: Post-Writing
41
 Steps: Editing [1/3]
• The editing stage is distinct from revision, and needs to be done
after revising.
• Editing involves a close-up view of individual sentences and
words.
• It needs to be done after you’ve made revisions on a big scale.
• When editing, go through your piece line by line, and make sure
that each sentence, phrase and word is as strong as possible.

42.  Steps: Editing [2/3]
• Using one word many times in one sentence or paragraph? Use
a thesaurus to find alternatives.
• Sentences hard to understand? Rewrite them to make your
thoughts clear.
• Which words could you cut to make a sentence stronger? Words
like “just” “quite”, “very”, “really” and “generally” can often
be removed.
• Are your sentences grammatically correct? Keep a careful look
out for problems like subject-verb agreement and staying
consistent in the use of tense.
• Is everything spelt correctly? Don’t trust your spell-checker – it
won’t pick up every mistake. Proofread as many times as
necessary.
• Have you used punctuation marks correctly? Commas often
cause difficulties. You might want to check out the Daily
Writing Tips articles on punctuation.
Stage 03: Post-Writing
42

43. Stage 03: Post-Writing
43
 Steps: Editing [3/3]
• Editing is where things like grammar, spelling and mechanism
are checked and refined.
• Re-reading is a key part of editing; make sure everything is
exactly how you want it.
• Reading aloud or having someone read to you can be very
helpful because you may hear things differently in your head
than when you hear them out loud.
• Ensure that the formatting is correct.
• This is the last process of writing your document.

44. Stage 03: Post-Writing
44
 Steps: Proofreading
• Final phase
• To make a final check and fix mechanical or technical flaws,
such as:
1. Grammar
2. Punctuation
3. Names and numbers
4. Format
• Also involves checking of different elements of a layout (such as
headlines, paragraphs, illustrations, and colors) for their correct
dimensions, placement, type, etc.

45. Stage 03: Post-Writing
45
 Steps: Proofreading – what to watch for?
o Spelling
o Insertion
o Deletion
o Capitalization
o Punctuation
o Names and numbers
o Format

46. Stage 03: Post-Writing
46
 Steps: Proofreading – Checklist
• Writer’s Checklist should provide a useful starting point for
proofreading:
 First-Phase Review
o Appropriate format (reports or correspondence?)
o Consistent style, including headings, terminology, spacing, fonts
o Correct numbering of figures and tables
 Second-Phase Review
o Specific grammar and usage problems
o Appropriate punctuation
o Correct abbreviations and capitalization
o Correct spelling (especially names and places)
o Complete web or e-mail addresses
o Accurate data in tables and lists
o Cut-and-paste errors; for example, a result of moved or deleted
text and numbers

47. Stage 03: Post-Writing
47
 Steps: Proofreading – Checklist
• Writer’s Checklist should provide a useful starting point for
proofreading:
• Final-Phase Review
o Survey of your overall goals: audience needs and purpose
o Appearance of the document (see layout and design)
o Review by a trusted colleague, especially for crucial documents

48. Stage 03: Post-Writing
48
 Steps: Proofreading – Marks

49. Stage 03: Post-Writing
49
 Steps: Proofreading – An example

50. Stage 03: Post-Writing
50
Content Revised for Conciseness

51. Stage 03: Post-Writing
51
 Steps: Publishing
• The final step of the writing process is publishing, but it’s the
step where you’re given an opportunity to share your work.
• Secure any necessary co-authorship and/or copyright
permissions.
• This often means adding a bibliography, ensuring that citations
are correct, to secure copyrights of your original work.

52. 52

53. The Writing Process
53

54. Activity
54
• What was the most memorable activity on NUTECH Day?
(Assignment)(Drafting + final assignment)