The writing process consists of 5 stages: prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing. Prewriting involves gathering information through methods such as interviewing, researching, and brainstorming. During drafting, writers develop their ideas into an outline including an introduction, body, and conclusion. In the revising stage, writers refine their ideas by adding, deleting, and rearranging content. Proofreading focuses on correcting grammar, mechanics, and spelling errors. Finally, in publishing, writers prepare their work for sharing through methods such as presenting an oral report or creating a magazine.
1. The Writing Process
The writing process is made up of five stages:
o prewriting
o drafting
o revising
o proofreading
o and publishing
Before writing, however, writers are usually to: determine their purposes for writing and
identify their audience.
Determining Purpose Identifying Audience
The purposes of writing are as follows:
o to entertain
o to persuade
o to inform
o and to explain
Knowing who will read the material helps a
writer reflect his or her ideas in a way that the
audience clearly understands and therefore
enjoys what is being read.
Stage One: Prewriting
Prewriting means gathering information about a subject. It usually takes three forms:
Prewriting
Interviewing Researching
Recording What Is
Already Known
Listing Drawing a Subject Tree
Freewriting (Non-Stop Writing) Brainstorming (Why-When-Where-Who-What)
Clustering (Mapping)
Stage Two: Drafting
When drafting, ideas are written on paper and they develop into:
o a title
o an introduction (one paragraph)
o a middle ( one or several paragraphs)
o a conclusion (one paragraph)
2. Stage Three: Revising
Revising is only concerned with correcting ideas. It is usually applied as it follows:
Use a
different
pen color.
Reread the
1st
draft.
Add/Delete
ideas,
using a
checklist.
A Revising Checklist
Did I say what I wanted to say?
Is any information that should be added
missing?
Have I taken out any irrelevant information?
Does my writing have: a title, an introduction,
a body, and a conclusion?
Are the events in order?
Should some events be switched around?
Does each paragraph have: a topic sentence,
supporting details, and a concluding sentence?
Are all the details related to the topic sentence?
Does each sentence make sense?
Have I replaced all dull, unclear words?
Are all facts accurate?
3. Stage Four: Proofreading
Proofreading is mainly concerned with correcting grammar usage, mechanics and spelling
errors. A similar checklist is usually helpful:
Stage Five: Publishing
Following are some ideas for publishing:
o Write a 2nd
draft neatly.
o Draw a picture that relates to the ideas.
o Deliver an oral report about the writing itself.
o Present the writing in any other creative way: a pop-up book, a magazine, a poster, and
such.
Sentence Structure and Agreement
Are there any run-ons or fragments?
Do all verbs agree with their subjects?
Do all pronouns agree with their antecedents?
Are verb tenses correct?
Forms of Words
Do adverbs and adjectives describe the correct
words?
Are comparative and superlative forms of
adjectives correct?
Are all forms of be and other irregular verbs
used correctly?
Are pronouns used correctly?
C- Capitalization, Punctuation, and Spelling
Is any punctuation mark missing or needed?
Are all proper nouns and proper adjectives
capitalized?
Are all words spelled correctly?