The Writing Process

1. The Writing ProcessThe Writing Process
Joseph F. SinnJoseph F. Sinn
Spring Lake High SchoolSpring Lake High School

2. The Writing Process
• Writing is Thinking
• Prewriting, drafting, revising, editing,
proofreading, publishing
• Manageable chunks
• Quality product
• Recursive

3. Prewriting
• Establish purpose: inform, persuade,
entertain
• Target audience: peers, teacher,
community, family, public
• Generate and discover ideas
• Organize thoughts before drafting

4. Prewriting Strategies
• Free Write
• Looping
• Web Cluster
• Outline
• Map
• View film/art
• Newspaper
• List
• Brainstorm
• Graphic
Organizer

5. Drafting
• Students work independently
• Handwritten or word processor
• Teacher confers with students
• Use prewriting as a guide
• Multiple drafts may be necessary

6. Revising and Editing
• “Re-seeing”
• Re-organization or development of
subject matter
• Stylistic changes
• Mini-lessons (grammar, structure)
• Teacher models own writing
• Think-aloud for adding details

7. Proofreading
• Read aloud (alone or to an audience)
• Attend to correctness
• Punctuation, spelling, word choice,
usage, unity, coherence
• Make necessary changes

8. Publishing
• Seek authentic audience
• Class wiki spaces/blog, bulletin board,
website, community paper, etc.
• Adds relevance and raises motivation

9. A Final Word
• Product and Process
• Organized
• Concrete
• Relevant
• Correct
• Eloquent
• Writing is a Craft

10. A Final Word
• Product and Process
• Organized
• Concrete
• Relevant
• Correct
• Eloquent
• Writing is a Craft