This document provides an overview of writing as a process according to educator Donald M. Murray, who proposed teaching writing as a process rather than just a product. It discusses the key stages of the writing process: pre-writing, writing, and re-writing. The pre-writing stage involves choosing and limiting a topic, developing research questions, composing a thesis statement, and creating an outline. Research and finding credible sources is an important part of pre-writing. The document provides guidance on evaluating online sources and tips for determining source credibility. Overall, it presents writing as a collaborative social process that involves planning, research, and multiple drafts.

1. Lesson 2:
Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and
the Writing Process
Dela Peña
Delotavo
Dollete
Doyola

2. Writing as a
Process
01

3. ● Many students think of writing as
a matter of placing words on
paper.
● But in 1992, an educator and
journalist named Donald M.
Murray proposed that teachers
should “Teach Writing as a
Process, not a Product.”
● This means that writing consists
of more than just drafting a paper
but rather three stages that
Murray calls pre-writing, writing,
and re-writing.

4. ● This conception of writing as a
process has very important
implications:

5. “That writing is first
and foremost a social
activity; that the act of
writing can be a means
of learning and
discovery.”

6. ● What this means is that when
students learn writing as a
process, they are more involved
in the process of learning about
the subject, other people’s ideas,
and their own writing.
● While working on the latter, they
become aware that they are
actually collaborating on the
construction of new ideas and
knowledge that is part of an
ongoing scholarly conversation.

7. The Prewriting
Stage of the
Writing Process
02

8. Choosing a Topic and Limiting It
● The prewriting stage is defined as
“everything that takes place before the
first draft.”
● It begins with brainstorming exercises
and preliminary research to select a
topic.
● Once a topic has been chosen, this
should be limited based on the type of
written output required.
● A quick survey of related sources on the
general topic is helpful in limiting the
topic to a more specific area of study.

9. Choosing a Topic and Limiting It
● Student writers should ask the following
practical questions:
1. What are the objectives (of the course
or the professor) that need to be met
by this paper?
2. What are my objectives in writing this
paper?
3. What are the length requirements of
this paper (minimum and maximum
number of words or pages)?
4. How much time do I need to write it?
5. What are the other restrictions or
limits imposed by the professor or the
course?
6. What has already been written about
this topic, and what new ideas can I
add to the conversation about it?

10. Choosing a Topic and Limiting It
● Here is an example of of notes leading up to the selection of a narrow and
focused topic for a documented essay on the topic of plagiarism in the
Philippines:
Brainstorming
Philippine culture expressions, terms, behaviour, and
practices unique to the Philippines expressions like “Ano
ba yan!” “ukay-ukay” “Philippine hospitality,” bringing
home pasalubong, the so-called tingi-tingi system.
General Topic
Selected
The tingi-tingi system (the practice of buying and selling
by piece or small amounts, e.g., one stick of cigarette
versus a pack, a sachet of shampoo versus a bottle).
Specific Topic
The cultural significance of the tingi-tingi system in the
twenty-first century.

11. Asking Research Questions and
Establishing the Significance of One’s
Research
● The next helpful step is to barrage the
specific topic with questions to come up
with the essay’s main Research
Question.
● Although it is helpful to begin with
questions that ask who, what, when, or
where, these should be used as
background research questions.

12. Asking Research Questions and
Establishing the Significance of One’s
Research
● For example, the answers to the
questions listed here can be readily
looked up:
○ What does the “tingi-tingi system”
mean? What is the nature of tingi?
○ Who exactly practices this?
○ When did this practice begin?
○ Where is this practiced? In what
concepts?

13. Asking Research Questions and
Establishing the Significance of One’s
Research
● Questions that ask how and why are
more likely to invite a deeper research
and lead to more interesting answers.
○ Why is tingi-tingi system a
prevalent practice in the
Philippines?
○ How did it develop? How was it
practiced in the past? How is it
practiced today?

14. Asking Research Questions and
Establishing the Significance of One’s
Research
● Finally, the student should pose a tougher question, the “so what?” question:
Now that I know all of this, so what? What makes my research socially or
culturally significant?
Brainstorming
Research Questions
What cultural and social values, as well as realities, led to
the practice of buying and selling by tingi? What impact
does it have on buyers and sellers? What larger
implications does this have about life in the Philippines
and its socio-economic system, especially today?
Main Research
Question
Why is the continued use of the tingi-tingi system in the
twenty-first-century Philippines significant?

15. Asking Research Questions and
Establishing the Significance of One’s
Research
● The “so what?” question is the main
research question.
● Another way to arrive at this question is
to begin by naming the topic, adding a
reason for studying the topic, and
adding significance to the reason for
studying the topic, as in the examples
here.

16. Asking Research Questions and
Establishing the Significance of One’s
Research
State your topic I am studying tingi culture in the Philippines.
Add a reason for
studying it
I am studying tingi culture in the Philippines because I
want to find out what it reflects about the values of
Filipinos.
Adding significance to
this study
I am studying tingi culture in the Philippines because I
want to find out what it reflects about the values of
Filipinos in order to help my reader understand why there
are larger implications of the practice in the twenty-first
century.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Why is the continued use of the tingi-tingi system in the
twenty-first-century Philippines significant?

17. Composing a Thesis Statement
● Coming up with a research question is
vital for the next step, composing a
thesis statement.
● This is the explicit statement of what
will be the thesis paper’s central idea,
point, or argument, that is - the main
assertion that will be supported by the
entire essay.
● It is also, essentially, the tentative
answer to the research question.

18. Composing a Thesis Statement
Research Question
Why is the continued use of the tingi-tingi system in the
twenty-first-century Philippines significant?
Thesis Statement
The continued use of the tingi-tingi system in the twenty-
first-century Philippines reflects a lack of change in the
economic situation of the Philippines, as those from the
many poorer sections of society are forced, due to lack of
available funds, to both buy small and think in the short
term.

19. Composing a Thesis Statement
● Kim and Michael Flachmann (2011),
authors of The Prose Reader, say that
the thesis is “a contract between (the
writer) and (his/her) readers.”
● This means that a writer must deliver
on the “promise” made by the thesis
statement: that the essay will assert
one central point and that this will be
focused on and supported by every
paragraph in the essay.
● Moreover, the contract that is the thesis
statement should be provided early in
the essay, in the introductory
paragraphs, so that the reader will
know at the outset what to expect.

20. Preparing a Writing Outline
● It is very helpful for students to prepare
a writing outline for any type of essay,
and particularly for an academic,
documented one.
● An outline consists of three main
sections, the introduction, the
development, and the conclusion.
● In an academic paper, the introduction
typically consists of an interesting
opening to draw the reader into the
subject, background information of the
topic, and a statement of the paper’s
thesis.

21. Preparing a Writing Outline
● Optional components are the paper’s
objectives and its plan of development,
which is an explanation of how the main
idea will be developed.
● Because this will make up the body or
largest part of the essay, the next
section, called the development, should
be more detailed and specific.
● The subheadings in this section should
consist of three or more subtopics that
act as supporting points for the essay’s
central idea.
● Each of these supporting points may
have supporting details listed under
them.

22. Preparing a Writing Outline
● The final section of the paper and
outline is the conclusion.
● This typically contains a wrap-up or
summary of the essay’s main points and
a final point: a prediction or
recommendation, a reiteration of the
main idea, and/or a final insight.
● It is also important to follow formatting
mechanics to make the outline logical
and easy to understand.
● The student should come up with
headings that are clear and specific.
● General headings like “Introduction,”
“Development,” and “Conclusion” may
be used, but only when there is specific
information found in the subheadings
below them.

23. Preparing a Writing Outline
● All other headings should be phrased as
specifically as possible so that the
student writer will remember what she
or he intends to do in that section.
● A teacher or evaluator reading the
outline should be able to grasp, based
on the heading or label, what each
section will contain.
● Thus, general or vague headings such as
“Background,” “History,” or “Final
Insight” should be avoided.
● While a list consists of just one level or
set of items, an outline always has two
levels or more.
● This means that subtopics or supporting
ideas are subsumed or placed under
main topics or main ideas.

24. Preparing a Writing Outline
● The main headings on the first level
use Roman numerals (I, II, III, and so
on), the second-level headings use
capital letters (A, B, C, and so on), the
third-level headings use numbers (1,
2, 3, etc.), the fourth-level use lower
case letters (a, b, c, and so on), and
the fifth-level headings use lower
case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, and so
on).
● An outline for an academic essay
typically has two or four levels.
● A student may opt to write a topic
outline, in which the headings are
phrases, or a sentence outline, in
which the headings are complete
sentences.
I
ii

25. Preparing a Writing Outline
● Here is an example of a writing outline
for a documented essay based on the
thesis statement given previously. It is a
two-level topic outline.
Title: Tingi culture in the twenty-first century:
Still thinking Small in the Philippines.
Thesis Statement: The continued use of
the tingi-tingi system in twenty-first century
Philippines reflects a lack of change in the economic
situation of the Philippines, as those from the many
poorer sectors of society are forced, due to lack of
available funds, to both buy small and think in the
short-term.
I. Introduction: The tingi-tingi system.
A. Interesting example of buying by piece.
B. Definition and origin of tingi and the
tingi-tingi system.
C. Main idea: continued practice of tingi
culture as a reflection of prevailing
poverty and thinking in the short term.
II. Development: The social and cultural implications
of the tingi-tingi system.
A. Why was it practiced in the past?
B. Why it continues to be practiced today.
C. Buying small is equivalent to thinking
ahead.
III. Conclusion: Looking back and looking ahead.
A. Recap of why the system has significant
cultural implications.
B. Final insight about the need to think in
larger and longer terms.

26. Doing Research and Finding Credible
Sources
● Writing is not only a social activity but a
collaborative one, writing an academic
essay means adding one’s voice to the
conversation of other writers and
scholars.
● To do this, a writer needs to familiarize
himself or herself with this
conversation; in other words, a writer
must first do research and gather
information from a wide variety of
sources available.
● This step-doing research-may actually
happen at any point in the prewriting
stage as well as during the writing and
rewriting stages of the writing process.

27. Doing Research and Finding Credible
Sources
● Before or while selecting a topic, a student
may wish to survey the literature or other
studies on topics s/he is interested in.
● Reading such related literature will help a
student know which topics are worth
pursuing and which may be more
challenging-because there is a dearth of
material on them-and which topics should
be abandoned-because there is no need to
cover what has already been covered.
● While planning the essay, that is, asking a
research question, constructing a thesis
statement, preparing an outline, the
student may also wish to read materials
that may be cited as support for the
essay’s main points.

28. Doing Research and Finding Credible
Sources
● Supplementary research may be needed
during the drafting stage when there are
gaps in the student’s notes, or during
the rewriting stage when more support
needs to be added.
● So, while doing research is not
necessarily a separate and isolated
step, it is sometimes helpful to spend
an amount of time focused on
evaluating sources, gathering useful
information from these credible
sources, and taking notes on what can
be used for and cited in a planned
essay.
● In the twenty-first century, doing
research is not as difficult as it used to

29. Doing Research and Finding Credible
Sources
● Before the digital age or the age of the
internet, information from secondary
sources could be gathered solely by going
to a library, searching through a card
catalogue, finding the correct bookshelf,
and leafing through a book.
● Now, while libraries continue to host
student researchers, there are many other
options available to them: sources that are
just a mouse-click away.
● However, with the advantage of quick and
easy access to internet sources comes the
challenge of sorting through that many
online sources of information available to
determine which are credible and which
are not.

30. Doing Research and Finding Credible
Sources
● As pointed out by Nicholas C. Barbules
(2001), “the Web is not an ordinary
reference system: it poses some unique
and, in many respects, unprecedented
conditions that complicate the task of
sorting out dependable from
undependable information—and even
complicates the notion that we have a
clear sense of that distinction.”
● It is important to remember that the
internet, while a very helpful resource,
is a public venue or forum where any
person may make a claim or assertion.
● Anyone may represent opinions and
falsehoods as news, facts, or truth.

31. Doing Research and Finding Credible
Sources
● A good academic should use only
trustworthy sources. Students who find
articles or pages on the Web that
provide relevant information on the
topics they have chosen to write about
must make the extra effort of verifying
that the source is valid, credible, and
reliable.

32. Doing Research and Finding Credible
Sources
● There are several ways to do this:
● Check the universal resource locator or URL – sometimes referred to as the IP
address or link – on the browser’s address bar. The shortcuts for domain names at
the end of the URL give information linked to the site’s purpose or agenda and,
therefore, its potential biases. For example, sites with “.edu” domain names are
generally viewed as credible as these are run by educational institutions. On the
other hand, sites with “.com” domain names are commercial sites with monetary
incentives as their main agenda.
● Read the “About Us” section of the website. As with print sources, look for
information about the author or organization, the site publisher, and other relevant
information about the site. This will help one to verify whether or not the
information is being provided by an expert or authority on the subject. Contact
information on the website grants additional credibility as these are indications that
authors and publishers are accountable for their work. The “About Us” section also
gives information about when the site was established, who maintains it, and how
often it is updated. Lastly, it should give the agenda of the individual or organization
that publishes the information.

33. Doing Research and Finding Credible
Sources
● There are several ways to do this:
● Review the content for relevance, depth and breadth, accuracy, and currency. The
information should be related to the subject one is studying and provides the
appropriate depth and coverage of the topic. Information should be precise and
authoritative - produced by credible sources – and current. Some sources on the
internet may be outdated or inaccurate, so it is important to look at the date when
the information was published.
● Look at the sources cited. If the website is credible and reliable, the information
will include ideas cited from other sources. There should also be “live” links to the
sources used and cited by the author. Review the website for broken links which
indicated that the information may not be valid or legitimate.

34. Doing Research and Finding Credible
Sources
● Some additional tips are to go to search
engines that lead researchers directly to
scholarly and reliable sources.
● Google Scholar, for example, list works
published by established writes and
academics.
● Schools and universities often provide
students with access to online journals
and databases.
● Lastly, there are good reasons teachers
and academics prefer print sources.
● Such sources go through the long and
rigorous publishing process.
● This means they go through several
readers and editors and multiple drafts.

35. Doing Research and Finding Credible
Sources
● However, information found online can
be useful and credible if one follows the
guidelines given here for sorting through
web sources.

36. The Writing
Stage of the
Writing Process
03

37. ● When there is a solid plan and there are adequate notes from
sources for the essay, the student may move on to the second
stage of the writing process.
● This is writing, or "the act of producing a first draft," which
Donald Murray (1972) says is the "fastest" part of the writing
process, taking up as little as 1% of the writer's time.
● That is because if the essay is well-planned, drafting will not be
difficult.
● Moreover, the product of drafting is only an initial draft.
● According to educators Murray Suid and Wanda Lincoln (1989),
writing or drafting is "like making a sketch for painting: the
painter doesn't worry about getting all the lines perfect the first
time"; similarly, the writer does not expect to get all the words
and information right in the first draft.

38. The Rewriting
Stage of the
Writing Process
04

39. ● This third stage involves “researching, rethinking, redesigning,
rewriting-and finally, line-by-line editing, the demanding,
satisfying process of making every word right” (Murray, 1972).
● In this stage, the writer reviews the paper to see how it may be
improved, asking such questions as:
○ Is the title appropriate and effective?
○ Is the first paragraph interesting and compelling? Is it related
to the topic?
○ Does the introduction include a clearly stated main idea?
○ Are transitions and connections between ideas smooth and
signaled clearly?
○ What needs to be added, omitted, or reorganized?
○ Does the conclusion flow naturally from the body of the
essay?
○ Is there anything confusing or unclear in the content of the
essay?
○ What should be edited in terms of grammar and mechanics?
○ Have all sources been properly acknowledged via in-text
citations and a bibliographic list?

40. ● In many writing classes, the rewriting stage becomes
collaborative, not just when the instructor gives the student
writer feedback, but also when students read one another’s
essays and comment on these in a workshop or peer review
session.
● It is ideal to get concrete feedback from more than one reader on
aspects of content, grammar, mechanics, documentation, and
style, so that later drafts benefit from readers’ suggestions.

41. Quiz
05

42. 1. Who proposed that the teachers should “Teach
writing as a Process, not a Product?”
2. What are the three stages of writing?
3. Everything that takes place before the first draft
is?
4. What is the main research question?
5. It is a contract between the writer and his/her
readers.
6. It is the largest part of the essay.
7. The fastest part of the writing process?
8. How many percent of the writer’s time does
writing takes?

43. Santos, M. L. (2018). Communication for Society: Purposive Communication. Rex
Book Store, Incorporated.
References

44. Our team
JLord Khyl Dela Peña Kirsten Claire Delotavo

45. Our team
Rana Janielle
Dollete Xamantha Alexandria Doyola

46. CREDITS: This presentation template was created by
Slidesgo, and includes icons by Flaticon and
infographics & images by Freepik
46
Thanks!