A quick overview of the writing process with a focus on its recursive nature

1. An Overview
Lorraine Genetti
Athens Technical College
The Writing Process

2. What you will learn from this
presentation:
The basic processes of writing an
essay:
Inventing
Composing
Revising

3. What do we do when we write?
Compose
Invent
Revise

4. Inventing: Pre-Writing
Invent

5. Inventing
 Come up with a game plan
 Schedule the writing process
 Consider audience and purpose—
the rhetorical situation
 Find out what you know
 Discover what you need to learn

6. Some techniques for invention
 Freewriting
 Brainstorming
 Clustering and Mapping
 Asking critical questions
 Keeping a writer’s journal

7. Composing
Compose

8. Composing
 More than just writing a draft
 Complex process
 Main strategic element of the writing
process
 Within the composing process, the steps
are recursive rather than linear

9. Composing Process
 Conduct research
 Narrow the topic
 Create a thesis
 Develop the thesis
 Organize ideas
 Write the 1st draft

10. Organizing Strategies:
Create an Outline
I. Introduction
A. Set the context
B. Explain why the topic is important
C. State the thesis
II. Body
A. Build points
B. Develop ideas
C. Support the main claim
III. Conclusion
A. Reemphasize the main idea
B. Restate the thesis

11. Revising
Revise

12. Revising Process
 May involve re-invention (brainstorming for
new ideas)
 Re-composition (rearranging, rewriting)
 Focus on one part of the process at a time:
Review for content
Consider organization
Check for coherence and fluency
Proofread for grammar, spelling, and
punctuation

13. Questions for Revising
 Is my thesis clear?
 Have I communicated my ideas clearly?
 Is the essay organized in a logical way?
 Do I have enough information to support
my thesis?
 Are the paragraphs well structured?
 Does the conclusion restate the thesis
and give an overview of the main ideas?

14. Strategies for Revising
Refocus
Reorder
Add
Cut

15. Revising: Proofreading
 Does the paper appear
professional?
 Are spelling and punctuation
correct?
 Are the sentences clear and easy to
read?
 Have I documented the paper
properly?

16. Strategies for Proofreading
 Run spelling and grammar check—but
USE WITH CAUTION!
 Read the paper aloud
 Have someone else read the paper
 Put it aside for awhile, and come back to
it with fresh eyes

17. What do we do when we write?
Compose
Invent
Revise

18. THE END