Everyone has their own way of creating. Whether its writing a paper or creating a sculpture- there is almost always a method or process to the finishing product. For some of us, the writing process is simple and can come off as a waste of time- while for others this process if crucial maintaining correct writing and achieving quality papers. The writing process consist of five recursive steps: prewriting, draft, revise, edit and publish. The writing process is often seen as a burden. Lad Tobin describes it as “a process, that quickly came to mean ‘a critique (or even outright rejection) of traditional, product-driven, rules-based, correctness-obsessed writing instruction’.”
Most writing is taught as a final product and not so much as a process. We push for students to write the required number of pages; however, we struggle to show them how to prewrite, research, go over their own work and even publish it correctly. What many don’t realize is that we are capable of teaching students to apply process in their work to produce a product of writing that readers may find worth their own time. We should teach unfinished writing rather than finished writing and push for students to learn to becomes comfortable with the unfinished-ness of writing (Murray 4).
As previously mentioned before, the writing process can be narrowed down into five stages: prewriting, draft, revise, edit and publishing. Prewriting is the first step to the writing process and usually takes about 80% of the writer’s time. The prewriting stage is where most research is done. However, this stage also includes any brainstorming, freewriting, mind maps, drawings or doodlings, and any questions the writer may have for him or herself. Prewriting is where the audience will be decided- are we writing to a younger audience or an older audience? It is very important that the writer takes their time in the prewrite as this is where most of the work for the rest of the writing goes into (Kelly).
Drafting is often many peoples least favorite part in the writing process- usually because this is where the writing itself comes in. Although this step appears to be the most tedious- it usually ends up being the fastest step in the writing process. When writing your first draft, you discover how much research you’ve done, how much you’ve learned and if you need to research a little more. Successful rough drafts allow for the writer to be more decisive in the final writing and publication (Elbow p 142). Once a writer has put their researched information into the draft, they can begin to form sentences and paragraphs- even if they are not grammatically correct. It’s also recommended that writers read what they have written- then judge and decide if they were able to say what they were trying to say, correctly or how they wanted. A rough draft is a great place to start with peer review.
Revision is the step where the writer with make amends or corrections to their writing. Thorough writers will go through their writing multiple times to revise before moving onto the editing and proofreading. There is a difference between revision and editing however: revising removes, adds, moves and substitutes words while editing includes capitalization, punctuation, usage and spelling. The idea of “starting large and ending small” is a great way to look at revision and editing. When it comes to editing, we often rely on grammar checkers, thesauruses, and spell check. Although these resources are extremely handy- they are not always reliable. It is encouraged to use these resources but also to your own knowledge to check. Products like Microsoft Office and Grammarly can often misinterpret our writing and correct it incorrectly. It is always a good idea for the writer to go back themselves and check for spelling and grammar mistakes (Proctor). A computer can be a great teaching and research tool, a distraction, or even a waste of resources completely if it doesn’t do the job it was meant to do in the first place. Research for writing has been greatly facilitated and improved by technology, but it is still not perfect (Bruce p 149).
Second to last comes proofreading. Proofreading is the final stage of the writing itself. Proofing a paper takes times and is recommended to be done several times before submitting a final piece of work. A common mistake with proofreading is proofreading a paper while the writer is still writing the draft. Many students and writers fail to notice surface errors and issues in their own writing because as Mina Shaughnessy mentioned in Errors and Expectations, students see what they mean to say instead of what they meant to write (Shaughnessy p 395). Proofreading is not only a writing skill; but a reading skill as well. Oddly enough, proofreading is a reading skill that requires a deliberate attempt to counteract the “normal” process of reading. If a student does not realize this change to their generic reading process- her or she will no doubt continue to read rather than proofread (Harris p 464).
Proofreading is also related to reading since both are inhibited by short term memory. Studies have shown that the number of things we can remember in short term is between three to five items. It is because of this small limit that students and writers are responsible for the amount of errors they generally find in the first round of work. Harris gives a great example of this saying: “If the subject and verb of a sentence are separated by more than seven words, the verb frequently does not agree with the subject because the writer was unable to hold the subject in short term memory until the verb was written.” Even the most experienced writers are not always the most efficient proofreaders. John Green stated in a 2017 book tour that “proofreading, like other reading/writing skills, is neither simple nor mechanical…that it is in fact a highly developed verbal skill that involves the competence in both reading and writing.”
The last part of the writing process is Publishing. After all the hard work and research that has gone into a person’s work, they will often look to present it to the audience it was created for. Although this is the last step in the writing process, there is one important last thing to remember: the presentation and appearance of your writing. If a student is writing a scientific report on DNA coding, they would not typically try and present it to a room filled with English students who are there to hear about English literature. When presenting it is important to have your information in hand and memory. Students want to be able to focus on their audiences not constantly flipping through pages trying to find quotes to follow up with their last statement. It is also important that the writer remembers to congratulate themselves at the end of their work. A lot of hard work and dedication come with writing and it isn’t as simple as sitting down at a computer and typing some words out.
Writing can be a difficult combination of skills that are best explained by breaking down the process step-by-step. Educators have found that by focusing on the process of writing, almost everyone learns to write successfully. By breaking down writing step-by-step, the mystery is removed, and obdurate writer’s block is reduced. Most importantly, students discover the benefits of constructive feedback on their writing, and they progressively master, and even enjoy, writing. Although they will often overlap, and sometimes students will move back and forth between them, the writing process can generally be broken down stages. When a student learns to internalize the 5 steps of the writing process, he or she will likely produce a logical and well-written composition.
Teachers emphasize the writing process because it emphasizes the value of dialogue as a teaching technique. Teaching the writing process empowers students by asking them to talk about their writing at every step of the writing process. Students submit work according to a set schedule of lessons and assignments, and instructors provide feedback on the work, mixing encouragement with constructive criticism. Students apply these comments to the next step in that assignment. Both exchange comments about the writing, creating a conversation between instructor and student — both about the content of the writing and about the process of doing the work (Time4Writing.com). Writing is a process itself. It is important that a writer to go through his/her work in these steps to guarantee that the work produced is polished and correct in all aspects. It’s the nitty-gritty editing that allows for us to continue to learn and continuously improve our writing. Plus, it usually benefits us with better grades.
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