The Writing Process

InventionPlanning and DraftingFeedbackRevisionEditingReflecting

The Writing ProcessInvention

fast-writing clustering brainstorming

ignore the editor in your brain at this point in the process; get ideas on paper as quickly as possible

focus on one issue at a time

Natalie Goldberg’s Rules for Invention

Keep your hand movingDon’t cross outDon’t worry about spelling, punctuation,

grammarLose controlDon’t think. Don’t get logical.Go for the jugular.

Planning and DraftingAt this stage, you take your invention work and

write the first full draft.A “draft” is a full paper with a beginning,

middle, and end. It is not one or two paragraphs that is only a beginning.

As with invention work, try to write the first draft as quickly as possible, trying to get your ideas on paper with little interference from the editor.

Suggestions for Drafting

Choose a time and place where you can complete a full draft in a single sitting.

Use a computer to make revision easy or write on one side skipping lines.

Be satisfied with less than perfection Experiment Follow Digressions Guess at Words, Spelling, Facts

Feedback

From peersFrom Learning CenterFrom teacher

How to Give Critical Feedback

Read the entire piece firstStart with the positiveStart with big questions; move to smallOffer advice, but don’t rewrite

Your role is to read carefully, to point out what you think is or is not working, to make suggestions and ask questions.

Leave the revising to the writer.

Why do we do Peer-Revision?When you read someone else’s writing critically, you

learn more about the decisions writers make, how a thoughtful reader reads, and the constraints of particular kinds of writing.

In other words, you will become a better critic of your own work.

You embody for the writer the abstraction called audience. By sharing your reaction and analysis with the writer, you complete the circuit of communication.

Revision

Revise=to see again Try to view the draft objectively.

This means that you must do much more than simply correct errors; you must see the paper again from a new perspective and be willing to make big changes, including cutting sections, adding sections, or moving sections around.

How to revise your work

Start by looking at the piece of writing as a whole.

Fix big problems first Does the essay achieve its purpose? Are the paragraphs in a logical order?

Look at each section Is the beginning effective? Are all paragraphs unified and coherent?

EditingAt this point, you correct all errors in grammar,

punctuation, and mechanics.Nonstandard language distracts and lessens your

credibility as a writer.You need to read your paper slowly and carefully at

this point.It is wise to have someone else whom you trust

proofread for you; someone else will see errors that you cannot see because you know the work too well.

Some Editing Strategies

Read aloud to yourself. If your writing doesn’t sound good aloud, it probably won’t read well either.

Check each sentence, one-at-a-time, beginning at the last sentence. This will allow you to read for grammar,

punctuation, and mechanics, and not for meaning.

The Process is Recursive

The writing process is not linear.At any stage in the process, you may need

to return to the Invention or Drafting stages.Invention doesn’t stop when drafting

begins; it continues throughout the process.

The Last Step: ReflectionAfter you have submitted your final draft,

you should reflect on the process: What have I learned from writing this paper? What worked well for me this time? What didn’t work for me? What should I have done differently? What are my goals for my next piece of writing? What would I like to try that I haven’t tried yet?