(Insert Instructor)
(Insert Course)
(Insert Date)
This essay is going to discuss the five steps of writing process whose mastery will ensure efficient and effective writing at any level for any category as in creative and academic writing. It will begin with the conceptualization of the writing process, which will entail its definition and steps. It will then discuss each step in detail to facilitate proper understanding for an outstanding inscription. We observe that writing has become a very important language literacy skill in the modern world. In the Research and Evaluation Report (2007) titled The Writing Process: An Overview of Research on Teaching Writing as a process it argues,
“the act of writing is ingrained in every aspect of our lives and will continue to shape human interaction as we head full force into the 21st century.” (1) We observe by writing clearly and competently one will share his or her ideas and thoughts as expected at any given time. Remember writing skills are not innate we learn them, through practice we improve them and good writing depends on following the writing process. Writing is a process that involves five distinct interrelated steps namely prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. (Hale “The Writing Process”)
Prewriting is the first stage of writing that involves the planning of what one is going to write and should account for 70 percent of the writing time. (The Writing Process: An Overview of Research on Teaching Writing as a process 3) It enables us to think clearly, to identify how to commence, to follow our ideas and ensure we exercise to express ourselves in the writing. (Harrison 4) In this case, one brainstorms to shape his or her idea that the individual can start writing about. However, most people do not give this bit substantial time as required. Therefore, even after having the idea you do not jump straight to writing you have to expand your thought. The idea, which is your topic, will elicit a number of thoughts that you should freely note down. Thereafter, you subject the free written considerations to critical analysis to come up with a logical order on how they will appear in your script. (Hale “The Writing Process”; Harrison 3) This stage will depend on the type of task one is to accomplish with longer papers taking more time than the shorter ones. After this step, we move to the actual writing stage that involves coming up with the first draft.
Drafting or writing the first or rough draft or copy is the second stage of this process and it entails putting the logically outlined ideas in prewriting into a prose form. This will involve developing paragraphs based on the points brainstormed at the previous step. However, one needs not to worry about the word count, spelling and grammatical issues at this point. (Hale “The Writing Process”) Similarly, even if an individual notes that he or she is out of context one should not bother but continue writing. Remember in this step, one will have to introduce the topic or subject of interest or concern, followed by the main point(s) that will have respective supporting details and lastly conclusion. For convincing work let the writer use active voice, facts, examples and other relevant information to reinforce his or her arguments. (Lesson 11 “The Writing Process” 111) In addition, for academic writing it is advisable that one utilizes the third person because it is more scholarly. (Capella University “The Writing Process” 7) Moreover, the writer must give this stage maximum concentration with minimal distractions. After the completion of the rough copy, one moves to the revision stage.
The third step is revising which entails rethinking what is in the rough draft. This will result some major changes on the text because one may add, rearrange, remove and replace some information. For instance, if some crucial information is missing or word count is below the expectations addition is necessary. Disorganized points will call for reorganization, verbosity, unnecessary information and excess word count will elicit removal. Words, phrases, or sections that do not give the intended message will necessitate replacement. (Hale “The Writing Process”) We should acknowledge that the aim of this step is to strengthen the content of one’s writing or paper. Moreover, as one does the revision it is prudent to handle this section from the point of the target readers’ perspective. This is to ensure the reader clearly understands the message conveyed. To achieve this one should revise each paragraph in respect to the outline at the prewriting stage and the requirements of the assignment or paper. Upon completing the revision, one should edit his or her work.
Editing or proofreading is the fourth step of the writing process that involves correcting the language used. The individual thinks about the diction, tone, style and flow in relation to the writer’s audience to attain the objectives of the inscription. (Capella University “The Writing Process” 34) At this point, one should go through the text sentence-by-sentence, while examining the usage of words and phrases in relation to the desired meaning and audience. This ensures that one is clear and to the point as regards the subject of concern. Furthermore, the writer rectifies spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and punctuation slips at this point. This entails correcting the misspelt words, using the right verbs and tenses and punctuating accordingly. Similarly, one should check for words repeated several times in the text to replace them with synonyms. (Hale “The Writing Process”) After proof reading, the individual moves to the final stage of publishing his or her work.
Publishing is the final phase, which means differently depending on the type of work that a person is doing. For example, to the students it means presenting the final copy in the right format by ensuring there is a bibliography, correct citation and the student’s details are according to the guidelines given. To the journalist it refers to presenting a copy in a given format to the editor for final editing before its final publication. To the bloggers, it means formatting the piece of work as desired and uploading or posting it. To the fiction writers it denotes confirming that one adhered to the guidelines before presenting the work to the competition or magazine as expected. Therefore, publishing precedes presentation to the intended ultimate point of concern. (Hale “The Writing Process”)
In conclusion, we note that writing is very important in the modern world as it enables people to share ideas as regards various subjects or concepts of interest and concern. Writing is one of the language literacy skills that we learn and for one to perfect it he or she must exercise it. We also observe writing is a process, which comprises of five distinct stages that are interrelated namely prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. Prewriting entails free writing and brainstorming about the subject of interest and concern. Drafting refers to coming up with the rough copy of the task. In revising, one adds, rearranges, removes and replaces sections of the text to drive the intended meaning. Editing calls for correction of spelling, grammatical and punctuation mistakes for effective communication of the message desired. Lastly is the publishing stage where the writer formats the text and presents it to the required point. This discussion justifies the significance of the writing process in facilitating competent writing and promoting effective communication.
Work Cited
Hale, A. "The Writing Process." 8 September 2009. DailyWritingTips. 30 November 2013.
Harrison, B. "Writing Your Command College Article V2.0." 2009. Writing Your Command College Article. 30 November 2013.
"The Writing Process." n.d. Capella University. 30 November 2013.
"The Writing Process." n.d. Week2_Lesson 11. 2013 November 30.
The Writing Process: An Overview of Research on Teaching Writing as a Process. Honolulu,Hawai: Research and Evaluation Department of Kamehameha Schools, 2007.
