The Writing Process

What is YOUR

writing process?

In other words,

what are the steps

you take to write

something?

The Writing Process

The Writing Process

Publish

Edit

Revise

Draft

Prewrite

The Writing Process

Publish

Edit

Revise

Draft

PrewriteCollect:

Find information you need in

order to write.

Gather quotes from a book, or do research at

the library. Sometimes this

extra step is needed in the

writing process.

PrewriteThe process of planning your writing. At this stage, ask yourself:

What is the purpose of my writing? Who is the audience of my writing? What is the topic of my writing? What information do I need to collect/find in order to do my writing? How should I structure/organize my writing?

DraftThe process of writing your first version. At this stage, ask yourself:

Am I staying on topic and following the outline that I created? Am I including all of the information I need to include? Am I following the formatting rules (word count, etc.)

ReviseThe process of re-reading your writing and making additions, eliminations, and changes. At this stage, ask yourself:

Is my writing easy for people to follow and understand? Is my writing interesting? Did I meet my goals? Are there any unnecessary parts? Are there any repetitive parts?

EditThe process of making small corrections to your writing. At this stage, ask yourself:

Is my grammar/punctuation accurate? Is my spelling correct? Is my formatting correct? Is my writing interesting?

Publish!The process of deciding that your final copy is finished and ready for your audience to read.

Activity: Micro Writing Process!

Today in class you will go through the entire writing process for a short piece of writing.

Prompt:

Write a story about a time when you learned something important about yourself. (At least 7 sentences long).

Prewrite:

Prompt: Write a story about a time when you learned something important about yourself. (At least 7 sentences long).

Strategy Number 1: Brainstorm List

List everything you can think of about the assigned topic. Only use short words or phrases!

Example: Families • parents

• types of families • adoption

• sibling rivalry Try this NOW!

Prewrite:Strategy Number 1: Brainstorm List

When your topic is broad, try breaking it down into more specific topic ideas.

Example: Families • The history of family formation • How families support children

• Why families fall apart • How human families compare to animal families

Prompt: Write a story about a time when you learned something important about yourself. (At least 7 sentences long).

Prewrite:Strategy Number 2: Word Web/Map

Write your topic in the center and connect related ideas to you topic using lines.

Try this NOW!

Prompt: Write a story about a time when you learned something important about yourself. (At least 7 sentences long).

Prewrite:Strategy Number 3: Asking Questions

Write a list of questions that relate to your topic.

Example: Families • What was it like growing up in my family?

• How are families different from each other? • What would it be like to live

without a family? • How do children raised in strict families compare to

those raised in lenient families? Try this NOW!

Prompt: Write a story about a time when you learned something important about yourself. (At least 7 sentences long).

WHO WHAT WHEN

WHEREWHY HOW

?

Prewrite:Strategy Number 4: Free Writing

Just start writing! Ignore organization and good grammar, and put thoughts in writing.

Example: Families Families are vital to life they bring a combination of happiness and sadness.

happiness = unchanging source of love and support, never lonely. sadness = as a child, you might feel like your family is restricting. sadness = there are lots of conflicts between family members. Once I had a conflict with my sister. I was

angry that she wanted to be just like me (dressed like me, copied my hobbies) - how do little siblings develop a unique sense of “self” and identity when they have

an older sibling who impresses on them? Is it more difficult for a little sibling to find their identity? … Try this NOW!

Prompt: Write a story about a time when you learned something important about yourself. (At least 7 sentences long).

Prewrite: OutliningChoose a focus for your piece of writing. Check the prompt/directions to see what style of

writing to use. Check the prompt to see if there are other

rules you need to follow (like length, format).

Go ahead and make an outline of your mini story right now.

Prompt: Write a story about a time when you learned something important about yourself. (At least 7 sentences long).

Draft:Go ahead and write your mini story now!

Prompt: Write a story about a time when you learned something important about yourself. (At least 7 sentences long).

Revise:Re-read your story. Change your story in some way to

make it better. Revision is not about looking for little errors

like spelling mistakes: it’s about altering sentences,

paragraphs, and structure.

Prompt: Write a story about a time when you learned something important about yourself. (At least 7 sentences long).

Revise:Change your story in some

way to make it better.

Ideas: • Pick your worst-sounding sentence, and re-write it.

• Pick a part that is unclear, and make it clearer.

• Pick a part that lacks specific details, and add some more. • Change the order of events/

information in your writing.

Prompt: Write a story that is at least 7 sentences long. Your story must be about a character facing a scary situation.

Edit:Re-read your writing to look for small errors.

Look for: • Grammar mistakes

• Punctuation mistakes • Spelling mistakes • Bad word choices

Prompt: Write a story about a time when you learned something important about yourself. (At least 7 sentences long).

Edit:Peer-edit: trade your story with the person next to you. Read someone else’s story in order to look for errors and make helpful suggestions.

Prompt: Write a story about a time when you learned something important about yourself. (At least 7 sentences long).

Publish:

Turn your story in!

Prompt: Write a story about a time when you learned something important about yourself. (At least 7 sentences long).

Review:

Publish

Edit

Revise

Draft

Prewrite

What activities should you do for each step of the

writing process?

Which part of the writing process do you think is the most difficult? The

most enjoyable?

Which part of the writing process do you think is

the most important?