The writing process

Eight steps to stronger writing 

To produce strong work, good writers follow a process. 

Courses and books that teach academic writing typically introduce a version of the writing process with about six distinct steps. This version with eight steps is the one that I find most useful. 

There is also a Quizlet set to help you learn the steps in this version of the writing process. 

A. Planning  or Prewriting
	choose a topic	What are you going to write about? Brainstorming a list often helps choose a topic.
	get ideas on your chosen topic	Brainstorming Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Which?  Do? Did? Is? Was? Can? Have? ??? Some ways to brainstorm ideas: list mind map free write  make a table / chart talk to a partner  or whatever works well for you  Research A main concern when you do research is that if you copy ideas or words from a source, you must tell readers that source. See my notes on research.
	organize your ideas	How will you introduce readers to your topic? What is your main idea? Which main supporting point will you discuss first? Next? How will you conclude (finish) your writing?
B. Writing or Drafting
	write	Turn your ideas and notes into sentences in paragraphs.
C. Editing - these steps are often done more than once
	review	Check your ideas and organization. How well have you covered your topic? Is everything clear to your readers?  Are your ideas easy to follow?
	revise	Change your ideas and organization. Add, cut or move ideas.
	proofread	Check the format and language = margins, spacing, indents, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, and so on.
D. Publishing
	publish your work	We write so that other people can read our work!

Peter Filicietti

last revised January, 2018