Slide One Rationale: “Finding Your Focus: The Writing Process.”
Introduce your students to the steps that constitute the writing
process, including strategies for brainstorming, drafting,
revising, and proofreading.
The slides are designed to aid the student learn in an
interactive presentation of the elements of the writing process.
This presentation is ideal for the beginning of a composition
course and the assignment of a writing project.
See handouts, including “Starting to Write”, “Planning
(Invention)”, “Developing an Outline” and “Higher Order
Concerns and Later Order Concerns (HOCs and LOCs)”
S2 Rationale: When students spend time thinking about the
writing process, they will be able to plan their writing strategies
more effectively.
Activity: Ask students about their own writing processes and
invite them to share with the group. While students may
follow a “process” for writing, they may not be able to identify
all of the steps they go through to write a paper.
S3 Rationale: Though students engage in a writing process,
they may not be conscious of the steps it entails. Some
students who have trouble organizing their thoughts struggle
because they do not follow a consistent writing process or they
skip steps within the process. These are some important
reasons to identify the steps in the writing process. By thinking
about the writing process, students may be able to make the
process more effective and efficient for themselves.
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Activity: Choose to invite participation by asking students why
they need a writing process.
S4 Rationale: Previews the six steps of the writing process.
Each element forms a part of a successful writing experience.
Key Concept: Explain that the writing process is not necessarily
sequential--a linear path from invention to proofreading.
Writers may generate a topic, collect some information,
organize their notes, go back and collect more information,
invent subtopics for their work, go back to organization, etc.
The writing process is recursive--it often requires going back
and forth between steps to create the strongest work possible.
Knowing these steps and strategies, however, can be a great
help to writers who struggle with their work.
S5 Key Concept: The first step in the writing process is
invention--developing a topic. Students often make the
mistake of latching onto the first idea that comes their way.
However, by doing some invention exercises, students can give
themselves some options for their writing assignments and
allow themselves to consider the ideas that are the most
manageable, appropriate to the assignment, and, above all,
interesting to the writer. If the writer is bored with the topic, it
will show through in the final product.
S6 Key Concept: Brainstorming is a method for coming up with
ideas for a project. The key to brainstorming is to write down
everything that pops into your head--the idea you are the least
certain about may be the one you use for your paper!
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Brainstorming is a way writers can provide themselves with
topic options.
One brainstorming technique is called listing. This strategy
involves a simple list of every idea that pops into the writer’s
mind. From this list, writers might choose to narrow down
their topics or branch into a related topic. The important thing
is that all of these ideas are down on paper so they won’t be
forgotten and potentially useful ideas are not lost in the
process.
Activity: Refresh the definitions of “brainstorming” and
“listing.” Think about the writing situations in which you have
found listing to be a useful technique. These experiences may
inspire other students to give it a try.
S7 Key Concept: Clustering is another terrific brainstorming
idea. Visual learners may find this technique more effective
than listing because of the manner in which ideas are spatially
arranged. To start, write the word “ME” in the center of your
paper and draw a circle around it. Then branch out from the
center circle with any ideas that interest you. If more ideas pop
into your head, draw branches stemming from your outer
circle. Again, the key is to write down as many ideas as
possible. Students may find that two smaller branched ideas
may work together well to form one solid topic. Or, students
may find that their branch circles form supporting ideas or
arguments for their main ideas.
It is important not only to find a topic, but to find an angle
about that topic that can be argued within an essay. Once
students find an idea they like, they might form a new cluster
by putting their main idea in the center, and then build
supporting claims in branched circles.
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Activity: If the class is about to work on a new writing
assignment, it might be a good idea to pause here and have
them do some brainstorming by creating their own lists or
clusters. Ask students to share the results of their lists or come
around the room and hold up examples of good clusters.
S8 Key Concept: Once students decide on a topic, their next
step is to collect information.
Activity: Ask students where they might go to collect research.
Answers will likely include such things as books, magazines, and
the Internet.
Examples: Suggest other forms of research, including indexes
for periodicals, newspapers, and academic journals.
Activity: If students are engaged in a particular research
assignment, they may need guidance on the best places to
locate research for the project.
S9 Key Concepts: After writers collect information pertaining
to their topics, a useful next step is to organize it--decide where
to place information in the argument, as well as which
information to omit. One easy way to do this is outlining.
Argumentative and narrative papers generally have three main
sections. The introduction is used to grab the readers’
attention and introduce the main idea or claim, often in the
form of a thesis statement. The body consists of several
supporting paragraphs that help to elaborate upon the main
claim. Finally, the conclusion serves to wrap up the argument
and reemphasize the writer’s main ideas. After gathering
information in the collection stage, the writer should think
about where each piece of information belongs in the course of
an argument. By taking time to organize and plan the paper,
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writers save time and frustration in the drafting stage; they find
that they can follow the pattern they have established for
themselves in their outlines.
S10 Rationale: Many students struggle with drafting because
they make it the second component of their writing process-right after coming up with a topic-- instead of the fourth, after
collecting and organizing. Students also struggle because they
do not give themselves enough time to complete the drafting
process.
Key Concepts: With a little bit of pre-planning and
organization, the drafting stage can be both a rewarding and
efficient experience. First of all, students can avoid the
dreaded procrastination by beginning their projects early. A
comfortable place to write--whether with a keyboard or a
pencil--also aids concentration. Avoiding distractions, such as
television, noisy friends, or computer solitaire, will keep writers
focused on their projects. Finally, writers should take breaks,
preferably leaving off at a place where they know what comes
next. This will make it easier to pick up again after the break.
Sometimes completing a draft and coming back to it the next
day helps students to look at their work with a fresh pair of
eyes and a rejuvenated attitude.
Writers should not feel compelled to write chronologically.
Sometimes the conclusion can be an easier place to begin than
with the thesis statement. With each writing assignment,
students will be able to find a personal system that works best
for them.
Activity: You may share tips that you have learned about your
own successful drafting habits.
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S11 Rationale: Students tend to view revising as a process of
altering word choices and correcting spelling errors. Rather,
this presentation separates revising--the revaluation of higherorder concerns--from proofreading--the correction of laterorder concerns.
Key Concepts: Revising is a process of reviewing the paper on
the idea-level. It is a process of re-vision--literally re-seeing the
argument of the paper. The revising process may involve
changes such as the clarification of the thesis, the
reorganization of paragraphs, the omission of unneeded
information, the addition of supplemental information to back
a claim, or the strengthening the introduction or conclusion.
The key to revising is the clear communication of ideas from
the writer to the intended audience.
This is an important step to take following the drafting stage.
Following the completion of an entire draft, students may have
a stronger conception of their purpose, intended audience, and
thesis statement. Feedback from other readers may also
contribute toward the need to re-vision (or re-see) the project.
Rather than feeling chained to every printed word, students
should be encouraged to look at their writing as an evolving
piece of work, subject to change. Sometimes a first draft is just
that--a first draft. Again, students must be sure to allow
themselves enough time to complete the revising process.
S12 Key Concepts: After improving the quality of the content
in the revising stage, writers then need to take care of
mechanics, including corrections of spelling, punctuation,
sentence structure, and documentation style.
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For more information on sentence structure and punctuation,
see “Sentence Clarity and Combining” and “Conquering the
Comma.”
S13 Examples: Here are a few tips students can use to
proofread their papers:
The best tip is to read your paper out loud. Reading aloud
forces the writer to engage each word verbally. Often typos,
spelling errors, and sentence structure problems can be caught
this way.
If spelling is a big problem, checking through the paper
backwards can also help writers to correct errors. Again,
checking backwards will help writers to engage every word.
Exchanging papers with a friend can also be a good way to
check for errors. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes helps.
However, writers need to remember that the paper belongs to
them and they are responsible for their work. If a friend
corrects something that you don’t think is correct, double
check with a grammar book, the OWL web site, or the Writing
Lab Grammar Hotline.
Sometimes students can develop an overreliance upon
technology to correct spelling and grammar errors. However, if
you meant to type “Good spelling is important in college” and
instead type “Good smelling is important in college,” spell
check will not catch the error because “smelling” is a correctly
spelled word.
Also, many grammar checks function on computerprogrammed patterns of words. Often, they cannot process
long or complicated sentences. Just because sentences are
long or complicated does not mean they are wrong. Having an
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understanding of grammar yourself is the best way to check
over your work.
S14 Rationale: This slide reviews the six components to the
writing process.
Activity: Answer questions or get feedback on the components
to the writing process from other students about their own
writing processes. Students may share strategies about their
own successful writing process tips.
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