UNDERSTANDING THE WRITING PROCESS

Presented by: Lusine, Melina & Aigiun

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• RESEARCH/BRAINSTORMING• FREEWRITING/FIRST DRAFT• REVISION/FINAL EDITING

BEFORE YOU CAN START WRITING:

• EXPLORE THE SUBJECT TO FIND A TOPIC

• LOCATE RELEVANT INFORMATION• ANALYZE THE ISSUES• ORGANIZE YOUR ARGUMENTS

RESEARCH/ RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH

Hunt of information from available sources: books periodicals CD video internet

WAYS OF BRAINSTORMING • Write every idea that pops into your head

about the topic. The main purpose of brainstorming is to write as many ideas as you can think of.

PROBLEM

Who When

What

WhereWhat

BRAINSTORMING EXAMPLE

BRAINSTORMING TIPS

Tip 1: Once you have an idea, you need to expand on it. Don’t make the mistake of jumping straight into your writing – you’ll end up with a badly structured piece.

Tip 2: In the process of brainstorming you should suspend any concerns about staying organized.

Tip 3: The goal is to pour your thoughts onto paper without worrying about whether they make sense or how they fit together.

FREE WRITINGWhat is free writing?

The best way to get your best thoughts on the page.

FREE WRITING

Just sit down with the sole purpose of writing whatever

crosses your mind,

Without stopping

Without thinking

Without evaluating or judging what you write

FREE WRITINGHow to do free writing?

Set a time limit: At least 5 and at most 30 minutes

Keep writing and writing: No pause for more than a

second or two

Write at a leisurely pace: Run faster than your

internal editor

FREE WRITINGWhy free writing?

It temporarily rids us of our internal editorAccording to Mark Levy, “ . . . Since the editor wants us to always look good to others, it’s going to tell us we’re being stupid or impractical if we try thinking thoughts that are radically different for us. It’s going to order us to push aside the new and go with the familiar. It’s going to anchor us to what’s not working.”

FREE WRITING

Free writing helps us find our natural rhythm and voice

Explore emotional issues on a deeper level

Find subjects to write about

Accept yourself as you are

DRAFTINGA stage of the writing process during which a writer organizes information and ideas into sentences and

paragraphs

Here the secrets of your story will reveal themselves

DRAFTINGLet that first sentence be as stupid as it wishes

Resist any temptation at this stage to pin down every detail in its proper place

Try to make your early drafts as complete as possible at the time

DRAFTINGWhy should I draft and re-draft?

Drafting and re-drafting will help you to write a better essay.

Drafting and redrafting will help you to organize your materials

and ideas into a coherent essay

Drafting can help you be more relaxed about your writing

DRAFTINGRe-reading your own work helps you to see your ideas in new

ways

Writing a draft gives you an opportunity to

let others read what you are writing

Drafting and re-drafting helps you to think about your use of

language

Revision vs. Proof ReadingRevision occurs throughout the writing process, while proofreading occurs once you are confident that your paper's ideas, support, and organization are strong.

RevisionRevision is the process of rereading your paper and making changes (in content, organization, sentence structures, and word choice) to improve it.During revision, writers may add, remove, move and substitute text.  Repeat this process until you feel confident that your paper has focused ideas, strong evidence, and an effective organization.

“I rewrite a great deal. I’m always fiddling, always changing something. I’ll write a few words-then I’ll change them. I add. I subtract. I work and fiddle and keep working and fiddling, and I only stop at the deadline”. (Ellen Goodman)

Tips for Revision

Give yourself adequate time to revise.

Print a hard copy of your paper.

Tips for Revision

Read your paper out loud. Sometimes you can hear mistakes that you don't see.

Have your course mate read your paper.

Tips for Revision

Don’t fall in love with what you have written. Be open to change it when needed.

Tips for Revision

But sometimes I revise as I go. What should I do?

-That’s OK. Since writing is a circular process, you don’t do everything in some specific order.

Warning: There are two potential problems with revising as you go.

If you revise only as you go along, you never get to think of the big picture. The key is still to give yourself enough time to look at the essay as a whole once you’ve finished. If you spend too much time tinkering with what is on the page, you may lose some of what hasn’t yet made it to the whole picture.

Proof reading

"Proofreading” is a special kind of reading: a slow and methodical search for misspellings, typographical mistakes, and omitted words or word endings. 

Tips for Revision

Go through the paper backwards. By reading the document backwards, sentence by sentence, you are able to focus only on the words and sentences without paying attention to the context or content.

Tips for Proof reading

• Watch Out for HomonymsHomonyms are words that share the same spelling or pronunciation, but have different meanings.

Switching accept with except or complement with compliment could be disastrous, so pay attention to them.

• Watch Out for Contractions and ApostrophesPeople often mix their and they’re, its and it’s, your and you’re and so on. If there is something that can hurt the credibility of your text, it is a similar mistake.

Tips for Proof reading

Check the Punctuation

Focusing on the words is good, but do not neglect the punctuation. Pay attention to capitalized words, missing or extra commas, periods used incorrectly and so on.

ReferencesAmber, L. (February 23, 2011). Journal Writing Tips: The benefits of Freewriting. Retrieved September 28, from http://www.writingthroughlife.com/journal-writing-tips-the-benefits-of-freewriting

Proofreading and Revising. Walden University. Retrieved October 3, 2013, from http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/872.htm

Revising Drafts. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved September 29, 2013, from http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/revising-drafts/

Revising your paper. Odegaard Writing and Research Center. Retrieved September 29, 2013, fromhttp://depts.washington.edu/owrc/Handouts/Revising%20Your%20Paper.pdf

Use Freewriting to brainstorm in three easy steps (July 20, 2012). Retrieved September 27, 2013, from http://www.marketingprofs.com/short-articles/1957/use-freewriting-to-brainstorm-in-three-easy-steps#ixzz2hBwrhzXa

THANK YOU