Concept Five: The Writing Process

A popular myth about writing says that a person can sit down, flip on a computer, and start typing a paper, as if it comes out right the first time the writer puts it down. This happy picture of a person swiftly typing a paper in one go couldn’t be further from the truth. In some ways writing is a playful and creative process, but writing also requires some preparation.

            The writing process requires planning, drafting, and revision. Some of these steps take place inside the writer’s head, while others require scrap paper, typed topical outlines, working drafts, and so on. The one thing students must come to terms with is that the writing process must be broken down into a series of steps. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are essays.

Here is a suggested outline of the writing process:

I.                    Identify the subject

II.                 Identify the audience

III.              Narrow the subject

IV.              Formulate a working thesis

V.                Invention (the process of brainstorming and coming up with ideas: listing ideas)

VI.              Sketch out the topic outline

VII.           Write the first draft (usually begin with one or more body paragraphs, then move on to writing the introduction and conclusion)

VIII.        Revise the draft.

IX.              Goto VIII.

As the old saying goes, “writing is rewriting.”  If it takes a person five hours to write a paper, three hours of that time will be devoted to rewriting and revision.  In early drafts, writers revise for concepts, organization and ideas. In the middle of the revision process, writers revise for organization, language, and grammar.  Then in the last draft or so, writers revise for mechanics and spelling.  By going from the more conceptual problems to the more mechanical and physical problems, writers focus their attentions on one thing at a time. Writers should fix the “complex,” “deep,” and “artistic” issues first before moving on to the more easy-to-fix problems with mechanics that we find on the “surface.”