The 6 Step Writing Process

The Writing Process
There are six main steps to the writing process. The steps are brainstorming, research, rough draft, proof read, final draft and a final proofread (Loudon, The writing process).

Brainstorm
The first thing that you do when you are about to begin brainstorming is to make sure that you read the prompt thoroughly. Once you have done this you are ready to begin brainstorming. There are many different methods that can be used when brainstorming. One method is to use a graphic organizer (Lunsford, 2013). A graphic organizer is a great way to get ideas out and see how they are all connected to each other. It also gives you a good idea of what parts should go in which paragraph. Another way to brainstorm is by free writing. According to Lunsford (2013) the definition for free writing is to “write about whatever comes into your head in relation to a particular topic or idea for five to ten minutes.” One final way is to simply brainstorm; all this requires is for you to write down a few words or phrases about your topic to get you started.

Research
There are endless ways to do research in today’s world. As a writer you have access to almost anything with the click of your mouse. There are tons of websites that can offer information on your topic. However it is important that you make sure you have credible information. If the information that you use to write your paper is incorrect then your ethos could be jeopardized. Loudon (Rhetorical Situations) defines ethos as “giving credit where credit is due; author credibility.” There are also many other ways to gain research information such as libraries, newspapers, magazines or even a person that is knowledgeable about your topic. The research opportunities are many; the one thing to remember when doing research is to always cite all the information that you use in your paper that is not yours.

Rough Draft
The important thing with this step is to remember that it is a rough draft. There are going to be mistakes and places where you simply cannot find the right words to say what you want to say and that is acceptable. This is the best time to get all the information in sentence form and somewhat organized. It is important to have a rough draft so that you can edit it later. When you have a rough draft there is such a great opportunity for improvement. Doing a rough draft as opposed to writing the paper and promptly turning it in and skipping the remaining steps of the writing process will help improve your paper.

Proofread
There are many ways to go about proofreading your paper. One way to do this is by peer review (Lunsford, 2013). It is often helpful to have fresh eyes look at a paper for mistakes. A peer is especially resourceful if they are in the same class as you. This means that they are aware of the prompt and what is expected of you, which is beneficial when it comes to proofreading. The proofreading step in the writing process is also the time to question your thesis (Loudon, The writing process). If the thesis is not being supported in your paper, this is the time when the thesis or paper needs to be revised so that they line up with each other. One final thing to consider is going to the school’s writing center. The people there are experts at what they do and will help proofread your paper. It is their job to proofread papers and they are excellent this job. Let them help you!

Final Draft
This is it! You are onto the final draft (finally!). This is the time to carefully review the input that the people who have proofread your paper gave you. At this point you should decide which advice of theirs that you are going to follow and which you are not. The rubric for the paper should also be reviewed at this time.

Final Proofread
Finally, read over your paper one more time before turning it in. This is the last chance to make sure that the paper has no spelling or grammatical mistakes. It is a good idea to make sure that all the formatting for the paper is correct, the font, font size, margins and spacing are all things that should be checked carefully.

Finishing Up
Upon completion of the final proofreading step you are ready to go! Since you followed the writing process you can confidently turn in your paper for grading!