The Writing Process

The Writing Process

Overview 

As a Composition 101 student, I think the most important thing you need to know and become familiar with is the writing process. Knowing and becoming an expert at the writing process will definitely help you succeed in this class, and will help you breeze through the multiple essays required of you to write. The writing process is a thorough process that Lunsford et al describes as a roadmap (Lunsford, Andrea, Michal Brody, Lisa Ede, Beverly J. Moss, Carole Clark Papper, Keith Walters. Everyone’s an Author with Readings. New York: Norton, 2013.) It’s a detailed list of directions that will help you construct, or arrive, at your essay.

Writing Process Steps: 

Know your assignment and form a topic

Before jumping into your essay, you should thoroughly read your writing prompt and know what the professor is asking you to write about. After you feel confident that you know and understand the prompt, next step is to form a topic. Your topic is something you should keep clear and consistent throughout your entire paper, so it should be well thought out. The topic you come up with doesn’t have to be specific; sometimes it’s better to have broad topic and build off of it. Once you develop a topic, it’s time to start the prewriting phase.

Prewriting

In order to start writing your essay, you must start prewriting, generating ideas, and brainstorming. Some strategies you could use while prewriting is free writing, looping, clustering, drawing or sketching, or mapping. Also, if necessary, you may want to research your topic in order to better your understanding and keep a trustworthy tone throughout your paper. All of these strategies will help you put your ideas on paper in order to help organize your thoughts and help you start your paper.

Develop a Thesis 

In order to start writing your paper, you must first develop a thesis. Your thesis should identify your topic and the point you are trying to make in your essay. This thesis could change as you write your paper and revise. Your thesis will ultimately set the stage for your paper and will engage the audience.

Draft and Peer Edit 

After you have done a pre writing strategy and have developed a thesis, its time to write a rough draft of your essay. This draft puts all of your ideas together into an essay format. After your draft is written, it is time for peer editing. Within your assigned writing groups, Instructor Loudon will provide peer-editing sheets to gather feedback and help you catch mistakes you would have otherwise overlooked. Another helpful tool for IUP students is the writing center. The Writing Center tutors can assist you with any questions you have about your paper, and help you edit.

Revising, Proofreading and Final Draft 

After getting responses from peers, it’s time to edit your mistakes and start your final draft. It’s important to proofread several times, checking carefully for spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes, and punctuation mistakes you missed while editing. Before submitting your paper, it would be a good idea to run a spell checker, or get another peer to check over your paper to catch any last minute mistakes. Finally, it’s time to submit your essay following the professor’s instructions.