Thursday, September 18, 2014

Notes On the Writing Process

The Writing Process

Prewriting
            Consider your purpose
                        To inform, to persuade, to entertain / express
            Consider your audience
How much does your audience know about your topic?
What is your audience’s likely interest in/opinion of your topic?
Discover ideas => narrow topic, define a focus, gather evidence => form a working thesis
                        Methods of prewriting            
                                    Journal writing / freewriting
                                    Brainstorming / mapping / clustering
Research => observation
Planning 
            Select your evidence (examples, research sources, details, specifics, etc.)
            Organize your evidence –
Choose a logical order (chronological, spatial, general-specific, etc.)
Make an outline!
Drafting - reread assignment before you begin
            1st draft: Focus on what you’re writing, not how you’re writing!
            Consult your outline, but don’t be a slave it to.
To construct strong paragraphs
            Announce the main idea in a topic sentence
            Relate each sentence to the main idea
            Provide specifics and details
Use an appropriate mode of development
                        Transition to next paragraph – connect ideas

Revising – essay level
            Suggestions for reading your draft, p. 33-4 – print it out, take a break, get a reader
            Consider purpose and thesis – reread assignment
                                    Unity
                                    Coherence – logic, clarity, flow
                                    Organization – spatial, chronological, thematic, climactic – p. 39
                                    Development – specifics & details
                                    Tone – appropriate, effective, consistent?
                        Revising checklist, p. 43

            Editing – sentence level
Editing checklist, p. 58
                                    Consider =>    Conciseness, Emphasis, Parallelism, Sentence Variety
                                                Word choice
                                                            Denotation & connotation       Concrete & specific words
                                                            Figures of speech, clichés        Fresh language
            Proofreading
                        Reread formatting requirements
Check for errors – grammar, spelling, missing words, etc.

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