Academics

Writing Center > A General Guide to the Writing Process

PREWRITING
The prewriting stage consists of invention and planning. To generate ideas, we may use such strategies as freewriting, brainstorming, research, or observing. Then we must plan our writing, focusing our thoughts and ideas and considering how we should organize them. As an important part of prewriting, we also consider the audience we are addressing and our purpose for addressing them. Asking ourselves "To whom am I writing?" (audience) and "Why?" (purpose) helps us determine what information to include and how to present it. Then we can organize our ideas, at least loosely, into some workable plan.

WRITING
In the writing stage we get our ideas down on paper in an initial draft. Most people do their actual writing privately, but some students might find it helpful to draft a portion of a paper, like the introduction, in the Writing Center.

REVISING AND EDITING
Revision consists of two stages: global revision, in which we improve the "big picture" of our papers (content, organization, tone), and sentence-level revision, in which we look at the finer points of our writing, strengthening and clarifying sentences. In the editing stage, we correct errors in grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.

When making global revisions, we think big, asking questions like "Will my audience be able to follow and understand what I've written?" "How do I come across to my audience?" or "Have I included enough information?" In answering these questions, we often realize that major changes in content, focus, organization, point of view, and tone are necessary. Some students resist this stage, bringing their first draft of a paper to the Writing Center with the belief that it is their last.

When making sentence-level revisions, we try to improve individual sentences by cutting excessive words, clarifying confusing or improperly constructed sentences, or trying to find more exact words for the ideas we want to express. In the editing stage, we correct errors in grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. After revising and editing, we proofread, looking for typographical errors, omitted words, and other mistakes we might have missed earlier.

From:  The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors, Leigh Ryan