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The Writing Process

Introduction

The Writing Process and Types of Essays is a module on the organization of essay writing. It offers activities to practice and links to conceptualize ideas. All topics aim to understand how and why to write an essay. 

The first topics discuss the writing process, emphasizing the moments to generate content, get into the flow of ideas, take everything apart to see what works, fine-tune the language, and share creativity. The remaining topics visit the structure of an essay, different types of essays, and the literary devices that convey a more profound meaning beyond what's on the page.

The Writing Process and Types of Essays

1.

1. Prewriting: Through robust prewriting, writers think and plan, explore directions, propose new ideas, and find their way into writing. Prewriting is one way to discover what we are thinking and argue with ourselves before committing to the main idea. As you prepare an outline and write the draft, these ideas remain open to changes. Thus, this is the moment to generate content. Rely on these strategies to sort out and develop ideas:

1. Developing Ideas

1. Start with a question: ask journalistic questions about the subject:  who, what, when, where, why, how

2. Brainstorming: begin with writing down or typing a few words and then filling the page with words and ideas that are related or that seem important.

3. Freewriting: give the "creator hand" a specified amount of time (usually from 10 to 20 minutes) to write nonstop about whatever comes to mind.

4. Focused writing: write freely—and without stopping, during a limited time—about a specific topic.

5. Research: gain background understanding on a topic and check own ideas against experts' opinions.

2. Audience and Purpose: The purpose is the reason for writing. Writers choose what to tell the audience based on what they think they know about the topic. Consider these questions:

1. To whom is the writer communicating?

2. Why is the writer writing?

3. Planning an Essay Structure

1. Planning based on audience and purpose: When you write an academic essay, you insert yourself into a conversation with other people. Academic work is meant to be read by others, prompt responses from them, and facilitate the exchange of ideas. Thus, an essential step in planning your essay involves thinking about who will be reading it, why they will read it, and what they will value in the work you place in front of them. The success of your academic writing depends on what you intend to accomplish so that you'll know how to direct your efforts.

4. Use audience and purpose to plan language: When you do college-level academic work, you're entering into an ongoing conversation with the writers and scholars you read, with your fellow students, and with your instructors. As with any conversation, participation doesn't mean simply repeating what someone else has already said. It requires responding, building upon ideas, asking questions, fine-tuning points, proposing solutions—in short, contributing something of value that extends enriches the conversation.

5. Use techniques to plan structure: (organization of ideas): organize ideas into chunks. There are many ways to plan an essay's overall structure, including

1. MappingLinks to an external site.  (graphic organizers): which sometimes includes using a graphic organizer, involves organizing the relationships between the topic and other ideas.

2. Outlines: Outlining is also an excellent way to plan how to organize an essay. Formal outlines use levels of notes, with Roman numerals for the top level, followed by capital letters, Arabic numerals, and lowercase letters.

3. Drafting: When you write a draft, be prepared to put in additional thoughts and details that emerge during prewriting. Just get into the flow of ideas and write your essay, including the introduction and conclusion, remembering that the first draft is rarely the last. The key in this stage of the writing process is to avoid editing until you have your ideas down. Stopping and starting and making small changes as you go will interrupt your thinking. This is not the moment to think about punctuation, grammar, and spelling.

4. Revising-: Revision means looking again at your entire work, finding opportunities for reordering and rewording a draft, and making changes to content. Substantive revisions strive for greater clarity, bolster support for a claim, tighten the focus, and better organize the ideas. This process may include adding information and deleting elements that, upon reconsideration, prove redundant or unnecessary. This is the moment to take apart the information to see what works and is unconnected in the body.

1. Useful Strategies

1. Reverse Outlining: The student reads through the written text and notes, noting down the topic of each paragraph. This way, the student can review if each paragraph has a clear focus and if each paragraph fits the paper's overall organization.  https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/reverse_outlining.htmlLinks to an external site.

2. Reading Aloud: Allows the student to "hear it" in the way a reader will. This act permits the writer to slow down and pay attention to all words in the essay. They get a sense of what a reader experiences, where words are clear and effective, and where they are weak.

3. Peer and Instructor Feedback: Writing is done to connect to others, share thoughts, and communicate something to others. These meaningful and respectful discussions require critical feedback that is focused and intellectually and socially constructive. Therefore, instead of praise, make specific and constructive comments when providing feedback. At this stage of the process, providing and receiving constructive feedback are valuable means for improving written work. 

1. Example

Praise: "This is good" or "This needs improvement."

Constructive:

· You provided a thorough discussion of the background and purpose of  X.

· I think your post could be strengthened by including some specific examples of how  X impacts community services.

1.

1. Editing means reading with fresh eyes and deciding if words need to be moved around or changed. Look for misspellings and awkward wording and rework for the sake of clarity. Microsoft Word offers the spell-check feature- a useful built-in tool to proofread your writing. You may have noticed some red wavy lines beneath certain words in your Word document. Any word not in Word's spell-check dictionary will be marked with a red wavy underline. Check for typos and unintentional repetition of words. This is the moment to fine-tune the language. Editing involves scanning the following surface features of a text: Link for spell check:  https://www.businessinsider.com/spell-check-in-wordLinks to an external site.

1. Grammar is the way people use language rules and how words are used in a particular order to form phrases and clauses that relay a meaning for readers. The term "syntax" (the art of sentence structure) goes hand-in-hand with this.

2. Language usage has to do with making endless choices. Writers need to ask, "How should I craft this sentence, this paragraph? Given the effect of two possible punctuation marks, which one should I use? What is the effect of this Word instead of that one, so similar in meaning but carrying a more negative connotation?"

3. The precision of words makes a writer's work stand out from others. Therefore, writers will use strategies that make their sentence structures more engaging and produce the information they wish to convey.

The precision of words strategies:  

Eliminate vagueness: Reconsider sentences starting with "This" or "It."	Vague: This is an exciting point in the movie. Better: The surprise ending of the movie is exciting. Vague: It caused the audience to break into applause. Better: The final scene caused the audience to break into applause.
Avoid Overused words that add elements of description or accentuation to phrases.	Overused: Really hungry, Very scary, A lot  Better: Famished, Frightening, Use statistics and specific words: verifiable statements
Eliminate repetition of words and phrases: Use a thesaurus to find a synonym. Remove the repetitive words and combine the sentences. Craft an original way of saying the same thing. Spell words correctly.	Repetition:  This past summer, I had the opportunity to intern at Sea Life Park. Sea Life Park is known for being an exciting destination. Better: This past summer, I had the opportunity to intern at Sea Life Park, known for being an exciting destination. Original: Sea Life Park Creative: the world-renowned marine playground committed to protecting, preservation, and education.
Eliminate distractions or disinterest by using proper spelling, punctuation, and mechanics.	Microsoft Word offers the  spell-checkLinks to an external site.  feature--a useful built-in tool to proofread your writing. You may have noticed some red wavy lines beneath certain words in your Word document. Any word not in Word's spell-check dictionary will be marked with a red wavy underline. Punctuation refers to the "symbols" writers use to help readers understand and process the information. Punctuation tells a reader how to read a sentence— when to start, stop, or slow down; when to whisper or yell; when to emphasize or subordinate— the way the writer wants it to read. Mechanics have established rules within a language system.

Punctuation and Mechanics

Rule	Example
All compound sentences need either a semicolon or a comma conjunction combination. Make sure that a comma is included if there are two independent clauses. Omit the comma if the second clause is subordinate.	Unless the surf is bad, we are going to surf in the morning. Example: The surf is great; we're going surfing.
Commas and periods go inside quotation marks. In the U.S., current style guides place commas and periods inside quotation marks.	She said, "I'm not going with you." Example: While she said, "I'm sick," she still came with us.
Absolutes: Avoid them in almost all cases.	Like all other eighteen-year-old girls, I love drama
Use the subjunctive form of the verb with the words "if" and "wish" (i.e., use "were" not "was").	I wish I were taller. If I were taller, I could play professional volleyball.
Using "so" and "that" right next to each other is often unnecessary unless you want to make your sentence sound more like an announcement of sorts.	I took a culinary class so that I could show my gratitude toward those who had influenced me.
Using "so" to mean "really" or "very" without using "that" is an error.	I am so grateful to have been a part of a family that has nurtured and emphasized the importance of our heritage. This sentence should read as: I am grateful to have been part of a family  who has nurtured and emphasized the importance of our heritage.
"who" versus "that" When referring to people, both  that and  who can be used in informal language. "That" may refer to the characteristics or abilities of an individual or a group of people. However, when speaking about a particular person in formal language,  who is preferred. Link to "who" vs "that'Links to an external site.	I was furious when this happened because the person who was our advisor made the wrong decision.
Only use single quotes when within double quotes.	She declared, "At that moment, that 'Ah-ha' moment, I decided to move in completely."
No "etc." (which is the abbreviation for et cetera) in formal academic writing in most disciplines.	I would lose the ball, fumble passes, miss shots, etc. It's  enough to phrase this sentence as I would falter in many ways, including losing the ball, fumbling passes, and missing shots.
Avoid exclamation points in academic writing unless you want it to sound like you are yelling.	I got ready and made it to the bus on time.  *Notice the period works just fine here.
Be especially mindful of singular and plural subjects with subject-verb agreement.	Incorrect: The source of the problems were my father's lack of work. Correct: The source [singular] of the problems was [singular] my father's lack of work.
Colons cannot directly follow verbs.	Incorrect: They all harmoniously incorporate elements: romance, humor, and, of course, drama. Correct: They all harmoniously incorporate elements such as romance, humor, and, of course, drama. (The "such as" makes it better.)
Do not address the reader directly (i.e., no "you") unless you mean to.	Incorrect: If you need to buy books, you should go to the college bookstore. Better: Students who need to buy books can go to the college bookstore.
Avoid italics for emphasis and keep them just for foreign words.	Incorrect: One should never follow my footsteps. (The word "never" does not need italicizing.)
The correlative conjunction "not only" needs both words "but" and "also." But the "also" could be replaced by a comma at the end of the sentence and an "as well."	I saw how this was not only a significant aspect of my family but also of my culture. Note that no commas are needed within this sentence. Many times, people like to add them with this "not only/but (also)" pair unnecessarily.
When explaining the "reason" for something happening, you almost always do not need the word "why."	It just so happens that teenagers and adults see the world differently; hence the reason [why] adults sometimes cannot comprehend teenage struggles the way teens do. Omit the "why" as it's not needed.

 

· Publishing: Dan Brown, the author of The Davinci Code, says," A piece of writing may never truly feel complete to its author, but if you've made all the many iterations of your draft and feel confident that you've answered your major dramatic question, you've arrived at the last step!" Publishing your hard work means you are ready to share your finished writing with other people. The presentation or appearance of your work should have blocks of text. Include titles and sub-titles for the different paragraphs. If you use pictures, be sure to write a caption for them.

References

Johnson, D. (2021, April 30).  How to use spell check in Microsoft Word to eliminate typos and grammatical errors. Business Insider.  https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/spell-check-in-wordLinks to an external site.

Microsoft. (n.d.). Check spelling and grammar in Office. Microsoft Support.  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/check-spelling-and-grammar-in-office-5cdeced7-d81d-47de-9096-efd0ee909227Links to an external site.

Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.).  Introduction and general usage in defining clauses. Purdue Writing Lab.  https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/relative_pronouns/index.htmlLinks to an external site.

Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.).  Reverse outlining: An exercise for taking notes and revising your work. Purdue Writing Lab.  https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/reverse_outlining.htmlLinks to an external site.

Venngage. (n.d.).  Professional infographic maker.  https://venngage.com/Links to an external site.