Write a 150 word reflection in email format about what you learned in the attached files

The Three Step Writing Process

One: Plan it!

Two: Write it!

Three: Review, Revise, and Tweak it!

One: Plan It

Consider this a personal note to you.

____________________________________

Dear ___fill_in_your_name__,

I ask you “Do you know how to plan a message?”  My teaching experience tells me that the majority of you really don’t know how to plan.  You do, however, remember writing strategies that you were taught years ago like  – an introduction is 3 -5 sentences with the last sentence being the thesis.  (BYW – this is academic style not business style).  You can puts lots and lots of valuable information about a topic on paper, but my experience is that you just dump out everything you know in the way an authority person told you to.  Now, at this level in your college experience, you need to be making the decisions, such as what the document looks like (which includes organization), the content (not too much or too little), and the appropriate tone for the audience and purpose as you are no longer just writing to a professor to prove you know something.

So, the purpose here is to get you to slow down and THINK.  THINK BEFORE you write.  That is what the Communication Strategy Document is for:  Communication Strategy Worksheet Updated Sept 2012 .  I encourage you (and require you) to use this document to help you make planning easier for you and subsequently, through practice, a habit.

Here is my approach:

1.  Explore – What is the ‘real’ question of your assignment.  What is the core?  Make SURE you understand the question you are answering.  Don’t write until you can say your purpose in one or two sentences (at the most.)  When you are sure you understand the topic….

2.  Review – Do you know all that you need to know to convey your message (information).  If you cannot answer the question, it’s time to research.  Gather.  (Remember, this is Step Three of Critical Thinking.)  Be sure that you keep good records as you collect information.

3.  Narrow the focus in story format.  As you collect information and then compare it to the question, a story, a focus will start to emerge.  When you write you need to create a flow – a beginning, a middle and an end – just like a story.  It is in fact a story.  Think that way.    When you narrow the focus and feel good about your approach, then start your writing.

________

First – Write the introduction.  Write it over and over till it’s clean enough to frame in the rest of the message.  Then frame in the document

Introduction – with scope 1, 2 & 3.

Topic 1

List here the ‘things’ that relate to this topic.  These items, once organized into a flow, become a story  – the natural order of your paragraph topics.

Topic 2

List here the ‘things’ that relate to this topic.  These items, once organized into a flow, become a story  – the natural order of your paragraph topics.

Topic 3

List here the ‘things’ that relate to this topic.  These items, once organized into a flow, become a story  – the natural order of your paragraph topics.

Two: Write it

Stage Two:  Write it.

Start with the template you created and fill in the content.  Don’t forget to take breaks as they help your brain work well.

Three: Review, Revise & Tweak It

Step Three in the Writing Process is the polishing.  And done thoroughly, takes considerable time.  You need to check

1. to ensure you have written to the topic.

2. for fluidity.  Did you walk-the-little-girl-across-the-street?

3. for transitions.

4. for completeness.  Did you say all that needed to be said and nothing more?

5. to ensure that you stated the obvious where necessary.

6. to ensure you wrote in the tone that you deemed was fitting.  In other words, did you use the best words for emotional expression?

7. for proper grammar use?

Do your best to clean up the document – your credibility is at stake.