Writing is
recursive—that is, you will often circle back and return to earlier steps as the need arises before you complete the process with a polished, effective paragraph or essay. This recursive writing process involves seven steps.
PRINT A COPY OF THE SEVEN STEPS TO KEEP IN THE FRONT OF YOUR NOTEBOOK.
STEP 1: Generate Ideas with Prewriting Techniques.
As a writer, you have many options:
- Brainstorming
- Clusters
- Lists and categories
- Outlines
- Freewriting
- Hierarchies
STEP 2: Get a Focus.
Your topic for a paragraph needs to be a manageable size that is suitable for a paragraph.
Your topic needs to be meaningful and interesting for you and your reader.
Topics that are too general or too broad lack an adequate focus.
Topics that are too narrow result in underdeveloped paragraphs that lack adequate details.
STEP 3: Gather and Organize Your Information.
After you select an appropriate topic, gather and organize your information. Write an effective topic sentence with a controlling idea.
STEP 4: Write a First Draft.
The goal for writing a first draft is to get your ideas in a written form that you can then scrutinize, modify, and strengthen through revision work.
STEP 5: Revise, Revise, Revise.
Effective writers often perform several revisions on a paragraph or essay before achieving a polished piece of writing. Each edit may focus on a different aspect of the writing to examine and revise.
Revision Checklists
STEP 6: Proofread and Edit
Proofreading involves a careful examination of your writing for mechanical errors. Editing involves correcting the errors that you identified in the proofreading process. A well-written piece of work is free of errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization.
Editing Checklists
STEP 7: Prepare a Final Version.
Use a standard format for the final version of your writing. Include an appropriate heading and title for your work. Double space and use appropriate margins, fonts, and point size.
