Transcript The Writing Process - Cumberland University

The Writing Process
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Invention
Planning and Drafting
Feedback
Revision
Editing
Reflecting
The Writing Process
 Invention
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fast-writing
clustering
brainstorming
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ignore the editor in your brain at this point in
the process; get ideas on paper as quickly as
possible
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focus on one issue at a time
Natalie Goldberg’s Rules for
Invention
 Keep your hand moving
 Don’t cross out
 Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation,
grammar
 Lose control
 Don’t think. Don’t get logical.
 Go for the jugular.
Planning and Drafting
 At this stage, you take your invention work
and write the first full draft.
 A “draft” is a full paper with a beginning,
middle, and end. It is not one or two
paragraphs that is only a beginning.
 As with invention work, try to write the first
draft as quickly as possible, trying to get
your ideas on paper with little interference
from the editor.
Suggestions for Drafting
 Choose a time and place where you can
complete a full draft in a single sitting.
 Use a computer to make revision easy or
write on one side skipping lines.
 Be satisfied with less than perfection
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Experiment
Follow Digressions
Guess at Words, Spelling, Facts
Feedback
 From peers
 From Learning Center
 From teacher
How to Give Critical Feedback
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Read the entire piece first
Start with the positive
Start with big questions; move to small
Offer advice, but don’t rewrite
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Your role is to read carefully, to point out what
you think is or is not working, to make
suggestions and ask questions.
Leave the revising to the writer.
Why do we do Peer-Revision?
 When you read someone else’s writing
critically, you learn more about the
decisions writers make, how a thoughtful
reader reads, and the constraints of
particular kinds of writing.
 In other words, you will become a better
critic of your own work.
 You embody for the writer the abstraction
called audience. By sharing your reaction
and analysis with the writer, you complete
the circuit of communication.
Revision
 Revise=to see again
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Try to view the draft objectively.
 This means that you must do much more
than simply correct errors; you must see the
paper again from a new perspective and be
willing to make big changes, including
cutting sections, adding sections, or moving
sections around.
How to revise your work
 Start by looking at the piece of writing as a
whole.
 Fix big problems first
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Does the essay achieve its purpose?
Are the paragraphs in a logical order?
 Look at each section
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Is the beginning effective?
Are all paragraphs unified and coherent?
Editing
 At this point, you correct all errors in
grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
 Nonstandard language distracts and lessens
your credibility as a writer.
 You need to read your paper slowly and
carefully at this point.
 It is wise to have someone else whom you
trust proofread for you; someone else will
see errors that you cannot see because you
know the work too well.
Some Editing Strategies
 Read aloud to yourself. If your writing
doesn’t sound good aloud, it probably won’t
read well either.
 Check each sentence, one-at-a-time,
beginning at the last sentence.
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This will allow you to read for grammar,
punctuation, and mechanics, and not for
meaning.
The Process is Recursive
 The writing process is not linear.
 At any stage in the process, you may need
to return to the Invention or Drafting stages.
 Invention doesn’t stop when drafting
begins; it continues throughout the process.
The Last Step: Reflection
 After you have submitted your final draft,
you should reflect on the process:
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What have I learned from writing this paper?
What worked well for me this time?
What didn’t work for me?
What should I have done differently?
What are my goals for my next piece of
writing?
What would I like to try that I haven’t tried yet?