|
| |
A Suggested Writing Process Model
Response to a Text
Preparation
- Read the text or selection carefully.
- Re-read the material, and
- mark key passages,
- take notes in the margins, and
- look up words in the dictionary.
Prewriting
- Consider your audience.
- Use any of the following techniques (or one of your own) for
invention, that is for getting ideas about the topic onto a piece of paper:
- listing
- freewriting
- brainstorming
- clustering
- branching
Organizing
- Decide which ideas you will use and which order they should follow.
- Some writers use an outline for this aspect of organizing.
- Usually two to four good ideas will suffice for an essay.
- Develop a "working" thesis that addresses the topic. (This
thesis can be revised later to be more sophisticated.)
- Begin an introductory paragraph; include the title of the work and the
author's name in this paragraph.
- Take the ideas you have chosen and develop topic sentences or means of
focusing the ideas of each body paragraph to show each separate idea.
- Begin to formulate a title and conclusion that will reflect the ideas of
your paper.
Development
- Write the first draft of your essay.
- Search for textual evidence to incorporate into your body
paragraphs.
- Be aware of the difference between summarizing information from the text
and using key passages to illustrate the points your essay is making.
- Be sure your ideas are complete and understandable to your audience.
Revision
- Re-read your draft, checking to be sure you have the following items:
- a thesis that addresses the topic
- a clear focus in each paragraph
- ideas that relate to and support the thesis
- transitions that connect ideas
- appropriate textual citations in each body paragraph
- complete and clear development of the ideas in the body of the essay
- correct sentence structures
- correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar
- appropriate word use
- coherence throughout the essay and unity within the paragraphs
- Proofread your final draft one last time for little errors.
- Double-check your citations.
|