Page 3: Elements of the Writing Process (2024)

Page 3: Elements of the Writing Process

Teaching composition skills to students involves much more than simply instructing them in the elementary mechanics of written language or explaining the basic components of a paragraph. Mechanics and elementary knowledge are necessary, of course, but teaching these skills alone does not usually lead to students writing more organized essays. Instead, students must understand the writing process and learn how to integrate their knowledge and ideas into their essays. The writing process consists of elements that help a writer to develop text that is reflective, clear, and coherent. The following section will discuss four elements of the writing process:

Planning

Planning refers to the use of a deliberate and organized approach to tackling a writing task and includes a writer’s first thoughts or basic ideas about the topic. Students who struggle with writing generally do not plan ahead; rather, they compose their text as they write. During the planning process, students should ask themselves who their readers will be and what the essay’s purpose is. Planning ahead helps students to form more complete thoughts and to produce more cohesive essays.

Organizing

It is not at all unusual for students to have difficulty selecting the important information from everything they brainstormed during the planning stage. Students often also have difficulty knowing just how to use that information in their essays. Therefore, once students have formulated their writing plans, it is time to organize their thoughts. During this step of the writing process, students will:

• Elaborate on the ideas that were generated for them during the planning process
• Determine what information, if any, is still needed in order to fill in the gaps
• Gather that information
• Arrange their ideas so that they flow together and make sense

Writing

In the initial writing stage, students will produce a rough draft incorporating the ideas that were generated during the planning stage and subsequently arranged in the organization stage. This initial writing phase requires students to coordinate ongoing cognitive demands, such as:

• Combining planned ideas with new thoughts
• Remembering the purpose of the paper
• Using appropriate grammar rules
• Considering the intended audience

Editing and Revising

Though the editing and revising stages are usually thought of as one step, they are, in fact, two interlinked steps. It is important for students to distinguish between the editing and revising steps in the writing process. For example, students need to learn that writing is a process that requires them to apply editing marks as they revise their essays. The revising stage, however, may also require changes in content or organization.

Editing

During the editing stages of the writing process, students will:

• Check their grammar
• Check their spelling
• Check their punctuation
• Ask whether their ideas are clear
• Ask whether their purpose has been met

Other than teacher-editing, there are two ways editing can occur: self-editing and peer-editing.

Self-editing: When a student edits his or her own paper, he or she should read it aloud and listen to its flow and choice of words. He or she should also listen to hear whether any words have been left out. Keep in mind that it may be difficult for some students to identify flaws during the self-editing process.

Peer-editing: By contrast, when a peer edits a paper, he or she may be able to more easily point out areas that are difficult to understand. Collaboration with a peer allows a student to gain additional insight through examining his or her own peer-edited paper, editing the peer’s paper, and sharing ideas and opinions.

When teaching them a collaborative method for editing, it is important to tell students how to work through the editing process. Students should be taught how to provide feedback with specific constructive phrases, including giving praise and pointing out parts of the paper they really liked. This will help ensure that the collaborative editing process is a positive experience for both students in each pair.

The bulletin board below displays example statements that students can be taught to use when they edit a peer’s paper.

Adapted from S. Graham (personal communication, September 20, 2006)

Revising

As was discussed above, it is important for students to distinguish between the editing and revising stages. Revising allows the writer to consider the content, quality, and clarity of his or her composition. When students revise their work, they should look at the editing suggestions made by their teachers and peers, and that they themselves arrived at during self-editing, to determine how the edits and comments can help to improve their papers. For example, they might:

• Utilize comments and suggestions
• Rearrange the order of the text
• Make corrections
• Expand ideas
• Rewrite their papers

Students may or may not use all of the comments that they receive. Once students have decided which suggestions to use, they should determine how to incorporate and expand on these new ideas. Before turning in a final product, students should repeat this process at least one more time to ensure that the new ideas have helped to meet the purpose and have improved the clarity of their papers.