EDRG 3344 Blog #3: WRITING IS A PROCESS!

As we are all aware.....WRITING IS A PROCESS!!! In order to create a well written piece of writing, you must follow the five steps that are involved in the writing PROCESS . A lot of times students don't like to drag through all five steps, they just want to write the paper last minute and get it over with. But with doing this, they write something that could have been much much better if they had taken their time and gone through the PROCESS.

Step 1: Step one in the writing PROCESS is pre-writing. The is the starting point, and first things first you have to organize your thoughts. If we don't organize our ideas, then our papers can turn out to be a whole mumble jumble mess of mixed thoughts. A great way for students to do the pre-writing stage is by making semantic map or some sort of graphic organizer. There are so many different graphic organizer templates out there floating around, so make this creative!

Step 2: The next step is the writing PROCESS is drafting. Durnig this step, this will be the first opportunity that students have to put all of their thoughts onto paper. It will by no means be a completely error proof and amazing piece of writing, but the is the entire point of writing drafts! Think of it as the "sloppy copy" of the paper. There are many different ways that students can compose their first draft including by pencil and paper, on the computer, in a journal or composition notebook, etc. However, the best way to do it is the old fashioned way and have them handwrite it out on paper. Doing so will help the students be more focused on content than on editing, and content is the most important part.

Step 3: The third step in the writing PROCESS is revising. Many times people get revising confused with editing, and they are two entirely different steps so do not combine them.....always revise before you edit. In the revising step, students will focus on the quality of the content and maybe clear up some thoughts or expand on certain parts of their paper. They can change sentences, delete them or add completely new ones. The whole purpose of this step is to improve the content. A great way to do this is by having your students get into partners, groups, etc. Having their peers read what they have written will allow them to have a chance to bounce back ideas and ways that they can improve their paper.

Step 4: Our next step in this PROCESS is editing. Now this is the step where all of you red pen fanatics can go to town and mark away. Just remember that too many red marks on a paper is very discouraging to writers, so don't go overboard. You can have students get into pairs again as in step three, but it would probably be a good idea to have them pick a different partner than they had in the revising part. This way a fresh set of eyes will be of better help, and the more people you have read your draft, the better your final peice will be. Tell the students to focus on grammatical errors such as spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Step 5: Finally we are at the last step of the writing PROCESS, and it is publishing. If you are telling your students to write this paper, then you better give them some imspiration and let them know that it isn't going to be for nothing. Do not let their pieces be read by you once and then handed back with a simple grade on the top; publish them! This allows your students to be proud of what they have written, and most likely if they know that a lot of different people are going to be able to read their final piece then they will do a better job. You can do this by hanging up their papers on walls, out in the hallway for anybody to read, make a class book.......just do ANYTHING other than simply reading it once and handing it back.

As successful teachers, we should always have our students perform all five steps in the writing PROCESS whenever we have a writing assignment for them to complete. Going through with these steps will help them become a stronger writer, and they will therefor excel in their school work.