Rouzie E151
The Writing Process in Brief
Note: The order of this process is not linear, it is recursive.
This means that at any point in the writing process, experienced writers
may use techniques from many other points. So, for example, a writer might
draw some subject trees or freewrite during the revision stage (espeically
if they trashed their draft or started over with a nugget).
- rhetorical exigency--the
need to communicate something to someone
- rhetorical situation--"The
relationship between the speaker, the audience, and the message at the
moment of communication." Can also refer to the purpose and context
of the communication.
initial explorations and discovery
(invention)
- free writing (continuous, uncensored writing)
- clustering (words in circles attached to other words
in circles--associative linking)
- lists
- subject trees (graph out ideas and related ideas in tree
form)
- enthymemes (claim plus a supporting reason: Clinton should
resign as president because he is no longer effective at his job.)
- outline
- reading and research (take notes on readings, jot in
margins, summarize, talk back to sources)
- rhetorical and argument analysis: using the rhetorical triangle, appeals, situation, and Toulmin
argument analysis to analyze arguments
drafting (composition)
- skip introduction (write it last)
- get to main point
- get to elaboration and support
- consider the audience's knowledge, experience, and beliefs
in deciding what to include, what tone to take, language choice/style.
- re-read sources
- re-read composition as you write
- write conclusion and introduction
Revision (global)
- get responses from readers
- respond to readers' questions
- re-think main claim and supporting reasons
- become aware of your assumptions--will readers accept
them? Ex. Clinton should resign as president because he is no longer effective
at his job. Assumption: Once a president becomes ineffective, he should
resign from office. Do you need to back up you assumption? See the Revision Worksheet
- consider trashing the draft
- look for nuggets of insight in the draft and start over
with those
- re-read from the point of view of a variety of different
readers (role-play)
- use composition techniques again
- write a descriptive outline--an outline of what your
draft says, paragraph by paragraph
- organize structure more logically, using cut/paste in
word processor
Editing (local revision)
- spell-checking, line by line copy editing for grammar
etc.
- identify passive constructions, especially the verb to
be, and re-write as simpler sentence with subject and active verb
- identify ambiguous or confusing moments and clarify.
- consider changes in style and tone to appeal to audience
- combine short, choppy sentences
- use some sentence constructions that signal conceptual
relationships. Ex: "just as . . .so . . " shows a comparison;
"whereas this . . ., that . . ." shows contrast.
- vary sentence lengths and rhythms
- READ YOUR WRITING OUT LOUD!
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