PROCESS OF WRITING

The writing process refers to the steps someone takes to compose text. It is said, every
individual writer follows his or her own writing process and it usually comes naturally to
them. But there are basic writing process steps that are universally referred to and
followed. Understanding them will help you develop your very own writing process more
easily. Following a proper writing process is actually important for a few good reasons.

 It will help you write better and faster.

 By breaking down the task into manageable steps, you can do away with the
struggling and procrastinating.
 Since you will be following individual steps, you can focus on each better, which
in turn will be reflected in the quality of the final copy.
 Practice makes perfect. The more you follow the process, the more it will improve
your writing skills.
 At the end of it, you’ll have something that is well-written, free of grammar or
spelling errors, properly formatted and of great quality.

The Process of Writing involves following four steps/components.

1. Prewriting.
2. Drafting.
3. Revising.
4. Editing/Proofreading.

Step 1: PREWRITING:
Many tend to overlook this step completely. They jump right into writing without taking
the time to plan and organize their thoughts. And they end up with a low-quality piece of
writing that took a lot more time than they hoped. Taking time to complete this step is
important because it helps with gathering and preparing everything you need for the
subsequent writing steps about the topic that is either selected or assigned for written
composition.

i. Find Out Main Ideas/Supporting Ideas/Sub Ideas:

 Main ideas/Supporting ideas/Sub ideas should be found at the very outset.
  Gather additional information to support your ideas.
 Prepare first list of ideas, may be disorganized.
 In 2nd or 3rd attempt you can organize and select workable ideas.
 Always offer a unified and coherent theme.
 Do not rush through this stage and also don’t presume your initial list of
ideas to be the final one as it is not finalized till last.
ii. Research The Topic:
It is obvious that one cannot immediately have all the required information and
knowledge relating to main theme/central ideas to be presented in the written
composition. So collect the required information and facts. Use the below
mentioned steps to guide you through:
 Brainstorm for ideas.
 Read general background information.
 Visit related websites to get some know-how of the topic and related
ideas.
 Focus on the core ideas relating to your topic.
 Consult experts, professionals, and highly educated people of the
subject area.
 Make a list of useful words.
 Be flexible in your research work by dropping down some important
ideas and selecting some more important ones, you come across during
your research.
 Formulate a thesis statement. This may be the answer to research
questions and a way to clearly state the purpose of your research.
 Take help from your teachers, seniors, libraries, journals and internet.
 After doing all the above mentioned things, initially make a
comprehensive list of main ideas/supporting ideas and sub ideas.
 After making the list, start collecting material for reading and
comprehension.
 Read the collected material with great focus and attention.
iii. Organize The Data And Write The Initial Outline of the Draft:
 Make initial outline of your draft.
 Remember a good written composition has three main parts

A) Introduction B) Main Text C) Conclusion

 In this stage, spend time in brainstorming and conducting research to understand
your topic better and gather relevant information. Rely on authoritative sources from
experts in the subject area and list them down so you can refer to them while writing your
piece later to increase its credibility. It’s also a best practice to identify your target
audience. Understanding your target reader and what they want will help you narrow
down your focus.

Following are some strategies which can be used at this stage.

Clustering is also known as mind mapping and diagramming etc., use brainstorming
method. This method uses visualization to capture your thoughts. Place your topic in the
center and write down related ideas, terms or words that come into your mind around it
connected by lines. You can delve further into these subtopics by breaking them down as
well. Outlining helps with neatly organizing what you have already found out through
research and brainstorming. It’ll help fish out the important points that will help you tell
your story, from the jumble of ideas you have gathered. And it actually makes drafting a
much easier task.

Step 2: DRAFTING:
After completing the research work comprehensively and making the outline, the
writer finds himself confident enough to try his hand and compose an appreciable piece
of writing. Drafting allows him to put his ideas on paper so that he can rethink and
rewrite them. By doing this he is be able to ask himself whether the ideas he is presenting
are logical, whether his arguments are concrete and his thoughts/ideas are clear and how
much information and evidence is required more.

Free writing technique should be used while writing initial draft. It is writing freely
without regarding quality or correctness (grammar, spellings, punctuation). The purpose
is to get what’s in your head on to paper or screen without stopping. You can consider
this as a warm up exercise. Following ‘the Principle of Completeness’ always help a
writer in translating his ideas completely on paper using language.

Importance/Benefits of Writing Drafts:

1. Drafts Help Organizing Ideas into Language.

Ideas look much better translated into words on paper rather than a thought
in mind. Drafting enables a writer to have a clearer idea of how he wants
his final written composition to be. It reveals to him that he wants this
 paragraph ‘this way’ rather than ‘that way’. He can create ‘a this’ only
when he has ‘a that’.
Ideas held in mind hold no value for a writer. It is drafting that gives shape
to those ideas in the form of words. Drafting helps a writer get started with
a written composition.
2. Drafting Makes Editing Possible:
Successful writers admit that their first drafts looked nothing like their final
composition. William Zinsser’s, writer of ‘On Writing Well’, says, “Good
writing does not come naturally ….. A clear sentence is no accident. Very
few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time.”
Only when first drafts are written that they can be edited later on.
3. Drafts Help Overcoming Sloppy Writing:
The written drafts are refined by reading again and again to find out
anything sloppy in them. Drafting helps/enables a writer to come to know
about his sloppy writing.
4. Drafts help Stay in Form as a Writer:
Writing requires practice. In case a writer does not write drafts for a long
period of time, he may finds himself out of practice of writing. This
situation can lead to a state of writing impasse. Framing words and
sentences to translate the idea lying in mind is not the requirement, framing
‘appropriate words and sentence’ is required to be done and it is result of
continuous practice. Continuous practice of writing drafts keeps writing
muscles oiled.
5. Old Drafts help Tracking Progress as a Writer:
Good writers learn lessons by going through their old drafts. It helps them
improvising their writing skills. Drafts are a writers first impressions on
paper. A piece of writing is raw and gritty when it comes out as a draft.
They serve as milestones in the long journey of achieving writing
excellence. The difference between first draft and final composition gives a
writer rich insight on his progress as a writer over a period of time.

Step 3: REVISION:

William Zinsser says, “Rewriting is the essence of writing well – where the
game is lost or won.’

A draft can be revised as many times as a writer wants. However, it’s better
to wait for a considerable period of time to revise the draft again and again after
the first attempt. Revision of a draft provides an opportunity to step back and re-
envision it. In revision it is ensured that ideas are clearly expressed. A writer should
particularly follow the ‘Principle of Clarity’ during revision. During revision a writer
reflects on what he has written. He critically reads his own initial composition. He
ensures that his composition matches his writing goals. Revision allows him focus on
each idea in depth. Revision helps him pinpointing which part of composition needs
improvement. At this stage of the ‘Process of Writing’ a writer must adhere to ‘The
Principle of Conciseness’.

Good writing comes from strong revision. Revision literally means ‘to see again’
to look at written composition again with a fresh, critical perspective. Critical perspective
means to make sure that written composition is worth reading, everything a writer wanted
to write is written in it, and the reader will be able to understand it the way writer wants
him to understand.

Revision is an ongoing process of:

 Rethinking about the produced material.

 Reconsidering the arguments.
 Reviewing the evidence.
 Making effort to stick to the purpose.
 Looking for better and more appropriate words.
 Paying attention to construction of good sentences.
 Recreating affective paragraphs.
 Avoiding repetitions.
 Reorganizing the written presentation.
 Reading out the composition bit loudly to observe what does not sound good.

Steps To Be Considered in the Final Stage of Revision:

 Check whether the written composition is in balance.

 Check that as a writer you have kept your promises to your readers.
 Check the organization of data.
 Check the authenticity of the information.
 Check the conclusion.
Step 4: EDITING AND PROOFREADING:
Editing requires you to reread your revised draft to check for more significant
issues involving organization, structure and content. However, proofreading focuses on to
fix grammar mistakes, spellings or punctuation errors, repetitions, errors in language and
writing style. It ensures that the written composition is free of grammar related errors.
Editing is incredibly vital step in the process of writing and a prerequisite in producing an
excellent piece of writing. It enhances the overall quality of written content. If it is not
done properly, it can have a sever negative impact on your work and reputation. That is
why you should wait to edit until you are done with revising your piece of writing; for
there’s no point in editing something you will later delete or rewrite.

At this final stage a writer should focus on organization, clarity, tables, clear titles,
defined body of data, footnotes, references and figures along with grammar related
issues.

You can make this another chance to ensure that your writing delivers what your
topic promises. It’s better to get someone else to read your piece in this step as well, for
he may find errors that you might have overlooked.

Good writing means presenting your material in a logical order and sticking to
your theme. Hit the right tone. How you write something is just as important as what you
have written. The end product is a piece of writing that says what a writer wants to say.
An excellent of piece of writing is interpreted and understood by the readers in the same
manner and context in which a skillful writer writes.

****************************