About the Writing Process

Are you writing as efficiently and effectively as you would like? Are you aware of your own composing process? What's easy for you? What’s hard? Many writers identify “getting started” as one of the hardest steps to take.

Here the Grammar Witch will describe the steps that most writers take as they compose—something we call THE Writing Process. Each of us has our own idiosyncratic way of working that I’ll call YOUR Writing Process. Comparing YOUR process with THE process and deciding if you want to adjust your process, as well as capitalize on what works well for you, can make a difference.

Finding a topic
Not a problem if you are assigned one. Even better, if you get to choose your own you're already invested. However, in order to form the basis for a solid piece of writing, your topic needs to be more than a general subject area of interest to you. You need to distill the topic into a question that you want to answer or a statement that takes a position of some sort -- this thesis statement concisely captures what your paper will do.

Getting started
Any start is a good one. Here's where regular freewriting or journal writing can help you jump in; just start writing and worry later about where this will fit in. Allow yourself to make a mess as you explore your topic. The objective is to get lots of words on paper. Some people like to make a rough outline or a list of things they want to include as a guide before they start writing.

Developing a draft
If you use the "jump in" approach above, keep writing until you've said everything you want to say, and it feels as though you've arrived at the end. Leave your draft for as long as you can to get some distance so you can return to it with a fresh eye. In the next stage you will need to pretend you are a reader encountering your draft for the first time, and you must be prepared for substantial revision.

Revising
Think big picture. This is where you ask yourself if your central idea, question, or thesis has shifted as you developed your draft. If it has, adjust it so it reflects the change in your thinking. Is there information in your original draft that’s no longer relevant? Is there information that you need to add? Is the information arranged in a way that engages readers and helps them follow your thinking? What have you offered as an introduction? Do you need to think more about the ending?

Editing
Look again at the structure of your paper and ask yourself (or a friendly preview reader) if readers can easily follow the development of your ideas. Supply some transitions to mark the way. Ask yourself what each paragraph does in relation to the main idea or question -- its function in the overall design of your paper -- and what it says so you can avoid repeating yourself. Have you "proved" your thesis statement? Sometimes it is helpful at this stage to create a concise outline from your draft. This can help you identify gaps, redundancy, and organizational problems.

Now, think small picture because you need to look carefully at individual sentences. Check for correct use of conventions: your computer’s spell check won't catch homophones (wrong word choices like there/their) so you need to look for those, grammar and usage errors and check punctuation. A personalized checklist reminds you of the kinds of mistakes you’re in the habit of making. Have you followed the required citation style? A handbook here is essential: either the Chicago Blue Book or ALWD, depending on what your professor has specified.

If you’ve managed your time well, you’ll have the time for a final edit of your paper looking for ways to improve sentence style and sentence variety. Practice the principle of economy in your sentences: if you can say it in fewer words, do so. Getting rid of unnecessary words and phrases does wonders for your writing and permits readers to concentrate on what’s important.

Turn in your paper and celebrate.