A Brief Explanation of the Writing Process
The writing process is a term that has as many definitions or explanations as there are teachers teaching writing across the country. Briefly, it refers to the steps writers take from the moment they begin to generate ideas for a piece of writing to the actual drafting of the piece itself, and finally, to the revision and editing of the finished product. Various authors have said there are as few as three and as many as five steps in the writing process. Based on my own experience, the steps I typically take are
- Brainstorming--any method I use that helps me generate ideas for the drafting of my piece of writing.
- Drafting--the physical act of writing (or typing) the piece.
- Revision--the mental process of "re-seeing" the work. That is, looking at the writing and attempting to make content and organizational changes to it. Essentially, these changes refer to the macrostructure or the organization of ideas (structure) and the way these ideas are expressed (style).
- Editing--once the revision process is complete, I go back to the text and make any spelling, grammar, or punctuation changes. These refer to the microstructure of the text.
- Sharing--Two usually share the piece with friends, peers or publish it.