Writing Process
I. Prewriting
II. Drafting
III.Revising
IV.Editing
V. Sharing/Publishing
I. Prewriting:
A. Choose Topic & Narrow it down:
A good way to narrow down a topic is to ask:
when, what, who, why, where, and how
• Example 1:
• General/Broad: Education
• Less General/Restricted: Online Educational Resources
• Limited/Narrowed: OER in ENL 213 class
• Writing question: How can OER provide an
alternate/enhanced educational paradigm?
B. Generate Material:
1. Brainstorming
List ideas facts and examples
Brainstorming can also be a group
activity.
Doesn’t have to be done formally.
Ideas can be bounced around with
friends and family anytime.
2. Freewriting
Freewriting means writing down in
rough sentences everything that
comes to mind.
Write non stop for at least 10
minutes
No reading, editing or paying
attention to grammar or spelling
3. Mapping, Clustering or
Diagramming
Mapping proceeds rapidly and encourages the
free flow of ideas.
Begin by writing your limited subject in a circle
or box in the middle of a blank sheet
Put ideas along lines or in boxes/circles around
the limited subject
Draw arrows and lines to show the relationship
between your ideas
4. Outlining
Choosing from the brainstorming/
freewriting or mapping the ideas
that you want and organize them in
an outline
5. Questioning
Asking questions and try to find the
answers
6. Researching
Internet
Library
C. Identify Purpose
• Your purpose
▫ Inform/explain
▫ Convince/persuade
▫ Entertain
▫ Describe
In practice writing often combines purposes: you will
have to explain something to your readers before
trying to convince them.
Language related to your purpose: funny and
humoristic language to entertain, and serious
language to convince.
D. Identify Audience
• Your audience
▫ who are your readers?
▫ What expectations do they have?
Some questions to ask yourself:
- What are my readers’ age, sex and educational
levels, how do these factors affect what I need to
tell and don’t tell to my readers?
- What are my readers’ political, religious and other
beliefs?
- What interests and needs motivate my audience?
- How much do my readers already know about my
subject?
E. Identify Tone
• The tone
▫ Emotional states
- Angry - Serious
- Supportive - Funny
- Enthusiastic - Sympathetic
- Neutral - Indignant
- Gloomy etc.
▫ Word choice:
Denotations* – neutral dictionary meanings
Connotations* – emotional associations to words
beyond the literal meaning. (usually for poems)
F. Define Pattern of Development OR Form
of Writing
• Patterns of Development are used to generate raw material
and to generate evidence
• The different patterns of development:
- Description
- Narration
- Argumentation-persuasion (where you have to investigate a
topic, collect, generate, and evaluate evidence; and establish a position
on the topic in a concise manner)
- Exposition: - Illustration/Examples
- Division-classification
- Process analysis
- Comparison-contrast
- Cause-effect
- Definition
- Adv./Disadv.
II. Drafting:
-Write roughly with no mechanics
Checking
III. Revising:
- Change / add / delete / rearrange
material using: - Teacher’s feedback
- Peer feedback
- Conference types
IV. Editing:
- Proofreading for themselves
- Editing checklist using
proofreading marks
V. Sharing:
- Publish in an appropriate form
- Publish to the right audience
using: hard covers, note cards,
cardboards, etc.
In addition to WRITING, ENL 213 focuses on Rhetoric
Why Rhetoric?
• The term rhetoric is derived from the Greek “rhetorikos”
related to “rhema” or “ero” which means “said/spoken”.
• Rhetoric is a technique of using language effectively and
persuasively in spoken or written form.
• Rhetoric is an art of discourse, an art that aims to improve
the capability of writers or speakers to inform, most likely to
persuade, influence or even motivate, please particular
audiences in specific situations.
• It is used in general conversation as well as in debate.
Claim Arguments Evidences
• A claim tells what you think
• A reason or argument tells why you think that
• An evidence tells how you know that to be true
• A claim is proven by clear reasons that are supported
by relevant evidence.
• Claims should be Objective based on factual
evidences, such as things that can be verified through
statistics, expert opinion, experiences, without
opinions or feelings attached.
• For more info about “Rhetoric” refer to:
BB, week 2, Theoretical Background 1: What is Rhetoric?
