The writing process

The writing process

1. Overview - Scholarty writing , - Critical thinking and writing

   • Pre-writing
     • Drafting
       • Revising
         • Polishing
           • The final stage in the writing process—Polishing—consists of editing and proofreading. For this stage, your goal is not to make major revisions but simply to smooth off the edges of your work for its final presentation—much like a sculptor applying finishing touches to artwork before casting.
             • Editing
               • Diction has to do with the level of clearness and conciseness reflected in an author's choice, usage and arrangement of words
               • Style represents a writer's distinctive and unique form of expression.
               • Flow means that your words and sentences evolve and proceed smoothly, logically, consistently and continuously over time,
             • Proofreading
               • The final phase of the writing process, proofreading means to make the final check and fix mechanical or technical flaws, such as spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes.
                 • Spelling mistakes are often hard to catch Spell check features are quick and convenient, but writers should review the spell check suggestions before accepting them.
                 • Grammar pertains to the rules of syntax and inflection that define a language. Grammar is a description of language use, which is always in flux because people use language to communicate.
                 • Punctuation includes symbols or characters, such as commas and question marks, used to break up sentences and their parts to provide clear meaning. Punctuation tells a reader how to read a sentence— when to start, stop, or just slow down; when to whisper or yell; when to emphasize or subordinate— the way the writer wants it read
         • revision means looking again at your entire work. Of course, you want an error-free paper, but revision means much more than proofreading.
           • Revision means looking at a paper like an outside critic and finding opportunities for cutting, adding to, reordering, or rewording a draft. It requires writers to reconsider the big picture of their drafts.
           • Revision means rethinking everything and staying open to making significant changes, if necessary.
           • As you revise, you should consider your audience, the structure of your presentation, content, logic, coherence, voice, style, tone, and the security of your files.
       • The key in this stage of the writing process is to avoid editing and proofreading until you have your ideas down. Stopping and starting and making small changes as you go will interrupt your thinking. Understanding the distinction between drafting and revising will also save time.
         • Main Ideas
           • A main idea is a statement, complete sentence or short paragraph, that sets the stage for the rest of the paper
         • Introductions
           • In an introduction you must gain your reader's attention, identify the subject of your essay, and present the basic substance of your argument for the essay.
         • Paragraphs
           • Each paragraph as a mini-main idea or topic sentence
         • Conclusions
           • It's like a review that all the writing process
             • Present a solution to a problem
             • Describe consequences or Call for a particular action.
             • Relate the main idea of the paper to other important subjects
     • • Purpose
       • The reason for the assignment
     • Preparation
       • Actions you should take before you begin.
     • Components.
       • The required elements of the assignment
     • Pitfalls.
       • Common mistakes that others have made while completing the same or similar writing projects.
     • • Evaluation
       • The criteria that your instructor or committee members will use to determine if you have met their expectations
   • Scholarly writing is a result of critical reading and critical thinking, and scholarly writing generates critical readers and critical thinkers.
     • Critical thinkers ask questions, examine assumptions, and don't accept ideas at face value.
     • Critical readers are working readers. They evaluate sources, ask probing questions, and approach reading with a strategy
     • Scholarly writing is the product of thought and analysis, and the act of writing can often uncover unanticipated insights and analysis that make a writer's work unique and valuable. This section compares and contrasts scholarly writing at the undergraduate and graduate levels, emphasizing the challenges and opportunities that graduate-level writing presents.
   • Critical thinking is defined it as intellectual processes and strategies used to find meaning, solve problems, make decisions, and learn new concepts. Critical thinking forces writers to take risks.
     • The Place of Creativity
       • Critical thinking and writing are acts of creation. The Truly critical writing communicates fresh, original insights or provides new perspectives. Critical thinking and writing require imagination.
     • The Social Aspects of Critical Thinking and Writing
       • requires social as well as intellectual interaction with those readers. Writers must often convince skeptical readers in a persuasive written conversation. Readers, influenced by their education, the beliefs of their peers, or tradition, aren't always open to new approaches to old problems. A recent public radio reporter interviewed scientists who couldn't find funding for their projects because the hypotheses they wanted to test contradicted common wisdom about the causes of certain diseases and the use of existing drugs in novel applications.
     • The Connections
       • Critical thinking comes into play in three phrases of writing: prewriting, drafting, and revising. In fact, the act of writing is one way to discover what we are thinking and argue with ourselves before we commit to a main idea and support for a paper.
         • Some strategies to insure that your thinking and writing are sufficiently critical
           • • After you have written a sentence that captures your main idea and prepared a tentative outline, spend some time freewriting arguments against the case you intend to make. You might need to rethink your argument. • Pretend you are a hostile reader and ask every uncomfortable question you can think of about the argument you have outlined. • Circle and draw lines between statements or assumptions you make and the evidence you use to back them up.
           • If your paper focuses on a solution to a problem, use this line of critical thinking:
             • o Identify the problem. Give it a name.
             • Define the problem. Describe the hard evidence that a problem exists and how it affects other people or things.
             • Select and defend the solution(s) you think best.

2. The nature of the writing process helps writers produce stronger, more focused work because it highlights connections and allows for movement between research and the phases of writing. because the Writing does't have to be a one way path.

   • first you select a topic and complete enough research to commit yourself.
     • Is important for the writing process consider some steps:
       • Prewriting
         • Analyzing your audience, determining your purpose in writing, limiting the scope of what you will cover, and generating potential content.
       • Drafting
         • Making a case and structuring your evidence for that case.
       • Polishing
         • Editing and proofreading to eliminate errors and improve the coherence and readability of your presentation.
       • Revising
         • Putting yourself in the place of the reader, rethinking your approach, and making changes that will improve your case.