Writing Process How to write an essay After this lesson you should be able to: ★ Define the word “recursive” ★ Identify and define the steps of the writing process ★ Label the Writing Funnel What is the Writing Process? The Writing Process The writing process is a term used to describe the steps and processes you use when writing. There are five standard steps in the writing process: Prewriting Drafting/Writing Revising Editing Publishing While the writing process is shown in steps, it is known as a recursive process. This means “circling back”. While you go through each step in writing, you will often find yourself returning to previous steps while you write. Prewriting Prewriting Pre is a prefix that means before. The first step in the writing process comes before you begin writing. The first step in prewriting is deciding your topic. Sometimes you will have your topic decided for you. Next step is brainstorming. Brainstorming is all about gathering your ideas. When you are brainstorming there is no bad idea. After your brainstorm, you need to select your strongest ideas and turn them into your thesis statement. A thesis statement is a single sentence that tells your reader what your paper is about. Once you know your thesis statement, you can now begin outlining your paper. The more detailed your outline is, the easier your first draft will be to write. Brainstorm Examples Outline Examples Drafting Drafting A draft is an initial piece of writing, meaning it is not final yet. Your next step in the writing process is writing your rough draft. Your goals for your rough draft are: ★Writing your essay in order ★Supporting your topic with examples ★Following the order of your outline You can handwrite your rough draft, but many people find it easier to type your rough draft into Google Docs or another word processing software. We call it a rough draft for a reason. It is supposed to be messy. We are not as concerned with spelling and grammar; strong verbs, adjectives, and adverbs; and perfection. All of these will come during the revision process. Revising And Editing Revising Editing A.R.M.S. The purpose of revising is to make your writing stronger. C.U.P.S. The purpose of editing is to make your writing tighter. You want to remove unnecessary details, use a thesaurus to make your words vivid and impactful, and add any information that may be missing. You want to check your spelling and grammar. Revising is debatably the most important step in the writing process. It should never be skipped. This is when you want to have someone else look at your writing. It is better to have another person help you find mistakes you may miss! Publishing Publishing Publishing is the final step in the writing process. This means you are prepared to share your work with others. Your writing is complete, meaning it is: ★Correctly formatted ★Spelling and grammar are correct ★Your ideas are well supported ★You have used proper transitions ★You have a clear introduction and conclusion ★Your body paragraphs are on topic Sometimes publishing means turning in your writing. It can also be presenting your writing to your audience, or submitting to a blog, website, or other publishing service. The Essay Format The Essay Essays are short pieces of writing on a topic. For our purposes, essays will consist of 5 paragraphs; however many essays have more, while some have less. Each paragraph is about 5-7 sentences long In our essays, it is very important to stay on topic and support our opinions with relevant and meaningful examples. This is why following the writing process is so important. Our essays have 5 distinct paragraphs: ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ Introduction Body Paragraph 1 Body Paragraph 2 Body Paragraph 3 Conclusion The Introduction Introductions are what your audience reads first in your essay. They introduce your reader to your topic, opinion, and you big ideas. Introductions consist of 3 parts: ➔ Hook-The attention getter, a broad introduction to your topic. ➔ Bridge- Connects your hook to your thesis, provides background information for your topic. ➔ Thesis- Tells your reader what your essay is all about. It contains your topic, claim (opinion), and your three big reasons why you believe what you do. Your three reasons will become the introductory sentences for your body paragraphs. Thesis statement definition: The entire essay in a sentence. Thesis Example Prompt: Some schools require students to wear uniforms. Do you agree or disagree with with this? Use specific examples to convince others to support your position. Topic Opinion School uniforms should be required for students because it is easier to get ready in the morning, not everyone can afford popular clothes, and dress codes wouldn’t be so strict. Three Reasons Body Paragraphs Body paragraphs are the meat of your essay. They are where you craft your argument, supporting it with a series of examples. Each body paragraph is like a mini essay within an essay because it follows a similar formula: Topic Sentence: Introduces the idea of that paragraph. (Baby Thesis & comes directly from the thesis) Supporting Details: Examples, reasons, and explanations of the paragraph’s idea. Closing Sentence: Wrap up your idea and get ready to move on. Conclusion Conclusions are where you wrap up your essay. In your conclusion, you: 1. Restate your thesis (not copy/paste) in a different order from your introduction 2. Summarize your argument. You can also use this space to talk about a counterargument and disprove it 3. Close with a strong final thought. You want your reader to remember you.This is your mic drop! The Essay Funnel Questions?
