WEEK 2: EXERCISE
Going through the writing
process
Fundamental English Writing Skills
Dr. Hsin-Hsin Cindy Lee
Going through the writing process
Writing has everything to do with ‘thinking’.
 The writing process is not only a process of
writing but also an inner journey of discovering,
reviewing and refining your own thoughts.
 Never hand in your ‘rough’ draft! Always check
and improve your first draft again and again
before you submit it. This is the writing process,
your efforts and commitment to your work.
 The writing process will help you ensure the
quality of your work and your reputation as a
writer.
 Now, let’s practice the prewriting strategies and
the principles for revising and editing your work.
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The First Try
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Suppose now you are given a topic to write a
short article. The topic is “Your Favorite Sport
Player”. You are going to decide a specific title,
subject and treatment of this subject by yourself.
What do you know about sports and who is your
favorite sport player? Do you know any
professional athlete yourself? For example, do you
like Wang, Cheng-Ming or know him in person?
Now, let’s try to go through the writing process
and practice the prewriting strategies.
Prewriting Strategies
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Free writing
You write down whatever you think about the topic.
 Try non-stopping writing and make it one page (about 400
words).
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Brainstorming
You make a list to answer the big-six questions.
 If I want to write about Magic Johnson, I do it in this way:
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Who? Magic Johnson
What? Great basketball player
Where? NBA
When? For man than ten years
Why? Love of game and great talent
How? Shooting, passing, rebounding, leading, coolness, inspiring…
Who do you want to write about? Make a similar list.
Clustering
Short shots
shoots
shooting
slams
accurate
passing
Magic
Johnson
long
short
No-look
leading
smile
personality
joy
optimistic
accomplishments
Researching
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Interview
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Prepare your questions
Ask people’s opinions
Ask yourself if you agree with them
Develop your own opinions
Study books or relevant materials
Check the sport player’s official website
 Search references at the library or bookstores
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http://www.ncl.edu.tw/
http://www.kingstone.com.tw/
http://www.books.com.tw/
Read and evaluate your references
What interests you?
What do you think?
Writing the topic sentence
Before you write, you decide the main idea of your
paragraph (not after!). The topic sentence which
normally appears as the first line of your paragraph.
 Your topic sentence should include subject and
treatment. It should be an ‘opinion’, not a fact,
example or detail, etc.
 The topic sentence should avoid being too broad or
too narrow.
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Too broad: “Magic Johnson was everything to everyone.”
“Magic Johnson was successful.” (This sounds an
opening line. You will need to write a ‘book’ for such a
topic sentence.)
 Too narrow: “Magic Johnson went to Michigan State
University.” (You won’t have much to say after this
factual statement.)
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Practice: Among the three statements, which
one can be an effective topic sentence?
_____ Columbus is located in Ohio.
 _____ Columbus is a fabulous city.
 _____ Columbus has dealt thoroughly with its
housing problems.
----- _____ A monkey is a primate.
 _____ Monkeys are fun.
 _____ In clinical studies, monkeys have
demonstrated a remarkable ability to
reason.
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Answer
__X_ Columbus is located in Ohio. (too broad)
 __O_ Columbus is a fabulous city.
(an opinion, you can agree or disagree with it)
 __X_ Columbus has dealt thoroughly with its
housing problems. (too narrow)
----- _O_ A monkey is a primate.
(an opinion, you can agree or disagree with it)
 _X__ Monkeys are fun. (too broad)
 _X__ In clinical studies, monkeys have
demonstrated a remarkable ability to
reason. (too narrow)
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Writing the outline – Example
Topic:
My Favorite Sport
Player
Title:
The Great NBA
Star – Magic
Johnson
Topic sentence:
Magic Johnson was
a great NBA star
because he was
excellent in
shooting, passing
and leading.
Outline:
I. Shooting (major support 1)
A. Shorts Shots (minor
support)
1. Shovel (detail)
2. Slam-dunk (detail)
B. Long shots
C. Free throws
II. Passing (major support 2)
A. No-look (minor support)
B. Precise (minor support)
III. Leading (major support 3)
A. Energy (minor support)
B. Spirit (minor support)
1. Faith (detail)
2. Smile (detail)
Practice – Completing the following
outlines
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Fill in the missing outline
parts.
The elements of the
‘treatment’ should be relevant
and logical.
Consider whether you are
dealing with time, examples,
causes, effects, parts or steps.
Don’t overlap or mix them up!
When you have time, please
develop the details or
examples under the minor
supports.
Please try! After you complete
your outlines, you are
welcome to send them back
for correction!
1. Too many of us are preoccupied with
material things.
I.
Clothing
II.
Cars
III. _______
2. Learning English can be easy and fun.
I. Watch English movies
II. Listen to English songs
III. ____________
3. Smoking should be discouraged.
I. Harm to smokers
II. _________________
III. Cost
4. Shoppers in department stores can be
grouped according to needs.
I. ______________
II. Special-needs shoppers
III. Bargain hunters
Revising & Editing:
Do you remember the principles?
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Rules for revising :
CLUESS
C: _______
L: _______
U: _______
E: _______
S: _______
S: _______
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Rules for Editing:
Check COPS
problems
C: _____
 O: _____
 P: _____
 S: _____
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Answer
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Revising:
Coherence
Language
Unity
Emphasis
Support
Sentences
Editing:
Check the following
problems:
 Capitalization
 Omissions
 Punctuation
 Spelling
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Reference: At a Glance by Lee Brandon