The Writing Process
Writing is not a single act of inspiration. It is a sequence of decisions, and each stage has its own kind of attention.
The five stages
| Stage | Questions | What to produce |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | What is my purpose, audience and main idea? | A skeleton, map or bullet list. |
| Draft | Can I get the whole idea down? | A complete rough version. |
| Revise | Does the structure serve the idea? What should move, grow or go? | A reordered or rewritten draft. |
| Edit | Are sentences clear and varied? Is the vocabulary precise? | A sentence-level pass. |
| Proofread | Are spelling, punctuation and formatting correct? | A clean final copy. |
Planning that helps
- Purpose: what should the reader know, feel or do?
- Audience: what do they already know? What will they resist?
- Main idea: one sentence that captures the whole piece.
- Structure: the order of ideas, not just a list of points.
- Evidence: the examples, details or quotations that will carry the idea.
Drafting without stalling
Tell students to draft with the internal editor switched off. Keep the plan nearby, write the easiest section first, and leave a marker where a fact or quotation is missing. The goal is a complete draft, not a perfect paragraph. Perfectionism at the drafting stage usually produces a short, cautious piece.
Revising for structure
Print the draft or change the font. Read only the first sentence of each paragraph: do they form a logical sequence? Cut any paragraph that repeats the same job. Move the strongest evidence earlier if the opening is slow. Revision is often subtraction.
Editing for sentences
Read aloud. Mark any sentence that runs out of breath, repeats a word unintentionally or buries the main idea. Check that pronouns have clear referents. Vary sentence openings. Replace vague verbs and adjectives with precise ones.
Proofreading checklist
- Full stops, capital letters and commas.
- Spelling of names, key terms and homophones.
- Consistent tense and point of view.
- Paragraph breaks at changes of idea.
- Formatting: headings, quotations, captions, references.
Revise before you edit. Polishing sentences in a draft that needs restructuring is wasted effort. Fix the shape first, then the surface.