Module 4: Planning, Writing, Revising Flashcards
Writing process
Planning, drafting, and rewriting
Planning
Analyze the situation: what has the initial audience requested? Specifically what is the task
Think about the information you need. What facts count with your audience and meet your purposes? Where can you find the information
Make notes and create outlines, either manually or with mind-mapping software.
Drafting can include
Purpose statements
Visuals
Lists
Brainstorms, jot-dots, and freewriting (writing anything that comes to mind, without stopping and without evaluating)
Paragraphs and pages
Successful writers tend to
Focus on their purpose and audience
Identify a story, thesis, theme, or central idea related to their purpose and audience
Assume that the first draft will be revised
Break big writing jobs into a series of steps
Read daily
Write daily
Work to acquire a large vocabulary of concrete nouns and action verbs
Discuss their writing with others
Ask for and apply feedback
Use colleagues, friends, and family for revising, editing, and proofing
Use whatever rules work for them
Brainstorm
Write down all your ideas without judging them. Consciously try to get at least a dozen different ideas before you stop.
Freewrite
Write without stopping for five minutes or so, even if you have to write “I will think of something soon.” At the end of five minutes, read what you’ve written and identify the best points.
Cluster
Write your topic in the middle of the page and circle it. Write down the ideas the topic suggests, circling them, too.
Talk to people
Talking to internal and external audiences is invaluable to the writing process. Talking to real audiences helps writers
✓Involve readers in the planning process
✓Understand readers’ concerns
✓Negotiate conflicts orally rather than depending solely on the final message.
Revising three times
✓The first time, look for content and clarity.
✓The second time, check the organization and layout.
✓Finally, check for style and tone, grammar and usage, using the information in the Revising and Editing Resources at the end of this book.
Editing
Making surface-level changes for correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage.
Proofreading
Proof reading
Checking to ensure the document is free from typographical errors.
A form letter or template
a prewritten, fill-in-the-blanks document designed for routine situations. Word offers dozens of templates (under the New menu), as does the Internet.
Boilerplate
language—sentences, paragraphs, even pages—from a previous document that a writer includes in a new document.
How to start writing (Robert Boice)
- Participate actively in the organization and the community.
- Practise writing regularly.
- Learn as many strategies as you can.
- Talk positively to yourself
- Talk about writing with other people
To avoid procrastinating
Modify your behaviour by rewarding yourself for activities that lead to writing.
- Set a regular time to write
- Develop a ritual for writing
- Freewrite
- Write down your thoughts and fears as you write
- Identify the problem that keeps you from writing
- Set modest goals (a paragraph, not the whole essay or report) and reward yourself for reaching them.
