Mastering the Writing Process: Steps, Paragraphs, and Peer Editing
The Six Steps of the Writing Process
Pre-writing
Before you begin writing, decide what you are going to write about. This plan is called pre-writing.
Step One: Choose a Topic
Before you write, your teacher gives you a specific assignment or some ideas.
Step Two: Gather Ideas
When you have a topic, think about what you will write about.
Step Three: Organize
Decide which of the ideas you want to use and where you want to use them.
Drafting
Step Four: Write
Write your paragraph or essay from start to finish. Use your notes, ideas, and organization.
Rewriting and Revising
Step Five: Review Structure and Content
Check what you have written. Read your writing silently to yourself or aloud, perhaps to a friend. Look for places where you can add more information, and check to see if you have any unnecessary information.
Rewriting
Step Six: Revise Content
Use your ideas from step five to rewrite your text, making improvements to the structure and content. Add more details clearly.
Proofread. Check your spelling, grammar, and the words you have chosen to use.
Make final corrections. Check that you have corrected the errors you discovered in steps five and six and make any other changes you want to make.
Paragraph Organization
The topic sentence: This is the main idea of the paragraph. It is usually the first sentence and the most general sentence of the paragraph.
- Usually comes first in a paragraph.
- Gives the writer’s main idea or opinion about the topic and helps the reader understand what the paragraph is going to talk about.
The supporting sentences: These are sentences that talk about or explain the topic sentence. They are more detailed ideas that follow the topic sentences.
The concluding sentences: This may be found as the last sentence of a paragraph. It can finish a paragraph by repeating the main idea or just giving a final comment about the topic. Rephrase and repeat the main idea.
A sentence that restates the main idea should give the same information in a slightly different way, using different words and a different order. It doesn’t introduce a new point.
The Development of a Paragraph
After you have chosen a topic and written a topic sentence, you develop the main idea:
Details: are specific points that tell more about a general statement.
Explanation: tells the reader what something means or how something works.
Example: is a specific person, thing, or event that supports an idea or statement.
Peer Editing
Showing your work to another student is a very useful way to improve your writing. You comment on your partner’s writing, and your partner comments on yours. Write comments on a sheet of peer feedback, or write directly in your partner’s work. You should add more details or explanation if something is not organized clearly, if you have some unnecessary information, or if there is something that is hard to understand.
The first reason is to get a reader’s opinion about your writing. The second reason to share writing with others is for you to read more examples of writing.
How do I Peer Edit?
Read your partner’s work several times. The first time, read from the beginning to the end. Ask yourself, what is it about? What is the writer’s purpose?
The second reading, go more slowly and look at specific parts of the writing and make notes (enough information, unnecessary information, or understanding something).
Circle or underline words, phrases, and sentences that you wish to comment on.
Don’t look for grammar or spelling mistakes. Pay attention just to the content and organization of the work.
The Structure of a Paragraph
A paragraph is a group of sentences about a single topic. Together, the sentences of the paragraph explain the writer’s main idea about the topic. A paragraph is often between 5 and 10 sentences long, depending on the topic. The first sentence of a paragraph is usually indented a few spaces.
Pre-Writing: Getting Ready to Write
Ways of Gathering Ideas
Brainstorming is a way of gathering ideas about a topic. When you brainstorm, write down every idea that comes to you so you can gather as many ideas as you can.
Three types of brainstorming: making a list, freewriting, and mapping.
Making a List
Write single words, phrases, or sentences that are connected to your topic.
Freewriting
Write whatever comes into your head about a topic, without stopping. It helps to practice fluency. When you freewrite, you do not need to worry about accuracy; you just keep writing.
Mapping
To make a map, use a whole sheet of paper and write your topic in the middle, with a circle around it. Then put the next ideas in a circle above or below your topic, and connect the circles with lines.
Remember, there is no best method of brainstorming. Some writers like freewriting because they can write quickly and ideas come easily.