The Writing Process and Prewriting Techniques

"Show up, show up, show up, and after a while, the muse shows up, too." - Isabelle Allende

The Writing Process - Read Chapters 2-3: pages 6-14

Of all the suggestions that I will give you this semester, perhaps the most important is this: Think of essay writing as a process.
Your writing can always improve, but only if you give it a chance to improve.

Many students try to write their essays in a single sitting, waiting for inspiration or simply for the pressure of the deadline. This is a mistake. It's true that there will be easier writing days than others, but it's also true that waiting until the last minute robs you of the chance to improve your work.

Here are some other basic tips for good writing:

  • Find a quiet and comfortable place to work.
  • Start early! Write over a period of several days, not just one.
  • Pick an essay prompt that brings out strong ideas, not just strong emotions. Ask yourself: Can I write 500-700 words on this topic?
  • Be patient with yourself. Improvement takes time.
  • Develop a strong working thesis and outline before drafting your paragraphs.
  • Try drafting out of order. If you have trouble with one section, move to another section for a while. Don't let yourself work on the introduction for an hour and then only spend fifteen minutes on a body paragraph.
  • Revise and proofread multiple times.
  • Ask for help if you need it.

 

The Five Basic Steps

  1. Prewriting (Invention stage)
  2. Writing the Thesis
  3. Outlining (Sentence Outlines required for this class)
  4. Drafting
  5. Revising and Proofreading

Students often have the misconception that they should go through these steps in exactly this order and only once. In fact, you should go through these steps multiple times and in many different ways. You might start with the prewriting stage and find that your freewriting leads you to drafting part of a body paragraph. You might get to the drafting stage and realize that one of your ideas won't work at all, which means it's back to the prewriting stage. You might even reach the revision stage and decide that you need to reorganize all the body paragraphs that you organized so carefully in your outline. You get the picture. The point is to view these steps as techniques and reminders, not just hoops through which to jump. Often, the best way to figure out if an idea will work is simply to write it down. 

The other misconception students have is that the writing process is the same for everyone, but you really must figure out the best practices for your own individual writing process. Do you need to spend most of your time in the prewriting stage to generate plenty of ideas? Do you need to listen to music or have absolute quiet? Do you need to focus on correcting grammar errors or organization? Pay attention to your writing habits and to my comments. If you find that you always dread writing, then try to change one of your habits. If I point out that you have a specific weakness, then look for a way to improve in that area. For example, many students have a problem with comma splice errors. You can work on this error by going to the Grammar section and working through exercises on one of the suggested grammar websites.

 

Prewriting Techniques - Read Chapter 6: pages 24-30

Prewriting is the invention stage of writing, and its purpose is to help you do the following:

  • Narrow the possibilities down to a manageable and appropriate essay topic
  • Generate ideas
  • Group ideas that belong together

There are many, many prewriting techniques, and not all of them will work well for you or for a particular topic. Try out several until you find the ones that work for you. Here are some of the most common techniques:

  • Listing - Write down a list of ideas and then review your list for the best ideas.
  • Freewriting, Brainstorming, and Looping. See pages 24-26. For all of these techniques, the basic premise is that you write down everything that comes to mind without censoring yourself or worrying about grammar. Give yourself a set amount of time to write, and don't let yourself stop writing for the entire time, even if you get off track. Then, read back through your notes, find the best ideas, and repeat the process until you have enough ideas for an essay.
  • Questioning. See pages 26-27. Use the reporter's questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.
  • Journal writing. Write a personal reflection on what the topic means to you and why. Try to think of examples related to the topic from your own life or from your friends' lives.
  • Clustering. See pages 27-28. This technique is also known as bubble mapping. Write down the topic in the middle of your page and circle it. Then, draw related ideas in connected bubbles. The textbook's drawing will make this technique much clearer.
  • Grouping ideas by organizing your lists or writing an informal outline. Go back through your notes from listing and freewriting, and focus on what ideas come up several times and what ideas work best together. Try to rewrite your lists by grouping those ideas together.