1.5: Using a Writing Process
Learning Objectives
- Define the writing process
- Apply the writing process to a communication task
What Are the Steps in the Writing Process?
Just as we use design processes to creatively solve complex problems (See 1.2: Determining an Approach), we use writing processes to create complex documents. In both cases, there are steps or stages, but we don’t always proceed directly from one step to next in a chronological manner. The writing process is often iterative, meaning we might return to previous stages in the process from time to time. The more complex the task, the more iteration might be needed.
The steps in this writing process are described here (Curry & Hewings, 2003):
- Prewriting. This stage is for generating ideas, understanding the ideas of others, and collecting information (note taking, free-writing, brainstorming, looping).
- Planning. Here, you are organizing and focusing ideas. This may involve mind mapping, clustering, listing, and creating outlines.
- Drafting. In the drafting stage you are writing initial drafts of a text focusing mainly on the development, organization, and elaboration of ideas.
- Reflection. In the reflection stage, you can let the work sit and come back to it at a later point. You may cycle back between drafting a reflection a number of times before moving on.
- Peer/tutor review. Now you can get feedback from others. This may require you to return to the drafting and reflecting stages.
- Revision. Here you are further developing and clarifying ideas and the structure of the text. This may require you to return to the drafting and reflecting stages. If the work requires additional research or idea generation, return to the planning stage.
- Editing and proofreading. Here the focus is on surface-level features of the text.
You may have come across a “writing process” before, and it may or may not have worked well for you. There is no single process that works for everyone in every writing situation. The key is to recognize the various steps to effective writing and figure out how to use or adapt them most effectively for your situation.
For example, you may have come across the 40-20-40 writing process, which suggests that you should break up the amount of time you spend on the writing task into three distinct stages of planning, drafting and revising, and give each one a specific percentage of the time you have available.
40-20-40 Writing Process
Stage 1—Planning: Spend 40% of your time planning your document (e.g., finding a topic for your short report by scanning through possible sources/articles, pre-writing to capture the main points for your report, and then outlining the report).
Stage 2 —Drafting: Spend 20% of your time writing a rough draft (e.g., quickly getting all your ideas down for the various sections of your short report, in more or less complete sentences and paragraphs, in more or less the right order, without agonizing over style or grammar choices).
Stage 3—Revising: Spend 40% of your time revising, editing, and proofreading (polishing your report draft, making sure the content is complete, formatting the report to meet the expectation of the assignment, checking that sources are integrated correctly and credibly, proofreading to ensure writing is grammatically correct and has the appropriate tone/writing style).
These percentages are a helpful guideline as they emphasize the need to spend significant time for revision, but they don’t always work for all people in all situations. It also does not clearly account for the need to iterate; sometimes while revising your draft (Stage 3), you may have to go back to the planning stage (Stage 1) to do additional research, adjust your focus, or reorganize ideas to create a more logical flow. Writing, like any kind of design work, demands an organic and dynamic process.
As discussed in the first part of this chapter, the writing process, like the design process, must begin with an understanding of the problem you are trying to solve. In an educational context, this means understanding the assignment you’ve been given, the specifications of that assignment, the objectives you are meant to achieve, and the constraints you must work within (due dates, word limits, research requirements, etc.). This is often referred to as “Task Analysis.” In professional contexts, you must also consider who your intended reader(s) will be, why they will be reading this document, and what their needs are, as well as deadlines and documentation requirements.
TRY IT
Exercise 1.5.A: Plan with the Writing Process
Identify an upcoming writing assignment or task you must complete. Plan the writing process for this task and build in milestones. Anticipate how long various sub-tasks and stages might take.
Consider the following:
- What is the purpose of the document? What are the specific requirements? Who will read it and why?
- How much planning is needed? What will this entail? Will you need to do research? Do you need to come up with a topic or focus, or has one been assigned to you?
- How complicated will the document be? Will it have several sections? Graphics? How much revision will be needed to perfect your document? Will you have time for a peer/tutor review?
References & Attributions
References
Curry, M. J. & Hewings, A. (2003). Approaches to teaching writing. In Teaching academic writing: A toolkit for higher education. Routledge.
Attributions
Content on this page is adapted from Technical Writing Essentials by Suzan Last, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
