The Steps in the Writing Process

Ask for a volunteer to define process (the steps or actions it takes to do something). Have students identify examples of different processes. Then read and discuss page 3. Ask for volunteers to share their experiences with the writing process.

English Language Learners may not be familiar with writing as a process. Their experience may be that all writing is painstakingly produced in a single draft. So early in the school year, be sure to model the process in collaborative writing activities with the students.

Note: All the writing guidelines in All Write follow the writing process.

The Writing Process in Action (Continued)

Page 5 covers the specific tasks associated with drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Pay special attention to the revising step. Point out that revising will help students turn a first draft into a clearer, more complete, and more interesting piece of writing.  Also tell them that all writers—even the top pros—revise their writing many times before they are satisfied with its content.

Consider sharing this quote from popular young adult writer Walter Dean Myers, “I rush through a first draft, and then I go back and rewrite, because I can usually see what the problems are going to be ahead of me.”

Questions and Answers About Writing (Continued)

Question 3 on page 7 discusses writing with a focus in mind. (Focus here is defined as “a center or point of interest about a  topic.”) Point out to students that just as an unfocused image is hard to follow, so too is an unfocused piece of writing.

Questions 4 and 5 give good advice about writing and revising a first draft.  Note that a first draft should be written freely, almost as if the students were conversing with a classmate, but that revising is a more careful process, often taking more time than drafting.