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Rough Draft

After pre-writing comes the rough draft, the second stage of the writing process. This is the point at which
the writer shapes his or her thoughts about the paper’s topic into sentences and paragraphs. At this point,
it isn’t necessary to worry about correct grammar or spelling, or whether the paper is organized
appropriately. The rough draft is the messy copy that gets the writer writing.
Creating a rough draft is a writer-centered activity, meaning that this is when the writer sharpens his or her
thoughts about the content of the paper and finally decides what he or she wants to say in it.

Revising

During the revising, or third stage of writing, the student writer goes back over the rough draft and
basically cleans up what has been written. During this stage, any spelling and/or grammar mistakes are
corrected, ideas are organized so that they are cohesive and coherent, and sentences are refined so that
they are as concise and accurate as possible. It is helpful for a writer to read their work aloud at this point,
as a way of checking to see how the sentences and paragraphs flow.

Revising is a reader-centered activity in that the writer is now thinking about how the paper will be
perceived by the reader. At this point, the writer should be asking him or herself questions like, “Will the
reader need to know X before Y?,” or “Do my supporting points effectively convey the argument I’m trying
to make?” These questions will help the writer to clarify the connections he or she has made between
ideas and concepts.

Peer Revising

After students revise their own writing, have them trade papers with each other so that they might revise
each other’s work. Peer revising is very helpful to both the reader and the writer as they can learn from
each other’s successes and mistakes. During this stage they share their thoughts about what they have
read and make suggestions for improvement.

Editing

The editing stage comes next. This is the point at which the writer does a final spell check, makes certain
that grammar mistakes have been corrected, that any feedback from the peer revising exercise has been
implemented, and that the paper is free of content errors.

Final Draft

After pre-writing, creating a rough draft, revising, and editing, the student has finally reached the final and
most import stage: producing a final draft. This is the very neat, well-written and grammaticality correct
draft that the student submits to you, the teacher, for feedback.

“In actuality, the writing process is not a highly organized linear process, but rather a continual movement
between the different steps of the writing model."
Stages of the Writing Process by Gardner and Johnson (1997)

Review of the Steps in the Writing Process

• Pre-Writing

• Rough Draft

• Revising