Page 54 - English Grammar and Composition-Student Textbook short

Drafting

Drafting is when you put your ideas into sentences and paragraphs. Here you focus on explaining and supporting
your ideas fully. In this step you also begin to connect your ideas. It is important to follow the prewriting plan, but
the actual process of writing can prompt the writer to go back and rework the original design.

Getting all your ideas on paper in sentences is the goal of drafting. Don’t worry about such things as spelling at this
stage.

Revising

Revision is the key to effective writing. It makes your paper clear. The document becomes reader-centered.

1. How much support will each idea need to convince your readers?
2. Do you need quotes?
3. Which terms should be defined for these particular readers?
4. Are your ideas presented in the correct order?

*At this stage you also analyze your essay, making each sentence as concise and precise as possible. Look at your

topic sentence to ensure it sets up your paragraph. Make the connections between ideas explicit and clear. Add
needed details or take out unnecessary ones. Make sure there are transitions between paragraphs.

Editing

*Editing is the very last step that should be done in the writing process. Editing is for correctness. This is where you
examine the grammar, mechanics, and spelling within your work. Spell check the document first. Spell checking,

however, will not identify incorrect word usage. Notice the following:

1. We went to the butcher to buy some stakes.
2. The gift they offered was hard to except.
3. Children were not aloud in the service.
4. I don’t know where your going.

Practice 15: The Writing Process
Answer the following questions about the writing process in the field provided.
1. True or false: it is not necessary to use the writing process when preparing an academic
paper.

2. True or false: a writer may have to go back and forth between the stages of the writing
process.

3. Choose the most important thing the writer does during drafting:
a. Brainstorming
b. Outlining
c. Explaining and supporting ideas fully
d. Checking grammar and spelling
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