Writing Process
Five Steps of the Writing Process
Stage 1: Gathering Ideas (Prewriting)
Brainstorm, freewrite, cluster, cube, ask questions, read, interview others, relate aloud, or reflect.
Select and narrow a topic.
Discover a purpose for writing.
Analyze your audience.
Stage 2: Drafting
Get your ideas down on paper.
Don't be concerned about sentence structure, word choice, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Write a tentative thesis statement.
Stage 3: Revising
Focus on helping your audience understand your essay,
Improve your organization and supporting details.
Strengthen your introduction, thesis statement, and conclusion.
Polish sentence structure and word choice.
Use peer review.
Stage 4: Editing
Correct errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Use a dictionary and a grammar handbook.
Don't rely on the computer's spell-check and grammar-check to catch all errors.
Keep an editing log.
Stage 5: Publishing
Share your final draft with your audience.