Stages of Writing
Friday 20 September 2019
Writing is a process, and most of it happens when someone is not writing. To make good writing, the writer can not do it spontaneously. Good writing is aware of itself — but not self-conscious. It does not happen accidentally. It results from the care the author takes with word choice, sentence structure, and organization.[1] According to Williams, there are eight stages of writing.
However, not every writing task passes through every stage:[2]
- Prewriting
Prewriting is generating ideas, strategies, and information for the given writing task. Prewriting takes place before starting on the first draft of a paper.
- Planning
Planning involves considering rhetorical stance, rhetorical purpose, the principal aim of the text, how these factors are interrelated, and how they are connected to the information generated during prewriting. Planning also involves selecting support for a claim and blocking out at least a rough organizational structure.
- Drafting
Producing words on a computer or on paper that match (more or less) the initial plan for the work. Successful writers seldom try to produce an entire text in one sitting or even in one day.
- Pausing
Moments when writers are not writing but instead are reflecting on what they have produced and how well it matches their plan. Usually includes reading. Successful writers consider “global” factors: how well the text matches the plan, how well it is meeting audience needs, and overall organization.
- Reading
Reading is moments during pausing when writers read what they have written and compare it to their plan. Reading and writing are interrelated activities. Good readers are good writers and vice versa.
- Revising
Revising occurs after writers have finished their first draft. It involves making changes that enhance the match between plan and text. Factors to consider usually are the same as those writers considered during planning: rhetorical stance, rhetorical purpose, and so on.
- Editing
Editing occurs after revising. The goal is to give writers‟ paper a professional appearance. Focusing on sentence-level concerns, such as punctuation, sentence length, spelling, agreement of subjects and predicates, and style.
- Publishing
Sharing writers‟ finished text with its intended audience. Publishing is not limited to getting a text printed in a journal. It includes turning a paper into a teacher, a boss, or an agency.
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[1] Mark Tredinnick, Writing Well: The Essential Guide, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008), p. 8.
[2] James D. Williams, Preparing to Teach Writing: Research, Theory, and Practice, (New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associate, 2003), p. 106.