5 Step Writing Process

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For future COM/155 students, or inexperienced academic writers, the writing process becomes easier when they understand each of the 5 steps. Each step is there to assist an academic writer in writing a successful paper that reaches its audience. The first step is pre-writing. This step is aimed at getting creative juices flowing; as well as identifying who, what, where, when, and why. Free-writing and idea mapping are fantastic ways to begin thinking about the general topic, and also allows the author to find how they can relate with to the topic. Once the author has a grasp on their ideas and what they want to write about, as well as grasp of who their audience will be, he or she will begin outlining the structure of their ideas. This second step requires the author to organize the information that they want to share. Outlining their ideas will allow the author to begin writing and transition between points without confusing their audience. The third step, in the writing process, is writing a rough draft. A rough draft is the first “complete” version of the piece. It will contain the ideas that the author wants to share, or a point they are trying to prove. Remember to keep the audience in mind while writing. This will eliminate any unnecessary information from cluttering the paper. Though, a rough draft isn’t meant to be seen by the target audience—yet. Step four is revising the rough draft. Revising allows the author to take a second look at their ideas. It isn’t uncommon for the author to rearrange information, alter or remove information to make their point clear; this helps their paper to be more fluid and easy to understand. Checking the mechanics of the paper is done through editing. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure are all looked at while editing. This last step helps to create a polished and effective piece of writing. Remembering each
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