Outlining: The Writing Process

My writing process, no matter what, always includes brainstorming, rough drafts and proofreading. When I receive an assignment I read the question over what feels like a million times till I fully understand what it is asking. I will make notes on the handout and as soon as ideas come to my mind i will jot them down, even if I do not end up using them. As soon as I get ideas i role with it, even if I have to go back in the end and change everything. Rough drafts come next. I like to write them out first so i can scribble and make notes to myself and fill things in when i need to. I write in pen so sometimes by drafts can be more rough then they should be, but that is how i like it. After my essay is all finished I proofread, many many times.

Whenever an assignment was given, I used to just write everything that I could think of, similar to a free write. After doing a free write in my scrap notebook, I would then go back and insert examples from the text to further prove my points. After taking this class, I learned that is the incorrect way to write academic papers and that the best way is to make an outline instead so that I can make sure that every point is proven, clear, accurate, and most importantly understandable. I was able to see the improvement of how outlines helped through my first essay. The essay was about picking out an image and explaining its means to the visual context and its impact on culture. My first draft I had learned that I needed to step back and see

Writing varies from a text message to a novel. Writers often have a difficult task in creating a piece of work that truly identifies the meaning of good writing. Every good writer usually starts with the basics such as genre, audience, rhetorical situation, and reflection of the piece. Throughout this semester, we have gone through all of these key terms in great detail with each new assignment that has come our way. In doing this, not only as students but also as writers, we have come to create our own theory of writing. Every writer has a different theory of writing though most are very similar. Now, at this point in the semester after doing countless journals, in-class exercises, and final assignments, I think I have figured out my own

Those that write always have a writing process whether they know it or not. A writing process can be defined by the way an individual gears up for the project at hand. It can be as simple as finding a favorite chair to write in or the act of planning out the writing beforehand. My own personal writing process varies from task to task with a few constants. I generally start my writing process by first reconciling my project; figuring out the best way to express the needs of the work. I do not write down notes or an outline in regards to the project mostly relying on winging it so as not to get hung up on sticking to the outline. I will my best to knock out large chunks of the project before taking any breaks unless I hit a wall, and

Teachers, parents, and friends often tell students exactly what the writing process should entail and how long it should take. However, the older I get, the more I realize that the writing process varies not only from person to person, but also from one writing project to the next. Throughout my years of life, I have written countless papers, ranging from a persuasive speech to an extensive research paper, and each project requires an altered version of my personal writing process. While each individual has his own writing process, there can be many similarities between different writing processes. Finding one’s individual writing process takes trial, error, and repetition. When an individual finally uncovers his unique writing process, better thought, work, and writing is produced.

The writing of my college essay was quite a process. Normally for me writing comes rather easy, I do not struggle putting my ideas on paper. At first I thought that this essay would be simple to do and not be very stressful. It turned out to be quite the opposite in fact, just brainstorming was a struggle for me. It was difficult for me to think about my life and how it is special. To me, the events that have shaped me do not seem that relevant, at 18 I had never really payed much attention to how certain things affected me, I just lived my life. eventually , with the help of Mary, I came to the realization that having my summer taken away from me due to a broken foot had really changed my life philosophy, it truly changed who I was and my outlook on life.

In chapter 9, Writing Across the Curriculum, the process of reading and writing was investigated and explained in comparison to one another. The reading-writing connection focuses on drawing from students’ prior knowledge and cognitive processes in order to build learning. The authors mentioned that the writing process is a strong tool for exploring and clarifying meaning and the two major instructional components used are writing to learn (WTL) and writing in disciplines (WID). The chapter also focused on the subareas of academic journals and writing disciplines.

My writing process is like a baby learning how to walk. During their first year, the baby is busy developing coordination and muscle strength in every part of their body. They will learn to sit, roll over, and crawl before moving on to pulling up and standing. From then on, it's a matter of gaining confidence and balance before they start walking. They will fall over and over again but likewise, they will try over and over again until they’re off and eventually running. High school for me was like a baby’s first year when it’s preparing to start walking and this quarter in EWRT 211 was when I gave the first baby steps. With more practice, I’ll be walking with ease in no time. I believe I will be successful in EWRT 1A.

Many creative minds around the world have their own special ways to prepare themselves for writing. Through writing they can create award winning novels, books, and stories. Out of all these creative minds, none of them have any similarities on how they prepare themselves for writing. Most people assume that writers just sit down in a chair and crack their knuckles then start brainstorming for their writing . Everyone has their own different ways they prepare themselves physically and mentally. Personally before I start writing I have to make myself physically comfortable. For this to happen I have to place myself in a cold and quite environment. Then set a comfortable chair, a clean desk, a laptop, and a drink along with some snacks. After being physically comfortable, I have to then make myself mentally prepared to write by putting ideas down

One of the fears that I have about the process of writing is the inability to write clear and concise sentences that the reader can understand. Sentence clarity frightens me as I have what I want to say in my head, however, it does not always come out perfectly when I put the thought into writing. When transferring my thoughts into writing I typically form run on sentences and mix my words together. This is where my fear of clarity becomes an issue. When writing clearly, I often assume that my reader understands or has a prior knowledge on my topic. Typically, this leads me to form incomplete sentences or the leaving out of an essential piece of information that gives the sentence its meaning. Along with the fear of the inability to write

Being a perpetually anxious person, I tend to be particular in my daily life. I need to clean my room and make my bed before I leave. I must sleep at 9:00pm every night. I have to wake up at 6:00am every morning. I need to do a certain thing at a specific time, or it throws me off. Writing allows me to be messy. It allows me to vomit words and struggle to write a coherent sentence before finally, my thoughts are realized onto the paper. My process is wonderfully disorganized. It is starting to write, eventually erasing everything I've written, starting all over again, realizing that I was straying from my point, and retyping it a second time. My process is becoming frustrated at the pretentious introduction. It's wanting to smash my computer

It has always been difficult for me to find a writing process that works well for me. Over the past years, I have struggled with writing papers and thinking creatively. However, I feel as if I have established a writing process that works for me.

In my current profession as a registered Family Day Care Educator I was initially unsure in having my writing assessed by an online tool; however, I became somewhat relieved when my first attempt was labelled “lean”. Writer’s Diet (http://www.writersdiet.com/WT.php) diagnostic tool however did not give me a clear reflection on my writing as it placed an ‘incorrect line,’ through all dates, page numbers within my in text referencing. Researching the errors through the textbook and websites such as Paper Rater (http://www.paperrater.com/) I was able to closely inspect my writing and make recommended changes. Later attempts to achieve improvement in grammar, sentence beginnings and usage of the passive voice when writing, it was adamant my writing was more academic and clearer than my first attempt.

The second part of the book “Writing Today” discussed the importance of writing summaries, as well as how to go about writing them. Johnson-Sheehan, Paine, Shaw, and Stouck, begin by explaining that a summary’s main purpose is to emphasize an ideas main topic by first carefully analysing it. It is important to know the approximate length a summary should be before commencing the writing process in order to know how much detail the summary requires. A summary, although condensed, must accurately explain the original text. If not, it might cause misunderstandings as well as “distortions” of the material. Summaries must also be original and should primarily be written in writer’s own words, which would also their own ideas and thoughts to be present

One’s writing says a lot about that individual and their views on certain topics. At times, it is difficult to share one’s work of literature due to sensitivity to other’s reactions and comments. Ever since I began writing high ended essays, peer editing was my biggest fear. Personally, I had a difficult time sharing my writings. There were certain areas I lacked in and the peer editing only confirmed insecurities I had. All of this changed through writer’s circles.