Process

You may want to click on Evaluation on the sidebar under Writing Process Webquest to see how I will grade your work.

Preliminary Free Writing Activities:

When you free write, you put your pen to the paper, (or cursor to the Word document) and just let the ideas flow: no worries about spelling or grammar or style or transitions or anything other than getting your ideas onto the paper or screen. So, to explore some of your own writing habits and attitudes, do five to ten minutes of free writing on each of the following topics. **Use a Word Document to write your answers.

**Questions about free writing? Click here for some basic "how to" advice.

1. Do you like to write? Why or why not?

2. Are you a good writer? Why or why not?

3. Write about a piece of writing that you were really proud of. Explain how you wrote the piece. Be as detailed as you can in describing everything you did from receiving the assignment to submitting the assignment.

4. Write about a piece of writing that you were not proud of. Explain how you wrote the piece, and again, be as detailed as you can in describing everything you did from receiving the assignment to submitting the assignment.

5. What would you tell teachers to do differently when teaching writing? What did your best teacher do right? What did your worst teacher do wrong?

Activity 1

Explore The Habits and Attitudes of Famous Writers

For this activity, you will be working in groups of 3 people if you wish. Your group will choose three authors to read and answer questions about. You will find hundreds of interviews with published writers at the Web site The Paris Review.

Your teacher will tell you which of the following options you should choose:

A. As a group, browse through interviews that interest you and choose three that work for this assignment. Each group member will read all three interviews and answer the questions below about each writer.

B. Your group will be given a list of writers's names whose interviews at The Paris Review will work for this assignment. Each group member will read all three interviews and answer the questions below about each writer.

Your goal as you read the interviews is to answer as many of the following questions as possible.

**Use a Word Document to write your answers.

1. What planning activities does the writer do before beginning to write?

2. When does the writer write?

3. Where does the writer write?

4. What medium does the writer use?

5. How does the writer stay on task?

6. What does the writer do when off task?

7. Does the writer ever have trouble writing? What does the writer do to deal with this problem or to avoid it?

8. When and how does the writer revise the writing?

9. What motivates the writers' revisions?

10. How and when does the writer copyedit the writing?

Activity 2

Prepare a "Top Ten List" to Share Your Findings

In your group, share your answers to the questions in Activity 1 and prepare a handout to share with the class: The Top Ten Most Interesting Attitudes and Habits of a Professional Writer. **Use a Word Document to write your answers.

Activity 3

Presentation and Discussion of the "Top Ten Lists"

Each group will present their Top Ten list to the class. We will discuss and analyze what we are learning about the attitudes and habits of professional writers.

Activity 4

Evaluation of Your Own Writing Attitudes and Habits

Apply the questions posed about writing attitudes and habits in Activity 1 to yourself. It will help to go back and read the free writing you did for the Preliminary Activity.

**Use a Word Document to write your answers.

Activity 5

What Do We Have in Common With Famous Writers?

**Use a Word Document (Table) to write your answers.

1. In your groups, share what you have written about your own writing habits and attitudes. Then, create a chart that compares and contrasts your writing habits and attitudes with those of the famous writers you studied.

2. In class, your group will share and explain the information on your chart.

Activity 6

More Ideas about the Writing Process

**Use a Word Document to write your answers.

Check out the videos with some more ideas about the writing process. Watch each video and do a five to ten minute free writing response to the ideas it presents. Be honest! You don't have to agree with everything you hear.

The Writing Process by Leslie Joubert

The Seven Steps to Effective Writing

We will also watch these videos together in class and discuss our thoughts about them.

Activity 7

Change the Way You Write by Redefining Your Writing Process

Throughout this WebQuest, you have been exploring the writing attitudes and habits of professional writers, yourself, and your classmates. Now, it is time to reflect on everything you have learned and choose what you think can make a difference in your writing.

You will define a new writing process for yourself and you will commit to using it for our next writing assignment. After you use it, you will evaluate its effectiveness.

1. Go to the question about writing habits and attitudes in Activity 1 and answer each for your new writing process. **Use a Word Document to write your answers.

2. Prepare a visual presentation of your new writing process. This can be done in any form you prefer.

**Use the program needed or materials needed to create your chosen project.

Suggestions follow:

• • A video showing and explaining what you will do. This can be in the form of a documentary, an interview, or a short movie.

  • A poster which uses pictures, drawings, graphics and/or words to explain your new writing process.

  • A PowerPoint presentation which shows and explains your new writing process.

  • A graphic novel explaning your new writing process. The following Web sites can help you with this option: Make Belief Comix and ToonDoo

3. Share your writing process presentations in class and discuss the choices you have made for your process.

Presentation dates will be chosen randomly.

**After hearing all of your classmates share about their redefined writing processes, feel free to make revisions to your own process!

Next, click on Conclusion on the sidebar under Writing Process Webquest.