Week 2 - The Writing Process

Introduction

This week, we review how writing in high school and writing in college can be different. We also will review the writing process and share our writing process with others.

Learning Objectives

After successfully completing this week’s lessons, you should be able to:

- identify the key differences between high school and college writing
- understand the stages of the writing process
- communicate your writing process or a plan for a writing process.

What is an essay?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines an essay as “a short piece of writing on a particular subject.”

Throughout college, you will be asked to write many of these “short piece[s] of writing on a particular subject.” While this may seem like a daunting task, writing these essays will help you in a number of ways. Not only will you develop your writing skills with each essay that you write, you will also develop your ability to present an idea and increase your knowledge about different subjects.

Where do we start, though? First, please view this presentation “Writing in College: How is it different than writing in High School?”

college writing vs. high school writing

"College writing vs high school writing" presentation by Susan Wood

Now that you have a clearer idea of how high school writing and college writing differ, please take the short quiz Writing in College about the information in the slides. Details are in the "Activities" section below.

The Writing Process

On the surface, nothing could be simpler than writing: You sit down, you pick up a pen or open a document on your computer, and you write words. But anyone who has procrastinated or struggled with writer's block knows that the writing process is more difficult, if not somewhat mysterious and unpredictable.

People often think of writing in terms of its end product—the email, the report, the memo, essay, or research paper, all of which result from the time and effort spent in the act of writing. In this course, however, you will be introduced to writing as the recursive process of planning, drafting, and revising.

Writing is recursive

You will focus as much on the process of writing as you will on its end product (the writing you normally submit for feedback or a grade). Recursive means circling back; and, more often than not, the writing process will have you running in circles. You might be in the middle of your draft when you realize you need to do more brainstorming, so you return to the planning stage. Even when you have finished a draft, you may find changes you want to make to an introduction. In truth, every writer must develop his or her own process for getting the writing done, but there are some basic strategies and techniques you can adapt to make your work a little easier, more fulfilling, and effective.

Developing your writing process

Your writing process will be unique to you and it may change with each writing assignment. Please view this video for a review of the steps in the writing process, but remember, the steps will be approached a little differently by everyone.

"The Writing Process in 5 Steps" video by Susan WoodThis article “The Writing Process” by Ali Hale describes the writing process in further detail and will be a good resource for you as you use the writing process in your own essay writing.

After watching "The Writing Process in 5 Steps" and reading "The Writing Process," please complete the Writing Process activity. Details are in the "Activities" sectuib below and in Forums > Writing Process > My Process.

Activities

These are the activities that you need to complete this week. All activities are due by 11:55 p.m. on their due dates.

Writing in College Quiz. Read the material and view the presentations in the sections "What is an essay" and "The Writing Process" and then take the quiz that covers that material.
- Due by xx/xx.
- Points: 15
Writing Process Activity. Post a 250- word forum message in which you write a step-by-step account of your own essay writing process. Begin with how you would plan for the essay and take us all the way through to the finished product. End with a statement about the effectiveness of your process and any changes or additions you are considering. If you currently do not have a set writing process, then write about what you think would work best for you as you complete future assignments.
- Initial post due by xx/xx.
- Two replies due by xx/xx.
- Points: 20

Resources

In the class, you will be getting help with developing your writing skills through feedback from your instructor and your classmates. However, there are other resources for you if you determine you need even more help. All services are free.

- Leeward CC Writing Center: You can make an appointment to talk about your writing with a trained writing consultant. The appointment can be in person, on the phone, or online via Skype.
- Brainfuse: This is an online tutoring service that Leeward CC provides to its students. You can submit your writing to their writing center and you will receive a review in 24-48 hours. To access Brainfuse, login to your MyUH portal account, click on 'My Tools,' click on Brainfuse 'CONNECT NOW' under 'My Class Schedule'
- Purdue Online Writing Lab: Purdue University shares a vast number of handouts about writing. You can find help on the writing process, academic writing, research, citation, MLA format, and grammar and mechanics.
- Leeward Community College Library provides handouts with MLA format guidelines.
- The Guide to Grammar and Writing provides help with every aspect of grammar that you can think of. It also has quizzes to help you determine if you have mastered a topic or if you need more work on it.

The content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License except for any elements that may be licensed differently. The content of this page includes:

Original content from "ENG COMP I" contributed by Lumen Learning is licensed under CC BY 3.0
Original content from "Writing for Success, v. 1.0" contributed by Saylor Academy is licensed under CC BY NC SA
Original content contributed by Susan Wood
The presentation "College Writing vs. High School Writing" created by Susan Wood
The video "The Writing Process in 5 Steps" created by Susan Wood

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