Is it hard to write?

The Writing Process

Steps in Writing an Essay
Writing the
first draft

Revising
and Editing

PreWriting

Planning
and
Organizing

Final Draft!

Introduction

What is the writing process ?

Writing an essay takes time. Thats why writing
is often
referred to as a process. In other words, there are
several
steps to go through before you have a complete
essay ready Pre-Writing
to turn in for a grade.
Organizing

Writing the First

Draft
Revising and Editing

Final Copy

Pre-Writing
Step One
Pre-writing literally means, before writing. Before you
actually begin writing your essay, you will need to do the
following things:

choose a topic to write on

brainstorm or generate ideas for

your topic

focus in on central ideas

Mass Media

Idea map

Organizing
Step Two

Making an outline can help you organize what

you want to
write. This is a rough plan for your essay and can
help make
Essay Outline
Introduction much
Thesis: _____________________
the processI. of writing
easier.
II.

Body 1. Topic Sentence: _____________

- supporting idea
- supporting idea
Sentence: ____________
- supporting idea
- supporting idea
3. Topic Sentence: ____________
- supporting idea
- supporting idea

III.

Conclusion

2. Topic

Writing the First Draft

Step Three
After getting ideas and making an outline of your
essay,
it is time to start writing the essay. When you
begin writing

writing
the
perfect
your roughDont
draft,worry
try toabout
remember
the
following
paper
guidelines.
the first time.

Your goal in writing a rough draft is to

develop
and support the ideas listed in your
outline.
Dont focus on spelling and grammar as
you
write your rough draft. You can check
this later
in the writing process.

Revising and Editing

Step Four

After you write your first draft, go back over it

and look for
ways to improve your essay.

Revision

Content and
Organization

Editing

Spelling,
Grammar,
Punctuation,
etc.

The Final Copy

Step Five

The last step is turning in your essay to be

graded. Look
at the guidelines below for turning in the final draft
of your
essay. wordprocessed
all new paragraphs indented five
spaces
8 by 11 inch white
paper
double spaced, size 12
font
margins on all sides

Pre-Writing
How do you organize your ideas when you
are preparing to write?
Brainstorming
Discussing
Free Writing

Concept mapping

Asking Questions
Outlining
Charting
Timeline

Homework (1 whole sheet)

What is your interest
topic?

Creating Your Title

Your essays title should:

Be original
Be a reasonable length
Reflect your topic
Be lively and attention-getting

Your title should NOT:

Be generic/repeat the assignment
Be in ALL CAPS
Be in boldface, quotation marks,
underlined, or italicized
Be followed by a period

Write Your Introduction

Your introductory paragraph should do the
following:
Be a minimum of 4-6 sentences
Move from general to specific, with the thesis as
the last sentence in the intro
Get the readers attention
Set the tone for the rest of the essay

Strategies for developing an Introduction

include
Providing background information
Telling a personal anecdote
Beginning with a quotation
Using an opposite
Asking a question

Thesis Statement
The thesis statement expresses the
MAIN IDEA of your essay, the central
point that your essay
develops/supports.
Your thesis SHOULD:
Accurately predict your essays direction,
emphasis, and scope
Make no promises that the essay will not fulfill
Be direct and straightforward.

Body Paragraphs: Topic Sentence

A Topic Sentence expresses the main idea of the
body paragraph.
Begin each body paragraph with a Topic Sentence
that
Narrows the focus of the paragraph
Accurately predicts the direction of the paragraph
Refers back to the Thesis statement

Each BP should contain:

Topic Sentencemain idea of BP
Primary Supportexplanation
Secondary Supportexamples

Body Paragraphs continued

Body paragraphs must have
Unityeverything refers back to main
point
Supportexamples and details
Coherenceall points connect to form
a whole; one point leads to another
Concise - brief

Write Your Conclusion

The concluding paragraph should
Contain a minimum of 4 sentences
Refer back to the main point, but not
simply repeat the thesis
(rephrase/restate)
NOT introduce any new ideas
Create a sense of closure
Call to action

Assignment
1. Bring your formal theme.
2. On a whole sheet of paper,
front - prewriting activity
back- first draft

First Draft
First paragraph:
Introduction
Thesis statement (last
sentence)
Second/Third/Forth Paragraph:
Topic Sentence.
Explain. Give examples
Fifth Paragraph:
Conclusion