Welcome to the writing center!
Remember, good writing is re-writing!
Stages of Writing
Writing is not a one-time flurry of creativity that results in a masterpiece. It takes time and thought. Even John Green agrees. Here is how many writers and students work:
Stage |
Process |
1. Pre-writing |
- Students write on topics based on their own experiences. - Students engage in rehearsal activities before writing. - Students identify the audience for whom they will write. - Students identify the function of the writing activity. - Students choose an appropriate fore for their compositions based on audience and purpose. |
2. Drafting |
- Students write a rough draft. - Students mark their writing as a rough draft. - Students emphasize content rather than mechanics. |
3. Revising |
- Students reread their writing. - Students share their writing in writing groups. - Students participate constructively in discussion about classmates' writing. - Students make changes in their compositions to reflect the reactions and comments of both teacher and classmates. |
4. Editing |
- Students proofread their own compositions. - Students help proofread classmates' compositions. - Students increasingly identify and correct their own mechanical errors. - Students meet with the teacher for a final editing. |
5. Publishing |
- Students make the final copy of their writing, often using word processing. - Students publish their writing in an appropriate form. - Students share their finished writing with an appropriate audience. - Students sit in the author's chair to share their writing. |
Copyright © 2011 by the Florida Department of Education, University of Central Florida and State College of Florida
In my classes, students will write for a purpose and an audience, so their writing will need to be as polished and convincing as possible. The form of your writing (how you write) will depend on the purpose (why you are writing).
Forms of writing
In many English classes, you will encounter different kinds of writing styles. Not all essays are the same! You might see:
You can look at the SBAC rubrics for argumentative essays and informative/explanatory
essays (like expository) to get an idea of general expectations for these types of essays.
Here's Shmoop's take on argumentative essays...
- expository writing on a subject
- argumentative essays that use evidence to persuade the reader of a claim
- analytical essays that interpret the theme of a work and how literary devices convey that theme
- narrative writing on an event; sometimes fictional
You can look at the SBAC rubrics for argumentative essays and informative/explanatory
essays (like expository) to get an idea of general expectations for these types of essays.
Here's Shmoop's take on argumentative essays...