Basic Writing Process (Workout A)

@hasslethishoff Boot Camp 1

This lesson develops skills in the first six steps of this basic writing practice. For skills in writing the full draft and revising an essay, consider visiting Boot Camp 2 and Boot Camp 4.

1. Interpret the topic

Step one is to understand the requirements and goals of the proposed essay. We learn to look for the key terms in an assignment and to identify the requirements of the essay.

See Interpret the Topic (Workout B) for more information.

2. Focus the topic

Step two is to decide what kind of approach we want to take and what kind of information we need.  We identify the goal and scope of our essay.

See Focus the Topic (Workout C) for more information.

3. Think and learn

Step three is to do all our research and critical thinking. We draw together all the information we need for our essay.

See Think and Learn (Workout D) for more information.

4. Organize information

Step four is to organize and group all the information, thinking about relationships between all our ideas and research. We decide how all our information fits together and what headings or main categories of ideas we have. 

See Organize Information (Workout E) for more information.

5. Write a thesis statement

Step five is to decide what our reader will learn when the essay is finished. Based on this, we develop a thesis statement.

See Write a Thesis Statement (Workout F) for more information.

6. Produce a detailed outline

Step six is to outline all our ideas, thinking about details and examples. We make sure that all our points are consistent with our thesis statement. 

See Producing a Detailed Outline (Workout G) for more information.

7. Write a draft

Step seven is to write a first draft. When we write, we make sure all our ideas link together with effective transitions and that we have enough support for these ideas.

See Boot Camp 2 for more information.

8. Edit and edit again

Step eight is to go back and revise our paper, looking at the overall structure as well as the quality of the writing, including paragraphs and sentences.

See Boot Camp 4 for more information.

Download Printable Version

In practice, writing is messy. We will follow these steps to study a basic writing practice in this lesson, but, in fact, you are likely to move back and forth between these steps all the time until the essay is finished.

For example, we might spend a lot of time thinking about and gathering information, and then begin to organize and draft the essay, only to realize we need more planning and research. That new research may then alter our thesis, or make us re-think our original plans for the essay.

Also, revision and editing rarely happens at the end of the essay alone, but instead happens all the way through the writing process.