The writing process

Just like the scientific method (ask a question, make a hypothesis, etc), there is a process writers go through to create pieces they are ready to share with a wider audience. Last Friday, students from Room 204 began the process by choosing an entry from their notebooks which they wanted to polish for publishing. The first step is planning -- thinking through a piece, gathering information, and deciding on the purpose and the intended audience. Next students will draft their entry, adding in new ideas and details, and skipping lines to leave room for later additons and changes. Students will meet in response groups to get peer feedback, then begin revising. We have defined revision as making changes to the content, the organization, and the ideas of the piece. Students may try a new lead, realize they need more descriptive details, or exchange verbs for a stronger impact. When revision is complete, we move into editing -- making a piece easier to read by fixing spelling, capitalization, and punctuation mistakes. Finally, it is time to publish. Students write a clean copy of their piece, incorporating their revisions and editing changes, and are ready to share their piece with an audience. Celebration is the last step, and a very important part of the process. We celebrate by reading each other's pieces silently or aloud, and honoring the contributions of our authors. I look forward to guiding students as they move through the process, and seeing their final products! Already I have noticed growth in their writing from the begining of the year.