Guilford College Writing Manual

Perhaps the most important lesson a novice writer can learn is that writing is a process--a process containing numerous tasks, each of which has its own criteria for successful performance. The following list illustrates the sorts of tasks involved in a 10-page research paper:

PREWRITING

• picking a topic
• preliminary reading
• freewriting
• incubation
• determining the key question
• observation
• introspection
• talking with people
• library and Internet research
• establishing a tentative thesis
• generating material (more research if necessary)
• analyzing notes in relation to tentative outline
• developing the working outline
• composing a "zero" (rough, rough) draft

WRITING

• writing and documenting a rough draft

REWRITING

• analyzing adequacy of coverage
• tuning up introduction and conclusion
• translating writer-based prose to reader-based prose
• revising syntax for rhythm, emphasis
• tightening (eliminating wordiness)
• sharpening (strengthening verbs, eliminating unnecessary jargon)
• checking documentation, compiling "Works Cited"
• typing final draft
• proofreading

This list presents the tasks linearly for convenience. In reality, of course, they do not occur so neatly. The process is recursive: it is likely that you will invent throughout, and most of us find it hard to avoid rewriting even when we are sketching a preliminary draft. It is probably better to think of the three stages--prewriting, writing, and rewriting--as strands in a rope rather than box cars on a train.