Purdue University Writing Lab

Finding Your Focus:The Writing Process

A presentation brought to you by the Purdue University Writing Lab

Purdue University Writing Lab

Everyone has a writing process.What is yours?

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Why try to understand your writing process?

It can help writers to organize their thoughts.

It can help writers to avoid frustration and procrastination.

It can help writers to use their time productively and efficiently.

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Writing process

Invention Collection Organization Drafting Revising Proofreading

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Invention: coming up with your topic

Brainstorming:Getting your ideas on

paper so you can give yourself the widest range of topics possible

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Brainstorming: coming up with ideas that interest you

Listing:Political apathyAnimal abuseNFL instant replayAir pollutionTelemarketing scamsInternet censorshipNBA salary caps

Paper Topics

Brainstorming

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Clustering: mapping out ideas

MEInternet censorship

telemar-ketingscams

NFL instantreplay

NBA

politicalapathy

three-partysystem

salarycaps

sportsmanship

animalabuse

First Amendment

Flag Burning Amend-

ment

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Collection

Gathering ideas Locating and

evaluating research

Conducting interviews

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Organizing: putting information into an order

OUTLINE

I. Info from where?A. Invention toolsB. Collection process

II. Ways to OrganizeA. Sketch outlineB. ChunkingC. Prediction workshop

III. What determines which info to use?

A. Rhetorical purpose of your writing

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Drafting

Give yourself ample time to work on your project.

Find a comfortable place to do your writing.

Avoid distractions. Take breaks.

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Revising: reviewing ideas

Review higher-order concerns:Clear communication of

ideas Organization of paperParagraph structureStrong introduction and

conclusion

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Proofreading

Review later-order concerns:SpellingPunctuationSentence

structureDocumentation

style

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Proofreading tips

Slowly read your paper aloud.

Read your paper backwards.

Exchange papers with a friend.

NOTE: Spell check will not catch everything, and grammar checks are often wrong!

Purdue University Writing Lab

The Writing Process: Find Your Focus

• Invention• Collection• Organization• Drafting• Revising• Proofreading