The Writing Process
The writing process that I share with students has five steps:
Images Credit: http://finallyinfirst.blogspot.ca/2012/07/writing-posters-winner.html
Prewriting involves the learning that comes before writing. It might involve an experience, a memory, or some brainstorming to activate background knowledge. In the case of a research project, doing research and taking notes is part of the prewriting stage.
Drafting is writing a rough draft (you don't have to worry about spelling or getting it "just right" when writing a rough draft).
Revising involves rewording the rough draft to make it clearer and more descriptive. I often suggest that students do the "writer's mumble" to see how their rough drafts sound. They might decide to change things, add things, or discard things that they have written in their rough drafts.
Editing (sometimes called "proofreading") involves correcting grammatical, spelling, and punctuation (and syntax) mistakes in the rough draft. I often suggest that students use C.O.P.S. as a way of looking at their rough drafts at this stage (C.O.P.S. = Capitalization, Overall appearance - which really comes in the next step, Punctuation, and Spelling).
Publishing involves sharing your writing with an audience. It might involve writing a "good copy," typing it up using a word processing program, making a PowerPoint presentation, or placing your writing on a display board (e.g., for a Science Fair or Heritage Fair project).
The two graphics below (from http://shenanigansinsecond.blogspot.ca/2011/09/short-and-sweet-writing-process-posters.html) illustrate the revising and editing stages of the writing process:
Prewriting involves the learning that comes before writing. It might involve an experience, a memory, or some brainstorming to activate background knowledge. In the case of a research project, doing research and taking notes is part of the prewriting stage.
Drafting is writing a rough draft (you don't have to worry about spelling or getting it "just right" when writing a rough draft).
Revising involves rewording the rough draft to make it clearer and more descriptive. I often suggest that students do the "writer's mumble" to see how their rough drafts sound. They might decide to change things, add things, or discard things that they have written in their rough drafts.
Editing (sometimes called "proofreading") involves correcting grammatical, spelling, and punctuation (and syntax) mistakes in the rough draft. I often suggest that students use C.O.P.S. as a way of looking at their rough drafts at this stage (C.O.P.S. = Capitalization, Overall appearance - which really comes in the next step, Punctuation, and Spelling).
Publishing involves sharing your writing with an audience. It might involve writing a "good copy," typing it up using a word processing program, making a PowerPoint presentation, or placing your writing on a display board (e.g., for a Science Fair or Heritage Fair project).
The two graphics below (from http://shenanigansinsecond.blogspot.ca/2011/09/short-and-sweet-writing-process-posters.html) illustrate the revising and editing stages of the writing process:
Paragraphs
6 + 1 Traits Writing Model
Good writing has several traits. We will be learning about the "6 + 1 Trait Writing Model" described at this website:
https://educationnorthwest.org/traits/trait-definitions (archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20180629033631/http://educationnorthwest.org/traits/trait-definitions)
The 6+1 Trait® Writing analytical model for assessing and teaching writing is made up of 6+1 key qualities that define strong writing. These are:
https://educationnorthwest.org/traits/trait-definitions (archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20180629033631/http://educationnorthwest.org/traits/trait-definitions)
The 6+1 Trait® Writing analytical model for assessing and teaching writing is made up of 6+1 key qualities that define strong writing. These are:
- Ideas, the main message;
- Organization, the internal structure of the piece;
- Voice, the personal tone and flavor of the author's message;
- Word Choice, the vocabulary a writer chooses to convey meaning;
- Sentence Fluency, the rhythm and flow of the language;
- Conventions, the mechanical correctness; and
- Presentation, how the writing actually looks on the page.
For more information about the writing process, check out these links:
http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/adyer/files/writing%20process%205%20steps.pdf
http://www.angelfire.com/wi/writingprocess/
These links specifically address the process of writing a research paper (where the prewriting stage is a little more complicated):
http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/
http://patriciazaballos.com/2012/04/19/my-handy-dandy-process-for-helping-kids-write-nonfiction-based-on-other-sources/
http://www.ala.org/aasl/aboutaasl/aaslcommunity/quicklinks/k12students/aaslkctools
This tells how to format entries in a bibliography (note that titles, underlined below, can also be italicized):
http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/adyer/files/writing%20process%205%20steps.pdf
http://www.angelfire.com/wi/writingprocess/
These links specifically address the process of writing a research paper (where the prewriting stage is a little more complicated):
http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/
http://patriciazaballos.com/2012/04/19/my-handy-dandy-process-for-helping-kids-write-nonfiction-based-on-other-sources/
http://www.ala.org/aasl/aboutaasl/aaslcommunity/quicklinks/k12students/aaslkctools
This tells how to format entries in a bibliography (note that titles, underlined below, can also be italicized):
Here is an example bibliography, with some examples of sources of information (you can also find guidelines for citing resources here: https://www.eduplace.com/parents/resources/homework/reference/bibliography.html):