| 📝 English Composition Writing FAQ | 1101 • 1102 • 📖 |
Plan Before You Write
Much of the writing process takes place long before you put pen to paper or hands to keyboard. Rather than plunge right into a first draft when you get an assignment, spend some time thinking about what you hope to accomplish with your writing.
Writing is a form of communication. Approach a writing project as an attempt to communicate. Who you are writing for and your purpose for writing are as important to effective communication as what you have to say about a topic.
The more thought and planning you put into any given writing project, the smoother the actual writing will go and the stronger the resulting text will be. Consider these strategies:
- Understand the assignment: Carefully read the assignment prompt and make sure you understand what is being asked of you. Note any requirements such as length, formatting, and sources.
- Brainstorm ideas: Spend some time brainstorming ideas on the topic. This can involve free-writing, mind mapping, or creating an outline.
- Develop a thesis statement: Once you have a sense of what you want to write about, develop a clear and concise thesis statement that sets out your main argument.
- Research: Depending on the assignment, you may need to do research to gather evidence to support your thesis. Be sure to keep track of your sources and take detailed notes.
- Organize your ideas: Create an outline or a plan for how you will organize your essay. This will help you to stay focused and ensure that your essay flows logically.
- Write a draft: Using your outline and notes, write a first draft of your essay. Don’t worry too much about perfection at this stage. Just focus on getting your ideas down on paper.
- Revise: Once you have a draft, take some time to revise it. Look for areas where you can clarify your ideas or add more supporting evidence. Pay attention to sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation.
- Edit: After revising, copyedit your essay again to check for errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Make sure you have followed any formatting guidelines provided by your instructor.
- Get feedback: Show your essay to someone else and get their feedback, or take your essay to your university’s writing center. Consider their comments and use them to improve your essay.
- Finalize: After incorporating feedback, finalize your essay and make any last-minute revisions. Double-check that you have followed all the requirements of the assignment before submitting.
| Written: 2002, 2022; Revised: 04-8-2023; Version: Beta 0.7 | 💬 |
