Planning,

Writing,
and Revising

Module Four

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McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Learning Objectives

LO 4-1 Apply processes for writing quality

improvement.
LO 4-2 Manage time for writing projects.
LO 4-3 Plan writing and speaking projects
for increased success.
LO 4-4 Apply strategies for revision.

4-2
 Learning Objectives (cont.)

LO 4-5 Support writing with grammar and

spell-checkers.
LO 4-6 Apply strategies for feedback and
revision with it.
LO 4-7 Apply strategies for form letter use.
LO 4-8 Apply strategies for writer’s block
and procrastination solutions.
4-3
 Planning, Writing, and Revising

Planning
 Analyzing the problem, defining your
purposes, and analyzing the audience
 Gathering the information you need

4-4
 Planning, Writing, and Revising

Writing
 Putting words on paper or on a screen.
 Writing can be lists, fragmentary notes or a
formal draft.

4-5
 Planning, Writing, and Revising

Revising
 Evaluating your work and measuring it against your
goals
 Getting feedback from someone else
 Editing the draft to see that it satisfies the
requirements of standard English
 Proofreading the final copy to see that it’s free
from typographical errors

4-6
 Planning, Writing, and Revising

 The activities do not have to come in this

order.
 You do not have to finish one activity to
start another.

4-7
 Planning, Writing, and Revising

 You may do an activity several times, not

just once.
 Most writers do not use all activities for all
the documents they write.

4-8
 Does it matter what process I use?

 Realize that the first draft can be revised.

 Write regularly.
 Break big jobs into smaller chunks.
 Have clear goals for purpose and audience.

4-9
 Does it matter what process I use?

 Have several different strategies to choose

from.
 Use rules flexibly.
 Edit after the draft is complete.

4-10
 I don’t have much time.
How should I use it?

 To get the best results from the time you have,

spend only a third of your time actually
“writing.”
 Spend at least one-third of your time analyzing
the situation and your audience, gathering
information, and organizing what you have to
say.

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 I don’t have much time.
How should I use it?

 Spend another third evaluating what you’ve

said, revising the draft(s) to meet your
purposes and the needs of the audience and
the organization, editing a late draft to remove
any errors in grammar and mechanics, and
proofreading the final typed copy.

4-12
Allocating Time in Writing a Memo

4-13
What planning should I do before I
begin writing or speaking?

4-14
Clustering Helps Generate Ideas

4-15
Customized Planning Guides for
Specific Documents

4-16
 What is revision? How do I do it?

 Revising  Editing
 making changes that  making surface-level
will better satisfy your changes that make
purposes and your the document
audience. grammatically correct.

4-17
What is revision? How do I do it?

 Proofreading
 checking to be sure
the document is free
from typographical
errors.

4-18
 Thorough Revision Checklist
Figure 4.4

4-19
 Light Revision Checklist

Figure 4.5

4-20
 Can a grammar checker do
my editing for me?

 You need to know the rules of grammar and

punctuation to edit.
 Editing should always follow revision.
 There’s no point in taking time to fix a
grammatical error in a sentence that may be
cut when you clarify your meaning or tighten
your style.

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 I spell-check.
Do I still need to proofread?

 Read once quickly for meaning to see that

nothing has been left out.
 Read a second time, slowly.
 To proofread a document you know well,
read the lines backward or the pages out of
order

4-22
 How can I get better feedback?

 Cycling
 process of drafting,
getting feedback,
revising, and getting
more feedback

4-23
 Questions to Ask Readers

Figure 4.6

4-24
 Can I use form letters?

 Form letter
 a prewritten fill-in-the-blank letter designed for
routine situations
 Boilerplate
 language—sentences, paragraphs, even pages
—from a previous document that a writer
includes in a new document.

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 Revising After Feedback

 When you get feedback that you

understand and agree with, make the
change
 If you get feedback you don’t understand,
ask for clarification
 Paraphrase.
 Ask for more information.
 Test your inference.

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 Revising After Feedback

 When you get feedback that you don’t

agree with
 If it’s an issue of grammatical correctness, check
this book.
 If it’s a matter of content, recognize that something
about the draft isn’t as good as it could be.
 If the reader thinks a fact is wrong (and you know
it’s right), show where the fact came from.

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 How can I overcome writer’s block
and procrastination?

 Participate actively in the organization and

the community.
 Practice writing regularly and in
moderation.
 Learn as many strategies as you can.
 Talk positively to yourself.
 Talk about writing to other people.

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 How can I overcome writer’s block
and procrastination?

 Set a regular time to write.

 Develop a ritual for writing.
 Try freewriting.
 Write down the thoughts and fears you have as
you write.
 Identify the problem that keeps you from writing.
 Set modest goals and reward yourself for reaching
them.

4-29