Student Learning Outcomes

⚫ Students will feel more comfortable when given an essay

topic
⚫ Students will be able to organize their thoughts using
prewriting techniques
⚫ Students will understand what goes into a first draft
⚫ Students will understand the difference between global
and local revisions
⚫ Students will be able to express their ideas in the best
manner and order possible
⚫ Students will be able to recognize grammar, spelling, and
punctuation errors in their own writing.
Stages of Writing
⚫P r e w r i t i n g

⚫D r a f t i n g

⚫R e v i s i n g

⚫E d i t i n g
Prewriting
⚫ Prewriting is the process of coming up with ideas for
your essay.
⚫ This is not formal, polished writing.
⚫ There are many prewriting techniques, but we will be
discussing:
⚫ Brainstorming
⚫ Freewriting
⚫ Clustering
⚫ Outlining
Brainstorming
Freewriting
Clustering
⚫ A way of narrowing your thoughts by connecting your
ideas
⚫ Great techniques for visual learners
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Topics to choose from
⚫ Who knows me best?
⚫ What do I worry about?
⚫ Something this school really needs is . . .
⚫ Why are soap operas so popular?
⚫ An unforgettable dream
⚫ My worst vacation
⚫ My first concert
Outlining
⚫ Outlining comes after you already have the ideas
for your paper.
⚫ It is a way of laying out your thoughts before you
begin writing.
⚫ Use bullet points to write down each concept you
want to mention in the order you want to mention
them.
⚫ For more detail, see the Writing Center’s handout
on outlining.
Drafting
⚫ The draft is the first attempt to organize information.
⚫ Typically called a rough draft for a reason.
⚫ YOU WILL MAKE MISTAKES!
⚫ Your essay structure does not need to be perfect.
Revising
⚫ Reworking your essay so that the ideas are expressed
in the best way possible.
⚫ Revising is not the editing stage.

Global Revision Local Revision

Content Grammar, spelling, etc.

Structure

Thesis
Strong supporting points
 Thesis Statements Workshop
Wednesday, January 19th 12:30p.m. –
1:30p.m.
Editing
⚫ Editing is eliminating punctuation, grammar, and
spelling mistakes.
⚫ Should be saved for the end of the writing
process.
⚫ SpellCheck can be a false friend!
Checklist for Editing
 Have you read your work aloud to listen
for problems?
 Did you check every possible misspelling in
a dictionary?
 Have you avoided run-ons?
 Are you using verbs, pronouns, and
modifiers correctly?
 Have you used your punctuation correctly?
 Are your capital letters correct?