Consider what you’ve learned in class if you need to come up with a topic on your own. Was there any material that particularly attracted, intrigued, or even perplexed you? Topics that left you with unanswered questions are ideal since you can write about them in your writing. Whether you’re writing an essay, a research paper, or a dissertation, for example, will determine the scope of your themes. Choose a topic that isn’t too expansive for the word limit or too constrained for you to have much to say. Here are 5 Writing Process That You Should Follow.
5 Writing Process That You Should Follow
Step 1: Doing Research
Once you have a theme in mind, it is time to look for reliable sources and compile the necessary data. This procedure differs depending on the nature of the assignment and your area of study. It might entail:
- looking through both primary and secondary materials.
- reading carefully the pertinent texts (e.g. for literary analysis).
- gathering information using applicable research techniques (e.g. experiments, interviews, or surveys)
From a writing standpoint, it’s crucial to take lots of notes when conducting the research. Record the names, authors, publication dates, and pertinent quotations from your sources, the information you gathered, your preliminary analysis or interpretation of the issues you’re tackling, and the data you collected.
Step 2: Making a plan and an outline
It’s crucial to utilize a logical structure, especially in academic writing, to effectively express information. It’s much easier to organize things beforehand than to scramble to figure out your framework once you’ve started writing.
An effective technique to organize your structure before you begin writing is to create an essay outline. This should make it easier for you to decide on your primary points and how to arrange them. It’s acceptable if your structure changes while you write; the outline doesn’t have to be final.
You can quickly understand your structure by using bullet points or numbers. Even in a brief piece without headings, it’s helpful, to sum up, what you’ll cover in each section.
Step 3: Writing the first draught
It’s time to create a complete first draught after you have a good understanding of your structure. This procedure may not always be linear. For instance, it makes sense to start writing the main body of the text first and save the introduction for when you are more familiar with the content you are introducing.
Use your plan as a framework to give your writing some order. Ensure that each paragraph has a distinct central theme that ties into your main point. Start a new paragraph whenever you switch topics. To illustrate how your thoughts link, use suitable transitional language.
At this point, the objective is to complete a draught rather than to make every detail flawless as you go. You’ll have a better understanding of where work needs to be done once you have a complete manuscript in front of you. Set a first draught due date that gives you enough time to edit, proofread, and rewrite before the final due date. You and your supervisor might agree on due dates for particular chapters of a longer text, such as a dissertation.
Step 4: Rewrite and edit
It’s time to review your first draught critically and search for any potential areas for improvement. Redrafting entails significantly changing the content, whereas revising entails altering the structure and reframing the arguments.
Assessing The Initial Draught
It might be challenging to evaluate your writing with objectivity. Particularly if you attempt to evaluate your work soon after doing it, your perspective may be positively or adversely influenced. It’s advisable to put your work on hold after finishing the first draught for at least a day or two. Return to it after a break to review it with fresh eyes; you’ll see things you otherwise wouldn’t have.
At this point, the major things to look for while assessing your writing are bigger problems, including modifications to your reasoning or structure. It is more efficient to start with the biggest issues first because there is no point in spending time on the grammar of something you will eventually cut out.
Revision and Redrafting
Once you’ve determined where modifications are required, start with the biggest ones as they’re likely to have an impact on everything else. Depending on the requirements of your text, this phase can involve:
- modifying your argument’s overall structure.
- moving the text around.
- removing passages from the text.
- updating the text.
Up until you have a final draught that you’re satisfied with, you can alternate between writing, redrafting, and rewriting. Consider the changes you can make in the time you have available. Prioritize the most crucial adjustments if you are short on time so that you don’t leave your text in a disorganized state midway through redrafting.
Step 5: Proofreading and editing
Editing focuses on specific issues like sentence structure and clarity. Proofreading entails carefully examining the material to weed out errors and guarantee stylistic coherence.
Grammar And Clarity Checks
When revising, make sure your text is understandable, succinct, and grammatically sound. You keep an eye out for:
- grammar mistakes
- ambiguous language.
- repetition and redundancy.
It’s typical to have a lot of badly constructed sentences in your first draught. Examine carefully where you could say what you mean in fewer words or more effectively, and watch out for frequent sentence structure errors like run-on sentences and sentence fragments.
Checking For Typos and Minor Errors
When editing, start by scanning your text for errors:
- spelling mistakes
- lacking words
- unclear word choices
- typographical errors.
- empty or extra spaces
Use the built-in spell check on your word processor, but don’t count on it to catch every error. Read your text line by line, keeping an eye out for any problems that the software may have overlooked as well as any that it may have flagged.
Checking Your Work for Stylistic Coherence
In academic writing, there are several topics where you can select from a variety of distinct standards. For instance:
- regardless of whether you are a serial comma.
- whether you spell and punctuate words using American or British spelling.
- where you utilize words for numbers instead of numerals.
How To Capitalise Headings and Titles.
You are free to choose which standards you adhere to unless you are specifically instructed to do so. It’s crucial to continuously adhere to a single standard for each problem. For instance, avoid mixing British and American spellings in your paper.
Additionally, you’ll likely receive detailed instructions for formatting (how your material is presented on the page) and citation difficulties (how you acknowledge your sources). Always adhere to this guidance.
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