writing process on paper

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Academic writing
• A step-by-step guide to the writing process

The Writing Process | 5 Steps with Examples & Tips

Published on April 24, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 8, 2023.

Good academic writing requires effective planning, drafting, and revision.

The writing process looks different for everyone, but there are five basic steps that will help you structure your time when writing any kind of text.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

Table of contents

Step 1: prewriting, step 2: planning and outlining, step 3: writing a first draft, step 4: redrafting and revising, step 5: editing and proofreading, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about the writing process.

Before you start writing, you need to decide exactly what you’ll write about and do the necessary research.

Coming up with a topic

If you have to come up with your own topic for an assignment, think of what you’ve covered in class— is there a particular area that intrigued, interested, or even confused you? Topics that left you with additional questions are perfect, as these are questions you can explore in your writing.

The scope depends on what type of text you’re writing—for example, an essay or a research paper will be less in-depth than a dissertation topic . Don’t pick anything too ambitious to cover within the word count, or too limited for you to find much to say.

Narrow down your idea to a specific argument or question. For example, an appropriate topic for an essay might be narrowed down like this:

Doing the research

Once you know your topic, it’s time to search for relevant sources and gather the information you need. This process varies according to your field of study and the scope of the assignment. It might involve:

• Searching for primary and secondary sources .
• Reading the relevant texts closely (e.g. for literary analysis ).
• Collecting data using relevant research methods (e.g. experiments , interviews or surveys )

From a writing perspective, the important thing is to take plenty of notes while you do the research. Keep track of the titles, authors, publication dates, and relevant quotations from your sources; the data you gathered; and your initial analysis or interpretation of the questions you’re addressing.

The only proofreading tool specialized in correcting academic writing - try for free!

The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students.

Try for free

Especially in academic writing , it’s important to use a logical structure to convey information effectively. It’s far better to plan this out in advance than to try to work out your structure once you’ve already begun writing.

Creating an essay outline is a useful way to plan out your structure before you start writing. This should help you work out the main ideas you want to focus on and how you’ll organize them. The outline doesn’t have to be final—it’s okay if your structure changes throughout the writing process.

Use bullet points or numbering to make your structure clear at a glance. Even for a short text that won’t use headings, it’s useful to summarize what you’ll discuss in each paragraph.

An outline for a literary analysis essay might look something like this:

• Describe the theatricality of Austen’s works
• Outline the role theater plays in Mansfield Park
• Introduce the research question: How does Austen use theater to express the characters’ morality in Mansfield Park ?
• Discuss Austen’s depiction of the performance at the end of the first volume
• Discuss how Sir Bertram reacts to the acting scheme
• Introduce Austen’s use of stage direction–like details during dialogue
• Explore how these are deployed to show the characters’ self-absorption
• Discuss Austen’s description of Maria and Julia’s relationship as polite but affectionless
• Compare Mrs. Norris’s self-conceit as charitable despite her idleness
• Summarize the three themes: The acting scheme, stage directions, and the performance of morals
• Answer the research question
• Indicate areas for further study

Once you have a clear idea of your structure, it’s time to produce a full first draft.

This process can be quite non-linear. For example, it’s reasonable to begin writing with the main body of the text, saving the introduction for later once you have a clearer idea of the text you’re introducing.

To give structure to your writing, use your outline as a framework. Make sure that each paragraph has a clear central focus that relates to your overall argument.

Hover over the parts of the example, from a literary analysis essay on Mansfield Park , to see how a paragraph is constructed.

The character of Mrs. Norris provides another example of the performance of morals in Mansfield Park . Early in the novel, she is described in scathing terms as one who knows “how to dictate liberality to others: but her love of money was equal to her love of directing” (p. 7). This hypocrisy does not interfere with her self-conceit as “the most liberal-minded sister and aunt in the world” (p. 7). Mrs. Norris is strongly concerned with appearing charitable, but unwilling to make any personal sacrifices to accomplish this. Instead, she stage-manages the charitable actions of others, never acknowledging that her schemes do not put her own time or money on the line. In this way, Austen again shows us a character whose morally upright behavior is fundamentally a performance—for whom the goal of doing good is less important than the goal of seeming good.

When you move onto a different topic, start a new paragraph. Use appropriate transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas.

The goal at this stage is to get a draft completed, not to make everything perfect as you go along. Once you have a full draft in front of you, you’ll have a clearer idea of where improvement is needed.

Give yourself a first draft deadline that leaves you a reasonable length of time to revise, edit, and proofread before the final deadline. For a longer text like a dissertation, you and your supervisor might agree on deadlines for individual chapters.

Now it’s time to look critically at your first draft and find potential areas for improvement. Redrafting means substantially adding or removing content, while revising involves making changes to structure and reformulating arguments.

Evaluating the first draft

It can be difficult to look objectively at your own writing. Your perspective might be positively or negatively biased—especially if you try to assess your work shortly after finishing it.

It’s best to leave your work alone for at least a day or two after completing the first draft. Come back after a break to evaluate it with fresh eyes; you’ll spot things you wouldn’t have otherwise.

When evaluating your writing at this stage, you’re mainly looking for larger issues such as changes to your arguments or structure. Starting with bigger concerns saves you time—there’s no point perfecting the grammar of something you end up cutting out anyway.

Right now, you’re looking for:

• Arguments that are unclear or illogical.
• Areas where information would be better presented in a different order.
• Passages where additional information or explanation is needed.
• Passages that are irrelevant to your overall argument.

For example, in our paper on Mansfield Park , we might realize the argument would be stronger with more direct consideration of the protagonist Fanny Price, and decide to try to find space for this in paragraph IV.

For some assignments, you’ll receive feedback on your first draft from a supervisor or peer. Be sure to pay close attention to what they tell you, as their advice will usually give you a clearer sense of which aspects of your text need improvement.

Redrafting and revising

Once you’ve decided where changes are needed, make the big changes first, as these are likely to have knock-on effects on the rest. Depending on what your text needs, this step might involve:

• Making changes to your overall argument.
• Reordering the text.
• Cutting parts of the text.
• Adding new text.

You can go back and forth between writing, redrafting and revising several times until you have a final draft that you’re happy with.

Think about what changes you can realistically accomplish in the time you have. If you are running low on time, you don’t want to leave your text in a messy state halfway through redrafting, so make sure to prioritize the most important changes.

Editing focuses on local concerns like clarity and sentence structure. Proofreading involves reading the text closely to remove typos and ensure stylistic consistency. You can check all your drafts and texts in minutes with an AI proofreader .

Editing for grammar and clarity

When editing, you want to ensure your text is clear, concise, and grammatically correct. You’re looking out for:

• Grammatical errors.
• Ambiguous phrasings.
• Redundancy and repetition .

In your initial draft, it’s common to end up with a lot of sentences that are poorly formulated. Look critically at where your meaning could be conveyed in a more effective way or in fewer words, and watch out for common sentence structure mistakes like run-on sentences and sentence fragments:

• Austen’s style is frequently humorous, her characters are often described as “witty.” Although this is less true of Mansfield Park .
• Austen’s style is frequently humorous. Her characters are often described as “witty,” although this is less true of Mansfield Park .

To make your sentences run smoothly, you can always use a paraphrasing tool to rewrite them in a clearer way.

Proofreading for small mistakes and typos

When proofreading, first look out for typos in your text:

• Spelling errors.
• Missing words.
• Confused word choices .
• Punctuation errors .
• Missing or excess spaces.

Use a grammar checker , but be sure to do another manual check after. Read through your text line by line, watching out for problem areas highlighted by the software but also for any other issues it might have missed.

For example, in the following phrase we notice several errors:

• Mary Crawfords character is a complicate one and her relationships with Fanny and Edmund undergoes several transformations through out the novel.
• Mary Crawford’s character is a complicated one, and her relationships with both Fanny and Edmund undergo several transformations throughout the novel.

Proofreading for stylistic consistency

There are several issues in academic writing where you can choose between multiple different standards. For example:

• Whether you use the serial comma .
• Whether you use American or British spellings and punctuation (you can use a punctuation checker for this).
• Where you use numerals vs. words for numbers.
• How you capitalize your titles and headings.

Unless you’re given specific guidance on these issues, it’s your choice which standards you follow. The important thing is to consistently follow one standard for each issue. For example, don’t use a mixture of American and British spellings in your paper.

Additionally, you will probably be provided with specific guidelines for issues related to format (how your text is presented on the page) and citations (how you acknowledge your sources). Always follow these instructions carefully.

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy
• Deep learning
• Generative AI
• Machine learning
• Reinforcement learning
• Supervised vs. unsupervised learning

 (AI) Tools

• Grammar Checker
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Text Summarizer
• AI Detector
• Plagiarism Checker
• Citation Generator

Revising, proofreading, and editing are different stages of the writing process .

• Revising is making structural and logical changes to your text—reformulating arguments and reordering information.
• Editing refers to making more local changes to things like sentence structure and phrasing to make sure your meaning is conveyed clearly and concisely.
• Proofreading involves looking at the text closely, line by line, to spot any typos and issues with consistency and correct them.

Whether you’re publishing a blog, submitting a research paper , or even just writing an important email, there are a few techniques you can use to make sure it’s error-free:

• Take a break : Set your work aside for at least a few hours so that you can look at it with fresh eyes.
• Proofread a printout : Staring at a screen for too long can cause fatigue – sit down with a pen and paper to check the final version.
• Use digital shortcuts : Take note of any recurring mistakes (for example, misspelling a particular word, switching between US and UK English , or inconsistently capitalizing a term), and use Find and Replace to fix it throughout the document.

If you want to be confident that an important text is error-free, it might be worth choosing a professional proofreading service instead.

If you’ve gone over the word limit set for your assignment, shorten your sentences and cut repetition and redundancy during the editing process. If you use a lot of long quotes , consider shortening them to just the essentials.

If you need to remove a lot of words, you may have to cut certain passages. Remember that everything in the text should be there to support your argument; look for any information that’s not essential to your point and remove it.

To make this process easier and faster, you can use a paraphrasing tool . With this tool, you can rewrite your text to make it simpler and shorter. If that’s not enough, you can copy-paste your paraphrased text into the summarizer . This tool will distill your text to its core message.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, December 08). The Writing Process | 5 Steps with Examples & Tips. Scribbr. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/writing-process/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, how to create a structured research paper outline | example, quick guide to proofreading | what, why and how to proofread, academic paragraph structure | step-by-step guide & examples, unlimited academic ai-proofreading.

✔ Document error-free in 5minutes ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts

How to write a process essay

• August 25, 2023

Process essays are one of the most common types of essays . It’s simply explaining a process of how to do something. 

In this article, we’ll show you how to write a process essay in steps with interactive examples. 

Process essay definition

Let’s take a look at the steps outlined below to write a clear and effective process essay. 

Choose a topic

You should start by choosing a topic that not only interests you but also attracts your target audience. 

Whether it’s brewing the perfect cup of coffee or conquering the art of origami, your topic should be engaging and well-defined.  Let’s have a look at topic examples:

• Crafting Exquisite Miniature Bookbindings
• Building a Sustainable Vertical Garden
• Making the Perfect Cup of Coffee

So for this guide, I’ve chosen “Making the Perfect Cup of Coffee”. Now let’s continue with the next steps.

Create a process essay outline

Now that you’ve your topic at hand, it’s time to create an outline to present the steps chronologically. Outline will also help you organize your thoughts and ideas so you won’t get lost during the writing process.

Let’s examine this step with an example of a process essay explaining “Making the Perfect Cup of Coffee”.

Process essay outline example

• Thesis statement
• Provide safety precautions if necessary.
• Address to the reader
• Provide any variations or customization options if applicable.
• End with a memorable concluding thought or call to action.

By presenting the steps in chronological order, your readers can follow the process smoothly. 

During this step, just make sure to:

• Expand on each step you outlined earlier.
• Use clear and concise language.
• Make use of bullet points or numbered lists to make the process visually appealing.

After completing the outline, it’s time to write an interesting introduction.

Write an introduction

• Hook the reader's interest with a hook sentence
• Offer a brief overview of the topic and its significance
• Introduce and explain the process with a thesis statement at the end of introduction

Process essay introduction example

Introduction

Now that we have an intro on our hand, you need to tell what materials you need to finish the process.

Write the materials needed for the process

Listing the necessary materials for the process is a best practice for process essays. Typically found just after the introduction, this paragraph is devoted to outlining the necessary materials.

Here, p rioritizing the list is important; the more influential a component is, the higher its position on the list should be.

Example material list for process essay

Body paragraphs

Materials needed

• High-quality coffee beans that align with your flavor preference.
• A grinder for optimal flavor extraction.
• Equipment for brewing methods, such as a pour-over apparatus, a drip coffee maker, a French press, or an espresso machine.
• Fresh and clean water for brewing.
• Optional additives like milk, cream, sugar, flavored syrups, or other preferred elements.

Start writing the process

Right after listing the materials needed, it’s time to start writing the process itself.

When describing your process, be careful not to make it too complicated. To keep your readers on track, use transitional words like “after,” “eventually,” “first,” “then,” and others help you maintain an understandable tone.  

Or simply use a 1,2,3, bullet point structure as seen in example below to remind readers of their step during the process.

Body paragraphs - Process writing example

Materials needed ...

• Grind the beans just before brewing for optimal freshness. Use a burr grinder and adjust the coarseness to match your brewing method (coarse for French press, fine for espresso).
• Weigh your coffee grounds using a scale. A standard ratio is 1 to 2 tablespoons of coffee per 6 ounces of water, but adjust to your taste.
• Ensure the water is heated to the ideal temperature, typically between 195-205°F (90-96°C). Water that's too hot or too cold can affect the taste.
• Pay attention to the brewing time. Generally, 4-5 minutes is suitable for most methods, but again, adjust based on your preference.
• After finishing, regularly clean your coffee maker or French press to prevent rancid oils and residue from affecting your coffee's taste.

As seen from the example above, using an imperative language structure is generally preferable. It makes total sense as you’re describing a process in steps and usually don’t need a full sentence structure. 

Give tips and supporting details

After explaining the process above, it’s now time to provide tips and supporting details. Here, make use examples, tips, and even warnings if necessary. 

In other words, anticipate the questions your readers might have and address them as you go along. 

Body paragraphs - Supporting details

Supporting details & tips

• Ensure safe handling of hot water and coffee-making equipment.
• Water that's too hot can result in over-extraction, while water that's too cold won't extract enough flavor.

Write a conclusion

At this step, you simply need to write a conclusion paragraph to end your process essay. First summarize the key points, and restate the process in a concise and short sentence. And finally, finish your process essay by a memorable sentence or a call-to-action. 

Process essay conclusion example

Revise and polish your essay.

Now that you’ve written your essay, take a breath, and then come back for some editing. Check for consistency, correct sentence structure, efficient transitions , tense selection , and other linguistic issues that may arise. 

If possible, make use of proofreading tools like QuillBot or Grammarly . 

• Think about potential reader misunderstandings and address them. If needed, explain what should be avoided.
• Offer explanations for steps that might seem unusual or complicated.
• Define any unfamiliar terms or materials that the reader might not understand. This ensures clarity in your essay.

So  you’ve successfully learned how to write a captivating process essay. Remember, practice makes perfect. The more you write, the better you’ll become.

Recently on Tamara Blog

How to write a discussion essay (with steps & examples), writing a great poetry essay (steps & examples), how to write a process essay (steps & examples), writing a common app essay (steps & examples), how to write a synthesis essay (steps & examples), how to write a horror story.

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• This Or That Game New
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• College University and Postgraduate
• Academic Writing

How to Write a Process Essay

Last Updated: December 6, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 166,265 times.

A process essay, otherwise known as a how-to essay, tells a reader how to perform a particular task. The best process essays follow a clear step-by-step organization. Start by providing your reader with a time estimate and general summary of the task. Then, move on to a more detailed explanation of each and every necessary step. When you are finished with your essay, read it over carefully to ensure that you haven’t left anything out.

Getting Ready to Write

• For example, a process essay intended for professional chefs could probably skip a description of how to chop carrots and just say, “Finely chop the carrots,” instead.

• You could also include a comprehensive “Things You’ll Need” section at the beginning of the paper. Or list the materials needed after the introduction.
• If an item on the list is a bit unusual, such as a particular type of hand tool, then make sure to clearly introduce it within the text. For example, “The pin hammer has a finer tip than a standard hammer, making it suitable for more detailed work.” You can also include a picture of the item, particularly if the essay will be published online.

• If you are writing an essay about how to cook lasagna, your initial outline might just state, “Mix in basil.” Before you start writing, you could expand your outline to say, “Briefly mention taste differences between dried and fresh basil.”
• Note that the more specific your article or essay topic, the more specific your details needs to be.

Crafting an Introduction

• For instance, you might write, “The process of preparing lasagna has a rich heritage all of its own.”

• If your process essay focuses on a cooking task, this is where you might advise your readers to consult the ingredients or materials list and put every item on the counter.
• For example, you might write, “This recipe requires 30 minutes of active preparation time, along with 45 minutes of baking time.”

• For example, your thesis might be, “This essay will explore how to create a complicated lasagna dish in a short period of time by preparing the noodles and sauce in advance.”

Writing Your Body Paragraphs

• Be especially careful with items that contain multiple steps. Make the transitions clear and acknowledge prior steps regarding a particular item, if applicable.

• For instance, when making pasta, consider writing a paragraph on how to boil pasta and another paragraph on how to make the sauce. This separates the ideas for easy clarification.

• For instance, you could write, “Next, place the pot on the stove,” to move from one paragraph to the next.

• For example, you could write, “This essay shows…” instead of “I’ll show.”

• For example, you might caution a reader to, “Cook the meat until it is no longer red in the center.” This advice will help them to avoid a foodborne illness.

Wrapping It Up

• In the case of the recipe, you could write something like, “You now have a bowl of boiled pasta and finished Bolognese sauce. Serve up plates of pasta and sauce to your family, topping them with parmesan, if desired. You can serve garlic bread or a side salad with this dish, too.”

• A simple example for our newly-made dinner might be, "And there you have it! A delicious yet quick meal fit for the entire family that you can make over and over again without complaint. Next time, experiment with different herbs and spices to find your own spin on this classic dish."

• Look to see if there are places where you can eliminate steps or condense your instructions. A reader is more likely to finish directions that they can easily skim through.
• Ask someone to read through the essay to see if they can understand the process. If possible, pick someone from your intended audience demographic.

• Don’t rely on spell-check alone, as it cannot account for context and doesn’t catch every error.

Expert Q&A

• If there are alternative ways to do a particular step in the process, make sure to mention these as you go along. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Give your readers pacing instructions as well. If they need to go slowly while performing a certain task, tell them early on. The same rule applies if a task requires speed for success. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ Jake Adams. Academic Tutor & Test Prep Specialist. Expert Interview. 20 May 2020.
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/essay-outline/
• ↑ https://www.georgebrown.ca/sites/default/files/uploadedfiles/tlc/_documents/hooks_and_attention_grabbers.pdf
• ↑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-clinton-englishcomp/chapter/2-the-process-essay/
• ↑ http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/style_purpose_strategy/procress_paper.html
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/readability-scores/

About This Article

To write a process essay, begin by writing an introduction that grabs the reader’s attention so they’ll want to keep reading. Then, end the first paragraph with a thesis statement presenting a problem for which you are offering a solution. Next, explain the process, making each step its own paragraph, and using transitions like "next" or "then" to move from one task to another. As the final step, let the reader know what to expect from the finished product and what to do with it. Finally, close your essay by reiterating why the process is helpful to the reader. For tips from our Education reviewer on how to proofread for common errors in a process essay, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

ChinaTeacherAlan

Dec 2, 2018

Did this article help you?

Juliana Kim

Jan 8, 2017

Nov 19, 2016

Hasan Hasan

Dec 16, 2016

Dec 11, 2018

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help Pro:

Level up your tech skills and stay ahead of the curve

• Enroll & Pay
• Prospective Students
• Current Students
• Degree Programs

The Writing Process

The writing process is something that no two people do the same way. There is no "right way" or "wrong way" to write. It can be a very messy and fluid process, and the following is only a representation of commonly used steps. Remember you can come to the Writing Center for assistance at any stage in this process. 

Steps of the Writing Process

Step 1: Prewriting

Think and Decide

• Make sure you understand your assignment. See  Research Papers  or  Essays
• Decide on a topic to write about. See   Prewriting Strategies  and  Narrow your Topic
• Consider who will read your work. See  Audience and Voice
• Brainstorm ideas about the subject and how those ideas can be organized. Make an outline. See  Outlines

Step 2: Research (if needed) 

• List places where you can find information.
• Do your research. See the many KU Libraries resources and helpful guides
• Evaluate your sources. See  Evaluating Sources  and  Primary vs. Secondary Sources
• Make an outline to help organize your research. See  Outlines

Step 3: Drafting

• Write sentences and paragraphs even if they are not perfect.
• Create a thesis statement with your main idea. See  Thesis Statements
• Put the information you researched into your essay accurately without plagiarizing. Remember to include both in-text citations and a bibliographic page. See  Incorporating References and Paraphrase and Summary  
• Read what you have written and judge if it says what you mean. Write some more.
• Read it again.
• Write some more.
• Write until you have said everything you want to say about the topic.

Step 4: Revising

Make it Better

• Read what you have written again. See  Revising Content  and  Revising Organization
• Rearrange words, sentences, or paragraphs into a clear and logical order. 
• Take out or add parts.
• Do more research if you think you should.
• Replace overused or unclear words.
• Read your writing aloud to be sure it flows smoothly. Add transitions.

Step 5: Editing and Proofreading

Make it Correct

• Be sure all sentences are complete. See  Editing and Proofreading
• Correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
• Change words that are not used correctly or are unclear.
• APA Formatting
• Chicago Style Formatting
• MLA Formatting  
• Have someone else check your work.

• Clerc Center | PK-12 & Outreach
• KDES | PK-8th Grade School (D.C. Metro Area)
• MSSD | 9th-12th Grade School (Nationwide)
• Gallaudet University Regional Centers
• Parent Advocacy App
• K-12 ASL Content Standards
• National Resources
• Youth Programs
• Academic Bowl
• Battle Of The Books
• National Literary Competition
• Youth Debate Bowl
• Bison Sports Camp
• Discover College and Careers (DC²)
• Financial Wizards
• Immerse Into ASL
• Alumni Relations
• Alumni Association
• Homecoming Weekend
• Class Giving
• Get Tickets / BisonPass
• Sport Calendars
• Cross Country
• Swimming & Diving
• Track & Field
• Indoor Track & Field
• Cheerleading
• Winter Cheerleading
• Human Resources
• Plan a Visit
• Request Info

• Areas of Study
• Accessible Human-Centered Computing
• American Sign Language
• Art and Media Design
• Communication Studies
• Data Science
• Deaf Studies
• Early Intervention Studies Graduate Programs
• Educational Neuroscience
• Hearing, Speech, and Language Sciences
• Information Technology
• International Development
• Interpretation and Translation
• Linguistics
• Mathematics
• Philosophy and Religion
• Physical Education & Recreation
• Public Affairs
• Public Health
• Sexuality and Gender Studies
• Social Work
• Theatre and Dance
• World Languages and Cultures
• B.A. in American Sign Language
• B.A. in Art and Media Design
• B.A. in Biology
• B.A. in Communication Studies
• B.A. in Communication Studies for Online Degree Completion Program
• B.A. in Deaf Studies
• B.A. in Deaf Studies for Online Degree Completion Program
• B.A. in Education with a Specialization in Early Childhood Education
• B.A. in Education with a Specialization in Elementary Education
• B.A. in English
• B.A. in Government
• B.A. in Government with a Specialization in Law
• B.A. in History
• B.A. in Interdisciplinary Spanish
• B.A. in International Studies
• B.A. in Interpretation
• B.A. in Mathematics
• B.A. in Philosophy
• B.A. in Psychology
• B.A. in Psychology for Online Degree Completion Program
• B.A. in Social Work (BSW)
• B.A. in Sociology
• B.A. in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology
• B.A. in Theatre Arts: Production/Performance
• B.A. or B.S. in Education with a Specialization in Secondary Education: Science, English, Mathematics or Social Studies
• B.S in Risk Management and Insurance
• B.S. in Accounting
• B.S. in Biology
• B.S. in Business Administration
• B.S. in Information Technology
• B.S. in Mathematics
• B.S. in Physical Education and Recreation
• B.S. In Public Health
• General Education
• Honors Program
• Peace Corps Prep program
• Self-Directed Major
• M.A. in Counseling: Clinical Mental Health Counseling
• M.A. in Counseling: School Counseling
• M.A. in Deaf Education
• M.A. in Deaf Education Studies
• M.A. in Deaf Studies: Cultural Studies
• M.A. in Deaf Studies: Language and Human Rights
• M.A. in Early Childhood Education and Deaf Education
• M.A. in Early Intervention Studies
• M.A. in Elementary Education and Deaf Education
• M.A. in International Development
• M.A. in Interpretation: Combined Interpreting Practice and Research
• M.A. in Interpretation: Interpreting Research
• M.A. in Linguistics
• M.A. in Secondary Education and Deaf Education
• M.A. in Sign Language Education
• M.S. in Accessible Human-Centered Computing
• M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology
• Master of Social Work (MSW)
• Au.D. in Audiology
• Ed.D. in Transformational Leadership and Administration in Deaf Education
• Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
• Ph.D. in Critical Studies in the Education of Deaf Learners
• Ph.D. in Hearing, Speech, and Language Sciences
• Ph.D. in Linguistics
• Ph.D. in Translation and Interpreting Studies
• Ph.D. Program in Educational Neuroscience (PEN)
• Individual Courses and Training
• Certificates
• Certificate in Sexuality and Gender Studies
• Educating Deaf Students with Disabilities (online, post-bachelor’s)
• American Sign Language and English Bilingual Early Childhood Deaf Education: Birth to 5 (online, post-bachelor’s)
• Peer Mentor Training (low-residency/hybrid, post-bachelor’s)
• Early Intervention Studies Graduate Certificate
• Online Degree Programs
• ODCP Minor in Communication Studies
• ODCP Minor in Deaf Studies
• ODCP Minor in Psychology
• ODCP Minor in Writing
• Online Degree Program General Education Curriculum
• University Capstone Honors for Online Degree Completion Program

Quick Links

• PK-12 & Outreach
• NSO Schedule

The Process of Writing a Research Paper

202.448-7036

Planning the Research Paper

The goal of a research paper is to bring together different views, evidence, and facts about a topic from books, articles, and interviews, then interpret the information into your writing. It’s about a relationship between you, other writers, and your teacher/audience.

A research paper will show two things: what you know or learned about a certain topic, and what other people know about the same topic. Often you make a judgment, or just explain complex ideas to the reader. The length of the research paper depends on your teacher’s guidelines. It’s always a good idea to keep your teacher in mind while writing your paper because the teacher is your audience.

The Process There are three stages for doing a research paper. These stages are:

While most people start with prewriting, the three stages of the writing process overlap. Writing is not the kind of process where you have to finish step one before moving on to step two, and so on. Your job is to make your ideas as clear as possible for the reader, and that means you might have to go back and forth between the prewriting, writing and revising stages several times before submitting the paper.

» Prewriting Thinking about a topic

The first thing you should do when starting your research paper is to think of a topic. Try to pick a topic that interests you and your teacher — interesting topics are easier to write about than boring topics! Make sure that your topic is not too hard to research, and that there is enough material on the topic. Talk to as many people as possible about your topic, especially your teacher. You’ll be surprised at the ideas you’ll get from talking about your topic. Be sure to always discuss potential topics with your teacher.

Places you can find a topic: newspapers, magazines, television news, the World Wide Web, and even in the index of a textbook!

Narrowing down your topic

As you think about your topic and start reading, you should begin thinking about a possible thesis statement (a sentence or two explaining your opinion about the topic). One technique is to ask yourself one important question about your topic, and as you find your answer, the thesis can develop from that. Some other techniques you may use to narrow your topic are: jot lists; preliminary outlines; listing possible thesis statements; listing questions; and/or making a concept map. It also may be helpful to have a friend ask you questions about your topic.

For help on developing your thesis statement, see the English Center Guide to Developing a Thesis Statement .

Discovery/Reading about your topic

You need to find information that helps you support your thesis. There are different places you can find this information: books, articles, people (interviews), and the internet.

As you gather the information or ideas you need, you need to make sure that you take notes and write down where and who you got the information from. This is called “citing your sources.” If you write your paper using information from other writers and do not cite the sources, you are committing plagiarism . If you plagiarize, you can get an “F” on your paper, fail the course, or even get kicked out of school.

CITING SOURCES

There are three major different formats for citing sources. They are: the Modern Language Association (MLA) , the American Psychology Association (APA) , and the Chicago Turabian style . Always ask your teacher which format to use. For more information on these styles, see our other handouts!

ORGANIZING INFORMATION

After you’ve thought, read, and taken notes on your topic, you may want to revise your thesis because a good thesis will help you develop a plan for writing your paper. One way you can do this is to brainstorm — think about everything you know about your topic, and put it down on paper. Once you have it all written down, you can look it over and decide if you should change your thesis statement or not.

If you already developed a preliminary map or outline, now is the time to go back and revise it. If you haven’t developed a map or outline yet, now is the time to do it. The outline or concept map should help you organize how you want to present information to your readers. The clearer your outline or map, the easier it will be for you to write the paper. Be sure that each part of your outline supports your thesis. If it does not, you may want to change/revise your thesis statement again.

» Writing a research paper follows a standard compositional (essay) format. It has a title, introduction, body and conclusion. Some people like to start their research papers with a title and introduction, while others wait until they’ve already started the body of the paper before developing a title and introduction. See this link for more information about writing introductions and conclusions .

Some techniques that may help you with writing your paper are:

• start by writing your thesis statement
• use a free writing technique (What I mean is…)
• follow your outline or map
• pretend you are writing a letter to a friend, and tell them what you know about your topic
• follow your topic notecards

If you’re having difficulties thinking of what to write about next, you can look back at your notes that you have from when you were brainstorming for your topic.

» Revising The last (but not least) step is revising. When you are revising, look over your paper and make changes in weak areas. The different areas to look for mistakes include: content– too much detail, or too little detail; organization/structure (which is the order in which you write information about your topic); grammar; punctuation; capitalization; word choice; and citations.

It probably is best if you focus on the “big picture” first. The “big picture” means the organization (paragraph order), and content (ideas and points) of the paper. It also might help to go through your paper paragraph by paragraph and see if the main idea of each paragraph relates to the thesis. Be sure to keep an eye out for any repeated information (one of the most common mistakes made by students is having two or more paragraphs with the same information). Often good writers combine several paragraphs into one so they do not repeat information.

Revision Guidelines

• The audience understands your paper.
• The sentences are clear and complete.
• All paragraphs relate to the thesis.
• Each paragraph explains its purpose clearly.
• You do not repeat large blocks of information in two or more different paragraphs.
• The information in your paper is accurate.
• A friend or classmate has read through your paper and offered suggestions.

After you are satisfied with the content and structure of the paper, you then can focus on common errors like grammar, spelling, sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, typos, and word choice.

Proofreading Guidelines

• Subjects and verbs agree.
• Verb tenses are consistent.
• Pronouns agree with the subjects they substitute.
• Word choices are clear.
• Capitalization is correct.
• Spelling is correct.
• Punctuation is correct.
• References are cited properly.

For more information on proofreading, see the English Center Punctuation and Grammar Review .

After writing the paper, it might help if you put it aside and do not look at it for a day or two. When you look at your paper again, you will see it with new eyes and notice mistakes you didn’t before. It’s a really good idea to ask someone else to read your paper before you submit it to your teacher. Good writers often get feedback and revise their paper several times before submitting it to the teacher.

Source: “Process of Writing a Research Paper,” by Ellen Beck and Rachel Mingo with contributions from Jules Nelson Hill and Vivion Smith, is based on the previous version by Dawn Taylor, Sharon Quintero, Robert Rich, Robert McDonald, and Katherine Eckhart.

202-448-7036

At a Glance

• Quick Facts
• University Leadership
• History & Traditions
• Accreditation
• Consumer Information
• Our 10-Year Vision: The Gallaudet Promise
• Annual Report of Achievements (ARA)
• The Signing Ecosystem
• Not Your Average University

Our Community

• Library & Archives
• Technology Support
• Interpreting Requests
• Ombuds Support
• Health and Wellness Programs
• Profile & Web Edits

Visit Gallaudet

• Explore Our Campus
• Virtual Tour
• Maps & Directions
• Shuttle Bus Schedule
• Kellogg Conference Hotel
• Welcome Center
• National Deaf Life Museum
• Apple Guide Maps

Engage Today

• Work at Gallaudet / Clerc Center
• Social Media Channels
• University Wide Events
• Sponsorship Requests
• Data Requests
• Media Inquiries
• Gallaudet Today Magazine
• Giving at Gallaudet
• Financial Aid
• Registrar’s Office
• Residence Life & Housing
• Safety & Security
• Undergraduate Admissions
• Graduate Admissions
• University Communications
• Clerc Center

Gallaudet University, chartered in 1864, is a private university for deaf and hard of hearing students.

Copyright © 2024 Gallaudet University. All rights reserved.

• Accessibility
• Cookie Consent Notice
• Privacy Policy
• File a Report

800 Florida Avenue NE, Washington, D.C. 20002

Do You Know The 7 Steps Of The Writing Process?

How much do you know about the different stages of the writing process? Even if you’ve been writing for years, your understanding of the processes of writing may be limited to writing, editing, and publishing. 

It’s not your fault. Much of the writing instruction in school and online focus most heavily on those three critical steps. 

Important as they are, though, there’s more to creating a successful book than those three. And as a writer, you need to know.   

The 7 Steps of the Writing Process

Read on to familiarize yourself with the seven writing process steps most writers go through — at least to some extent. The more you know each step and its importance, the more you can do it justice before moving on to the next. 

1. Planning or Prewriting

This is probably the most fun part of the writing process. Here’s where an idea leads to a brainstorm, which leads to an outline (or something like it). 

Whether you’re a plotter, a pantser, or something in between, every writer has some idea of what they want to accomplish with their writing. This is the goal you want the final draft to meet. 

With both fiction and nonfiction , every author needs to identify two things for each writing project: 

• Intended audience = “For whom am I writing this?”
• Chosen purpose = “What do I want this piece of writing to accomplish?”

In other words, you start with the endpoint in mind. You look at your writing project the way your audience would. And you keep its purpose foremost at every step. 

From planning, we move to the next fun stage. 

2. Drafting (or Writing the First Draft)

There’s a reason we don’t just call this the “rough draft,” anymore. Every first draft is rough. And you’ll probably have more than one rough draft before you’re ready to publish. 

For your first draft, you’ll be freewriting your way from beginning to end, drawing from your outline, or a list of main plot points, depending on your particular process. 

To get to the finish line for this first draft, it helps to set word count goals for each day or each week and to set a deadline based on those word counts and an approximate idea of how long this writing project should be. 

Seeing that deadline on your calendar can help keep you motivated to meet your daily and weekly targets. It also helps to reserve a specific time of day for writing. 

Another useful tool is a Pomodoro timer, which you can set for 20-25 minute bursts with short breaks between them — until you reach your word count for the day. 

3. Sharing Your First Draft

Once you’ve finished your first draft, it’s time to take a break from it. The next time you sit down to read through it, you’ll be more objective than you would be right after typing “The End” or logging the final word count. 

It’s also time to let others see your baby, so they can provide feedback on what they like and what isn’t working for them.

You can find willing readers in a variety of places: 

• Social media groups for writers
• Social media groups for readers of a particular genre
• Your email list (if you have one)
• Local and online writing groups and forums

This is where you’ll get a sense of whether your first draft is fulfilling its original purpose and whether it’s likely to appeal to its intended audience. 

You’ll also get some feedback on whether you use certain words too often, as well as whether your writing is clear and enjoyable to read. 

4. Evaluating Your Draft

Here’s where you do a full evaluation of your first draft, taking into account the feedback you’ve received, as well as what you’re noticing as you read through it. You’ll mark any mistakes with grammar or mechanics. 

And you’ll look for the answer to important questions: 

• Is this piece of writing effective/ Does it fulfill its purpose?
• Do my readers like my main character? (Fiction)
• Does the story make sense and satisfy the reader? (Fiction)
• Does it answer the questions presented at the beginning? ( Nonfiction )
• Is it written in a way the intended audience can understand and enjoy?

Once you’ve thoroughly evaluated your work, you can move on to the revision stage and create the next draft. 

More Related Articles

How To Create An Em Dash Or Hyphen

Are You Ready To Test Your Proofreading Skills?

How To Write A Book For Kindle About Your Expertise Or Passion

5. Revising Your Content

Revising and editing get mixed up a lot, but they’re not the same thing. 

With revising, you’re making changes to the content based on the feedback you’ve received and on your own evaluation of the previous draft. 

• To correct structural problems in your book or story
• To find loose ends and tie them up (Fiction)
• To correct unhelpful deviations from genre norms (Fiction)
• To add or remove content to improve flow and/or usefulness

You revise your draft to create a new one that comes closer to achieving your original goals for it. Your newest revision is your newest draft. 

If you’re hiring a professional editor for the next step, you’ll likely be doing more revision after they’ve provided their own feedback on the draft you send them. 

Editing is about eliminating errors in your (revised) content that can affect its accuracy, clarity, and readability.

By the time editing is done, your writing should be free of the following: 

• Grammatical errors
• Punctuation/mechanical and spelling errors
• Misquoted content
• Missing (necessary) citations and source info
• Factual errors
• Awkward phrasing
• Unnecessary repetition

Good editing makes your work easier and more enjoyable to read. A well-edited book is less likely to get negative reviews titled, “Needs editing.” And when it comes to books, it’s best to go beyond self-editing and find a skilled professional. 

A competent editor will be more objective about your work and is more likely to catch mistakes you don’t see because your eyes have learned to compensate for them. 

7. Publishing Your Final Product

Here’s where you take your final draft — the final product of all the previous steps — and prepare it for publication. 

Not only will it need to be formatted (for ebook, print, and audiobook), but you’ll also need a cover that will appeal to your intended audience as much as your content will. 

Whether you budget for these things or not depends on the path you choose to publish your book: 

• Traditional Publishing — where the publishing house provides editing, formatting, and cover design, as well as some marketing
• Self-Publishing — where you contract with professionals and pay for editing, formatting, and cover design. 
• Self-Publishing with a Publishing Company — where you pay the company to provide editing, formatting, and cover design using their in-house professionals.

And once your book is live and ready to buy, it’s time to make it more visible to your intended audience. Otherwise, it would fail in its purpose, too. 

Are you ready to begin 7 steps of the writing process?

Now that you’re familiar with the writing process examples in this post, how do you envision your own process?

While it should include the seven steps described here, it’ll also include personal preferences of your own — like the following: 

• Writing music and other ambient details
• Writing schedule
• Word count targets and time frames

The more you learn about the finer details of the writing process, the more likely you are to create content your readers will love. And the more likely they are to find it. 

Wherever you are in the process, our goal here is to provide content that will help you make the most of it. 

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

The Writing Process

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

In this section

Subsections.

How to Write a Process Essay

The process essay, also known as the "how-to" essay, is commonly written for people or companies that need tutorials or a set of instructional steps. Whether it's building a robot or cooking a chocolate cake, process essays use a similar format for any variations. They follow a step-by-step style, with the initial step influencing the second, which influences the third, and so on. Each step carries its own importance, and a poor explanation of one step can ruin the entire process. It's important to stay concise and efficient. However, before you begin writing your essay, you should do some small preparations. Let's discover them with our research writing service .

What Is a Process Paper?

A process essay is a type of essay that explains a process step by step and gives guidance for a certain process, working mechanism, procedure, etc. Process essays range from very simple ones, such as instructions for how to ride a bicycle, to more complex ones, such as a chemistry lab report of an oxidative reaction experiment. The goal of a process paper is to give its readers guidance and directions. 

Feeling Overwhelmed Writing a Process Essay on Your Own?

Simply send us your paper requirements, choose your paper writer and we’ll get it done fast.

A process paper is characterized, first of all, by explaining a process using a description. Some words that are frequently used in process essays are “further”, “then”, “next”, “first”, “last”, “finally”, and “initially”. It is really important to remember that every process essay includes features, such as:

• clear and straightforward narration - the last thing you want to do is to confuse your reader with complex language and an unorganized thought thread;
• chronological order - avoid skipping steps and shifting them around, as it will result in misunderstanding and frustration for the readers;
• transition words - make sure to separate the next step from the previous ones by using transition words;
• descriptions of the steps - make sure your steps are clear and easy to follow.

There are several types of process essays. The first one is directional - it explains the “how to” for something. It can take on a wide range of subjects, such as how to apply for a credit card, how to get your driver’s license, how to plan a wedding, etc. The outcome of the directional essay should be a result. In the cases of the examples above: a credit card, a driver’s license, or a carefully planned wedding. The other type of process paper is informational - it explains how something works. Here are some examples: how a weather forecast is determined, how a space rocket works, how intermittent fasting changes your body, etc. An informational essay explains something to a reader and does not necessarily end up with a result, like directional does. 

Another type of essay that is similar to a process essay is a process analysis essay. The biggest difference is that a process analysis essay not only explains the steps, but also analyses them in depth. It has all of the characteristics of a process essay, although goes into more detail about the causes and consequences of every step.

If you need any additional information for process analysis essays, check out our article: HOW TO WRITE A PROCESS ANALYSIS ESSAY

Writing a process essay is not extremely difficult. By following simple rules and a set of steps, a successful, well-structured essay can be guaranteed.

Prepare The Small Stuff

Here we gathered some small general tips and advice that you should follow throughout your writing process to make sure that all of the expectations of a process paper are met.

• Determine the Audience's Skill Level. It's important to base the level of complexity of the essay on who the readers will be. For example, if you need to teach a friend how to do a simple fix or create a certain tool, then it would be most reasonable to stick to more basic terminology. However, if you are writing an essay for your astrophysics professor about the creation of a black hole in the universe, use more sophisticated and informative terminology.
• Make a List of Materials. Obviously, the creation of anything comes with some prerequisites. Whether it's items or ideas, the importance of knowing the necessities beforehand and having them ready to go is essential. Make sure to place each item in accordance with its importance. The more impactful a part is, the higher up on the list it should be. 
• Write out Each Task. In a step-by-step tutorial, each individual task carries some sort of weight. Since an entire process can not be complete if a step is skipped, it's crucial to write out every single step. However, don't go overboard in your explanations. It's not necessary to bring the tutorial to a microscopic level, but each step should be understandable and competent.

If you still have difficulty writing, you can get essay help online from our service.

Process Essay Topics

Choosing a topic for a process paper can be quite challenging. A good place to start is with your passions. If you pick something you are excited about, you can make it interesting for your readers and fun for yourself to write about. If your professor limits you to write a process essay on something you have very little knowledge of, choose a topic that is intriguing and triggers your interest. Then, conduct enough thorough research to make sure you understand everything perfectly before you go ahead and try to explain it to someone else. 

Another very important thing to consider while writing a process essay is your audience. It is highly unlikely that college students are interested in instructions for “How to Get Into Your Dream School” or “How to Pass Your SATs”. Make sure your topic relates to the subject you are studying and you are following your professor’s prompt guidelines.

Here are some ideas that might be of interest for you:

• How to lose weight on a keto diet
• How your immune system fights COVID-19
• How to start selling on Amazon
• How to improve your credit score
• How to decrease your social media usage
• How to apply for unemployment insurance
• How to improve your college performance 
• How to open your first bank account

It's important to note that these essay topics are just some common examples used by several college students for their course papers. Feel free to use any one of them if you want, or think of one on your own. Just make sure it's a PROCESS!

Process Essay Outline

Most essay outlines follow the standard scheme: Intro > Body Paragraphs > Conclusion . follow the standard scheme: Intro > Body Paragraphs > Conclusion. A good process essay outline should look like this:

• Introduction — brief your reader on your topic, explain why you have chosen it and how you are planning to approach the explanation of the process. 
• Body — the biggest part of your essay that should be divided into paragraphs for easier understanding and structure. Make sure each paragraph is flowing smoothly into the next one with connective words.

Paragraph 1. First step of the process. Explain what the step is, what the best way to perform it is, and how to avoid common mistakes when doing it.

Paragraph 2. The next step of the process (the same as in Paragraph 1). Thoroughly explain what this step is about.

• Conclusion . Here you need to explain why your instructions are valuable. It is your opportunity to persuade your reader(s) that the steps you presented and the process they learned will be useful for them in the future. 

Every process is different: some can take a couple of minutes, while others can take months or years to complete. The length of the essay is generally based on the difficulty and number of steps it takes. However, the structure doesn't maneuver.

Introduction

The first thing that you want to do as a writer for your process paper is to help your readers be interested in your individual process. Be descriptive about it, paint a picture for your readers. A joke or a personal reference can be a great attention grabber and can pull your reader right in. For somebody to be keen on approaching your process, they have to express interest in it. Though, it generally goes without saying that many writers ignore this fact. Let's break it down into subsections:

• Give a little bit of historical background. People often want to know the origins of whatever it is that they're working on. Introducing this part of the process helps to intrigue your readers, as well as give them a sense of purpose for the task.
• Create an approximate timeframe. Unfortunately, your readers don't have all day to spend on this one event. In addition to learning about its purpose, people want to know how long the task will take. This way, they can decide how to break up the work. If it's a quick fix, then they can knock it out in one session. However, if it's a large-scale operation, then your readers will obviously have to create their own time schedule.

For example, let’s say that the topic of your essay is “How to Save Money”. You can start the introduction of your process essay by explaining that as a college student, you often find yourself in need of extra money and you are stuck with bad money habits. This will create a good connection with your readers, because almost everyone has been in a situation of needing to be savvy with their finances. Another thing you can mention is the importance of saving money and the multiple opportunities it presents, such as being able to invest it, being able to pay off a credit card debt, or being able to save up to avoid taking out a student loan.

Feeling Overloaded and Stressed?

Our professional writers are ready to help you 24/7!

Body Paragraphs

This is the point in the process essay where you start introducing the step-by-step process your readers will need to take. A lot of the time, it helps to break down each process into subsections. For example, if a step has many parts to it, it would be clever to create a paragraph on its own just for that step. Remember, it's important to keep things smooth and efficient. Break down the body paragraphs in unity with the steps. Let's go into more detail about each step:

Each step should be carefully explained.  Every step will vary in length. Think about it: every instruction manual has several steps. Some are more difficult to comprehend or perform than others. For this reason, create your steps and explanations accordingly. You should be able to get a sense of their length and difficulty based on the explanation.

Don't forget to explain the purpose.  People don't want orders barked at them aimlessly. Besides just accomplishing a task, people want to learn as they perform.

• Why did they do this?
• What was the purpose of this method?
• Why did we do it this way and not this other way?

To make everything flow smoothly use transitions.  Make the steps flow one after another to create a well-structured essay. As you introduce the next step, consider using transition words like “next”, “now”, “then”, “so that”, etc.

Before writing the steps out in full sentences, it is a great idea to create an outline for your body paragraphs. Here is an outline for the body paragraphs of a process essay on “How to Save Money”:

Paragraph 1:

• keep track of your expenses
• organize your collected data
• decide what you can skimp on in your spendings

Paragraph 2:

• create a realistic budget
• check weekly to ensure you are sticking to it
• save 15% of every monthly income
• set a tangible goal for saving, such as a car

These process essay examples use only two body paragraphs, but feel free to include more to ensure a better understanding and cohesive flow for your paper. Although, do not include excessive unnecessary details that clutter your essay and make understanding it even more difficult. While writing your essay, include small brief explanations for each statement. For example, “Even though eating out and grabbing a coffee on your way to class sounds tempting, setting a budget and saving 15% of each of your monthly earnings aside can help you have enough to put down a downpayment on a new car.” Here the reader will understand that there is a direct relationship between each step and the result it is going to give. 

Showing the readers that they are learning and not just repeating is one of the most effective ways to lock down their attention and keep them coming back!

After going through every step meticulously and explaining the whole process, a process essay needs a confident conclusion. This paragraph should be short, sweet, and to the point. It's main goal is to accomplish the following tasks:

• Discuss the main result. After the readers have completed the process, they should be left with a final result. It's important that you explain to your readers what the end result will look like, and what can be done with it.
• Restate the process’s general purpose. After completing the task, you obviously would like to know its overall purpose. When your readers feel that they have accomplished a challenge, learned something from it, and have a path to take the result towards, they will be satisfied!
• State your Overall Conclusion. To put a pretty tie around your process essay means that you need to neatly wrap things up! Restate some of the highlightable points as well as the process’s key overall purpose. Make sure that your readers feel accomplished after going through your process, and  ensure that you strengthen the necessity of its purpose with a nice concluding sentence!

The conclusion of an essay on “How to Save Money” would explain that the completion of all of the steps will result in saving money that can be used for a specific goal or for rainy day fund purposes. You can mention the importance of every step and briefly repeat some of the key points. 

Post-Writing Tips

Here are some final tips to wrap up your writing process. Use them as a checklist for a successful and coherent essay. 

• Make sure the work is simple enough to follow. Worst-case-scenario: its author creates a feeling of absolute confusion in the reader’s mind. To avoid this problem, always remember that your readers can be beginners. Do not try to impress them with complicated words or sentences, use simple language to provide clear directions on how to do something. Give as many details as possible, but do it plainly. "Why is he making me do this?" "What was the purpose of this?" "I don't understand this step at all!" If the reader is asking themself these questions, then it's time to do some editing!
• Experiment and try it for yourself or ask a friend. There's no better way to experience success than to actively attempt your process through your own instructions. If everything truly makes sense, then you should have no problem solving the task using your own words. Even better, ask a peer to try it through your words to get an outside point of view.
• Choose the right topic for you and research it well
• Maintain a logical order of steps, make it easy to follow
• Avoid using imperative sentences - you do not want to sound like an Apple TV manual
• Explain terms that are most likely outside of most people’s range of common knowledge 

If you have a ready-made essay but need to make significant changes to it, you can use our rewrite my essay service .

Process Essay Examples

Now that you know all about process essays and how to write them, we have prepared some great essay topic ideas in case you are stuck and cannot choose one:

Building a business from scratch is an intricate process that entails a number of steps. Each of these steps should have specific objectives and measurable outcomes.The following analysis gives the basic steps followed when building any business from scratch.

Saving can be defined as a differed consumption or keeping aside a portion of your income for unexpected future uncertainties or plans. Read for reason and actual steps for saving more money

Read also a thesis statement example from our author. In this article, you can learn something useful for yourself.

Still Need Help?

If you still feel like you could use some help with your process essay, do not hesitate to seek help from our writing service. Our writers specialize in a wide range of essays of different types including creative writing essay , process essays, and would be more than happy to assist you with writing, editing, or direction if you are feeling uneasy. Click the button below and college admission essay writer will process your requests fast.

Related Articles

Writing process: From discovery to done (complete guide)

The writing process has many stages, from discovery and investigation to publication. Read authors’ insights on finding ideas, revision and more, and tips and methods to find the process that works for you.

• Post author By Jordan
• 5 Comments on Writing process: From discovery to done (complete guide)

The writing process is a complex, not always linear creative process. From ‘plotters’ vs ‘pantsers’ (to ‘bashers’ vs ‘swoopers’), this guide unpacks stages of the writing process, what authors have said about the practices and habits of writing, and more. Use the links above to jump to the section that interests you now.

Writing process stages: 7 areas of practice

Some writing schools and authors divide writing into four stages, some five. Yet these seven see a story from first idea to publication:

• Discovery. Before you can draft, you need an idea, a premise. This is the investigative stage of finding the seed for a story with the most potential.
• Prewriting . The preparation to write before drafting begins. Depending on whether you’re a ‘plotter’ or ‘pantser’ (more on this below), this may include outlining, brainstorming, freewriting, or other common prewriting techniques.
• Drafting. You write narration, exposition, scenes, chapters (depending on your story’s format). Drafting may be fast or slow, depending on your preferred methods. Try different approaches and techniques to shake up your usual writing habits.
• Writing feedback and story development. Once you are comfortable to share your work-in-progress (WIP), you may share early drafts with a trusted friend, writing coach or critique circle for perspective and insight.
• Revision . The process of reviewing what you’ve written, deciding what to keep (and which ‘darlings’ to ‘kill’).
• Editing. While revision entails making decisions about the content of your story, editing involves making decisions about the presentation of that content – how best to make the story more impactful and polished.
• Publication (and promotion). Isn’t the writing process over at this stage? Not at all – your query letters, story pitches, blurbs, review requests and other matter will be some of the most important material of the entire writing process. This is the writing that puts the story you’ve labored over in the right hands.

Keep reading for tips, methods and ideas about each of these stages, supplemented by reading from the Now Novel blog.

Recommended reading

• The writing process: 7 steps to structure and success

To the top ↑

Sometimes we fail for a week, a month, a year, a decade. And then we come back, circle the fire. Our lives are not linear. We get lost, then we get found. Patience is important, and a large tolerance for our mistakes. We don’t become anything overnight. Natalie Goldberg, The True Secret of Writing (2013), p. 58.

Discovery: Finding and investigating writing ideas

The writing process may start from an idea that arrives like a soothsayer. A flash of inspiration, insight, wisdom – a dream, unexpected connection, some kind of beguiling chance encounter or happenstance that makes you say, ‘I’ve got an idea’.

Yet the idea-finding process may equally be deliberate, even robotic. Consistently trying your hand at writing prompts until an idea niggles away at your waking mind, for example, persistently saying, ‘pick me’.

Finding and developing writing ideas is a skill you develop like any part of the writing process. That way you can make an idea come, not just for a first book, but a second, third (if with a little coaxing).

Essayist and cultural theorist Walter Benjamin said of the writing process:

Work on a good piece of writing proceeds on three levels: a musical one, where it is composed; an architectural one, where it is constructed; and finally, a textile one, where it is woven. Walter Benjamin, quote via Goodreads .

Before you make a picture with those threads, you need the wool you spin into finer thread: The fluffy stuff of an idea.

Writing process methods: Ways to find ideas

There are many ways to find ideas and find joy in the discovery stage of writing process.

Discovery and investigation may include a little or a lot of research, depending on what you need to know. The seed of an idea may come from multiple sources at once, as Toni Morrison says of her Pulitzer-winning novel Beloved :

Beloved originated as a general question, and was launched by a newspaper clipping. The general question (remember, this was the early eighties) centered on how – other than equal rights, access, pay, etc. – does the women’s movement define the freedom being sought? Toni Morrison, ‘On Beloved ‘ in Mouth Full of Blood: Essays, Speeches, Meditations, p. 281.

Here are fifteen ways to find ideas:

15 ways to find writing ideas and begin the writing process

• Try writing prompts such as the step-by-step prompts to find a central story idea in the Now Novel dashboard.
• Ask ‘What if…?’ For example, ‘What if a mysterious satellite held captivating mysteries about an alien race?’
• Draw from life. What experience could you use/alter for non-fiction or fiction?
• Use visual prompts. Use a photo or artwork as your starting point. Free-write a paragraph describing what you see, then continue and keep or turf the opening material.
• Play/combine. William S. Burroughs’ famous ‘cut up’ technique reassembles random cuttings from print into new ideas, for example.
• Trawl headlines. Google intriguing subjects in the ‘news’ tab. E.g. ‘travel disasters’ brought up ‘How ‘dark tourism’ can pass on the lessons of past tragedies’. Mine your headline for ideas.
• Explore myths and legends. Reads stories from world mythologies. You could update an ancient tale with modern touches.
• Argue with other stories. Maybe a story’s annoyed you, or you want to explore a secondary character’s viewpoint (from a work now in the public domain). Write back.
• Test out ideas in short fiction. Famous novels (such as Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce) began as short story test runs.
• Draw inspiration from music. Listen to a song. What ideas, characters, premises do the lyrics evoke?
• Try creative constraints. The collective OuLiPo used devices such as writing stories omitting a chosen vowel entirely to find the unexpected.
• Browse famous quotes. Take something like ‘Happy families are all alike…’ from Anna Karenina . Where else could it lead?
• Join writing groups. Prompts set by members for each other may inspire new ideas.
• Research historical figures or eras. You may unearth a riveting idea from the past.
• Tap into your subconscious and keep a dream journal or meditate, silence and going inward often brings clarity.

FAQs about the discovery stage of writing

Share your idea with trusted people for external perspective. Test it out in a writing group or class. Ask questions about ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘why’ ‘where’ and ‘when’ to finesse a hazy or partial idea into something deeper, fuller.

The varied ways myths and legends are recycled (Thor in Norse mythology becoming Marvel’s popular character) reminds us there are no new ideas. Originality lies in the specifics of voice and execution. Be specific, be yourself and find your voice through practice and intentional execution.

This is where it helps to remember the writing process is not linear. The discovery stage is also a good time for research, finding out what is being done (and overdone) in your genre. What agents are looking for (or tired of seeing). Resources listing recent publishing deals give insights into what’s sold recently and book market appetites. To start though, focus on telling a good story. Great stories find their audience.

🗣️ How did you find your last story idea? Let us know in the comments, and keep reading for tips and methods for prewriting, drafting, and more.

• 38 plot ideas (plus 7 ways to find more)
• How to find book ideas: 15 easy methods
• Book ideas: 12 fun ways to find them
• Finding story topics when stuck: 5 simple methods

GET YOUR FREE GUIDE TO SCENE STRUCTURE

Read a guide to writing scenes with purpose that move your story forward.

Ideas are like fireflies; go hunting for them and they elude you. Sit and enjoy the night, and they appear from out of nowhere. You have to let the ideas come to you. Expand your world, read outside your comfort zone, take walks. The fireflies will come. Just give them the chance. Sabrina Jeffries in 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists: Insider Secrets from Top Writers by Andrew McAleer (2008), p. 69.

Prewriting: Useful preparatory writing processes

Prewriting is the processes before you start drafting a story which help you prepare.

There are many kinds of prewriting. Because the writing process is not linear, you might come back to one or more of these methods at some stage of drafting:

Common prewriting steps and methods

• Picking a premise. If you have multiple ideas, go with the idea that pulls you most and (if you want a marketable book) the one you know has the better market potential.
• Choosing a genre or subgenre. This goes hand in hand with picking a premise, since if you set your book in outer space and explore future technology, chances are you’ll be shelved with sci-fi.
• Brainstorming. A process of generating ideas, whether you use mind maps, answer prompts and questionnaires, or churn out every idea you can think of in scenario- or topic-driven lists.
• Creating a story outline. This may be a meticulous, detailed outline, or a cursory collection of notes. The more complete your outline, the more handrails you’ll have. This prevents wandering off into irrelevancies, plot holes and impossible paradoxes, and so on.
• Creating initial summary material. Summary material includes things like character profiles or IDs, scene summaries , or a one-page synopsis of what your story is about (also a useful exercise in the Publication and promotion stage of process).
• Freewriting. Before more structured drafting, you might explore a topic or scenario with freewriting. Set a timer for 15 to 20 minutes and just write whatever comes into your head about a topic you think will be important to your book. It might spawn scene, chapter, or character ideas.
• Research. This may overlap with the discovery/investigation stage, as your idea may also need a little research to solidify what you want to write about. It might include fiction set in a similar era or place, making a bibliography of potentially helpful non-fiction, speaking to subject exploring films and documentaries, or visiting physical or digital archives. For some tips on how to research place when you can’t visit those places, read our tips.
• Interviewing. This is especially pertinent for types of writing such as historical fiction, non-fiction, memoir. Interviews with subject experts, people who lived through specific events or an era, could provide helpful nuance, context, and ideas for relevant story details.

You don’t necessarily need to do every kind of prewriting. Some authors favor ‘just-in-time’ research (an idea Bujold spoke about in relation to fantasy worldbuilding ).

Authors on prewriting and whether or not to plan stories

The prewriting perspectives below show there are many way to skin (or rather save) a cat. Try different methods and find what works for you .

Loose story outlining

Author Scott King gives this reminder that prewriting (planning, creating structure, organizing) should serve the needs of your story, and stay adaptable to its unique needs:

An outline is a map of your story. It’s not set in stone. Even when you work from an outline, you will discover new twists and turns as you progress. The outline is there to remind you of where you are going so you can’t ever get too far from where you need to be. Since I was working under pressure, I didn’t want to get crazy with how I structured Ameriguns . I defaulted to a three act structure, the kind you’d use in a screenplay, but altered it to fit the needs of the story. Scott King, ‘Outline’ in The 5 Day Novel , 2016, p. 58.

Pullman on how establishing rules is part of play

More broadly, Philip Pullman, in ‘The Practice of Writing’, talks about how having some rules at the start of creative process gives paradoxical freedom to play. He compares guidelines such as rules (or outlines) to choosing where touchdown lies for a football game:

And as we know about all games, it’s much more satisfying to play with rules than without them. If we’re going to enjoy a game of football in the playground, we need to know where the touchline is, and agree on what we’re going to regard as the goalposts. Then we can get on with playing, because the complete freedom of our play is held together and protected by this armature of rules. The first and last and only discovery that the victims of anarchy can make is: no rules, no freedom. Philip Pullman, ‘The Practice of Writing’ in Daemon Voices , pp. 18-19

‘Plotting’ vs ‘Pantsing’: Find your balance between prewriting and drafting

So much has been written and said about whether you should plan stories in detail in advance (‘plotting’), or go where imagination takes you (‘pantsing’, after the expression ‘to fly by the seat of your pants’ or work with instinct and gut more than organized knowledge).

Your writing process may change to suit your project

Author K.M. Weiland raises the useful reminder that your writing process doesn’t need to ape a famous writer’s approach, or be the same across every story you tell:

Each author must discover for himself what methods work best for him. Just because Margaret Atwood does X and Stephen King does Y is no reason to blindly follow suit. Read widely, learn all you can about what works for other authors, and experiment to discover which methods will offer you the best results. K.M. Weiland, ‘Chapter One: Should You Outline?’ in Outlining your Novel: Map your way to success , p. 11.

Planning stories helps character development

Edith Wharton, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for writing, said of the space and planning deeper characterization requires:

Type, general character, may be set forth in a few strokes, but the progression, the unfolding of personality […] if the actors in the tale are to retain their individuality for [the reader] through a succession of changing circumstances—this slow but continuous growth requires space, and therefore belongs by definition to a larger, a symphonic plan. Edith Wharton, The Writing of Fiction: The classic guide to the art of the short story and the novel (1925), p. 33.

Not planning, creative freedom and excitement

Author Lee Child, on the other hand, extolls the benefits of not planning (and not being as pedantic about the marks you hit as an editor or publisher might be):

I write without a plan or an outline. The way I picture my process is this: The novel is a movie stuntman, about to get pushed off a sixty-story building. The prop guys have a square fire-department airbag ready on the sidewalk below. One corner is marked Mystery, one Thriller, one Crime Fiction, and one Suspense. The stuntman is going to land on the bag. (I hope.) But probably not dead-on. Probably somewhat off center. But biased toward which corner? I don’t know yet. And I really don’t mind. I’m excited to find out. Lee Child, ‘Introduction’ in How to Write a Mystery: A handbook from Mystery Writers of America

🗣️ What is your preferred prewriting method? Or do you pants it all the way, or pants a little then switch to planning? Tell us in the comments.

• What is prewriting? Preparing to write with purpose
• Story plotting and structure: Complete guide
• Story planning and outlining: Complete guide
• Story planner success: How to organize your novel

GET HELP PLANNING YOUR BOOK

Join Now Novel for a helpful crit community and live webinars and plotting tools when you upgrade.

Writing process challenges you may encounter

Before we discuss drafting and the writing process, let’s explore common process challenges (and tips to overcome them):

Common hurdles in creative process

There are challenges in creative process that beginning authors and veterans alike face. You’re not alone if you’ve ever gone rounds in the ring with:

• Fear of failure (or success). What happens if a publisher or agent says no? What if reviews or crits are harsh? Or how will you handle sudden public recognition and scrutiny in the event of success?
• Procrastination (avoidance behaviors). When writing a story feels hard, it’s easy to put it off (or use not having time or something else as an excuse not to write).
• Distractibility. Whether you have a condition such as ADHD that adds further focus challenges or are a social media addict, we live in a highly distracting, ‘always on’ world.
• ‘Time Burglars’ . There are many thieves of time that take away from the writing process if you don’t make regular writing a top priority.
• A harsh inner critic. Many aspiring creative people have harsh inner critics who destroy their work before anyone else can.
• Laziness. This is a common reason not to write, too.
• Unpreparedness. Many writers find projects spool out and become much harder and more complex than originally anticipated. That can be discouraging.

Overcoming writing process challenges

How can you work with and overcome some of the above procedural challenges in writing?

• Keep SMART goals: Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-based goals are much easier to track and attain than hazy aims
• Work on tolerance for your mistakes: Everyone makes mistakes starting out, and seasoned pros do, too
• Chunk up complex tasks: Struggling to write a chapter a week to schedule? Try write 300 words per day and set a bigger ‘stretch goal’ (an extra target if you make your first easily)
• Turn off the net if you need to: Put your phone in airplane mode and pause all notifications
• Remember the difference between procrastination and waiting: It’s fine to wait for maturity, fuller knowledge of your subject, to be in the right frame of mind. It’s not putting off but letting process take its necessary time for this story
• Get up and move often: The writing process is (for the most part) a sedentary one. It’s easy to forget to move. Stone-like posture may lead to petrified process, even if your mind’s going a hundred miles a minute

The accountability of working with a writing coach or joining a crit circle that meets regularly helps (in Now Novel’s experience), too.

Natalie Goldberg writes, on procrastination vs waiting:

Waiting is something full-bodied. Perhaps waiting isn’t even a good word for it. Pregnant is better. You’ve worked on something for a while. You are excited by it, even happy, but you are wise and step back. You take a walk, but this walk isn’t to avoid the writing on your desk. It is a walk full of your writing. It is also full of the trees you pass, the river, the sky. You are letting writing work on you. Natalie Goldberg, ‘Procrastination and Waiting’, in Wild Mind: Living the writer’s life , p. 210.

How to nurture your writing process and avoid common pitfalls

We asked Now Novel’s writing coaches their best advice on the writing process, and about patterns they see in beginning writers (and ways to overcome destructive habits).

Romance author and writing coach Romy Sommer on remembering why you’re telling your story:

Writing is hard work. Probably harder than you thought it would be when inspiration first struck and you decided to write a novel. So find the joy in what you are writing. Remind yourself daily of WHY you are writing this story. Remember that spark that first inspired you to sit down and write, because that is what will keep you going when the going gets tough.

SFF and YA author, editor and writing coach Nerine Dorman on allowing yourself to make ‘happy accidents’:

Many writers I’ve worked with lack confidence in their ability, and tend to focus on those first chapters to the point where they lose the momentum to push forward with the rest of the plot. I give them Bob Ross’s advice of making plenty of ‘happy little accidents’ as we can’t actually work on writing if there’s nothing there to revise. Your first draft can be as messy as you need it to be. The most important thing is to get into the habit of writing as regularly as your schedule allows, and to see your writing as a very personal way to express yourself. Granted, there are the basic building blocks of writing and style, which I aim to teach, but I like to think that we also look at what it means to be a writer – a constantly evolving, growing creative person.

Recommended Reading

• How to overcome writer’s block: 14 methods
• Motivation to write: 7 simple strategies
• End writing procrastination now: 7 steps
• Silence your inner critic: 8 ways to write in peace

We have to accept ourselves in order to write. Now none of us does that fully; few of us do it even halfway. Don’t wait for one hundred percent acceptance of yourself before you write, or even eight percent acceptance. Just write. The process of writing is an activity that teaches us about acceptance. Natalie Goldberg, Wild Mind: Living the writer’s life , p. 61.

Drafting stories: Getting knee-deep in scenes

We could equally call the drafting stage of process ‘discovery’ like the first stage. After all, drafting is where you discover many of the ‘happy accidents’ Nerine describes above. Discoveries that may often depart from your outline (or lead you back into revision-planning).

Learn more about approaches to drafting, what authors say about doing fewer vs multiple drafts, and tips to make this part of process work for you.

Types of draft in the storytelling process

There are many terms authors use to refer to drafting. Numbered (first, second, third) drafts. Even drafts before the first, the so-called ‘draft zero’ (which describes a discovery draft, the purpose of which is just to learn the broad scope of the story and set down some of the material in full).

In one of Now Novel’s live webinars, writing coach, author and editor Hedi Lampert shared a drafting concept by the late author and writing educator Anne Schuster, who hosted women’s writing workshops in Cape Town.

The idea is a simple, three-part drafting process. To paraphrase:

• The down draft: The draft where you get your ideas down on the page, with as much messiness or as many placeholders as you need to keep moving.
• The up draft: A second draft in which you pick up on details for development, expansion, and color in more of your story.
• The dental draft: A third draft in which you polish the work of your first two drafts, paying attention to language and finer detail now the story elements have solidified.

This is a useful concept in that it gives each stage of drafting a proper focus and purpose (and allows for not getting everything ‘right’ straight away).

Authors on the drafting stage of writing process

Will you draft chapters in chronological sequence or out of order? Should you worry about chapters and scene breaks or carve up the text later?

These are some of the questions authors face about drafting. Read authors on drafting and their individual processes. These perspectives show that what works for one person might not work for another. Try different methods until you find what works for your process, or this project.

Toni Morrison on creating chapters and parts in a draft

Toni Morrison describes putting in story segment divisions at a later point in process:

Chapter and part designations, as conventionally used in novels, were never very much help to me in writing. Nor are outlines. (I permit their use for the sake of the designer and for ease in talking about the book. They are usually identified at the last minute.) Toni Morrison, ‘The Writer Before the Page’, in Mouth Full of Blood: Essays, Speeches, Meditations , p. 266.

Sir Terry Pratchett on the purpose of a first, second and third draft (creative freedom, shaping, addressing detail)

Sir Terry Pratchett said that the first draft is ‘just you telling yourself the story’, and qualified something like a systematic per-draft process when he said:

First draft: let it run. Turn all the knobs up to 11. Second draft: hell. Cut it down and cut it into shape. Third draft: comb its nose and blow its hair. I usually find that most of the book will have handed itself to me on that first draft. Sir Terry Pratchett, via Goodreads

Colleen McCullough on how many drafts until done: It depends

How many drafts ‘should’ you write? It depends, writing is rewriting as Colleen McCullough describes:

Once I’ve got the first draft down on paper then I do five or six more drafts, the last two of which will be polishing drafts. The ones in between will flesh out the characters and maybe I’ll check my research. Colleen McCullough, quoted by Writers Write here .

🗣️ What is your drafting process currently? Is there a system, number of drafts or method that works well for you? Share it in the comments.

• Writing first drafts: 10 ideas to reach final drafts
• Write with purpose: 7 ways to keep drafts focused
• How to write a rough draft: Finish your novel faster

The concept of finishing a piece of writing, taking it through successive drafts, did not yet exist for me. I reveled in the heady pleasure of committing a few words to paper and treasured each like a rare jewel I had dug from the earth with my bare hands. A journal suited my fledgling status as a writer and made me feel serious and important, a real writer, and honored the scant output I produced. In my journal I practiced being a writer in both senses of the word: practiced as in trying out, and practiced as in keeping a daily practice, the way the nuns observed their daily order of prayer services. Katherine Towler, in Writers and Their Notebooks , edited by Diana M. Raab, pp. 65-66.

Writing feedback and story development

Remember that we said the writing process is not always linear?

When you get writing feedback depends on you. You may want feedback on your story idea or summary, your early chapters. You may prefer not to show your WIP to anyone until you’re at least one or more drafts deep. Tweet This

Maybe you move between drafting rounds, and feedback rounds, as you use readers’ perspectives to tweak your story and workshop it.

Why getting feedback is a crucial stage of writing process

When we don’t have critiques, manuscript evaluations, editors or beta readers, we only have our own perspectives to rely upon. You get used to your own mistakes, and nobody knows their own blind spots or the details they hadn’t thought of (that a shrewd second opinion might).

To ensure feedback aids (more than frustrates) your writing process:

• Get feedback from writers you trust. You might want input from writers at a similar stage of development to yourself, or editors who have been story doctors for some time.
• Take feedback from whence it comes. That crosspatch member of your crit circle who never has a nice word to say? Expect the kind of feedback that person usually gives. If a crit circle or beta reader is harsh or overwhelmingly negative, it’s OK to find a better fit.
• Stay open to perspectives and use what’s useful. There’s that saying, ‘You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.’ Don’t get parched just to protect your ego. Reviewers on major platforms could be way harsher if you don’t take time to fix what isn’t working.
• Describe what feedback you’re looking for. Now Novel’s critique submission system contains categories you can check off for feedback, such as ‘grammar and language’, ‘characters’, ‘structure and flow’ and ‘dialogue’. Specifying what kind of feedback you want helps readers tailor their feedback to be more relevant to your needs.
• Give any necessary context. Nobody knows your writing process or story better than you do. Remember to contextualize anything an editor or beta reader may need to know to have a better understanding of what you’re aiming for (in style, subject matter, tone, characterization, etc.).

Giving feedback also does wonders for many authors’ writing processes – helping others with writing challenges helps you build the tools to solve your own.

Channeling feedback into the writing process

Too much feedback (especially if overly harsh as it can be in poorly moderated communities), especially in the early stages of a story, may inhibit or discourage. When evaluating writing feedback, ask:

• Is there overlap between what feedback givers are saying? This could signal a real and higher priority issue to address in revision
• What is higher vs lower priority feedback to implement? Major confusion-bringing issues such as continuity issues or tense drift and head-hopping are naturally a higher priority than minor details that don’t affect whether readers can understand the story, for example

When getting and giving feedback in a crit circle or a beta reading community, it’s easy to compare yourself to other writers. Writing coach Romy Sommer advises against comparisons:

Do not compare yourself to other writers. We each work differently, we each need to find the writing process that works best for our lives and the way our brains work, and what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another. Accepting that took a huge weight off my shoulders and enabled me to embrace my own process.

The development stage of creative process: Comb story’s nose, blow its hair

As Terry Pratchett says, developing a story – later rewrites and drafts – gets into grooming-like detail. Combing a story’s … nose!? You may well find that there are Picasso-like parts, or the princess’s hair is snotty, not sleek. Tweet This

At the developmental stage of writing, ask yourself questions an editor would, such as:

• Is it clear? Does the reader have sufficient context or clear wording to understand the story and follow along?
• Does it have cohesion? Do actions and reactions flow and make sense? When characters converse, does it have the pattern of real call and response or is it like two people with crossed wires?
• Is the story ‘colored in’? Is there sufficient description (and are descriptions specific/detailed, not hazy)?
• Are events and actions clear and intriguing? Does the procession of events create questions the reader wants answered?
• Is there flow between lines, scenes, chapters? Or if the story is non-linear, do the pieces come together to make an interesting, impactful whole?

Here’s a fuller checklist with 34 story development questions for rewrites and successive drafts:

• How to find beta readers for final draft feedback
• Writing circle pros: 8 reasons to share your story
• 100 character development questions to inspire deeper arcs
• How to master plot development: 8 steps

Writers have always struggled with the same core issues: getting the work done (productivity) and creating something worth reading (creativity). And, unless you believe that misery is necessary for true art, aim for a third goal: making the process enjoyable, cultivating a fulfilling and happy life that includes writing. Let’s consider this our triple objective: productivity, creativity, and enjoyment. Surely that’s not asking too much? Anne Janzer, ‘Finding Your Own Process’ in The Writer’s Process: Getting your brain in gear, p. 15

Revision: Seeing again with fresh eyes

The word ‘revision’ says it all. The fifth stage of the writing process is seeing again, reviewing what you’ve written, to make insertions/deletions as needed.

There may be parts of your story that would benefit much from expansion, coloring in. Maybe there are parts that you have to cull, as much as you may feel attached to them.

Revision vs editing: What’s the difference?

Revision is a process of making decisions about the content of your story. It may include:

• Adding in new scenes, chapters or sections
• Rearranging scenes, chapters or sections
• Cutting out subplots or other material that aren’t contributing to the whole sufficiently
• Trying a different person to determine the effects on POV

That last example touches on an important truth about revision: it’s as creative as drafting, and it can be a fun process of play, of trying out different things.

Editing, on the other hand, is focused on improving the presentation of decisions made about content. Often, you may find that an editor suggests further revisions. This is work that you’ll do, because only you (as the author) are qualified to make this level of creative decision, it being your story.

Authors’ ideas on revision and the writing process

What do authors say about the revision process?

Joyce Carol Oates on revising as you go being arduous

Joyce Carol Oates shared that her writing methods changed over time, as she grew older:

I think that I envy my younger self because I used to write a whole draft of a novel and then go back and rewrite it […] Today, I do a lot of revising as I go along and that seems to be more painful and arduous. It’s a slow process, almost like putting a mosaic together or weaving things in and out, whereas before it felt more like galloping on a horse and then creating the manuscript. For some reason I’ve become more attuned to the individual sentence and reworking the sentences. I’m not sure why that happened. Joyce Carol Oates, USA Weekend , quoted by famouswritingroutines.com here .

This raises an important decision about revising: When will you stop to review and tweak elements? If you stop every page, prepare for a first draft that may take years! Give yourself the time your process dictates.

Jamaica Kincaid on the internal revision process

Of course, your revision is not only the work you do on paper. Dame Agatha Christie said the best time to plot a novel was while doing the dishes. Jamaica Kincaid, in conversation with Publishers Weekly , says:

I write a lot in my head. The revision goes on internally. It’s not spontaneous and it doesn’t have a schedule. You know how some people write every day at a certain point? I’m not like that. I carry something around for a long time. I weigh the words and the sentences. I weigh the paragraphs. The process is much more meditative for me. So, when I put something down on paper, I’ve already edited a lot. Jamaica Kincaid, interviewed by Liesel Schwabe, ‘The Age of a Mountain: PW Talks with Jamaica Kincaid’, December 2012.

🗣️ What is your approach to revision? Do you sit with ideas a long time, write at a gallop and then revise, or make painstaking revisions as you go? Share in the comments.

• Revision in writing: How to improve between drafts
• Novel editing insights: 9 big lessons from critique

GET FEEDBACK AND HELP WITH REVISION

Join The Process for weekly editor critiques, monthly live workshops, story outlining tools and more.

Editing: The polishing stage of writing process

Editing, the penultimate stage of writing process, is itself made up of several important stages. It’s often a challenging one because there is an even bigger degree of ‘letting go’. Letting someone make tracked changes and suggestions to your manuscript, for example.

When you hand over writing to an editor, you may be getting your first sample of ‘reception’ (if you have been working in private, not with a crit circle). T.S. Eliot drily said, ‘Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.’

Editing is often an immensely enriching process, though, for both editor and author. Earnest discussion and deep thought about a story’s strengths (and how best to serve them) and challenges (and how best to address them) may unearth surprising gems.

The main types of fiction editing

The four main types of editing are:

• Developmental editing. This examines large-picture aspects such as character and story development, narrative structure and pacing.
• Line editing. More detail-oriented, line-level editing that examines issues such as language, style, flow and clarity.
• Copy editing: Focuses on grammar, spelling, punctuation, and eliminating errors and residual issues with style or flow that may be left over from (or have crept in after) line editing.
• Proofreading: The final stage of editing, catching any final errors before publication (a stage self-publishing authors may be tempted to omit, but do so at risk of excoriating reviews).

Many editing providers, including Now Novel, offer manuscript evaluations . This is often bundled with developmental editing as a part of discovery process (we subtract the cost of an evaluation from developmental editing). A manuscript evaluation produces a reader’s report with actionable recommendations on aspects such as plot and character development, narrative structure, pacing, conflict and more.

Is editing writing process? It is in that it is en route to publication. How much writing you’ll do at this stage depends on how much revision there is to be done.

If you have excellent language faculty and a strong grasp of story, an editor may recommend you proceed straight to copy editing from an evaluation, if there are no large-scale issues.

• Editing and revising: 7 tips from top authors and editors
• Editing copy? 8 tips for a word-perfect manuscript

Publication and promotion: Writing around your story

Does the writing process end once your work’s edited? Some would say ‘yes’. Yet publication and promotion involve a lot of writing ‘around’ your story, about your story. Press, promotion, selling.

This isn’t a type of writing (and part of process) that’s for everyone (you may want to outsource some of this work – for example writing social media captions – to a marketing agency if or once you can afford it).

Publication and the writing process

Types of writing you’ll do when you’re ready to publish include:

• Writing query letters or script pitches
• Writing bios for author pages
• Writing newsletters, social media captions, and other marketing material
• Writing speeches or guest blogs about the process of writing your story

Promotion and publication are a whole other side of process that we’ll cover in fuller detail in another complete guide.

See the resources recommended reading below for tips on aspects such as creating your author brand, creating a business plan, and ways to get more reviews.

Helpful resources for publication and promotion writing

Here are several resources that provide tips on publication and promotion as well as useful examples:

• Publishers Weekly – frequent round-ups of publishing news and interesting developments in publishing
• Query Shark – examples of query letters dissected by an agent
• Jane Friedman’s blog – with twenty years’ experience in the publishing industry, Jane shares helpful publishing insights such as how to query and how to avoid publishing scams
• Joanna Penn’s The Creative Penn – a helpful blog featuring podcasts and articles packed with publishing and book promotion insights
• Kindlepreneur – writer Dave Chesson has a site devoted to book publishing and promotion how to’s, useful for self-publishing authors.

🗣️ Is there a book publishing and promo resource you love you don’t see here? Let us know about it in the comments.

• How to write a query letter: 10 easy steps
• Writing to market: 10 pros and cons to weigh
• Self-publishing on Ama zon: 20 pros and cons for authors
• How to create a business plan for writers

Now Novel provides help with every stage of the writing process. Learn more about membership benefits for serious writers .

Related Posts:

• Writing dialogue: Complete guide to storied speech
• Character writing: Complete guide to creating your cast
• Writing romance and love stories: Complete guide
• Tags writing process

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

5 replies on “Writing process: From discovery to done (complete guide)”

I’m mostly a pantser, I think. I let the ideas take me where they want to go with an end point in mind. The problem is that I don’t always like the direction, missing that fireman cushion completely. I feel like I’ve given away a piece of my soul to have to start over (I don’t want to say second draft because it feels more like a new zero). I know how important it is to get to the end, but if I truly have a fresh idea I have to go down that road, but I’m so scared it’ll take me straight to Hades… again. Eventually, I’ll be very well versed in writing my own story, I suppose. Lots and lots of practice.

Hi Margriet, thank you for sharing that. It’s very interesting as a method as you do end up doing a lot of review and revision as you go. Have you every thought of having some kind of ‘pantsers compromise’ of maybe outlining one scene ahead? Something Ernest Hemingway said was to the effect of ‘stop for the day when you know what happens next’ which might be one way to keep Hades and his kidnappers at bay 🙂 Thank you for sharing your process!

Thanks for this Jordan – comprehensive doesn’t do it justice!

For me, the difference between being someone who wanted to complete a first draft and actually doing it was definitely when I stopped being a panther and embraced the value of plotting & planning.

I’m still more of a plantser than someone who plots things to the nth degree, but having a very clear idea of at least the first 20-30% of the novel is going to go, with an idea of the way it’s going to end allows me the flexibility and freedom to start the novel with confidence that I’m going to finish, because I have a pretty good map of the journey and the destination.

I know I’m going to get “there”, even if the actual final destination changes along the way, or if I take a few pretty little detours along the way. I’ve used two different plotting approaches to complete 3 first drafts now – so I think it’s not necessarily what plotting style you go for, it’s about having one and making it work.

Hi Mark, it’s a pleasure. Thank you for sharing that. I love the happy accident of ‘panther’ in particular. Because that describes what pantsers are like, pouncing with minimum hesitation. That makes total sense to me; each story will also have its own demands in terms of the mix of research and other stages required so process may have to adapt to the demands of a specific work.

I saw that and had a little chuckle at myself – the inner pantser lives on!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pin It on Pinterest

The Writing Process

Whether writing a paper for school or a document for work, high-stakes writing requires careful thought and execution. The steps involved in this form of writing constitute a writing process. Even though everyone ultimately has his/her/their own process for getting ideas down on paper and turning those ideas into a finished product, there are identifiable steps involved in the process of writing that can be defined, developed, and discussed. These steps include:

• Getting Started (from deciphering a writing task assignment to getting your initial thoughts on a topic on paper)
• Drafting (from organizing your ideas, to strategies for refining drafts to dealing with writer’s block)
• Organization and Structure
• Gathering and Using Feedback (from responding to comments to using comments constructively)
• Revising, Editing, Proofreading

Common Types of Writing Assignments (Southwestern University) Your best resource for questions about assignments is your professor. However, here are a few links that discuss some common types of assignments. Please remember that these are just guides and that each assignment is different.

If I Were a Carpenter: The Tools of the Writer (Roy Peter Clark, Senior Scholar at The Poynter Institute and director of the National Writers’ Workshop) Includes 20 of the best writing tips that Clark has learned from reporters, editors, authors, teachers, and coaches.

Stages of the Writing Process (MIT Writing and Communication Center) Writing is a process that involves at least four distinct steps: prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. It is known as a recursive process. While you are revising, you might have to return to the prewriting step to develop and expand your ideas.

Starting The Writing Process (Purdue OWL) The highly regarded OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue University offers a large collection of online guides on writing that are updated regularly and cover a myriad of topics. This is a link to their page on the writing process.

Strategies for Essay Writing (Harvard College Writing Center) The links below provide concise advice on some fundamental elements of academic writing.

• How to Read an Assignment
• How to Do a Close Reading
• Essay Structure
• Developing a Thesis
• Topic Sentences and Signposting
• Transitioning
• How to Write a Comparative Analysis
• Conclusions

Tips and Tools Handouts (UNC Chapel Hill, The Writing Center) A comprehensive collection of handouts that deal with various aspects of the writing process including: writing the paper; citation, style, and sentence level concerns; specific writing assignments or contexts; and writing for specific fields.

GETTING STARTED

Before you begin writing, there are a few steps you can take to help you prepare yourself for the task at hand. The first step in any writing task is to understand what you need to write . In a classroom setting, this means understanding the assignment. In a professional setting, this means studying the publication: its audience, writer’s guidelines, and editorial reviewers. And in a business setting, it means identifying and understanding the needs of your customers.

Once you have an idea of what you need to write and why, you can begin brainstorming and generating ideas on what you want to write. Below are resources on prewriting, also known as invention, in the writing process.

Brainstorming Strategies for Student Writing (Cardinal Stritch University) Posted on YouTube: Oct. 20 2013 | length: 10:42 This tutorial provides “5 Brainstorming Methods for Writing Better College Papers.”

Developing an Outline (Purdue OWL) This guide demonstrates how to develop an outline for a first draft.

Getting Started (Pace University, The Writing Center) (Podcast) Posted on iTunes U: May 6 2009 | length: 1:45 / Access: iTunes U “Not sure how to begin your paper? Stuck on a topic? Not sure where to begin? Listen to this short podcast about how to get yourself started quickly and easily!” “Getting Started” is item 19 on the list of resources.

How Do I Make Sure I Understand an Assignment? (University of Michigan) “While some writing assignments are straightforward, others may need careful deciphering to make sure you are following the guidelines. Looking carefully at the instructions provided for any writing assignment to be certain that you understand the guidelines not only prevents missteps but can also help you develop strategies for conquering the task ahead.”

Introduction to Prewriting (Purdue OWL) This guide introduces the writer to strategies and techniques for developing an idea for a writing assignment through a series of questions.

Prewriting Questions (Purdue OWL) “This section explains the prewriting (invention) stage of the composing process. It includes processes, strategies, and questions to help you begin to write..”

• More Prewriting Questions

Starting the Writing Process (Purdue OWL) This guide addresses how to begin thinking about a writing project.

The Perils of Writer’s Block: A Poem (Pace University, The Writing Center) (Podcast) Posted on iTunes U: April 10 2009 | length: :40 / Access: iTunes U “We all hate writer’s block and this fun poem will give you an opportunity to rant and rave with our very own consultants!” “The Perils of Writer’s Block” is item 20 on the list of resources.

Understanding an Assignment (MIT Writing and Communication Center) When you get a writing task, the first step is to make sure you understand what you are being asked to do. This guide explains how to understand a writing assignment.

Understanding Assignments (UNC Chapel Hill, The Writing Center) “The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds like a simple task, it can be a tough one. This handout will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of the following advice will involve translating typical assignment terms and practices into meaningful clues to the type of writing your instructor expects.”

Understanding Writing Assignments (Purdue OWL) “This resource describes some steps you can take to better understand the requirements of your writing assignments. This resource works for either in-class, teacher-led discussion or for personal use.”

Write a Great Essay Using The Topoi (Associate Professor of Writing Mark Marino, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences) Posted on YouTube: Oct. 27, 2008 | length: 10:22 This video demonstrates how to brainstorm a topic using the prewriting strategy called “Topoi.”

Writer’s Block (Purdue OWL) This guide discusses the causes and provides ideas and suggestions for dealing with writer’s block.

• More Writer’s Block Strategies

Writing Anxiety (UNC Chapel Hill, The Writing Center) “This handout discusses the situational nature of writer’s block and other writing anxiety and suggests things you can try to feel more confident and optimistic about yourself as a writer.”

CLAIM (THESIS)

Prior to writing and during the drafting stage, you should be thinking about the central claim – also known as the thesis or argument – of your paper. Developing a single statement that clearly articulates the main argument of your paper is a key component to writing a strong paper. As you delve further into research and exploration, your argument may change slightly or drastically; thus, you should continually reread and revise your central claim so that it provides a true representation of your paper. Many people like to think of a central claim as a roadmap of the paper, as it offers your readers a guide for where the paper is headed. Usually a central claim is written at the end of an introduction, though it may be present anywhere in your paper.

Argument (UNC Chapel Hill, The Writing Center) “This handout will define what an argument is and explain why you need one in most of your academic essays.”

Developing a Thesis (Harvard College Writing Center) “A good thesis has two parts. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should “telegraph” how you plan to argue—that is, what particular support for your claim is going where in your essay.” This resource provides steps for writing a thesis statement along with caveats and examples.

Developing a Thesis Statement (Univ. of Wisconsin – Madison, The Writing Center) Offers a step-by-step approach to developing a thesis statement, from defining a topic to drafting a statement and finalizing it.

How to Write a Thesis Statement (Indiana University Writing Tutorial Services) Covers what a thesis statement is, why your paper needs one, and how to write/assess a thesis statement based on the following:

• How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Assigned
• How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is not Assigned
• How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One

The Thesis Statement: A Roadmap for Your Essay (Modesto Junior College) A PowerPoint presentation (approximately 20 slides) that uses many examples to help you understand what a thesis statement looks like and where you might add it to your paper.

Now you’re ready to put your ideas together and produce a first draft. This early and rough draft will lead you to your second, third, and fourth drafts as you continue to conduct more research and refine your ideas.

Pre-writing Activities and Drafting Your Essay (Purdue OWL) “This handout covers major topics relating to writing about fiction. This covers prewriting, close reading, thesis development, drafting and common pitfalls to avoid.”

Composing Processes: Drafting, Designing and Revising (Writing@CSU) “These guides provide advice on composing processes such as developing a thesis statement, creating a first draft, designing documents, revising, editing, proofreading, and carrying out peer review. Use these guides to help yourself write an effective document.”

The Structure of an Essay Draft (Univ. of Arizona) Tips for drafting your introduction, body, and conclusion. (Handout based on Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference )

INTRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

Sometimes writers have difficulties beginning and ending their papers. However, many effective introductions share similar elements – a hook, context, your argument, etc. – depending on the type of paper being composed. Likewise, many introductions and conclusions attempt to convey the “so what” factor, or why your reader should care about the subject. If you get stuck when writing the introduction, you might try moving onto your body paragraphs and then writing the introduction after the rest of your draft is complete. The websites listed below also provide a number of useful strategies and tips.

Conclusions (UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center) “This handout will explain the functions of conclusions, offer strategies for writing effective ones, help you evaluate conclusions you’ve drafted, and suggest approaches to avoid.”

Conclusion Strategies (MIT Writing and Communication Center; Click here for a full list of their online resources for writers) Examples of strategies to use in writing an introduction for a college essay.

Ending the Essay: Conclusions (Harvard College Writing Center) Offers strategies on how to provide readers with closure at the end of your essay or leave them thinking critically about the larger implications. It also provides some suggestions on ways not to end an essay.

Introductions (UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center) “This handout will explain the functions of introductions, offer strategies for writing effective ones, help you check your drafted introductions and provide you with examples of introductions to be avoided.”

Introductions, Body Paragraphs, and Conclusions for an Argument Paper (Purdue OWL) This guide addresses how to develop the key parts of a paper: the introduction, the body and the conclusion. There is a similar guide for writing exploratory papers.

Introductions, Body Paragraphs, and Conclusions for Exploratory Papers (Purdue OWL) This guide addresses how to develop the key parts of a paper: the introduction, the body and the conclusion. There is a similar guide for writing argument papers.

Introduction Strategies (MIT Online Writing and Communication Center; Click here for a full list of their Writing and Communication Center Resources) Examples of strategies to use in writing an introduction for a college essay.

Writing Introductions (Franklin and Marshall College Writing Center) A handout that breaks the introductory paragraph into manageable units – the opening sentence, middle sentences, and thesis statement. It also includes a sample effective introductory paragraph and ineffective introductory paragraph.

Writing Strong Conclusions (Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania, Kathleen Jones White Writing Center) Presents “five basic methods for concluding your paper in a way that will leave your reader intrigued and impressed”: anecdote, basic summary, startling summary, famous ideas, and hinting at related issues.

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

The organization of your paper should always be intentional. Whether you choose to structure your ideas chronologically, thematically, or in some other way, you should be thinking about the most effective way to present your argument to readers. You should also be able to clearly see how ideas are interwoven. Within each individual paragraph and between multiple paragraphs, you should seamlessly transition between concepts so your readers never lose track of your thought process.

Essay Structure (Harvard College Writing Center) This source reviews the logic behind essay writing explaining how “successfully structuring an essay means attending to a reader’s logic.”

On Paragraphs  (Purdue OWL) “Learning to write good paragraphs will help you as a writer stay on track during your drafting and revision stages.”

Organizing an Exploratory Essay (Purdue OWL) “This resource will help you with exploratory/inquiry essay assignments.”

Organizing Your Analysis (Purdue OWL) “This resource covers how to write a rhetorical analysis essay of primarily visual texts with a focus on demonstrating the author’s understanding of the rhetorical situation and design principles.”

Organizing Your Argument (Purdue OWL) Explains the Toulmin Method of logic/argumentation and offers an example.

Transitions (The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) “This handout will introduce you to some useful transitional expressions and help you employ them effectively.”

Strategies for Organizing as You Write (Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas; Click here for a full list of their handouts) (PDF) Describes different ways to organize your writing including creating headings, color coding, and outlining.

GATHERING AND USING FEEDBACK

Because writing is meant to be read, one of the best ways to improve your writing is to have others read your work. In academic circles, this is called peer review. In business, it is just called review. Your instructor might also give you feedback with the opportunity to revise. Gathering this feedback and using it constructively is a vital step in producing a quality piece of writing.

Challenges of Good Writing Part 3: Asking for Feedback (Arizona State University at iTunes U–ASU Challenges of Good Writing – Asking for Feedback) Posted on iTunes U: March 11, 2009 | length: 13:45 Dr. Jeanne Simpson, Director of the ASU Writing Centers, interviews professors from a variety of disciplines regarding exemplary writing in their fields These professors share their thoughts, challenges, and frustrations about the writing process. “Challenges of Good Writing” is item 8 on the list of resources in iTunes.

Getting Feedback (UNC Chapel Hill, Writing Center) “Sometimes you’d like feedback from someone else about your writing, but you may not be sure how to get it. This handout describes when, where, how and from whom you might receive effective responses as you develop as a writer.”

Peer Reviewing (University of Maryland Global Campus) From “The Writing Process” in the Online Guide to Writing and Research This page presents a series of checklists to direct the person reviewing your writing to particular areas and provide more focused feedback.

REVISING, EDITING AND PROOFREADING

When you submit a paper to a teacher for a grade, a journal for possible publication, or a customer or colleague in a business setting, you want your writing to be the best it can be in presenting your ideas. If your paper is riddled with pesky typos, misspelled words, or grammatical and punctuation errors, the reader will only focus on the errors. You need to edit and proofread your work closely so your reader focuses on the quality of your ideas.

Editing and Proofreading (UNC Chapel Hill, Writing Center) A handout on the differences between editing and proofreading with tips and strategies for revising and editing your own writing.

Proofreading Your Paper (Purdue OWL) Strategies for reviewing your finished writing to catch grammar and punctuation errors.

Questions to Ask Yourself as you Revise Your Essay (Writing@CSU) Questions to guide the essay revision process.

Reverse Outlining: An Exercise for Taking Notes and Revising Your Work (Purdue OWL) This guide provides a specific strategy of revising your paper by making an outline of a paper after it has been written to see what works and what is missing.

Revisions (Pace University, Writing Center) (Podcast) Posted on iTunes U: April 10 2009 | length: 2:04 “This short podcast will show you effective ways to look at your finished paper and improve it on your own. Revision is item 17 on the list of resources in iTunes.”

Strategies for Revision (Duke University; posted by USF Writing Commons) Posted on YouTube: June 19 2014 length: 8:22 This video clip provides specific strategies and helpful guidance on the best ways to revise an essay.

MULTIMODAL WRITING

Multimodal writing is the practice of using different modalities (audio, visual, spatial, and more) to help create meaning. Multimodality is common in academic and workplace writing. Use the resource below to help guide you on how to incorporate multimodality in your writing.

Digital Writing 101 (Amy Goodloe) A blog created by former University of Colorado-Boulder professor comprised of a variety of how-to guides for digital projects, including video, digital images, and digital storytelling, and more. It also contains sample student projects that use various media.

WRITING TIMED ESSAYS

You may not always have time to go through the steps writing a well-developed essay usually requires. This section provides background information and strategies you can use for completing the GRE Analytical Writing section or other timed essay tests.

For the GRE:

Overview of the GRE Analytical Writing Measure (ETS) An introduction to the Analytical Writing portion of the GRE that includes tips on how to prepare, information on scoring, and sample tasks. The GRE Analytical Writing prompts will ask you to analyze an issue and analyze an argument . In order to prepare for the test, you may want to review the topic pool for issue tasks and topic pool for argument tasks that have been published by the GRE.

For any timed essay:

Timed Essay/Essay Exam (Duke University, Writing Studio) “At some point during your college career, you will likely encounter a timed essay. Known collectively as timed essays, essay exams, or in-class essays, these essays require you to demonstrate disciplinary knowledge by producing a writing sample within a limited time period. Timed essays are popular because they allow teachers to grade students holistically in a very brief amount of time. This handout offers a few ways to prepare for timed essays and provides advice for how to answer a timed essay question effectively.”

Writing Essays for Exams (Purdue OWL) “While most OWL resources recommend a longer writing process (start early, revise often, conduct thorough research, etc.), sometimes you just have to write quickly in test situations. However, these exam essays can be no less important pieces of writing than research papers because they can influence final grades for courses, and/or they can mean the difference between getting into an academic program (GED, SAT, GRE). To that end, this resource will help you prepare and write essays for exams.”

• Walden University
• Faculty Portal

Writing a Paper: Writing a Paper

Writing a paper.

The Walden Writing Center staff is dedicated to ensuring your transition to a writing intensive program is a smooth one. In the pages listed on the left you will find all the information you need to master the craft of scholarly writing.

If you are new to scholarly writing, it may be helpful to remember that writing is a process, not an event. Some common steps in the life cycle of a writing project are outlined below. Click each step to access information and resources on that topic, or navigate through our interactive "Life Cycle of a Paper" project at the bottom of the page.

Good luck with your scholarly writing, and if you have questions, Ask OASIS .

Writing Process

Click on each step to find out more about each part of the writing process.

Crash Course in Scholarly Writing Video Playlist

Note that these videos were created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.

Related Resources

Didn't find what you need? Search our website or email us .

Read our website accessibility and accommodation statement .

• Next Page: Goal Setting
• Office of Student Disability Services

Walden Resources

Departments.

• Academic Residencies
• Academic Skills
• Career Planning and Development
• Customer Care Team
• Field Experience
• Military Services
• Student Success Advising
• Writing Skills

Centers and Offices

• Center for Social Change
• Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services
• Office of Degree Acceleration
• Office of Research and Doctoral Services
• Office of Student Affairs

Student Resources

• Doctoral Writing Assessment
• Form & Style Review
• Quick Answers
• ScholarWorks
• SKIL Courses and Workshops
• Walden Bookstore
• Walden Catalog & Student Handbook
• Student Safety/Title IX
• Legal & Consumer Information
• Website Terms and Conditions
• Cookie Policy
• Accessibility
• Accreditation
• State Authorization
• Net Price Calculator
• Contact Walden

Walden University is a member of Adtalem Global Education, Inc. www.adtalem.com Walden University is certified to operate by SCHEV © 2024 Walden University LLC. All rights reserved.

📕 Studying HQ

A comprehensive guide to the writing process: 5 steps with examples, rachel r.n..

• November 30, 2023
• How to Guides

You might have heard the saying that good writing involves a lot of rewriting. This means that to write well, you need to come up with ideas, organize them, put them together in a clear way, go back to check your work, edit it, and make your words stronger. These steps are called the writing process.

Writers have their own unique way of working. Some start writing from the beginning and go straight to the end. Others write in parts and then organize them later. Some writers focus on one sentence at a time. Knowing how and why you write the way you do helps you treat your writing like a job, while still letting your creativity flow free

No matter what you’re writing – whether it’s a blog post, a script, a research paper, or a book review – you’ll follow these steps to turn your initial ideas into a well-crafted and ready-to-publish piece. Keep reading to find out more about each of the six steps in the writing process.

Here’s a tip:  Want to score outstanding grades in your research paper? Studyinghq.com has a team of professional writers that are always available to help you reach your target.

Are You Working on a Research Paper?

Feel free to let our professional writers help you.

What You'll Learn

What Is the Writing Process?

Writing follows a step-by-step process, like putting together a puzzle. Many writers might not be aware that they use common terms to describe each stage. The writing process includes everything from thinking about the idea and making a plan to fixing mistakes and finally sharing the finished work

Importance of Knowing the Stages in The Writing Process

Like most writers, you probably have your own way of writing books.

When you sit down to tell a story or talk a lot about a topic, you follow certain steps to make your idea real.

It’s okay to do each new project your own way, but it’s still good to go back to the six basic stages of writing every now and then.

First, it’s a good habit to develop, especially if you’ve recently started writing professionally.

Going through the stages of writing makes sure you’ve covered everything. It keeps you organized and helps you work better. This way, you can expect a better final product each time.

Second, going through each stage of writing is a great way to get unstuck when you’re struggling to finish an idea.

Writing is creative, but sometimes having a plan helps. Just knowing how to start can break down mental barriers that stop you from moving forward.

Third, even if you have your own routine for writing, you’re probably already following the basic steps without realizing it.

In that case, it wouldn’t hurt to know the terms used. That way, you can keep a mental (or physical) checklist and adjust it to fit your creative way of working.

Keeping all of this in mind, we wanted to remind you (or maybe introduce you) to the six stages of writing.

Stage 1: Prewriting

Prewriting is a crucial step in the writing process that sets the foundation for a successful piece of writing. It involves several key activities, including idea generation , research , and considering the intended audience .

Prewriting allows writers to brainstorm ideas, gather relevant information, and plan their writing in a structured manner. By taking the time to engage in prewriting, writers can clarify their thoughts and ensure a strong start to their writing project.

During the prewriting stage, idea generation plays a significant role. This is the time to let creativity flow and explore different topics and angles. Brainstorming techniques such as mind mapping or freewriting can help writers generate a wide range of ideas and choose the most suitable one for their piece. By allowing ideas to flow freely, writers can tap into their creativity and uncover unique perspectives that will make their writing stand out.

In addition to idea generation , research is another important component of prewriting. Conducting thorough research helps writers gather relevant information, facts, and evidence to support their ideas. By investing time in research, writers can ensure that their writing is accurate, well-informed, and credible. It also allows them to explore different viewpoints and strengthen their arguments, ultimately enhancing the quality of their piece.

This stage generally involves:

• Writing notes about something you see in real life
• Thinking about something that happened when you were a kid
• Finding out more about something you like
• Imagining how a character should seem
• Using a piece of a writing idea

When your idea begins to take shape, you are now free to move to the next stage

Stage 2: Planning Your Project

Once the prewriting stage is complete, it’s time to move on to planning your project.

It’s fair to say that Planning is a crucial step in the writing process as it helps you organize your thoughts and establish a clear structure for your piece.

Without at least a general sketch of your characters or path for your plot, you’re more likely to hit a roadblock halfway through writing. By planning ahead of time, however, you can typically avoid such an issue and have a much easier time crafting your book

There are several techniques you can use to plan effectively, such as outlining , mind mapping , and freewriting .

An outline is a helpful tool for organizing your ideas and ensuring a logical flow in your writing. It involves creating a structured framework that outlines the main points and subpoints of your piece. This can be done using headings, subheadings, and bullet points. An outline provides a roadmap for your writing, making it easier to stay focused and maintain coherence.

Mind mapping is another method that can be used for planning. It involves creating a visual representation of your ideas by linking related concepts and information. Mind maps are useful for brainstorming and generating new ideas. They allow you to see connections between different concepts and can be a great tool for organizing your thoughts before diving into the writing process.

Freewriting is a technique that encourages you to write continuously without worrying about grammar , punctuation, or structure. It helps to free your mind and overcome writer’s block. By allowing your thoughts to flow freely on paper, you can discover new ideas and insights that you may not have come up with through traditional planning methods. Freewriting can serve as a starting point for your writing and can be refined and revised later in the process.

Using these planning techniques can help you stay organized and ensure that your writing is well-structured and coherent. Experiment with different methods and find what works best for you. Remember, planning is a critical step that sets the foundation for a successful writing project.

Table: Comparing Planning Techniques

Stage 3: the drafting process.

Now it’s time to start writing! Here, you begin to transform your thoughts and ideas into written words. It is during this stage that you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and create the first draft of your piece. Drafting allows you to express my thoughts freely and capture the essence of your ideas.

Don’t stress about making everything perfect right away. When you’re writing your first draft, just focus on getting your ideas down on paper. It’s okay if it’s not perfect yet.

Using the outline you made, begin writing your draft one sentence and paragraph at a time.

Here’s a tip: You don’t have to start writing from the beginning. If you know what you want to say in one part but not another, start with the part you know and come back to the tricky parts later. This can save you time and frustration.

Writing the easy parts first can also make the harder parts seem less intimidating. Instead of seeing them as big, scary challenges, they become smaller tasks to tackle one by one.

During the drafting process , I adopt a mindset of continuous writing , allowing the words to flow without worrying too much about perfection. I understand that the first draft does not have to be flawless; it is simply a starting point. Overcoming perfectionism is key during this stage, as it can hinder progress and stifle creativity. Instead, I focus on getting my ideas out and creating a rough version of the piece.

One strategy I find helpful during drafting is to set aside dedicated time for writing and eliminate distractions. By creating a conducive environment, I can immerse myself in the writing process and maintain a steady flow of ideas. I also remind myself that the purpose of drafting is not to produce a final, polished piece, but rather to generate material that can be refined and improved in subsequent stages.

Tips for Overcoming Perfectionism during Drafting

• Give yourself permission to write imperfectly. Remember, you can always revise and edit later.
• Set realistic goals and focus on making progress rather than striving for perfection.
• Embrace the messy nature of drafting and embrace the creative process.
• Remind yourself that writing is a journey, and the first draft is just the beginning.

By embracing continuous writing and overcoming perfectionism , I can harness the power of the drafting process to bring my ideas to life. The first draft may be rough around the edges, but it lays the foundation for the subsequent steps of revising , editing , and polishing my work.

Stage 4: Revising and Polishing Your Work

Once you have completed the drafting process, it’s time to focus on revising and polishing your work. This critical step in the writing process allows you to make big-picture changes , refine your ideas, and improve the overall structure and clarity of your piece.

During the revising stage, consider reorganizing paragraphs or sections to enhance the flow of your writing. You may also need to delete or add content to strengthen your arguments or provide additional support for your ideas. This is your opportunity to take a step back and evaluate your work with a fresh perspective.

After making the necessary revisions, it’s time to move on to editing and proofreading . This stage focuses on correcting grammar, spelling, punctuation, and other minor errors. Pay attention to sentence structure, word choice, and overall coherence to ensure your writing is clear and polished.

Remember, revising and polishing your work may involve multiple rounds of review and refinement. Take the time to read your piece aloud, seek feedback from others, and make any necessary adjustments. By dedicating time and attention to this step, you can ensure your writing is error-free and ready for publication.

The Importance of Revision:

“Revision is not the time to doubt yourself; it’s the time to make your writing shine.”

Revising Tips:

• Read your piece aloud to identify any awkward or unclear sentences.
• Ask a trusted friend or colleague to provide feedback and suggestions.
• Consider the overall flow and organization of your writing.
• Focus on strengthening your arguments and providing ample support.
• Edit for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.

Proofreading Checklist:

• Check for typos and spelling errors.
• Ensure proper punctuation and capitalization.
• Verify the consistency of verb tense and pronoun usage.
• Review sentence structure and clarity.
• Double-check citations and references if applicable.

Stage 5: Publishing

After putting in the effort to write a well-crafted piece, it is crucial to take the final step: publishing and sharing your work. This step allows your writing to reach a broader audience and establish your presence as a writer. Whether you choose to publish on your own website, submit your work to a publication, or share it on social media, the goal is to make your writing accessible and visible to others.

Self-publishing has become increasingly popular in today’s digital age. With platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing , authors can easily publish and distribute their own books. This gives writers the freedom to control the entire publishing process, from formatting to pricing. Self-published authors can also take advantage of online marketing tools to promote their work and reach potential readers.

Sharing your writing on social media platforms is another effective way to get your work noticed. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow you to connect with a wide audience and engage with readers. By sharing snippets or excerpts from your writing, you can pique interest and direct people to your full piece. Social media also provides an opportunity to interact with your audience, receive feedback, and build a community of readers and fellow writers.

It is important to note that publishing your work does not mean it is set in stone. Even after publication, you have the flexibility to revise and update your writing. This is especially relevant for bloggers who often update their older posts to keep them relevant and accurate. Publishing should be seen as a starting point, and the ability to make revisions allows you to continually improve your work and maintain its relevance over time.

Table: Pros and Cons of Publishing and Sharing

Publishing and sharing your writing is an essential step in the writing process. It allows you to connect with readers, establish your authority, and continuously improve your work. Whether you choose to self-publish or share on social media, remember that publishing is just the beginning; revising and updating your writing ensures its relevance and quality over time.

Related Articles

The Beginner’s Guide to Writing an Essay | Steps & Examples

The Writing Process: 6 Steps Every Writer Should Know

The six steps writing process is a valuable tool for writers of all levels and abilities. By following these steps, writers can enhance their writing skills, overcome challenges, and produce high-quality work. Each step plays a vital role in the overall writing process and should not be overlooked.

Embracing the writing process can lead to improved productivity, organization, and overall writing proficiency. Whether you’re a student working on an academic assignment or a professional copywriter crafting persuasive content, the six steps writing process provides a framework for success.

So, embrace these steps and take your writing to the next level! By utilizing prewriting, planning, drafting, revising, editing & proofreading , and publishing, you can enhance your writing skills and create effective, well-crafted pieces. Remember, practice makes perfect, so keep honing your writing process and watch your skills soar.

What are the steps of the writing process?

The steps of the writing process are prewriting, planning, drafting, revising, editing & proofreading, and publishing.

Why is prewriting important?

Prewriting is important because it helps writers generate ideas, conduct research, and consider the  intended audience .

How can I plan my writing project?

You can plan your writing project by creating an outline, using mind maps, or engaging in freewriting.

What is the drafting process?

The drafting process is when writers start putting their thoughts into words, creating a rough version of their piece.

What is revising in the writing process?

Revising involves making  big-picture changes  to improve the overall structure, flow, and clarity of the writing.

What is the purpose of editing and proofreading?

Editing and proofreading focus on correcting grammar, spelling, punctuation, and other minor errors to polish the piece.

How do I publish my finished piece?

You can publish your finished piece by uploading it to a website, sharing it on social media, or submitting it to a client or editor.

Can I revise my writing after publication?

Yes, you can revise and update your writing after publication, especially for blog posts that can be regularly updated.

Why is the writing process important for writers?

The writing process is important because it helps writers enhance their skills, overcome challenges, and produce high-quality work.

Source Links

• https://smartblogger.com/writing-process/
• https://www.thewordsmithblog.com/mastering-the-art-of-writing-six-ways-to-hone-your-skills-develop-your-craft/
• https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-correspondence-and-reporting/introduction-to-basic-writing/steps-for-writing/

Start by filling this short order form order.studyinghq.com

And then follow the progressive flow. 

Having an issue, chat with us here

Cathy, CS. 

New Concept ? Let a subject expert write your paper for You​

Have a subject expert write for you now, have a subject expert finish your paper for you, edit my paper for me, have an expert write your dissertation's chapter, popular topics.

Business StudyingHq Essay Topics and Ideas How to Guides Samples

• Nursing Solutions
• Study Guides
• Free Study Database for Essays
• Privacy Policy
• Writing Service 
• Discounts / Offers 

Study Hub: 

• Studying Blog
• Topic Ideas 
• Business Studying 
• Nursing Studying 
• Literature and English Studying

Writing Tools  

• Citation Generator
• Topic Generator
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Conclusion Maker
• Research Title Generator
• Thesis Statement Generator
• Summarizing Tool
• Terms and Conditions
• Confidentiality Policy
• Cookies Policy
• Refund and Revision Policy

Our samples and other types of content are meant for research and reference purposes only. We are strongly against plagiarism and academic dishonesty. 

Contact Us:

📧 [email protected]

📞 +15512677917

2012-2024 © studyinghq.com. All rights reserved

• Page Content
• Sidebar Content
• Main Navigation
• Quick links
• All TIP Sheets
• Writing a Summary
• Writing Paragraphs
• Writing an Analogy
• Writing a Descriptive Essay
• Writing a Persuasive Essay
• Writing a Compare/Contrast Paper
• Writing Cause and Effect Papers
• Writing a Process Paper
• Writing a Classification Paper
• Definitions of Writing Terms
• How to Write Clearly
• Active and Passive Voice
• Developing a Thesis and Supporting Arguments
• Writing Introductions & Conclusions
• How to Structure an Essay: Avoiding Six Weaknesses in Papers
• Writing Book Reports
• Writing about Literature
• Writing about Non-Fiction Books
• Poetry: Meter and Related Topics
• Revising and Editing
• Proofreading

Writing A Process Paper

TIP Sheet WRITING A PROCESS PAPER

A process paper describes to a reader how to do something or how something occurs. Stages in psychological development, steps in installing software or carrying out a marketing plan, or processes in science or historical change, for example, could all be described in a process paper.

How-to's and explanations There are two kinds of process papers. The author of a how-to paper intends that, after reading it, the reader will be able to carry out the steps in order to accomplish something. For example, the writer of software installation instructions intends the reader to follow the steps to successfully install a program. Here is an example:

How-to There are several steps you can take to get better help on your papers from an English tutor. First, make sure you spell check and proofread your own paper, making as many corrections and improvements as you can. That way, you won't waste time discussing diction "problems" that are really just typing errors. Next, read your paper again, and underline two or three sentences that you are uncomfortable with and would like to improve. At the same time, formulate two or three specific questions to ask the tutor, such as, "What is a comma splice, and how do I fix it?" or "How can I make my writing less choppy?" That way, you are taking responsibility for your own learning and giving the tutor a head start in helping you. Similarly, if you have already received feedback from your instructor on this or earlier papers, bring in the instructor's written comments if possible. Finally, don't ask the tutor for proofreading or editing; the tutor's job is to help you master the skills necessary to do your own proofreading and editing. Instead, try asking for "feedback." Feedback might range from an explanation of your comma errors to recommendations to improve your organization or thesis statement.

The second kind of process paper is an explanation . The writer of an explanation describes in narrative form how something occurs, without actually expecting the reader to carry out steps. The author of a paper describing how a nuclear fission power plant works, for example, probably does not expect readers to be able to manage one based on his explanation. To illustrate, the following explanation describes the development of insecticide resistance in the garden:

Explanation Even non-organic gardeners should avoid broad-spectrum pesticides as much as possible. Broad-spectrum pesticides immediately kill the most vulnerable members of an insect population, giving the short-term impression that the infestation has been successfully overcome. However, a few stronger and more resistant insects always remain or recover. Poison-resistant insects breed with each other, producing offspring that are themselves more resistant than the previous generation. After a few cycles, the local insect population has become largely resistant to the insecticide. Meanwhile, the poison has also spread to the local bird population through the birds' feeding on insecticide-drenched insects. Birds that would have helped naturally control the insects die or fail to reproduce. And if the gardener switches to a new broad-spectrum pesticide, the development of pesticide resistance widens to accommodate the new product as well.

Identifying and organizing steps Prewriting for process papers should focus on identifying the steps or stages in the process and putting them in logical order. The organization for process papers is sequential; the steps of the process are set forth in chronological order. (An explanation process paper may end up looking a lot like a cause and effect paper, since cause-effect relationships are by nature sequential. There is room for overlap among various modes of writing, and seldom does a piece of writing "purely" represent one mode only.) Once you have identified the steps, list them in sequential order.

If there is a trick to writing a process paper, it is to take the time to look at the steps you have listed as if you had never seen them before. Imagine you know nothing of the process you plan to describe. Read over your steps critically to see whether you have omitted anything. Sometimes the most ordinary processes are the most difficult to describe, as any writer of the "how to tie a shoelace" exercise knows! If you can, try following your own steps to the letter to see if they do, in fact, bring about the desired result. No cheating-if you must do something not already on your list of steps, add it.

Forming transitions Listing and numbering steps for prewriting is relatively easy. Describing steps in prose is a little different. The use of "first," "second," and "third" is little more than listing; there are a whole array of signal words, or transitions, to help you shed light on processes. (Most of the following transitions are also suitable for narratives, which, like process papers, usually use chronological, or time, order.)

Notice the signal words and phrases in the following student paper telling how to get to class on time (this paper combines how-to, explanation, and narrative elements):

Your success as a student begins with getting yourself to class, and getting yourself to class begins night before . Choose and lay out your clothes. That way in the morning, when you change your mind (and you know you will) you will have already started the process of elimination in searching for something to wear. This will save you time. Set up the coffee pot the night before , too. That way, even if you're not fully awake in the morning, you won't risk filling the coffee filter with something inappropriate, like Lucky Charms. I n the morning , get up, start the coffee, shower, toss aside the clothes you laid out the night before (don't blame yourself; really there was no way to know then what you would feel like wearing today), rummage through your closet, choose something, and dress. Next , dash to the kitchen, spread peanut butter on a tortilla, roll it up, and take it with you out the door, for, in the wee hours the night before, you poured the last of the Lucky Charms into the coffee filter and they are irredeemably soggy now. Don't waste time blaming yourself. Just start the car and go, because 10,000 fellow students are vying for your parking place, and that's just on the freeway off-ramp. Follow the stream of cars into the parking lot and circle once or twice to make sure a close spot has not been overlooked by earlier, sleepier arrivals. Settle at last for a distant spot. Jog, don't walk, to the coffee vendor and put your money down. Inhale. Isn't that a great aroma? Nothing like the percolated Lucky Charms! Exhale. It's still only five minutes to eight. Finally , stroll to class nonchalantly. You are so ready to succeed. the

Once you have transformed your numbered list into prose as in the above example, read what you have written to make sure you have not omitted anything. Revise by moving or removing sentences if necessary, or by adding the steps or transitions needed to clarify the process.

Process writing has very practical applications. A business writer outlining a marketing plan uses process writing. Developmental psychologists study and describe cognitive development as a process. Hazardous-materials handlers write and follow strict processes for the safe handling of many substances. Any application of process writing requires attention to detail, sensible organization, and clarity of expression.

Home | Calendars | Library | Bookstore | Directory | Apply Now | Search for Classes | Register | Online Classes  | MyBC Portal MyBC -->

Butte College | 3536 Butte Campus Drive, Oroville CA 95965 | General Information (530) 895-2511

• Features for Creative Writers
• Features for Work
• Features for Higher Education
• Features for Teachers
• Features for Non-Native Speakers
• Learn Blog Grammar Guide Community Events FAQ
• Grammar Guide

From Draft to Done: A Full Breakdown of the Writing Process

Micah McGuire

So you’ve decided to write a story and hope to publish it. For write-to-publish newbies, you might want to know what you’re getting into, especially if you’re working on a large project like a novel. It’s natural to wonder: how many drafts will it take before my story is ready to publish?

Unfortunately, you’re more likely to answer “how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie pop?” before knowing how many drafts you’ll need before publication. Here’s why.

A rose by any other name: What’s in a draft?

The biggest problem with breaking down the writing process from first to last draft can be linked back to one little detail:

How do you define a draft?

There are as many ways to define the word “draft” as there are writers. Which means every writer’s version of “the writing process” will look different. It’s impossible to say: “oh, writing a novel will take five drafts.”

Because the definition of “draft” can vary so much, it’s useful to think about drafting on a spectrum:

• The fewest drafts: Only rewrites count
• Middle-of-the-road: The fiction patching method
• The most drafts: Every change counts

Keep reading for more on how this draft spectrum works.

Only rewrites count

The minimalist take on drafting. By this definition, only full rewrites of a piece count as a true draft. Which means when saving a manuscript to a file, you wouldn’t alter the file name until you completely rewrite that chapter, section, or piece.

The advantage here lies in simplicity: you have fewer files to juggle since you’re saving to the same file over and over. But you may risk losing details from earlier drafts because of the repeat saves. Plus, for larger projects like novels, you need to divide your manuscript into parts and have a file system in place to keep track of your revisions.

The fiction patching method

While this started as more of a joke between writers on social media, it’s a great middle-of-the-road way to think about drafting. It takes cues from software versioning , noting that not every change means a new draft. Smaller changes are like patches (the version’s third number) and rewrites might be closer to updates (the second number) rather than a new version release/new draft (the first number).

So draft names might look like this:

• Draft 0.1: Outline
• Draft 1.0: Rough Draft
• Draft 1.5: Rough draft with some rewrites
• Draft 2.0: Rough draft fully rewritten with feedback from critique partners
• Draft 2.0.1: Rewritten rough draft with a minor tweak (or “patch”) to the protagonist’s motivation

Here, you can always revisit an older version to review details you want to re-emphasize in rewrites. But, it’s easy to end up with dozens if not hundreds of files and you’ll have to decide what constitutes a “patch,” an update and a brand new release ahead of time to stay consistent with naming.

Every change counts

Taken to its extreme, this approach to drafting may seem silly. Why would anyone count every change as a new draft? But most writers favor a less extreme version of this approach. It’s how we end up with draft names like “Final draft” and “Final draft I swear,” and “No really this is the last draft.”

Fortunately, this means you’ll never lose a detail again and you have complete control over naming conventions. However, you can end up with hundreds of files in a blink. And, if you’re not careful with what you name each file, it may take some detective work to figure out which one is the most recent version.

So, where do you fall on the drafting spectrum? Keeping it in mind can help you estimate the number of drafts you might need before publishing your story.

From outline to finished product: the writing process

Now that you have a better understanding of what the word “draft” means to you, you can look at the writing process with fresh eyes.

While it’s impossible to say how many drafts a manuscript takes, it is possible to break the writing process down into stages . We can define the process in 5 stages:

• The rough draft
• Content edits
• Proofreading

Try not to think of this as a step-by-step process. It’s more like a series of loops as each one of these stages may require multiple revision rounds. Sometimes, the process can feel like one step forward and two steps back, but each round will strengthen your manuscript.

Let’s look at each stage.

1. Outlining

2. the rough draft, 3. content edits, 4. line edits, 5. proofreading.

We couldn’t talk about the writing process without touching on outlining. Planners, applaud and cheer as much as you’d like—just make sure not to upset your color-coded highlighter sets.

Pantsers, resist the urge to skip this. It still applies to you, even if you think it doesn’t.

Like a draft, there are thousands of ways to define the term “outline.” But whether you fall on the planner detailed scene-by-scene index card method or the pantser “I know the ending. How I get there is up to the characters” end of the spectrum, you need some form of an outline.

The point of an outline is to ensure your writing produces a story with a plot. Otherwise, you risk writing pages and pages in which your characters run around and do things but never advance the plot.

So at the bare minimum, an outline requires you know:

• Who your protagonist is
• Who your antagonist is
• Why the protagonist and antagonist have a problem with each other (otherwise known as your central conflict)
• Where the story starts
• Where the story ends

Pantsers, breathe a sigh of relief: you don’t have to answer any of these questions in detail for it to count as an outline. You just need to know where you’re starting and where you’re going. You don’t even need to use a pen and paper— try these three fun outlining methods .

Spend as much or as little time on this stage as you’d like.

But once your outline is complete, you can move onto what most of us think of as the “real” writing: drafting.

This is the most crucial aspect of writing a story. Fortunately, it’s also the one stage that’s impossible to get wrong.

There’s one goal to a rough draft: get the story out of your head and onto a page in a somewhat comprehensible form. That’s the only focus. So if you’re writing, you’re succeeding.

Most writers face perfectionist paralysis in the rough draft stage. We think that because the writing doesn’t match what we see it in our heads, it’s bad. Or the story’s going to be bad. Or we’re bad writers.

If you’re in the analysis paralysis camp, invoke Anne Lamott’s “Sh*tty First Drafts” rule . To quote the late great Terry Pratchett, “the first draft is you telling yourself the story.”

So don’t judge it. Or better yet, accept that it’s bad. Cringe, wince, make faces. Just get it down on the page. Because you can’t edit a story that’s floating around in your head.

So you’ve finished your rough draft. Take a moment to celebrate! Your story is out of your head and onto the page.

Next up: editing.

Writers usually see editing as a terrifying mountain or a fun challenge. But there’s no denying it’s a monumental job, no matter how long or short your story is.

Because the scope of editing can be overwhelming, it’s easiest to break the process up into steps. Those steps are:

Here’s a breakdown of each.

A content edit is just what it sounds like: a pass editing the content and story of your work. This is the place to catch plot holes, character inconsistencies, and scenes that are a bit of a slog. For some, it’s easier to think of this as a “rewriting” round rather than an “editing” round since you’re making large-scale changes.

Sometimes, content edits are obvious on a read-through of a rough draft. Yet the longer you’ve worked on a piece, the harder it is to spot those editing opportunities.

Self-editing

Each draft you write marks progress in your writing abilities. When you read back over the first few scenes you wrote, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come. This is why the self-edit is so important. You need to apply your newfound skills and perspective to your manuscript so that it’s the best it can be before you open it up for feedback.

The first step is to use an editing software like ProWritingAid to help you spot issues with overly long sentences, awkward constructions, unruly dialogue tags, and pacing. Using an editing tool at this stage helps you to get the most out of any human beta-readers and editors you may reach out to down the line.

Some reports give you the tools to visualise your draft at a glance to see where you need to focus. The Sentence Length Report shows you all of your sentences in a handy bar chart so you can cut long, winding sentences down to size. This will help keep your ideas clear and avoid any readability issues.

Other reports let you get to work directly on your manuscript, like the Overused Words Report. This report highlights words that are often overused in published writing. These are words like could , just , and feel that point to vagueness or telling rather than showing.

The report lets you pick out these words and change them to make sure your description is doing the work it needs to to immerse your readers.

Learn how to approach the self-edit, and how ProWritingAid can help .

Critique partners and beta readers

Once your first self-edit is complete, you’ll need a fresh set of eyes to help direct your efforts. Enter critique partners and beta readers.

On the surface, it may sound like critique partners and beta readers do the same thing: they both read through your work and provide feedback.

However, there’s some nuance that separates the two:

Critique partners are writers who read like writers. But beta readers are writers or readers who read like readers.

Because your critique partners are fellow writers, they’re great at spotting technical issues, like:

• Weak character motivations
• Stilted dialogue
• Clichéd descriptions
• Continuity errors

Getting this technical feedback is especially helpful before handing your story off to readers, so it’s best to let your critique partners read a story before jumping into a beta reading round.

As a bonus, your critique partners can spot these issues and help you figure out ways to fix them while you’re both “talking shop.”

Beta readers, on the other hand, are fantastic for getting feedback on emotional reactions to your story, like:

• Whether a certain character was likable or not
• If certain chapters felt too fast or too slow
• Whether the conflict kept them engaged
• If they found themselves wanting to read more

Here, you’re getting close to how a reader would react to your story once it’s published. Use their feedback to determine if the story prompts the response you intended it to and edit accordingly.

Now, a quick note on the biggest difference between beta readers and critique partners: the detail level of their suggestions. If beta readers aren’t writers themselves, they may not be able to articulate the specifics of what they dislike in the story. Their feedback can be vague, amounting to: “I don’t like this scene, but I’m not sure why.” The best way to identify problem spots is to look at the feedback of all of your beta readers. If multiple readers have an issue with a scene or section, it’s a good indicator to pay close attention on editing.

Critique partners, however, can usually pin-point issues with laser precision, but may go overboard with their suggestions. Feedback may seem harsh and critique partners with a domineering streak may make “my way or the highway” style fix suggestions.

So it’s ultimately a fine balance. Note where you can improve and keep that in mind during your content edits, but also trust your gut instinct. In the end, it’s your story.

Once you’ve gone through a round or two (or more) of content edits, it’s time to move to line edits. These edits ensure your story is as strong as possible when it’s published. You’re examining your story, sentence by sentence, to catch dialogue issues, problems with the flow of a paragraph, and weak sentences that need rewriting.

If you’d like to hire a professional editor, this is a great stage to do it. But, if you’d prefer to tackle this edit yourself, ProWritingAid can make your process run much more smoothly. Check out our guide to six of the key reports that can make your line edits easy.

The proofreading stage is what most writers think of when they think of “editing.” Here, you’re checking for spelling and grammatical errors and ensuring consistency. Think of it as a final polish.

While some writers may hire a professional editor to proofread, it’s not a necessity, especially if you’re looking to publish traditionally. Often, a friend with a good eye for grammar can catch trouble spots on their read through. And ProWritingAid’s spelling and grammar reports can point out any little details they may have missed.

With your proofreading sweep complete, congratulations! Your story is ready to share with the wider reading world. Now, it’s time to move on to publishing or querying process.

If you’re looking to self publish your story, check out our webinar on the 7 Processes of Publishing . And for those who want to query, Jennifer Xue’s guide covers the process in depth .

Are you prepared to write your novel? Download this free book now:

The Novel-Writing Training Plan

So you are ready to write your novel. excellent. but are you prepared the last thing you want when you sit down to write your first draft is to lose momentum., this guide helps you work out your narrative arc, plan out your key plot points, flesh out your characters, and begin to build your world..

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

As ProWritingAid’s Growth Marketing Manager, Micah’s approach to marketing combines her three favorite things: writing, user research, and data analysis. Previously, she managed PR and partnerships for startup GrowthMentor. A geek about all things science, but especially her former field of study, microbiology, and neuroscience, she’s always on the lookout for ways to incorporate fascinating new research into writing. Much of her previous freelance work analyzes the science of productivity, creativity, and how we can better understand the intersection of the two to lead richer lives. Outside of work, you can usually find her baking or typing away at her latest science fiction or fantasy project.

Get started with ProWritingAid

Drop us a line or let's stay in touch via :

The Writing Process

Definitions.

• Stages of the Writing Process
• Strategies for Good Writing

The Writing Process is a cycle of activities that you complete as you generate ideas, compose those ideas into a document or presentation, and refine those ideas. It is a recursive process, meaning that at any one stage in the process, you may find that you have to return to previous steps to review and refine your methods.

To read more about the elements of the Writing Process, we recommend the following resource:

• Dziak, M. (2018). Writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing). Salem Press Encyclopedia. The writing process is the series of actions taken by writers to produce a finished work. Writers, educators, and theorists have defined the writing process in many different ways, but it generally involves prewriting tasks, writing tasks, and post-writing tasks. More specifically, these tasks include planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing, in approximately that order.

Benefits of following the Writing Process include:

• The ability to revisit previous work completed to find new ideas or refine existing ones.
• A more organized finished product.
• A less stressful experience, which is one cause of Writer's Block .
• Less time spent in the drafting stage.
• << Previous: Welcome
• Next: Stages of the Writing Process >>
• Last Updated: May 22, 2023 10:46 AM
• URL: https://library.tiffin.edu/writingprocess

The Writing Process

Making expository writing less stressful, more efficient, and more enlightening, search form, you are here, why should i use a writing process.

“A blank piece of paper.” —Nobel Prize-winning writer Ernest Hemingway when asked about the scariest thing he’d ever encountered

First of all, it is important to recognize that even though it may be informal or unconscious and may vary slightly depending on the writing task, you probably already do use a writing process , and it probably goes something like this:

• You read the instructions and anxiously choose a topic, doing a cost-benefit analysis between what will be easiest to write, what will be most interesting for you, and what will get you the best grade in the least amount of time.
• You do some brainstorming and make some notes.
• You make a very rough, minimal outline, either on paper or just in your head.
• You begin a painful struggle of writing the paper itself, agonizing over sentences and worrying not only about what ideas to put down but also how to say them not only grammatically correctly but even elegantly.
• As this is often done the night (or morning) before the assignment is due, you take a short break and then reread the paper, fixing any spelling or grammar mistakes you notice and perhaps rewriting or adding a sentence or two.
• You turn in the paper with that sense of fear still in the pit of your stomach and perhaps a vague—or very distinct—feeling that you could have done better, though you're not sure how.

Thus there are a few important reasons to use a formal writing process:

1. Reduce anxiety and stress.

2. Increase quality.

3. Learn more.

Ultimate Guide to Writing Your College Essay

Tips for writing an effective college essay.

College admissions essays are an important part of your college application and gives you the chance to show colleges and universities your character and experiences. This guide will give you tips to write an effective college essay.

Want free help with your college essay?

UPchieve connects you with knowledgeable and friendly college advisors—online, 24/7, and completely free. Get 1:1 help brainstorming topics, outlining your essay, revising a draft, or editing grammar.

Writing a strong college admissions essay

Learn about the elements of a solid admissions essay.

Avoiding common admissions essay mistakes

Learn some of the most common mistakes made on college essays

Brainstorming tips for your college essay

Stuck on what to write your college essay about? Here are some exercises to help you get started.

How formal should the tone of your college essay be?

Learn how formal your college essay should be and get tips on how to bring out your natural voice.

Taking your college essay to the next level

Hear an admissions expert discuss the appropriate level of depth necessary in your college essay.

Student Stories

Student Story: Admissions essay about a formative experience

Get the perspective of a current college student on how he approached the admissions essay.

Student Story: Admissions essay about personal identity

Get the perspective of a current college student on how she approached the admissions essay.

Student Story: Admissions essay about community impact

Student story: admissions essay about a past mistake, how to write a college application essay, tips for writing an effective application essay, sample college essay 1 with feedback, sample college essay 2 with feedback.

This content is licensed by Khan Academy and is available for free at www.khanacademy.org.

• Request Info

It’s a Thursday afternoon in Carrie Kell’s “Writing Workshop” course and Anna Boranian ’27 is busy pasting her rhetorical analysis paper into ChatGPT. Clicking on the chatbot’s message bar, she informs the generative AI that she will be asking it questions on the draft she’s provided. Throughout the classroom, Boranian’s peers are tapping their keyboards as they each communicate with their virtual peer review partner.

Kell, who’s addressing questions around the room and reading the advice ChatGPT is giving students, pauses at Boranian’s computer screen.

“What’s ChatGPT telling you?” asks the lecturer and interim coordinator of First-Year Writing.

Boranian shares that the chatbot has pinpointed areas of repetition within her text. Unsure of how to say things differently, Kell suggests Boranian ask ChatGPT what a revision would look like. Boranian’s fingers quickly get moving.

Bryant’s “Writing Workshop,” which is part of the university’s new general education program, helps students strengthen their writing skills and familiarize them with the conventions and rhetorical strategies used for different genres. Due to the growing influence of generative AI in the workplace and public sphere, Kell is educating students on how they can leverage ChatGPT as a collaborative partner during the writing process.

According to Kell, much of the media attention surrounding generative AI focuses on cheating and plagiarism, which diminishes the technology’s value. Marketing, entertainment, and manufacturing are just a few of the many industries using generative AI. According to Forbes , the technology is expected to see an annual growth rate of 37.3 percent from 2023 to 2030, and AI’s market size is expected to reach $407 billion by 2027.

Kell notes that AI literacy is an important skill set and handling the technology in the classroom will teach students how to ethically use it.

“You should never use AI as a producer of text — always as a collaborative partner,” says Kell, who had undergrads use the chatbot to look at their thesis, argument strength, analysis organization, and overall paper effectiveness.

AI can “hallucinate,” which is why Kell doesn’t recommend it for collecting factual information since it isn’t always accurate. Even AI detection systems have low accuracy rates and only do well if something is 100 percent human-written or AI-written, as noted by Terri Hasseler, Ph.D., Center for Teaching Excellence director, at a recent Analytics Without Borders conference held at Bryant in late March.

Chatbots need to be properly queued with specific prompt engineering to give constructive feedback, which is why Kell showed students how to give the chatbot a task, provide context, add a persona, and request the chatbot’s response in a specific format.

Distinct questions could include: What feedback do you have about my thesis statement? Does my essay effectively argue my thesis? What feedback do you have on my use of evidence to support the main ideas in each paragraph?

“Don’t just accept the feedback. You receive it, but it's your job to analyze it,” Kell says.

Taking the skills they’ve developed this semester, students will produce a research paper for their final project where they’ll use generative AI as a collaborative partner during the brainstorming, ideation, research, and review phases. In the meantime, Kell wants students to reflect on their interactions with AI.

“I want you to step back and ask yourself: What was valuable? What was not so helpful? And what was lacking compared to a human peer review?” says Kell, adding that students should still take advantage of Bryant’s Writing Center or find someone to peer review with when the opportunity allows it.

Related Stories

April 5, 2024

April 2, 2024

March 29, 2024

March 28, 2024