The Writing Process is listed as stages but is actually a process though which a writer moves when composing a piece of writing. The process may go on for months, students may stop and return to specific writing pieces, move back and forth within a writing piece, or be started and stopped several times before a piece is ready for publication if the goal is publication. At the various grade levels the writing process may look different for example in a kindergarten class an adult may dictate students writing and they may go through the writing process together over a day or a week. In an intermediate grade students may go through the process on their own with some peer editing and it may take them one day or two months depending on the writing assignment.
1. Prewriting
2. Drafting
3. Revising
4. Editing
5. Publishing
· Students choose a topic.
· Students gather and organize ideas.
· Students identify the audience to whom they will write.
· Students identify the purpose of the writing activity.
· Students will choose the form for their compositions based on audience and purpose.
Stage 2: Drafting
· Students write a rough draft.
· Students write leads to grab their readers’ attention.
· Students emphasize content rather than mechanics.
Stage 3: Revising
· Students share their writing in writing groups.
· Students participate constructively in discussions about classmates’ writing.
· Students make changes in their composition to reflect the reactions and comments of both teacher and classmates.
· Between the first and final drafts, students make substantial rather than only minor changes.
Stage 4: Editing
· Students proofread their own compositions.
· Students help proofread classmates’ compositions.
· Students increasingly identify and correct their own
mechanical errors.
Stage 5: Publishing
· Students publish their writing in an appropriate form.
· Students share their finished writing with an audience.