It took me a while to develop an effect writing process, although I suspect this is not unusual. I used to be one of those students who sat down the night before (or the morning) a paper was due, and churn it out in four or five hours. They were usually pretty good – structured, proof-read, clear thesis sentence, etc., but by pretty good I mean high school/early college good. Once I realized that English would be a prominent part of my future, I decided that perhaps my writing process needed some work, so after several failed attempts (including one or two well-deserved lower grades from English professors) I developed something that was a bit more on-track.

For shorter writing assignments, I generally start my research at least a week prior to the due date (obviously this stretches out to MANY weeks earlier for longer papers). I try to assess my sources as soon as I get them to determine if they’re going to be helpful. I then outline the structure of my paper by hand, and write down any solid ideas or complete sentences I might have thought of. Next I write my rough draft, and try to make it as full as possible, including quotes. I find that if I have my thoughts formulated but “save” them for a later draft, I usually forget them by the time later comes around. After the first draft is complete I print it out to proofread. I have a hard time reading straight from the computer screen, and I tend to miss a lot more errors than if I’m reading a hard copy. I also like to be able to draw all over the draft, making notes to myself, rearranging structure, and highlighting any particularly good points. Then I work on my next draft, correcting any errors, filling out my points and adding any necessary quotes or clarifications. After another proofread I’ll fix any final errors, have someone else read through the paper to check for anything I might have missed, and then I’m finished!

As I said above, I’ve had a hard time in the past beginning my writing process early enough. I find it difficult to work when there is no pressure to meet a deadline, and so I tend to put things off until I feel at least a twinge of panic. Starting the process earlier will mean better research, more opportunities for close proofreading, and time for more drafts. I fully intend to work on this!

Teaching the writing process is very important for freshman, because most of them don’t have any process whatsoever. While I was able to sit down and write a paper the night before, most freshman probably can’t, and so we must teach them the appropriate time-lines and steps to f0llow for producing clear, structured work. It might be the key some of them have been missing for writing well!