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GOOD WRITING DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN. IT IS A PROCESS WHICH CONSISTS OF DECIDING ON A TOPIC AND GATHERING INFORMATION, ORGANIZING THAT INFORMATION, WRITING A DRAFT, EDITING THE DRAFT, REWRITING WITH CHANGES, PROOFREADING, A FINAL DRAFT, AND THEN PUBLISHING.

ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS TO DO IS WRITE WITHOUT ENOUGH INOFRMATION ABOUT YOUR SUBJECT. MAKE SURE YOU DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO WRITE ABOUT. ONCE YOU START RESEARCHING YOU MAY WANT TO NARROW YOUR TOPIC OR BROADEN IT DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE. ACADEMIC WRITING, THAT IS WRITING FOR YOU CLASSES, USUALLY WILL REQUIRE RESEARCH.

I'VE DEVOTED A WHOLE PAGE TO TIPS ON DOING GOOD RESEARCH. YOU WILL ALSO FIND A PAGE EXPLAINING HOW TO SITE YOUR SOURCES. IF YOU DON'T SITE YOUR SOURCES YOU HAVE COMMITTED PLAGARISM. IT IS THE STEALING OF IDEAS AND THE COURTS TAKE IT VERY SERIOUSLY. UNIVERSITIES EXPEL STUDENTS CAUGHT PLAGARIZING.

NEXT YOU MUST ORGANIZE THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE FOUND. THIS IS REALLY A PERSONAL CHOICE AS TO HOW YOU WANT TO DO THIS. SOME TEACHERS ASSIGN OUTLINES THINKING THIS WILL FORCE STUDENTS TO DO THIS STEP IN THE WRITING PROCESS. I DON'T--THE REASON, I LIKE MANY OTHERS, MAKE THE OUTLINE AFTER I HAVE WRITTEN THE PAPER.

I FIND THAT SCRIBBLING TOPICS ON THE PAGE THEN MAKING A LIST OF WHAT INFORMATION I HAVE IS USUALLY SUFFICIENT TO ORGANIZE MY RESEARCH. OFTEN I WILL WRITE PIECES OF THE PAPER IF A GREAT THOUGHT HITS ME SO I DON'T LOOSE IT--FORGET IT I MEAN.

YOU MAY SPEND A LONG TIME AT THIS STEP--MAYBE EVEN STEPPING BACK TO FIND MORE INFORMATION ON THIS OR THAT. YOU MAY ALSO WAVER IN THE DRAFT STAFF ONCE YOUR BRAIN WRAPS AROUND A GOOD FORMAT FOR YOUR PAPER.

ALL OF THIS IS OKAY. THIS STEP IS MEANT TO ORGANIZE IN YOUR HEAD, ON PAPER, ON SCRAPS YOUR INFORMATION. HOW YOU DO IT IS A MATTER OF PERSON PREFERENCE.

VENN DIAGRAMS ARE VERY USEFUL FOR COMPARE AND CONTRAST TYPE TOPICS. FREE WRITES ARE OFTEN USEFUL FOR A SINGLE SUBJECT PERSUASIVE ESSAY. OUTLINES, I FIND USEFUL FOR SCIENCE PAPERS IN WHICH I AM SUPPOSE TO TELL ABOUT SOMETHING. FOR EXAMPLE, A REPORT ON CHEETAHS. OUTLINING THIS WOULD BE EASIER THAN SAY "DESCRIBE THE BASIC FOUNDATIONS ON WHICH OUR PRINCIPLES OF MORAL CONDUCT ARE DERIVED." IT DEPENDS ON THE COMPLEXITY OF THE TOPIC.

Draft

When writing your draft you should try to relax. Don't worry about spelling or grammar or even if you really want to say what you're saying. A draft is a way to get your ideas on paper. Some people call this method free writing.

If this doesn't work for you, try outlining your paper before you begin to write. If you are blocked for an attention getting introduction, skip it. Organize your paragraphs by topic. Don't worry about spelling and grammar.

EDITING

This stage of the writing process is a time for looking at the content of your paper. Do you have a thesis statement? Have you met the burden of proof necessary to support your thesis statement? How about you introduction? Would you be interested in reading your paper? Does each paragraph contain only sentences that relate to the topic? These and other content issues should be looked at. Often one finds that they simply don't have enough information and must gather more. This is a time to cut, paste, delete, and add to your work.

REWRITE

This is what is says. Now that you've edited rewrite your paper with the changes.

FINAL DRAFT

Rewrite your paper one more time including spelling, pucuation, and grammar corrections.

PUBLISHING

This really should be called sharing. It is the reason we write. It is the desired result that people will like what we've written. Publishing your work can take many forms--giving your Mom a poem you wrote for her, entering a contest, turning in a paper to your teacher or internet publishing.