Overview of the Week: Monday, 23 June-Sunday, 29 June.

This week you are going to be working on the revision stage of the writing process. If you remember from last week, the writing process is divided into five steps:

1. Prewriting.
2. Drafting.
3. Revision.
4. Proofreading.
5. Review.

We're working our way backwards through the stages of the writing process. As we have done so, you've gained some experience with proofreading, and this week you continue to develop these skills as you learn to make two of the most essential kinds of revision. In the process, you will learn how to improve how you present your claims or opinions and how to support them once you've offered them. One of the essential features of professional writing and speaking, is a connection between how you are perceived professionally, the quality of your opinions, and how thoroughly you can back up and support your opinions. Once you have figured out what you want your writing to do and who your audiences is, you have to figure out what you want your audience to believe (your opinions) and how you are going to explain your opinions (development). Why? Because good, successful writing is writing where you audience comes to share, understand, or--hopefully-act on the opinions you present them. Finally, you will learn that good critical thinking is characterized by a combination of specific, useful opinions which are nuanced, supported, and fully backed up. Along the way, you'll gain some pointers on how to make your own academic reading process more active and easier, and on how to succeed in the class by focusing on process instead of product.

Spend some time thinking this week of the process I am forcing you to use in producing the messages you write for the class. It is a good process, and I want you to try it out, but good writing isn't ridgid, it's flexible, and a good writer learns not only process writing but how to adpat process writing to their own style. Notice I am getting you to draft, revise to improve specific aspects of your writing, and then getting you to proofread. Also notice the underlying assumptions I bring to this process: 1) most good writing should be revised; and, 2) most good useful writing is nuanced, clear, and well developed. Remember, I am defining good writing as writing which accomplishes the author's purpose. Think about these assumptions. Do you agree with them? Notice as well that the writing process I am teaching you is based on the underlying assumptions behind Kaizen, that is: 1) if one employs a good process, a good product will result; 2) if one improves process, a better product will result; 3) small continuous improvements result in sustainable, obtainable change; and, finally, 4) small changes accumulate and promote substantive change. {Look up the words you don't know.} Think about these assumptions. Do you agree with them? How can you apply them in to your writing and to your life? Do you want to? I'll provide extra credit to those who participate this week in a disscussion on the class email list--eng111summer2008reynolds@googlegroups.com--about their take on these assumptions and questions.

As always, write with questions.

Steve