The Writing Process or The Process Theory of Writing

A couple of decades ago, those of us who teach writing and spoken communication rediscovered another idea the Greeks had visited first, namely, that of trying to describe the various stages a speaker or writer goes through as they produce a message. The Greek and Roman version of these stages or process were called the Canons of Rhetoric. The modern version developed from these canons is called, "The Writing Process" or the "Process Theory of Writing."

Modern process theory encourages writers to learn first hand the value of breaking down the task of crafting a successful message, and you are taught to think of writing as a series of somewhat ordered tasks. You are also encouraged to give your most or your full attention to the task in front of you, figure out what needs to be done next, and so on. When we studied successful writers, we found most had some common features in terms of their writing process: 1) they had learned to focus on one aspect of the job of writing at a time; 3) they were able to move between these various aspects of writing with practiced ease; 3) they had a deep knowledge of various techniques they could pull from for any one stage of the process; 4) they tended to use other readers and writers at various stages of their writing process; and, 5) if they could, they took the time to repeatedly revise their early drafts.

Much of how we currently teach students to write came from a combination of techniques used to teach rhetoric in the classical and Neo-Classical periods, and much comes from studies of successful and unsuccessful writers. Here's what we found out about marginally successful and beginning writers: 1) rather than focusing all their attention on solving the next problem involved in producing a text, they tend to see writing as just getting their ideas on paper and then proofreading; 2) they tend to think in terms of the product they have to produce instead of the process they will use to produce the product; 3) they tend to believe that writing well is more a matter of talent than it is a skill set and craft anyone can learn; 4) many believe they are "good at math" and "hate English"; 5) they tend to try to produce a finished product in way too short a time, not allowing enough time for the process to work for them; 5) they tend to write as they speak, with minimal thought given to the rhetorical situation in which they write or how to use rhetoric to focus what they say; 6) they tend to confuse and conflate creative or academic writing with other genres of writing; 7) they tend to focus on surface features of writing--like grammar and spelling--instead of their messages' effectiveness or deep meaning; 7) they don't allow enough time to successfully craft a message; and, 8) they tend to only go through one or two revisions. If you see yourself in the description above, you are far from alone.

The Process Theory of Writing is designed to teach you multiple techniques for tackling the tasks involved in each stage of crafting a successful message, and it encourages you to see writing as a process of tasks rather than as just something you do when inspired. If you learn this approach and practice it, you will become a better writer. Almost all the research supports this contention.

We usually divide the writing process into these various steps (Learn them, because you'll be hearing these terms throughout the rest of the semester:

Prewriting--In this step, you do the work needed prior to beginning to draft your text. You decide on what topic you'll write on. You decide which audience you'll write for. You decide on how you will develop your topic. You figure out what you can say. You figure out your purpose(s) for writing, and the rhetorical situation in which you will write. You figure out the order in which to present your ideas and/or to develop them. One reason I have you working on basic rhetorical analysis is to give you some practice figuring out the situations in which you will be writing and communicating prior to ever opening your mouth. Make prewriting a conscious part of your writing process, and I'll be suggesting tactics for answering prewriting questions, doing an audience analysis, discovering what you can say, and organizing your writing.

Drafting--This step involves you in just getting the your ideas down on paper. Often it's the hardest step for beginning writers, and it's where verbal constipation can occur, that is, if you try to cram all the other steps in writing into drafting.

Revision--In this step you move through multiple drafts of your text looking at various aspects of your text. You make sure the text uses the right tone and approach for your audience. You make sure it strikes the right balance between formality and informality. You think about changes to your organization and to how you present your ideas. You look for places to add an example, evidence, an illustration, a story, or further evidence. You cut out places where you repeat. In short, you make changes to content or the deep meaning of your message.

Proofreading/editing--One edits another's paper. One proofreads one own. In this step, you look at grammar, usage, and spelling. It's here where you tackle surface level issues which don't have anything to do with content. Overtime, you develop a set of issues for which you know you have to look. Keeping an error log, that is, a list of your frequent errors in usage, spelling, and grammar is one of the tricks of the trade. It helps you keep an index of all the issues for which you have to look and on which you need to work. Issues drop out as you figure out how to recognize and fix them, and they are added as your writing process changes, introducing more chances for new errors.

Review--In this step, you take your message or text, and you judge what you've done, what tactics worked and which didn't. In the Rhetorical Canons, there used to be a canon for rhetorical memory. Literally, this was your memory of tricks which had worked in the past, tricks you could use in producing the text you're working on currently. By making review a conscious step to add to your rhetorical memory, to review your texts and their effectiveness, you develop a repertoire or a library of ways to write (and not to write). Essentially what you are doing here is a kind of post mortem rhetorical analysis of a message you have already produced.

This division makes the notion of the writing process seem very straightforward. "Follow these steps, and you'll produce good writing." It turns out, however, the division of writing into the steps above is useful as a rubric, but most real writers follow a more messy actual process. The upshot? Learn the terms of the writing process. Think about how they apply to the processes you use to produce texts. Become especially aware of places where you can make a simple change to your process by adding, say, a conscious step in which you figure out your organization prior to writing; but, don't try to slavishly follow rubric above. It can be done, but it's a recipe for frustration. Most on how to use the writing process rubric to improve your writing in tomorrow's post.