Reflection – Writing Process

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Write a reflective essay that assesses your current writing process by comparing the strategies you have actually used so far this semester to produce the two formal essays to the standards set out in the Writing As a Recursive Process Learning Outcome below. To what degree does your writing process enable you to write effectively in a range of situations?

Consider how often you completed all phases of your writing projects, how often you met deadlines and word-counts, the degree and quality of idea development during revision and the quality of the writing produced.

400 words or more.

Further instructions: Be sure to include a full description of your writing process from beginning to end. Include descriptions of any prewriting strategies you use, your process and goals for initial drafts, how you approach and execute revision, and how you ensure that your final papers meet readers’ expectations and are free from stigmatizing errors

In your essay, include context-sensitive links to drafts, informal writing, notes, margin comments, and Papers posts that provide samples of your writing process. Be sure to explain how the evidence in those links support your claims about your proficiency.

At the end of the essay, use our NY | NTG | OK | G | EX scale to rate your prewriting practices, your drafting processes, your revision processes, and your final editing processes.

Writing as a Recursive Process Learning Outcome: Experienced Writers have Flexible, Adaptable Processes to Write Effectively in a Range of Situations

Experienced writers understand that writing makes meaning that functions in the world, which is why it takes work over time to get it right.

• PLANNING, EXPLORING, IDEA GENERATION: Work early in the project focuses on building meaning, exploring possibilities, making connections, trying out ideas, figuring out what evidence means, consider other viewpoints, discovering implications
• DEVELOPING, BUILDING, TESTING, RECONSIDERING, SOLIDIFYING, SEEKING FEEDBACK: Work later in the project extends-reconsiders-develops meaning, narrows focus, sharpens connections, solidifies-supports-and-develops ideas, explains what evidence means, accounts for other viewpoints, elaborates implications, considers and addresses the needs of readers
• Work near the end of the project sharpens, strengthens and clarifies, ensures the readability, correctness, and appropriateness of the text

Experienced writers understand that their ideas and understanding evolve as they write and consider the words of others. They

• Anticipate and plan for the evolution of their ideas by scheduling multiple drafts
• Take a flexible approach to plans made early in the project and are willing to let their writing plan evolve with their developing ideas

Experienced writers understand that writing is several different-but-related activities that rarely happen sequentially or just one time in each writing project. Writers

• Assess the writing situation
• Come up with ideas
• Evaluate ideas
• Develop ideas
• Get words on the page
• Organize words into paragraphs and paragraph-sequences
• Assess their own writing
• Seek and consider feedback
• Rethink
• Restructure
• Rewrite
• Add
• Cut
• Move
• Clarify
• Serve readers
  

Experienced writers understand that the words they first use to convey what they think and mean often need to be examined, elaborated, revised, and worked on really convey to a reader what the writer means.

Experienced writers seek out and consider feedback from potential readers.