THE WRITING PROCESS
Developing Your Thesis Statement
A strong thesis statement usually contains an element of uncertainty, risk , or challenge (Ramage,
Bean, and Johnson 2006:34). This means that your thesis statement should offer a debatable claim that
you can prove or disprove in your essay. The claim should be debatable enough to let your readers agree
or disagree with you.
Ex: 'Women and men are born to perform specific roles
New: “Although there seem to be specific roles assigned to women and men, those roles should
never dictate nor limit women and men to do other things that are beyond their assigned roles”
Organizing Your Paper
Your next task as a writer is to support your thesis statement with sufficientevidence, data, and
examples. Some people think that this is where the "real- writingbegins because this is where you will
support your thesis statement and expound on it as well,
As a writer, your main aim is to organize your ideas in a logical order. Organizingyour ideas
means finding the connections of one point to another and establishing a linkfrom one idea to another.
Some writers start organizing their draft by making an outline. Outlining is an effective way of
ensuing the logical flow of your ideas. You may opt to use the standardoutline complete with roman
numerals and indentions or you may use lists, diagrams, or maps.
You start your essay with writing the introduction. The introduction for academicessay provides
a background of your topic, poses a question regarding the topic, explainshow the question is
problematic and significant, and gives the writer's thesis statement.
After this one- or two-paragraph introduction to your essay, develop the body of your essay. In
the body, you have to support your main points and include the other details that would support your
thesis statement.
Your conclusion should bring together the points made in your paper and emphasize your final
point.. Do not just summarize your main points; make sure that you synthesize your main points and
emphasize your thesis statement. Remember not to open a new topic in the conclusion.
THE POST-WRITING PROCESS
According to Murray (2005), “Writing is Revising”. " Columnist Ellen Goodman in Nadell,
Langan, and Comodromos 2005:60) seems to echo that statement when she said that “What makes (her)
happy is rewriting….It’s like cleaning the house, getting rid of all junk, getting things in the right order,
tightening up”. These are professional writers, yet they acknowledge the necessity to review and revise
their work.
Just like Murray and Goodman, you also have to keep in mind that writing is a work in progress;
it cannot be perfected all at once. You have to go through the process of writing as we mentioned earlier.
2 PROCESSES IN POST-WRITING:
1) Revising – According to Murray (2005:273), revising is “re-seeing the entire draft so that the writer can deal with
the large issues that must be resolved before he or she deals with the line-by-line, word-by-word issues involved
in editing.
2) Editing - Editing (Proofreading) is the more meticulous process of clarifying meaning by revising each word and
line of your draft. This includes working on grammatical principles such as subject-verb agreement, verb tense,
noun and pronoun usage, prepositions, and sentence transitions; and typographical matters such as punctuation,
spelling, and capitalization.
Editing focuses on its finer details, making sure every word contributes precise meaning to your writing subject
CHECKLIST FOR REVISING:
a) Subject
• Do I have something to say?
•Are there readers who need to hear what I have to say?
b) Focus
• Does the draft make a clear dominant point? Are there clear, appropriatelimits to the draft that include what
needs to be included and exclude whatis unnecessary?
c) Authority
• Are the writer's credentials to write this draft established and clear?
d) Context
• Is the context of the draft clear?
e) Voice
• Does the draft have an individual voice?
• Is the voice appropriate to the subject?
• Does the voice support and extend the meaning of the draft?
f) Reader
•Can you identify a reader who will need to read the draft?
•Are the reader's questions answered where they will be asked?
• Does the draft fulfill the reader's expectations of that form?
g) Structure
•Will the lead attract and hold a reader?
•Does each section support and advance the meaning?
• Is the reader's hunger for specific information satisfied?
h) Documentation
• Does each reader have enough evidence to believe each point in the draft?
i) Quantity
• Where does the draft need to be developed?
• Where does it need to be cut?
Prepared by: Bangcola, Hamdan G.
