Stages of Writing

Prewriting, the first stage of the writing process, is the raw form of information the author intends to feature in their piece of writing. This stage consists of gathering thoughts through brainstorming which allows thought to flow freely, drawing from experiences, critical thinking, and reasoning. During this process the writer chooses the best pieces of information based on their relevance and how they will contribute to the strengthening of the piece.  

Planning, the second stage, is the step where the raw thoughts can be processed as they are placed into their relevant parts in the piece. At this point the topic which the author will write about will be chosen. The intentions of the writing will be considered as well as the intended audience. An important aspect to consider would be the genre which would drastically impact the emotion of the writing. A graphic organizer provides the author with a physical means of designing the layout of the relevant pieces of information under the categories suited for them.

The third stage, drafting, is where the author follows the layout to build the structure of writing, elaborating on points made and delivering the overall attitude the author wishes to convey concerning the topic. Though the piece is proofread for grammatical and spelling errors, this is not the final piece.

Feedback is the final stage before a final draft can be perfected, but perfect is not the same as being free of errors. The draft is still scanned to detect grammatical errors, but this stage goes beyond the purpose of editing it. The writer will receive an insight on the impact of the writing on their audience. The feedback will assist the author with improving the effectiveness of the writing to conveying their viewpoints.

By Prakash Seebarran 

Narrative Writing

 

Different styles of writings used determine the characters and settings included in the writing. Narrative writing is one style that allows the writer to tell a story. It can include actual events told in chronological order or imagine event told in a limerick that the author creates.

It can be fiction or nonfiction which can be historical or actual retelling of events. The main idea of narrative writing is the concept that the author portrays through the narratives, characters and settings. Some examples of narrative writings are novels, short stories, comics, musicals and play or any story is considered as a narrative.

Hence, there are a few advantages of narrative writing, including analyzation of books One is better able to analyze books. Knowledgeable of different persons and gaining writing skills. You can hone your writing skills through the art of narrative writing.

Although, there are a few advantages, there remains slight disadvantages concerning narrative writing such as confusing audiences and the undermining the credibility of the story.

By: Eugenia Davis

  

Descriptive essay

The descriptive essay is a genre of essay that asks the student to describe something—object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc. (Purdue Writing Lab, 2018)

When encouraging learners to write descriptive essays it is crucial that educators find creative means to introduce the topic. Here are three activities teachers can implement in their classrooms when teaching descriptive essay writing:

1. Using the writing prompt “You're Walking Through a Spooky Forest” the teacher can construct a gallery and auditory walk where pictures are lined around the classroom and spooky music is being played. This will give students ideas as to what descriptive words they should use in their pieces as they are describing what they hear, and see and let us not forget the feeling of terror.

2. The writing prompt is “A Day at the Market”. For the introductory activity, students will dip their hands in a bag and feel the items which would consist of fruits or vegetables. This activity will lead both the teacher and students into a discussion describing what they felt and predicting what they perceive the items to be. 

3. The teacher places an image in the center of the board and has students describe what they see or think is happening. They could act as subheadings where students collaboratively create an essay in groups of four. Each group will write a descriptive piece on their subheading as shown in the diagram below. Once completed all paragraph pieces will be combined to produce a final product. 

These activities can be utilized at any grade level but must be broken down to a suitable level for them. Teachers should remember to inform students their descriptive pieces should be flooded with adverbs and adjectives.

References:

                 Stock, Moon. “6,168 Spaceman Moon Stock Photos - Free & Royalty-Free Stock Photos from Dreamstime.” Dreamstime, 2018, www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/spaceman-moon.html. Accessed 19 Oct. 2024.

                Purdue Writing Lab. “Descriptive Essays // Purdue Writing Lab.” Purdue Writing Lab, 2018,                            owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/essay_writing/descriptive_essays.html.

                 By Jaylene Peters

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Expository Essay

 

An author’s expository essay goes into detail of their point of view of a topic they wish to relay to their readers. The author writes based on experiences and prior knowledge. Their attitude toward a topic can be felt throughout the essay. They can choose to entertain or communicate a sense of urgency to address a matter. The writer basically expresses a problem along with a solution. This can be indicated in the thesis statement that captures the attention of the reader. The cited information presented in the essay is factual and is supported by extensive research by reliable sources. The author considers their audience and strategically chooses words that relay their points. One purpose is to convince or persuade the reader to agree to the viewpoints. Another purpose is to inform the reader of goings on around the world. Also, it assists in building correlations of cause and effect with the intention to make a change. Essentially an expository essay can be used to argue and persuade which can be elaborated on by including statistics.

The Process Writing Strategy

 

 

The process approach a process support method of thinking applied to understanding and planning the sequence and interaction of processes in the system. There are different stages of process writing which include prewriting, drafting, editing and publishing. Prewriting is the first step of the writing process and consists of brainstorming, outlining and drafting the plan for the piece. One may use a storyboard or cluster map for gathering their ideas. Comprehensiveness is one of its weaknesses, but still, there are many advantages. Such as easy to learn and shape our thoughts. The next stage is drafting. This is where student begin to actually write their essays. During the editing stage, is when their work constantly being changed to make it better by correcting grammar and punctuation. Publication is producing the final product to the teacher or to be viewed by others. Students benefit from this of course which allow them to think critically as they write.

By Eugenia Davis

Writer's Workshop Literacy Hour Lesson Plan

When writing lesson plans for language arts, it is important that teachers utilize the Literacy Hour plans, which comprises some key areas students should engage in (Opening, Focus Lesson, Extending, Follow up).

Here are a few tips to consider when writing these lessons:

•  When writing the objectives of the lessons, educators should ensure they include the degree and condition. It should also include at least one objective from each domain which are Cognitive, Behavioral/ Psychomotor, Expressive/ Affective.
• Educators should allow for some sort of peer/ group work which lightens the teacher's load as some students learn from their peers.
• Teachers should sit with students whether in groups, individual or whole class to offer scaffolding or insights. 
• The follow-up section at the end of the lesson will guide the teacher and students about what comes next.

See a sample of a Writer's Workshop Literacy Hour Lesson Plan below.  

SUBJECT: Language Arts

TOPIC: The Writing Process – Adverbs

GRADE:  Grade Three (3)                                   No. of students: 16

TIME: One (1) hour

OBJECTIVES: With 90% accuracy students should be able to:

1.     Identify at least 5 adverbs in a given passage. – Cognitive

2.    Create a descriptive paragraph that includes at least ten different adverbs used effectively throughout their writing. – Behavioral/ Psychomotor

3.     Demonstrate pride in their writing by sharing their work with their peers. -Expressive/ Affective

PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE:

§  Students are aware of what an adverb is.

§  Students are able to identify an advert in a given sentence.

§  Students have basic knowledge of writing complete sentences with subject-verb agreement.

CONTENT:

• Adverbs are words that provide additional information or describe verbs.
• Examples sentences:

James missed the bus this morning because he walked slowly.

Orencia performed a lovely dance.

• ▪    List of adverbs: Lightly, gracefully, quickly, quietly, furiously, angrily, accidentally, mysteriously, kindly, etc.

   STRATEGIES & SKILLS:  Direct instruction (mini-lessons), guided practice, independent writing, peer-sharing, and self-editing. Using descriptive language, proper punctuation, sentence structure, revising, and editing.

   MATERIALS: whiteboard, markers, writing journals, pencils, erasers, Sample paragraph (Sentence strips), visual aids (charts addressing capitalization, punctuation and subject-verb agreement).

 OPENING:

Step 1: In groups of 4, students will be given a few sentence strips which must be combined as a class to tell a story. For example the first sentence would state, It all began when Josh landed safely on the moon.

 FOCUS LESSON (10-15 minutes):

 Mini-Lesson Topic: Utilizing adverbs and correct punctuation in writing and sentence structure.

• Activity:
• The teacher will ask students to point out the adverbs from the story created from sentence strips (e.g. slowly, quietly, loudly) and point out correct punctuation (capital letters, periods and commas).
• The teacher will model how to write a simple clear paragraph using the words suggested by students.
• The teacher will remind students that the sentence structure (subject-verb agreement) and the use of capital letters and appropriate punctuation.

  WRITING TIME (20-30 minutes):

• Activity: Students will choose a familiar experience from their memory (e.g. playing with their dog, going to the doctor's office, watching their favorite show) to write a paragraph consisting of 6 different adverbs.
• The teacher will provide individual feedback, helping students use adverbs and correct their sentence structure and punctuation.
• The students will independently write a paragraph, using appropriate capitalization and correct punctuation. Students will also revise their paragraph making the necessary editing.

SHARING (5-10 minutes):

• Activity: Students will share their paragraphs with their peers. Encourage peers to give positive feedback (e.g., "I like how you described the speed of your dog vs. cat.").
• Students will practice reading their writing aloud and their pairs will practice active listening.

EXTENDING

• Students take home their descriptive paragraphs where they may be placed on the wall and seen by others.

ASSESSMENT 

The teacher observes the students’ use of paragraph construction, sentence structure, and punctuation, providing immediate feedback and assistance where needed. This will save time for intervention and scaffolding, helping students correct errors and develop stronger writing skills.

CLOSURE

Reflect on the day's writing experience. Students will be asked, "What did you learn about adverbs in their writing today?" "Why is it important to use adverbs when writing?" Reinforce the idea of using adverbs to bring writing to life.

FOLLOW UP

The teacher will give a brief review session on what adverbs are and their functions in sentences. Organize students into small groups to brainstorm familiar experiences they might want to write a story about. Encourage them to think creatively and share ideas within their groups. Each group can list potential experiences that could incorporate various adverbs and present their final products.

TEACHER EVALUATION

 

 

By Jaylene Peters

The Writing Workshop

 

Anything that a student writes, no matter how infantile, qualifies them the title of “writer”, especially when taking part in a writing workshop. A writing workshop is a nurturing environment that encourages the ongoing process of writing where the goal is not to produce perfect pieces, but to refine their skills over time as a community.  The subject the writer chooses is what they desire, and they develop their piece by relying on their experiences and their feelings. The process is supplemented by analyzing the structure of other writer’s work. Students can receive direct information about the writing process of another author as the teachers themselves present their own work and encourage their students to share their own pieces.  As a group they discuss stories and make their own inquiries. The young writers apply their newfound knowledge to their own work. Teachers do not correct any pieces of writing produced by the students but teaches mini lessons to fill in any gaps in them to encourage them to edit their own work. With the combination of personal experiences, passion, encouragement, editing, and guidance, young writers can produce remarkable and authentic pieces of writing with their own community of writers. 

By Prakash Seebarran 

https://www.thesecretstories.com/how-phonics-works/writing-samples/kindergarten-writing/

Expressive Writing

 

Expressive writing is that type that allows students to express ideas through sentences, paragraphs and story writing vividly. Students can express their writings which can either be in the type of personal journals, songs, opinion pieces, memories, essays and poetry. There are a few advantages including creativity. Today to business allow quick access, and it is individualized, creative, and detail-oriented. Even though there are various strengths we are still disadvantages for example, time consuming and less visual approach.

By Eugenia Davis