4.6: Writing Process
- Page ID
- 16609
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)
Activity Guidelines
Suggested course level
Lower level undergraduate course
Activity purpose
- Students will become familiar with their own writing process and will recognize stumbling blocks in their own writing process.
- By examining the writing process of famous writers, students will see that writing processes are unique, varied and complex.
Materials required
- Handout
- Quotes from famous writers
- Paper
- Markers
Activity instructions
- Find quotes from 4-5 famous writers about their writing process. This website contains many of them: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-daily-routines-of-12_b_8510996 .
- Add the quotes into the attached handout.
- Ask students to read the quotes and identify the different parts of the writing process, then estimate how much time was spent on each.
- Then, ask students to use this information to create a map of the writer’s process. Students can use different marker colours to represent different parts of the writing process.
- Put the completed maps up on the wall, then have students observe the differences.
- Ask each group to briefly discuss their author’s writing process.
- For the next stage, ask students to think of the last major writing project they created, then draw a map of their writing process.
- Ask students to label major events, including how they felt (a sample image is attached).
Debrief questions / activities
- What surprised you about the author’s writing process?
- What did your author spend the majority of their time on?
- What conditions did the author need to write successfully?
- What can you apply from your author’s writing process to your own writing process?
- What did you learn from drawing your writing process?
- Is the writing process you drew typical, or do you vary it?
- If you identified a barrier or a negative emotion, what part of the writing process was it in?
- How do you think you can remove that stumbling block?
- Is there anything you would like to try to change about your writing process?
Activity variations
- Just do the first part of the activity or just have students draw their writing process.
- If you have time, ask students to “edit” their writing process or write a new writing process that they’d like to try.
Additional resources / supplementary resources
- Cruthers,Arley WritingProcessActivity Handout PDF
- Cruthers,Arley WritingProcessActivity Handout WORD
Tags: writing process, individual, small group, creating a product or document, self-reflection