Objectives:

• To define the phases of writing
• To highlight key points during each phase
• To state the importance of each phase

In this lesson we’ll be studying the three phases of writing. We’re going to be diving into the writing process and enumerating what these phases involve and why they’re important to English composition. For every point we’ll also be highlighting the key processes that take place during that specific phase.

1. Pre-writing

In reference to our previous lesson, this phase contains most of the process—the development of the idea, the researching and the outlining. This phase involves everything you need to do before actually writing your paper: the brainstorming, researching and outlining of the actual paper. This is very important because without it you can’t begin the actual writing. This phase defines what it is that you want to write about, how you want to write about it and in what order you want to write about it. Going through this step is the only way to ensure that you have a quality paper that covers all the bases and gives the reader substantial information without being redundant or superfluous. This phase keeps your compositions cohesive and organized. It allows for flow throughout the paper.

2. Writing

Oddly enough, this is the shortest and least complex phase of writing. Here you begin filling in the paper with the actual sentences, paragraphs and words—in this phase, it’s crucial to work side-by-side with your outline. You need to be able to consistently cross-reference the outline to see whether or not the things you’re writing coincide with your outline. It’s also in this phase that you’ll have to practice your critical thinking skills: you’ll need to curate the contents of your composition and decide which information belongs in the paper and which information doesn’t.

In this phase, you’ll probably go through many drafts—don’t worry about that; it’s best to go through as many drafts as you can within the designated time period so that you can ensure the quality of your paper. Don’t be afraid to make changes and to alter your first draft. Once you’ve arrived at your final draft, it’s time to set it aside for a while and move onto our next phase.

3. Post-writing

This phase involves editing and proofreading. In the previous step, we asked you to set the paper aside for a while after you’ve arrived at more or less the final draft. This is so that you can eventually come back to the paper (no less than an hour or two after) and read it again with a fresh eye. Proofreading pays more attention to the form and details than to the content (which was focused on in the previous phases).

Here, you can look at grammar, punctuation, spelling and whether or not your paper complies with the format prescribed for the paper. In this step, you’ll need to pay close attention to the details of your paper: look at the small things and change them if needed. Never turn in a paper that hasn’t been proofread. Your reader will be looking at the paper with very fresh pair of eyes and will be able to spot errors easily. Proofread as far from the due date as possible so that you have time to make corrections.

In this lesson, we were able to talk about the three different phases of writing. We were able to briefly describe what each phase involved and why it was important. We were also able to identify the different processes which these phases encompassed.

Next we’ll be looking at the different kinds of compositions which you might be asked to write. This will help you determine what it is you need to do and what the best way to go about writing your paper is. In English composition, a big part of writing well relies on how well you understand the instructions and the context of the requirement. We’ll be tackling all these things in the coming lesson.