hello my name is Kylie and welcome to the writing process getting it done in
the previous video about the writing process you learned how to get started
and how to create a draft of your very own work in this video you'll learn the
process of finishing your writing so that you can go from a draft to a
published final copy that can be read and enjoyed by many people let's look at
five main steps in the writing process again in the previous video we talked
about prewriting brainstorming and drafting now we will continue with
revising editing and publishing let's look at these final steps after you've
written a draft you can look at your writing more closely in the revision
stage you are making decisions about your work in making general changes but
you are still not looking at spelling grammar or punctuation it is a good idea
to take some time away from your draft before you begin revising go for a walk
or eat a snack or maybe even come back to it in a day or two taking a break
from your writing lets you really return with a clear mind so that you can really
improve it when you are ready to revise read your work aloud then ask yourself
some questions first of all ask yourself if you are tackling the reason for
writing remember your purpose does this piece of writing address your purpose
does it do what you meant for it to do does it teach something does it tell a
story does it express an opinion are you doing a good job of trying to
persuade your readers to see things your way next ask yourself if you are staying
on topic does your writing focus on one main idea or did you go off in a few
different directions with different topics then ask yourself if you would
like the order of your writing the way it is or if you want to change it does
anything need to be moved to a different part does anything need to be added do
you need to delete anything can any part be written better make these fixes at
this stage if you are doing it with technology it is rather easy to make
changes if doing it with pen and paper you do not need to rewrite everything
simply draw arrows or use proofreading marks directly on your work you'll learn
more about proofreading marks in the next stage once you've gotten your
writing to a point where it is in the correct order and on topic now it is
time to edit your work this is my favorite part everything your work is
where you start to look at spelling punctuation and grammar to help with
editing you can also check out other language arts videos if you are editing
on a computer or using other technology you can make the changes directly on
your piece of writing once again if you are using pen and paper you can use a
ton of different proofreading marks like these you should also use an editing
checklist to help make this task a lot easier and help you not miss any errors
here is a basic editing checklist to get you started ask yourself did I write in
complete sentences
did I use capital letters correctly did I correct punctuation hmm could I change
any words is my spelling correct
did I use the proper form for the type of writing I chose is my work neat and
easy to read after editing your work you can still check it by letting your peers
or an adult read over your work read it aloud with you or read it aloud with
yourself when listening to it being read you can again ask yourself if you could
use more interesting or descriptive words you can use a thesaurus to help
find synonyms also listen to make sure your sentence length and structure is
not the same for every sentence to make your writing better you can have some
sentences longer than others and you don't always need to start them the same
way every time the more you vary your sentences the more interesting your
writing will be to reap you can check out our synonyms antonyms and vocabulary
games to help you improve your vocabulary skills and use bigger and
more fun words in your writing once you've gone over your work very
carefully edited it using our checklist and had others read it you are ready to
publish choosing how to publish your work can be very fun and gives you a
chance to show your creative side of course if you are publishing your work
to submit to a teacher a writing contest or to be published through a specific
place like our site you must be sure to follow those directions very carefully
for example some guidelines may require you to use a specific size font or
letter size how much space to leave around your writing called margins on
the paper or how many words you should write if you're writing for fun you can
really get creative you can type it on an old-fashioned typewriter write it in
cursive or print use colorful ink draw pictures or use fancy paper maybe even
paper that you died you can put it in a binder or use a hole punch and yarn to
bind the pages together you can write a letter and mail it to a
friend or a family member you can also purchase a wide variety of notebooks and
blank bound books to record your writing in one great way to publish your work is
to submit it to our weekly newspaper you can also send it to a child's writing
site that publishes kids writing an example for this is Stone Soup magazine
written by kids that has been started many years ago and has writers from all
over the world you can also just email your work to friends and family or even
record a video of you reading your piece we believe in you no matter what you
want to write you can do it remember to always get your parents permission
before sending in your work to any site or sharing using email or texting going
from a blank page to a published piece of writing is very satisfying knowing
that there are steps we can take makes the writing process a lot more fun and a
lot less daunting you can prepare for writing by testing your knowledge on our
fun online games and quizzes and remember to always keep writing and
editing and publishing