In this video we're going to look at how
following a writing process helps you to
write efficiently and meet the requirements of your task.
There are six stages in the writing process:
task analysis; brainstorming; research;
planning; writing; and editing and proofreading.
Each stage generally informs the next,
although it may not be
an entirely linear process as you might
have to repeat certain steps as you refine your work.
Taking a process approach gives you a set of steps
follow every time you write, helping you
to break tasks down into manageable
chunks and allocate your time accordingly.
You might notice that there's a lot
of work to do before you begin writing.
In fact, around 70 percent
of the total time it takes to complete
the paper might be spent before you write.
We recommend using an assignment planner
to map out the process and measure your progress.
You can download this one from our website.
Let's take a look at each of
the six stages in more detail
The first step is analyzing the task or working
out exactly what you're expected to do.
First, identify the genre. Although essays
are a common form of assessment you may
also need to produce reports, case studies, policy documents,
literature reviews, or poster presentations
depending on your discipline.
Each genre has its own organisation, structure,
style expectations and language conventions that must be followed.
You also need to think about your aim.
Putting aside the fact that you're writing because it's a
compulsory assignment, think about why
these genres are written in a real-life context.
What do you need your reader to
know do or understand? Are you trying to
present an argument, inform, recommend, or inspire action?
In most cases we write for an audience,
not just for ourselves,
so you need to consider who will read
your paper and what their expectations are
Think about what readers need from the
paper, or why they're reading it, their
level of knowledge, and how they will read.
Will they scan and jump between
sections, or read in detail from start to finish?
Considering genre, aim, and audience will
help you to work out what and how much
content to include, how to structure your
paper, and the required writing style.
Once you've analysed the task, you need
to look at the question to identify any
content, direction, and limiting words.
Content words deal with topics or
subtopics and identify the subject
material you should focus on.
Direction words are usually verbs that tell you
what you have to do, for example, discuss or compare.
Each of these words has a different focus
so make sure you
understand exactly what each requires you to do.
Limiting words limit the scope
of the topic to a particular area,
for example, all, some, the majority of, or
references to time, place, and/or specific groups.
Pause the video, take a look at
this example and see if you can identify
the content, limiting, and direction words.
In this example the direction word is "discuss",
the topic is "the impact of stress"
and the analysis is limited to "the immune system" only.
Spend time on this stage. A paper which directly answers the
question and uses appropriate
structure and style for the genre will get
better marks than one that doesn't.
Stage 2 is brainstorming. Write down any and
all ideas that you have without worrying about structure.
This helps you to work out what you already know,
connect ideas, and notice emerging themes,
and identify what you need to find out.
Then, refine your brainstorm: decide on
your focus, identify relevant ideas, and
key search terms and organize them in an
initial plan to guide your research.
The purpose of the third stage - research and reading -
is to gather the information you
need to help you reach your own conclusions.
It's best considered as a cycle
that involves developing a research
strategy using the keywords from your
brainstorm, finding information, reading
critically to evaluate that information
and identify themes, and synthesizing or
drawing together these main themes to
help you form your own ideas.
Again, this isn't a linear process and
you might need to adjust your strategy and
refine your plan as you progress through
your research. This can be a challenging
stage of the writing process but
developing your critical thinking,
reading, and note-taking skills will help
you to navigate this stage efficiently and effectively.
Although you may feel
under pressure to start writing, once
you've gathered enough research to draw
conclusions it's important to take time
to think and organize your ideas.
Planning helps you to stay on topic,
achieve coherence and cohesion, meet the
expectations of your audience, and write
according to genre. It's important to
consider genre, aim, and audience at this
stage as different types of tasks
require a different structure and approach
There are different ways of organizing your ideas.
If you like to see the whole picture
and how ideas connect you might
like to try a mind map.
We often recommend transformative reading.
As you read, transfer ideas directly into your plan.
Fill in the plan with bullet point
information, including reference details,
author's name, page number, or URL.
You can then add your critical response to the information.
Once you have the main ideas
you can then plan your introduction and conclusion.
The introduction needs to
outline the argument, the main points and
the structure of the paper, so it's often
easier to plan this once you've outlined the body.
Planning helps you to present a
logical, carefully considered, and well
supported argument. Academic writing
generally, and essays in particular,
require you to present an argument, which
is a claim or proposition supported by
reasoning and evidence. This argument is
your response to the task based on a
thorough evaluation of the research you conducted.
Mapping out your argument
helps to see the connections between ideas.
You can see in this example we
begin with the overall contention
"argument mapping has many benefits" then
we have the support or reasoning, as well
as the counter-argument. The next step
would be to add in the evidence we'd use
to support each claim.
Thorough planning allows you to progress to the next stage - writing -
with a clear focus, helping you to avoid writer's block.
Using your plan as a guide, start writing.
You'll need to do a few drafts to get it right.
Your first draft is about getting your ideas flowing.
Don't worry about the word count
or making things perfect.Take a break
before your second draft. During the
second draft, reread your paper. You may
find that you need to remove repetitive
or irrelevant sections, or shift things
around. Take another break before you
move on to the third draft. This is where
the writing stage moves into the editing
and proofreading stage. In your third
draft, focus on content, structure, style,
and clarity and logic of argument. You
may want to edit several times, each time
focusing on a different aspect, such as
expression and clarity, or referencing.
Try to leave a few days between editing
and proofreading your final draft to see
your text with a clear mind.
Read for spelling, punctuation and
grammatical errors. It's often easier to
do this with a hard copy.
It's really important to leave time for
these final stages, as readers make
judgments on both the content and the
quality of presentation of your work.
Poor presentation will give the impression
that your paper was rushed.
Now that we've worked through each of the six
stages of the writing process, hopefully
you can see how a process approach helps
you to break your assignment down into a
series of manageable tasks. Take time to
complete each stage. Using the planner
will help you to map out what you need
to do. And remember that up to 70% of
your time might be spent before you even begin writing.
If you would like more
detailed information or to practice any
of the skills discussed in this video
take a look at the research to writing
module of the Academic Skills Hub. You
can work through these modules in order
as you progress through your assignments,
or you can dip into each section as you need.
You can access the hub from your LMS.
Good luck writing your assignments!
For more tips and advice, to register for workshops or events, or to find out
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