Processes Used During Writing

Processes Used During Writing
     Since the summer, I`ve been thinking about the writing process we encourage students to use. I want students to engage in writing and that will only come if they are allowed to follow a process that works best for them in their situations.

Process		What It Looks Like	Tips for Teacher	Assessment Tips
Planning		o   Rough Notes – not necessarily organized o   No expectation that everything written down will be used o   Use of graphic organizers to help capture thinking o   Examination of exemplars o   Inspired by open ended critical questions, inquiry issues, resources, entry event	o  Give permission to talk before writing – collaboration brings focus and helps to generate ideas – but provide a time limit (if necessary) o   Encourage that everything that comes to mind is written down so that ideas are not forgotten o   Provide ‘entry event’ – something to inspire their thinking	o  Interview – ask them to talk about what they thought – “what ideas are you moving forward with and what ideas will you outright reject?” o  Review of planning – ask them to highlight in colour their strongest ideas. Have them journal about what inspired them o  Don’t evaluate for neatness nor organization – if they can make sense of it that’s good enough
Drafting		o   Students bring structure to ideas o   Begin writing o   Students may choose to progress in the manner most suited to their learning style – confer as they draft, go back and plan more, proofread and correct as they draft, edit as they draft, revise as they draft, rethink	o  Since each writer has different learning styles, intelligence strengths, and writing approaches the drafting process cannot be prescribed o  Ask students to track their drafting progress and be prepared to share with you how they progressed	o  Don’t request that processes be done in a particular order. Rather, ask students to complete 2 of, 3 of, or 4 of the processes as they draft. o  An interview would be best – have them talk about how they write – you can offer feedback and advice
	Conferring	o   After the students have written (some or all of the piece) allow them to confer with someone who will provide feedback o   Encourage them to have specific questions for the advisor	o  Student showing work to another student/teacher/ adult/ friend o  Specific advice being sought	o  Get student to reflect on value of the conference o  Ask whether they accepted the advice or not and why
	More Planning	o   The student may find that the direction selected is causing writer’s block; encourage more planning o   Student does more brainstorming – jotting ideas down on paper o   May look at sources to help find focus	o  Rather than face defeat with writer’s block, encourage students to start from the beginning again if they are stuck o  Come to understand the reason for planning again o  Respect students that will plan and write in portions; some students will plan an introduction and draft it and then plan the body of the piece and draft it, and so forth	o  Students don’t lose marks for going back and planning more – they are actually looking to be more precise in their planning the second time around o  Ask questions, “How did you recognize you needed to plan more?”  “How did more planning help?”
	Editing	o   Some students will want to check over work and edit as they write and others will edit after writing the entire piece o   Editing involves rearranging ideas and checking for clarity	o  Respect students who edit as they write, and those that edit once done 1st draft o  Encourage them to print off / make a copy of work before and after editing so you can have a conversation regarding the changes they made	o  Check before and after drafts and ask questions, “what major changes did you make and why?”
	Rethinking	o   Rethinking means to change tactics – in writing students may wish to change point of view, thesis, tone, tense, etc. o   Students will redraft based upon rethinking their 1st approach	o  Rethinking is  not a step back, but rather a realization that the writing could be much better if a change were made o  Encourage students to print off / make a copy of work before and after rethinking so you can have a conversation regarding the changes they made	o  Rethinking is not a step back o  Check before and after drafts and ask questions, “what caused you to rethink your work and why is it better now?”
	Revising	o   Some students will want to check over work and revise as they write and others will revise after writing the entire piece o   Revising involves examining word choice and sentence structure.	o  Respect students who revise as they write, and those that edit once done 1st draft o  Encourage them to print off / make a copy of work before and after revising so you can have a conversation regarding the changes they made	o  Check before and after revising drafts and ask questions, “What revision had the most powerful effect on your writing?”
	Proofreading	o   Some students will want to check over work and proofread as they work and others will proofread once the entire piece is complete o   Proofreading involves checking work over for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. o   Proofreading can be done by both the author and outside readers	o  Strongly encourage proofreading to be the last step before publishing o  Strongly encourage proofreading to be done multiple times and by someone other than the writer o  Encourage guest proofreaders to circle errors, not correct errors	o  Ask that proofreaders leave comments – one point of praise, one point of concern, and/or one question o  Ask the writer what he/she learned from the proofreading session
Publishing		o   If the piece is being shared it needs to be prepared for publishing o   Publishing could be either hardcopy or electronic o   It should be proofread once more before publication	o  When possible provide an authentic audience for the publication (students will be aware of the audience before planning even begins) o  If this is for evaluative purposes, a rubric with the success criteria listed should be given before the writing even begins o  Provide a checklist for writers before they submit their work	o  The final piece should not be a surprise to the teacher because of the collaboration and consultation before hand o  Use the rubric previously shared to evaluate the work o  Provide useful comments for next steps o  Ask question, “Why are you proud of this piece of writing?”
Post-Publication Dialogue		o   If work is published online using Web 2.0 tools, then the writing process doesn’t end with publication o   With online publication, readers and writers can enter into discussions about the published piece. o   The writer may revisit a piece of writing because of the feedback from readers, or the writer may take into account the feedback when starting a new piece of writing	o  Use Web 2.0 sharing tools that provide opportunities for readers to leave comments o   Encourage students to read and provide feedback to each other o  Encourage author to respond and engage in conversation with readers who leave comments	o  The overall expectation of Reading for Meaning calls for students to analyze texts, evaluate texts, and demonstrate critical literacy – all these expectations can be met by reading and responding to work by other writers o  Set the norms/rules for responsible dialogue about writing (polite, constructive, questions-not accusations) o  Look for metacognitive reflection in the dialogue