The Seven Steps of Writing
1. Discover
Explore your subject. This step includes:
- brainstorming,
- listing,
- free-‐writing, and
- questioning.
2. Plan
Plan and organize your essay. Keep in mind your audience, subject, purpose, strategy, and design. In this step, you will:
- narrow your focus,
- determine main points,
- cluster or create a web
- order ideas, and
- create an outline.
3. Compose
Begin composing/writing your essay by using an outline first.
4. Get Feedback:
Get advice about your paper. Use your peers, a conference with your instructor (me), or go to a writing center.
5. Revise:
- Focus on the bigger picture. Ask yourself these questions:
- Have I included all of my main points?
- Are any points irrelevant or repetitious?
- Are there enough examples to support my main points?
- Does the order of my ideas make sense?
- Can I rearrange my ideas for better clarity?
6. Edit
Focus on the smaller concerns. Remember to look at:
- Sentence structure
- Grammar
- Punctuation
7. Proofread
When you feel that you’ve completed your final copy, read through it again! It helps to read the paper aloud because you’ll be able to hear your mistakes. In this step, you also want to make sure your formatting is correct (double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman, MLA format).
Adapted from https://library.ncu.edu/writingresources/gettingstarted
