Overview

The writing process involves five stages: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing/proofreading, and publishing/presenting.

The prewriting stage is when you determine the purpose and audience for your writing. This is also when you explore ideas about your topic and start organizing them. You start actually writing in the drafting stage. This is when you put your ideas into sentences and paragraphs. A draft is rarely a finished piece of writing. Virtually all drafts need some revision. In the revising stage, you read and rewrite your draft to be sure it is clear and organized. During the editing/proofreading stage, your focus is on the mechanics of writing. Here you look for and correct mistakes in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. In the publishing/presenting stage of writing, you present your work to an audience by publishing your writing, reading it aloud, or simply giving it to someone else to read.

You can follow the five steps in order, or you can skip around and repeat steps. You don’t always have to work the same way, and you can revise a piece of writing as many times as you need to. The trick is to be flexible and use the process in a way that works for you.