Question 1

What are the stages of the writing process?

Accepted Answer

Four stages, every time. Plan: decide the reader, the purpose and one governing idea, and sketch the paragraphs. Draft: write each paragraph to its plan and link it to the one before. Revise: read the whole piece for voice, rhythm, punctuation and length. Proofread: check every sentence for slips. Then ask whether it still serves its governing idea.

Question 2

What is a thesis statement?

Accepted Answer

A thesis statement is the one sentence that says what a whole piece will show. "Our town should keep its library because it helps people learn, meet and read for free" governs every paragraph after it. It is different from a topic sentence, which governs only one paragraph. A bare fact, such as "Libraries have books", is not a thesis.

Question 3

How do I make an outline before writing an essay?

Accepted Answer

Write one short line for each paragraph, in order: an opening line, one line for each main idea of the body, and a closing line. Then check three things. Does every line serve the main topic? Do any two lines repeat an idea? Does the order make sense for this kind of piece? Fix the outline before you draft.

Question 4

How do I write a good introduction paragraph?

Accepted Answer

An introduction opens the whole piece. It names the topic, gives the reader a reason to read on, and shows what the body paragraphs will cover. In an essay it usually ends with the thesis. "Every morning our street fills with traffic, and three changes could make it safer" opens a piece and signals its plan.

Question 5

What should a conclusion paragraph do?

Accepted Answer

A conclusion closes the whole piece, not just the last paragraph. It returns to the main idea, sums up the main points and gives a final thought. It should not add a new argument. "In conclusion, it is good" closes nothing; a conclusion that answers the opening and gathers every point does.

Question 6

How do I know when my writing is finished?

Accepted Answer

A piece is finished when it has been checked, not when you stop. Ask five things. Does the beginning say what it is about? Does the middle stay on one topic? Does the end answer or close the beginning? Does the title fit? Have you read it aloud and fixed every bump? If all five are true, it is finished.

Question 7

What is a beginning, a middle and an end in a story?

Accepted Answer

The beginning starts the story and says who and where. The middle tells the most: the problem and what happens, in order. The end tells how it turned out and answers the problem. Writing "The End" is a label, not an ending; the ending is the sentence that says what happened at last.

Question 8

How should I divide my time in a timed writing task?

Accepted Answer

Give every stage some of the time. For one piece, a sensible start is about a tenth to plan, most of the time to draft, and a few minutes each to revise and proofread. Write the finishing time for each stage in the margin. If time runs short, protect the ending and the thesis before any polish.

Question 9

How do I link paragraphs in an essay?

Accepted Answer

Begin each paragraph with a link that names how it relates to the one before: adding, contrast, cause, result, time or example. "However" signals a turn; "As a result" signals a consequence. The link should also point back to the thesis. Chapter 21, Transitions and Flow, owns the linking words; this chapter uses them across a whole piece.

Question 10

How do I give useful feedback on someone else's writing?

Accepted Answer

Read the whole draft first. Then give two or three comments, starting with the largest: the governing idea, the structure, anything that wanders, then style, and proofreading last. Make each comment specific, kind and usable: where it is, what you experienced as a reader, and a suggestion or question. Say what works as precisely as what does not.

Question 11

What is the difference between revising and proofreading?

Accepted Answer

Revising changes the piece: its thesis, its structure, the order of paragraphs, what is cut and how it sounds. Proofreading checks the finished piece for slips in grammar, spelling and punctuation. Revise first, from the largest level down, then proofread, because a sentence you correct today may be cut tomorrow.

Question 12

How do I come up with ideas before I write?

Accepted Answer

Brainstorm in two halves. First collect many ideas quickly without judging them, using a list, an idea web or the question words who, what, where, when, why and how. Then choose: keep the idea that fits the task and the reader, gives enough to say, and is small enough to finish.

Question 13

What should I decide before I start writing?

Accepted Answer

Decide two things before the first sentence: who the piece is for, and what it is about. Write them as two short lines, For and About. The About line decides which ideas belong; the For line decides how you say them. A small topic, such as "our cat's first bath", keeps a short piece whole.

Question 14

How do I stop my writing from going off topic?

Accepted Answer

Check every sentence against your About line, not just against the sentence before it. A piece can drift one step at a time: a kite, the sky, aeroplanes, a trip abroad. Each step follows the last, but the piece has left its topic. Cut back to the first sentence that drifted.

Question 15

Why should I read my writing aloud?

Accepted Answer

Reading aloud makes your voice meet every word, so it catches slips your eyes skip: a doubled word, a missing word, a sentence that does not make sense, or a jump where a step is missing. Point to each word as you read, mark each place you stumble, then fix it and read the whole piece again.

How do you take one piece from a blank page to finished?