The Process of Effective Writing

1. The Process of Effective Writing -Amie Swain

2. Who is my audience? Before you begin writing, you need to ask yourself a very important question…

3. format of your paper topic of your paper words you use level of language organization and flow of your paper Information that is included in your paper The identity of your audience can change the

4. What are R.A.F.T.S.? What are R.A.F.T.S. made up of? Role Audience Format Topic Strong verb • …a pre-writing activity • …helps you focus on what you will write • …provides a structure to help you make decisions about purpose, form, audience, and tone

5. Role • You may take on the role of yourself or you may take on the role of something inanimate, something that doesn't have lifelike qualities. • Perhaps you will use personification when you become that inanimate object!

6. Audience • The audience you are writing for can vary. You not only write for yourself but also for your teacher, your friends, family, a newspaper or magazine, an e-zine, an editorial . . . the limits are endless. • Variation in audience requires a variation in the form and level of language used!

7. Format • Experiment with a variety of formats. Telegrams, wanted ads, reports, essays, paragraphs, posters, letters . . . • Don't restrict yourself to letters alone – explore Experiment with a variety of formats. Telegrams, wanted ads, reports, essays, paragraphs, posters, letters . . . • Don't restrict yourself to letters alone - explore other possibilities.

8. Topic • Topics need to relate to the role and audience selected. • Make sure your topic fits who you are tryingto be and who you are trying to write to.

9. Strong Verb • A strong verb helps when selecting vocabulary and setting the tone of the writing. • Are you furious? Irritated? Ecstatic? Don't just tell your audience. Show it!

10. Specific Writing Strategies

11. Prewriting • Sketching • Brainstorming • Listing • Questioning • Modeling • pair sharing • teacher/student conferences • timed writing • Journaling • clustering

12. Drafting • Webbing • "carding” • writing in class • teacher/student conferences • Modeling • timed writing

13. Revising • Sketching • Questioning • peer response • Modeling • boxing/blocking • teacher/student conferences • using rubric

14. Editing • reading aloud • using resource materials • teacher/student conferences • peer response • using models

15. Publishing • display board/publishing corner • Anthologies • Mailing • newspapers/newsletters • electronic bulletin board • "matched" class

16. TAKS Writing Objectives Objective 4: The student will, within a given context, produce an effective composition for a specific purpose. Objective 5:The student will produce a piece of writing that demonstrates a command of theconventions of spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, usage, and sentence structure. Objective 6: The student will demonstrate the ability to revise and proofread to improve the clarity and effectiveness of a piece of writing. Objectives 4 and 5 are assessed through a composition that the student writes in response to a prompt.The prompt is thematically linked to the triplet. Objective 6 tests revising and editing skills in a peer-editing context.

17. Writing skills are also critical for academic success. Students who have learned to communicate well on paper have an advantage both in school and in the workplace. Because good writing requires good thinking, the act of writing actually helps students learn to clarify their thoughts and focus their ideas. In addition, students who write well are usually strong readers. Why? In very simple terms, a writer must be able to read what he or she has written and recognize whether the words mean what the writer wants them to mean. Therefore, every time a student is writing effectively, that student is also reading carefully and thoughtfully. In this way, writing and reading reinforce each other. The exit level English language arts test is an integrated reading and writing test, reflecting this close connection between the two skills.