at what stages of the writing process does research

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Overview of research process.

The Research Process

Anything you write involves organization and a logical flow of ideas, so understanding the logic of the research process before beginning to write is essential. Simply put, you need to put your writing in the larger context—see the forest before you even attempt to see the trees.

In this brief introductory module, we’ll review the major steps in the research process, conceptualized here as a series of steps within a circle, with each step dependent on the previous one. The circle best depicts the recursive nature of the process; that is, once the process has been completed, the researcher may begin again by refining or expanding on the initial approach, or even pioneering a completely new approach to solving the problem.

Identify a Research Problem

You identify a research problem by first selecting a general topic that’s interesting to you and to the interests and specialties of your research advisor. Once identified, you’ll need to narrow it. For example, if teenage pregnancy is your general topic area, your specific topic could be a comparison of how teenage pregnancy affects young fathers and mothers differently.

Review the Literature

Find out what’s being asked or what’s already been done in the area by doing some exploratory reading. Discuss the topic with your advisor to gain additional insights, explore novel approaches, and begin to develop your research question, purpose statement, and hypothesis(es), if applicable.

Determine Research Question

A good research question is a question worth asking; one that poses a problem worth solving. A good question should:

Be clear . It must be understandable to you and to others.
Be researchable . It should be capable of developing into a manageable research design, so data may be collected in relation to it. Extremely abstract terms are unlikely to be suitable.
Connect with established theory and research . There should be a literature on which you can draw to illuminate how your research question(s) should be approached.
Be neither too broad nor too narrow. See Appendix A for a brief explanation of the narrowing process and how your research question, purpose statement, and hypothesis(es) are interconnected.

Appendix A Research Questions, Purpose Statement, Hypothesis(es)

Develop Research Methods

Once you’ve finalized your research question, purpose statement, and hypothesis(es), you’ll need to write your research proposal—a detailed management plan for your research project. The proposal is as essential to successful research as an architect’s plans are to the construction of a building.

See Appendix B to view the basic components of a research proposal.

Appendix B Components of a Research Proposal

Collect & Analyze Data

In Practical Research–Planning and Design (2005, 8th Edition), Leedy and Ormrod provide excellent advice for what the researcher does at this stage in the research process. The researcher now

collects data that potentially relate to the problem,
arranges the data into a logical organizational structure,
analyzes and interprets the data to determine their meaning,
determines if the data resolve the research problem or not, and
determines if the data support the hypothesis or not.

Document the Work

Because research reports differ by discipline, the most effective way for you to understand formatting and citations is to examine reports from others in your department or field. The library’s electronic databases provide a wealth of examples illustrating how others in your field document their research.

Communicate Your Research

Talk with your advisor about potential local, regional, or national venues to present your findings. And don’t sell yourself short: Consider publishing your research in related books or journals.

Refine/Expand, Pioneer

Earlier, we emphasized the fact that the research process, rather than being linear, is recursive—the reason we conceptualized the process as a series of steps within a circle. At this stage, you may need to revisit your research problem in the context of your findings. You might also investigate the implications of your work and identify new problems or refine your previous approach.

The process then begins anew . . . and you’ll once again move through the series of steps in the circle.

Continue to Module Two

Appendix C - Key Research Terms

Writing based on Texts

Research writing: definition & process, what is research writing.

The research writing process mirrors the general movement of the writing process—prewriting, writing, revising—since any research essay is primarily “essay” first. This is a key concept to remember. Research adds support to your own analysis and insights that you offer in your thesis, topic sentences, and units of support. Research should not supplant or take over your own thoughts; it simply adds validity and credibility to your argument.

With this key concept in mind—that any research essay is an “essay” first and foremost—know that research writing adds some additional stages to the writing process, related to developing a research question and finding, evaluating, and working with sources.

The Research Writing Trap

at what stages of the writing process does research

Research Writing Process

So, how might the research writing process unfold? One important difference between the writing and research writing processes can be the addition of a specific pre-thesis step: developing a research question. A research question provides some focus so that you are not indiscriminately researching a broad topic. You may start by prewriting to develop a research question. Or you may start by reading overview sources to get a sense of the scope of a topic and to help narrow that topic in order to develop a research question. No matter how you start the research writing process, you’ll move back and forth among prewriting, researching, and writing during the process. You’ll revisit, repeat, and/or reorder stages in the process as needed.

The research writing process includes the following stages:

develop a research question
complete preliminary research using overview sources to either help develop, hone, or answer your research question
complete fuller research
answer your research question by developing a thesis based on your own thoughts and research
develop topic sentences and units of support to validate the assertion in your own thesis
draft and revise your research essay
document your sources

Look at a visual representation of the Research Writing Process .

The two videos below clearly discuss research writing processes. Both comment on the importance of planning before you actually start to write a draft, a concept that this text discusses more fully in the page on Synthesizing Sources. And both offer some suggestions about the time needed to move through the research writing process (note that the first video is geared toward students pursuing a master’s degree, so the essay length and thus the timing may be a bit more than what you will experience).

Developing a Research Question – Initiating the Research Writing Process

Developing a good, solid research question is key to research writing. Sometimes a research question occurs naturally, but often it takes work; it can be one of the hardest parts of writing a strong research essay. Creating a research question doesn’t happen all at once. You may move back and forth between prewriting and preliminary research, skimming overview sources to get a sense of how you might narrow a topic, whether the topic is researchable, and what types of supporting sources might exist. Research question development is a gradual process that usually happens in stages: choosing a topic, narrowing a topic, and then progressively asking questions that create more of a focus, ending with a working research question.

Choosing a Topic

If you are able to choose your topic, find a topic that interests you. If your topic is assigned, try thinking about an aspect of that topic you find most interesting. You’ll spend a good amount of time working on this essay. Make sure that the topic engages your interest.

Keep in mind that your final topic and research question most likely will not occur to you simply by thinking about it. You’ll usually need to do preliminary research by skimming general overview sources such as websites, books, and/or encyclopedias. You’ll eventually move to more focused research; use any reading of overview sources to find one smaller, intriguing aspect of your topic. A usable, appropriately-narrowed topic and research question usually occurs as the result of skimming, reading, and thinking about what you’ve read.

Narrowing a Topic

This is just what the heading says—you eventually need a manageable topic, one that you can deal with in some depth in an essay. For example, a topic such as the history of the labor movement in the U.S. is too broad for a medium-length essay; you’d need to write a book. Once you have an idea for a topic, brainstorm ways of specifying that topic. For example, you might want to focus on labor initiatives in the 1940s, or you might want to compare and contrast two specific labor negotiation techniques. It’s useful to brainstorm and list multiple ways of narrowing a topic so that, even when you’re doing preliminary research in overview sources, you have some focus.

Moving from Topic to Research Question

No matter what your topic is, you’ll most likely narrow further to a research question by asking increasingly focused questions about your topic, and by evaluating the language in each question to determine if it can be more specific and thus more narrow. As you can see in the chart below, you can start with a topic, narrow the topic, and then ask increasingly focused questions to develop a viable research question.

The video below explains how to create a viable research question.

Issue-Based Research Question

Many research writing assignments will ask for your insights on an issue. An issue is “a debatable question that lends itself to an analytical response providing reasons why,” as opposed to a topic or question that lends itself to a purely descriptive response.

For example:

issue = Should the U.S. public school system require competence in a foreign language as one of the requirements for a high school diploma?

vs. topic = foreign language teaching

vs. question that lends itself to a descriptive response = What are the steps in foreign language acquisition at certain ages?

You may be able to answer your debatable issue question (in other words, you may be able to create a working thesis) before you search for evidence in library sources, or you may need to search for evidence first in order to refine and specify your research question, before you find research that answers the question. Either way is fine; you may use different approaches for different research situations.

Developing a Research Question in Action

Suppose you want to write research essay on some aspect of World War II. The material written on World War II has filled whole libraries, so you obviously won’t be able to complete a research essay on all of WWII in just a few weeks. The first question to ask yourself, to create a topic, is: “What aspect of WWII am I interested in understanding better?”

Strategies?
Major characters?
Specific battles?

Let’s say you want to understand more about WWII weapons. You consult a couple of encyclopedia articles on WWII weapons and discover that the general categories of weapons at that time were tanks, artillery, and firearms. Each of these categories includes several dozen to several hundred specific weapons. Can you cover all of these in one essay? Yes, if you write a sentence on each one. But then you’re not really writing a research essay; you’re writing a list. You need to go deep, not wide. No one, including you, wants to read a paper that treats a great deal of material in a very superficial manner.

You continue to survey general information sources on WWII weapons. You read a little bit on each of the categories listed in the Second-Level Narrowing tab and decide that the one you are most interested in is artillery. OK, but what kind?

Surface-to-air missiles (SAMS)?
Machine guns?
Anti-aircraft guns (Flaks)?

As you continue to do preliminary research, you learn that air defense tactics and the various models of anti-aircraft guns were extremely critical in various battles, so you decide to focus on that. Yet look at the terminology: “critical in various battles.” You won’t be able to write a brief essay on the role of anti-aircraft guns in all battles of WWII. So the next logical step is to pursue more preliminary research (e.g., websites, encyclopedias) to determine some of the major battles of WWII where the use of anti-aircraft guns were critical. You remember hearing something about “the Blitz” of London, so you look that up and decide to focus on the role of anti-aircraft guns in defending London from German planes.

Here are some ideas for your research question:

How questions: How were anti-aircraft guns used in the defense of London through the Blitz?
Why questions: Why were anti-aircraft guns initially limited in their ability to defend London during the Blitz?
What questions: What were the initial and later strategies for deploying anti-aircraft guns during the Blitz of London?

As you continue to work, you might find yourself combining some of these into a single question. For example, “What changes were made in the technology and deployment of anti-aircraft guns during the Blitz that allowed them to be used more effectively as the Blitz wore on?”

Notice that the question above allows you to go deep with a single, limited topic and master some important information in one area of weapons and those weapons used in WWII. By the time you’re finished writing this essay, you’ll be a semi-expert on the Blitz of London and the use of anti-aircraft guns by the British during that period.

Your areas of interest are racism in the U.S., technology in medicine and health care, and independent film-making. After doing some prewriting and preliminary research on each, you decide you want to learn more about racially motivated police violence. You develop the following working questions:

Are police officers likely to make judgments about citizens based on their race?
Have police forces instituted policies to avoid racism?
Who is most vulnerable to police violence?
Who is responsible for overseeing the police?

You realize that you need to narrow the focus to develop a more viable path of inquiry, eventually ending up with the research question:

Over the last 30 years, what populations are most likely to experience police violence in the U.S.?

You start to research in order to answer this narrow question. However, after completing more research, you discover that your answers are coming quite readily and consistently: young black men are significantly more vulnerable to become victims of police violence. You realize that you’re not really saying anything new, so you have to tweak your path of inquiry.

You circle back to do more freewriting and research to find sources that disagree with this conclusion or add new layers to the answers you’ve found. You eventually discover that there are a handful of police organizations that have made genuine efforts to confront racism in their practices. These groups are working actively against racial violence. You reorient your research question as follows:

Have anti-racist police trainings and strategies been effective in reducing individual or institutional racism over the last 30 years?

The following video offers a summary of how to develop a research question, and offers some additional research question characteristics as well as leading into the next step: how to work with a research question.

Moving from Research Question to Working Thesis

Once you have your research question and have done some research, make sure to create a working thesis. Your working thesis needs a topic and an assertion in the angle, the same as a thesis for any essay.

To continue with the same examples from above:

Your working thesis answers your research question. The elements in the angle are based on specifics that you found during your research. For example, researching Vietnamese food, you might have found that butter, which was not a traditional element in Vietnamese cuisine, was introduced by the French, as well as baguettes, which now accompany many Vietnamese dishes.

An Alternative Research Writing Process

Although there are elements that stay the same in any writing process, there is no one way to write – you will find the way that works best for you. The idea is to not jump into research writing, which often results in falling into that research writing trap described above, and/or creating a research essay that’s a broad “report” on a topic instead of a focused argument about an issue.

However, if you are familiar enough with a topic so that you do not need to do much preliminary research in order to create a thesis, you can start the process with a working thesis. Just be sure that it’s focused and that it has a topic and an assertion in the angle, so that you can find relevant, specific research to back up your argument.

Research Writing Process/Research Question, includes material adapted from College Writing and Excelsior Online Writing Lab; attributions below. Authored by : Susan Oaks. Project : Introduction to College Reading & Writing. License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
Developing a Research Question. Authored by : Susan Oaks. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-esc-wm-englishcomposition1/chapter/how-to-develop-a-research-question/ . Project : College Writing. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Narrowing and Developing, Narrowing Process, Research Questions - series of three pages. Provided by : Excelsior Cpllege. Located at : https://owl.excelsior.edu/research/narrowing-and-developing/ . Project : Excelsior Online Writing Lab. License : CC BY: Attribution
image of woman reading a book in a library. Authored by : Engin Akyurt. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/woman-book-read-library-young-2701154/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
image of cheese in a mousetrap. Authored by : Rudy and Peter Skitterians. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/mouse-trap-cheese-device-trap-2846147/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
image of computers and books in a library. Authored by : Michal Jarmoluk. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/library-book-reading-computers-488671/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
video My Step by Step Guide to Writing a Research Paper. Provided by : Marble Jar Channel. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JcgRyJUfZM . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
video The Research to Writing Process. Provided by : Academic Skills, The University of Melbourne. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewAkojTzutY . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video

The Process of Research Writing

(19 reviews)

Steven D. Krause, Eastern Michigan University

Publisher: Steven D. Krause

Language: English

Formats Available

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Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Kevin Kennedy, Adjunct Professor, Bridgewater State University on 12/2/22

I think this book would make an excellent supplement to other class material in a class focused on writing and research. It helps a lot with the "why"s of research and gives a high-level overview. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

I think this book would make an excellent supplement to other class material in a class focused on writing and research. It helps a lot with the "why"s of research and gives a high-level overview.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The book is accurate, and talks a lot about different ways to view academic writing

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This would be quite relevant for a student early on the college journey who is starting to complete research-based projects.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is clear and concise, though that conciseness sometimes leads to less content than I'd like

Consistency rating: 5

The book is consistent throughout

Modularity rating: 4

I could use the first chapters of this book very easily, but the later ones get into exercises that my classes wouldn't necessarily use

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The book is organized from the high level (what is academic writing with research) to the more specific (here are some specific exercises)

Interface rating: 3

I don't like the flow from contents to chapters, and they feel distinctly text-based. This is a no-frills text, but that's ok.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

I didn't note anything glaringly obvious

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I think that this text stays away from the cultural and focuses mostly on the cognitive. This prevents offensive material, though it may make it less appealing to students.

Reviewed by Julie Sorge Way, Instructional Faculty, James Madison University on 11/23/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Overall, I think this book’s strongest suits are its organization, clarity, and modularity. It is useful and adaptable for a wide range of courses involving a research component, and as the book itself argues, research is a part of most learning at the university level, whether or not a single traditional “research paper” is the end goal of a course. This is a great book with adaptable and useful content across a range of disciplines, and while it is low on “bells and whistles,” the content it provides seems to be relevant, helpful, and also fill a gap among other OER texts that focus more on rhetoric and less on research.

Because this is a book on research writing rather than cutting edge science, etc. it is unlikely to be made inaccurate by the passing of time.

In a desire to move past the simple “Comp II” textbook, Krause’s work here is relevant to a variety of fields. In creating a course with a major-specific research component, many parts of this text are relevant to what I’m doing, and due to its modularity and organization (see below) I am able to make use of it easily and draw students’ attention to the parts that will help them most with our learning objectives.

Clarity rating: 5

Krause’s writing style is uncomplicated and direct. His examples are ones I think most students could relate to or at least connect with reasonably well.

While the book is internally consistent in its tone, level of detail, and relevance to Krause’s original writing goals, in the process of applying it to different courses (as almost inevitably happens with OER materials) it is inconsistently useful for the course I in particular am planning. This is certainly no fault of the book’s. One example would be that it presents MLA and APA format for citing sources, but not Chicago/Turabian.

Modularity rating: 5

Certainly, its modularity is a real strong suit for Krause’s book overall – individual instructors planning different types of coursework that involve writing and research can easily adapt parts that work, and its Creative Commons license makes this even better.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Clear and direct organization is another strong suit in Krause’s text. The information is presented in an orderly and easy to navigate way that allows instructors and students alike to hone in on the most useful information for their writing and research task without spending undue amounts of time searching. This is much appreciated especially in an open access text where instructors are more likely to be “picking and choosing” relevant content from multiple texts and resources.

Interface rating: 4

Simple but clear – basic HTML and PDF navigation by chapter and section. Like many OER texts it is a bit short on visual engagement – the colorful infographics and illustrations many people are used to both in printed textbooks and interacting with internet content.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No errors noted.

Widely relevant (at least in the North American context I have most experience with) but as always, instructors should preview and adapt all material for the needs and context of their own classes and students.

Reviewed by Li-Anne Delavega, Undergraduate Research Experience Coordinator, Kapiolani Community College on 5/1/21

This textbook builds a good foundation for first-year students with topics such as developing a thesis, how to find sources and evaluate them, creating an annotated bibliography, audience, and avoiding plagiarism. While the content is explained well and students are slowly walked through the research process, the textbook ends abruptly ends with a quick overview of the elements of a research essay after students organize their evidence and create an outline. A part two textbook that covers the rest of the writing process, such as structuring paragraphs, how to write an introduction and conclusion, and revising drafts, is needed to help students get to a finished product. As a composition-based textbook, I also felt it could have used a section on building arguments. The true gem of this textbook is its activities/exercises and comprehensive but accessible explanations.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Aside from outdated citations and technology-related content, the process-based writing instruction is accurate and answers common questions from students about research and basic writing. I feel like the questions, checklists, and activities posed are helpful for students to really think through their writing process, and the author explains things without judgment. While students can benefit, I feel that faculty would also benefit from using this as a teaching manual to plan their classes.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The writing instruction is solid and is still used in many textbooks today. Obviously, the sections on technology and citation are outdated, but some sections still have good reliable advice at their core. For example, search language, unreliable web sources, and collaborating online have evolved, but the concepts remain the same. I would cut those sections out and just take what I needed to give to students. The author has no plans to update this book, and someone would need to rewrite many sections of the book, which is not easy to implement.

The book is largely free of jargon and terms are clearly explained. The author's tone is casual and conversational when compared to other textbooks, which makes it more accessible to students and acts as a guide through the research process. However, it does lend itself to longer sections that could use heavy editing and it does sound like a mini-lecture, but I liked the way he thoroughly explains and sets up concepts. His tone and style are a bit inconsistent as others have noted.

The book is very consistent since research and writing terminology is the same across most disciplines. If you're a composition instructor, you'll find the framework is just common writing pedagogy for academic writing: focus on the writing process, freewriting, peer review, audience, revision, etc.

This book was intended to be modular and chapters are mostly self-contained, so it is easy to use individual chapters or change the sequence. There are unusable hyperlinks in each chapter that refer to other sections, but those are additional resources that could be replaced with a citation guide or other common resources. Sections, activities, examples, and key ideas are clearly labeled and can be used without the rest of the chapter. However, some writing concepts, such as a working thesis, are mentioned again in later chapters.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

Parts of the book are easily identifiable and the content within the chapter flows easily from one concept to the next. I felt that some of the chapters should have appeared earlier in the textbook. Students would have to wait until chapter 10 to learn about the research essay. Revising a working thesis comes before categorizing and reviewing your evidence. The peer-review chapter that advises students to read sections of their writing aloud to catch mistakes comes before brainstorming a topic. However, the sequence will depend on the instructor's preference. An index or a complete, searchable text would have helped so you don't need to guess which chapter has the content you need.

The PDF is the more polished and easier to read of the two versions. Overall, the PDF was well laid out, with clear headers and images. I found the colored boxes for the exercises helpful, though a lighter color would make the text easier to see for more students. The text uses different styles to create organization and emphasis, which made some pages (especially in the beginning) hard to read with the bolded and italicized clutter. I would have loved a complied version with all the chapters.

The HTML version is difficult to read as it is one long block of text and the callouts and images are not well spaced. There is, unfortunately, no benefit to reading the web version: no clickable links, dynamic text flow, or navigational links within each page so you will need to go back to the TOC to get the next section.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The book has grammatical and mechanical errors throughout but does not impact content comprehension. Other reviewers here identified more notable errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

The language, examples, and references were generally ok, but the overall textbook felt acultural. Some consideration was taken with pronouns (relies on they/them/their) and gender roles. As others pointed out, there are many areas that could have used diversified sources, topics, references, examples, and students. Some of the textbook's activities assume able-bodied students and sections such as peer collaboration would benefit from a more nuanced discussion when he brought up resentment over non-contributing members, being silenced, and access to resources. There are a few red flags, but one glaring example is on page 5 of chapter 10. An excerpt from an article titled “Preparing to Be Colonized: Land Tenure and Legal Strategy in Nineteenth-Century Hawaii”(which includes the sentence, "Why did Hawaiians do this to themselves?") was used to show students when to use "I" in writing.

Overall, this is a good resource for writing instructors. As this book was written in 2007, faculty will need to cut or adapt a fair amount of the text to modernize it. It is not a textbook to assign to students for the semester, but the textbook's core content is solid writing pedagogy and the focus on using activities to reflect and revise is wonderful. Those outside of composition may find the basic exercises and explanations useful as long as students are primarily working out of a more discipline-specific (e.g., sciences) writing guide.

Reviewed by Milena Gueorguieva, Associate Teaching Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell on 6/28/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This is a process based research writing textbook, a rarity among composition textbooks. It is often the case that foundational writing courses are supposed to cover process and then, very often, instructors, students and textbook authors all forget that process is important when they have to dive into the technical aspects of conducting and writing about and from research, usually in a 'second course' in the first year writing sequence. This is not the case with this book: it is a thoughtful, comprehensive exploration of writing from research as a multi-step recursive process. This approach can help students solidify the knowledge and skills they have acquired in prior courses, especially the multi-step recursive nature of writing as a process while developing a set of strong writing from research skills.

The foundations of research writing are presented in an accessible yet rigorous way. The book does away with the myth of research writing as something you do after you think about and research a topic. The author articulated this idea very well, when he wrote, ”We think about what it is we want to research and write about, but at the same time, we learn what to think based on our research and our writing.”

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Overall, an excellent handbook (it can be used non-sequentially); however, some of the information on database searches and working with popular internet sources as well as collaborative writing (especially as it relates to the use of technology) needs updating.

The appropriately conversational tone translates complex academic concepts into easy to access ideas that students can relate to. The same is true for the many activities and exercises that demonstrate a variety of real life applications for the research skills presented in the book, which helps students see that research and research based writing happen everywhere, not just on campuses , where students seem to write for an audience of one: the professor who assigned the paper.

The material presented is rigorously and consistently presented in various modes: text, activities and exercises.

It can be used in a variety of ways; it has excellent modular stucture.

Excellently organized: reviews and expands on what students might already know about academic writing as a process; introduces the fundamentals of research and research writing and then uses both of these sets of skills in various research projects.

Although it has some very useful and appropriate visuals , the text could have been more user friendly; it is difficult to follow.

Excellently proof-read,

the book is culturally sensitive and contains appropriate examples and/or references.

An overall excellent composition text that provides useful exercises and assignments (such as the antithesis essay) that can help students build complex and nuanced arguments based on research. Highly recommend!

Reviewed by Valerie Young, Associate Professor, Hanover College on 3/29/20

This text is both general and specific. General enough for use in a variety of courses and disciplines, specific enough to garner interest for faculty who want to teach students the fundamentals and more nuanced aspects of research writing. The basics are here. The text could be assigned in specific modules. The text will benefit from an update, especially in regards to references about collaborative writing tools and internet research. The text is missing a chapter on reading research and integrating research into the literature review process. This is a relevant skill for research writing, as student writers often struggle with reading the work of others to understand the body of literature as a foundation for their own assertions.

The content and information seems like it could be helpful for any undergraduate course that has a research writing project. The unique aspects of this book are its features of collaborative and peer review writing practices and all of the exercises embedded in the text. The author gives examples and writing exercises throughout the chapters. These examples could serve inexperienced students quite well. They could also annoy advanced students.

There are some references to the World Wide Web and the Internet, and library research that seem a bit outdated. There isn't much advanced referencing of commonly used internet research options, such as Google Scholar, citation apps, etc.

Clarity rating: 3

Some points are clear and concise. Other pieces go into too much detail for one chapter page. Because the pages are long, and not all content will be relevant to all readers, the author could consider using "collapsible" sections. This could be especially relevant in the APA & MLA sections, offering a side-by-side comparison of each or offering overviews of style basics with sections that open up into more details for some interested readers.

Consistency rating: 4

no issues here

Modularity rating: 3

The chapters are relatively concise and each starts with an overview of content. The web format does not allow for much navigational flow between chapters or sections. It would be great to hyperlink sections of content that are related so that readers can pass through parts of the text to other topics. It does look like the author intended to hyperlink between chapters, but those links (denoted "Hyperlink:" in the text) are not functional.

Overall flow is appropriate for an interdisciplinary lens. Readers can move through as many or as few sections as needed. The chapter topics and subtopics are organized fairly comprehensively, and often by questions that students might ask.

Interface rating: 2

The long blocks of text in each chapter aren't very reader friendly. Also, once the reader gets to the end of the long page / chapter, there is no navigation up to the top of the chapter or laterally to previous or next content. Text doesn't adjust to screen size, so larger screens might have lots of white space.

no issues noticed. Some examples could be updated to be more inclusive, culturally diverse, etc.

This book has some good lessons, questions, and suggestions for topics relevant to research writing. The text could benefit from a more modern take on research writing, as some of the topics and phrases are dated.

Reviewed by Jennifer Wilde, Adjunct instructor, Columbia Gorge Community College on 12/13/18

The text is a wonderful guidebook to the process of writing a research essay. It describes the steps a college writer should take when approaching a research assignment, and I have no doubt that if students followed the steps outlined by the text, they would be sure to succeed in generating a quality thesis statement and locating appropriate sources. It is not comprehensive in that it has very little to say regarding composition, clarity and style. It does not contain an index or glossary.

Sections on MLA and APA format are inaccurate in that they are outdated. It would be preferable for the text to refer students to the online resources that provide up to date information on the latest conventions of APA and MLA.

The bulk of the chapters are timeless and filled with wisdom about using research to write a paper. However, the book should contain links or otherwise refer students to the web sources that would tell them how to use current MLA/APA format. There are some passages that feel anachronistic, as when the author recommends that students consider the advantages of using a computer rather than a word processor or typewriter. The sections on computer research and "netiquette" feel outdated. Finally, the author describes the differences between scholarly sources and periodicals but does not address the newer type of resources, the online journal that is peer-reviewed but open access and not associated with a university.

The writing is strong and clear. Dr. Krause does not indulge in the use of jargon.

The different sections open with an explanation of what will be covered. Then, the author explains the content. Some chapters are rather short while others are long, but generally each topic is addressed comprehensively. In the last several chapters, the author closes with a sample of student work that illustrates the principles the chapter addressed.

The text is divisible into sections. To some extent the content is sequential, but it is not necessary to read the early chapters (such as the section on using computers, which millenials do not need to read) in order to benefit from the wisdom in later chapters. I used this text in a writing 121 course, and I did not assign the entire text. I found some chapters helpful and others not so relevant to my particular needs. Students found the chapters useful and discrete, and they did not feel like they had to go back and read the whole thing. The section on writing an annotated bibliography, for instance, could be used in any writing class.

The topics are presented in the order in which a student approaches a writing assignment. First, the author asks, why write a research essay, and why do research? Next, the author addresses critical thinking and library/data use; quoting, summarizing and paraphrasing; collaboration and writing with others; writing a quality thesis statement; annotating a bibliography; categorizing sources; dealing with counterarguments, and actually writing the research essay. It's quite intuitive and logical. It seems clear that this author has had a lot of experience teaching students how to do these steps.

The interface is straightforward, but I could not locate any hyperlinks that worked. Navigation through the book was no problem.

The book is well written overall. The writer's style is straightforward and clear. There are occasional typos and words that feel misplaced, as in the following sentence: "The reality is though that the possibilities and process of research writing are more complicated and much richer than that." There should be commas around the word "though", and the tone is fairly conversational. These are extremely minor issues.

The examples feel inclusive and I was not aware of any cultural insensitivity in the book overall.

The book is really helpful! I particularly appreciate the sections on how to write an annotated bib and a good thesis statement, and I think the sections on writing a category/evaluation of sources, working thesis statement, and antithesis exercise are unique in the large field of writing textbooks. The book contains no instruction on grammatical conventions, style, clarity, rhetoric, how to emphasize or de-emphasize points, or other writing tips. In that sense, it is not a great text for a composition class. But I think it's extremely useful as a second resource for such a class, especially for classes that teach argumentation or those that require an analytic essay. I feel it is most appropriate for science students - nursing, psychology, medicine, biology, sociology. It is less likely to be useful for a general WR 121 class, or for a bunch of English majors who largely use primary sources.

Reviewed by Jess Magaña, Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Missouri-Kansas City on 6/19/18

This is a comprehensive introduction to planning and writing research papers. The suggested activities seem helpful, and the lack of an index or glossary does not interfere with understanding. read more

This is a comprehensive introduction to planning and writing research papers. The suggested activities seem helpful, and the lack of an index or glossary does not interfere with understanding.

The information is accurate and straightforward.

Some information is out of date, such as the section regarding email, but the main concepts are well explained and relevant. An instructor could easily substitute a lecture or activity with updated information.

The clarity is excellent.

There are no inconsistencies.

The text is organized in a way that lends itself to changing the order of chapters and adding and subtracting topics to suit the needs of each class.

The progression of chapters is logical.

Interface rating: 5

The "hyperlinks" helpfully direct readers to related topics (although these are not actual links in the online version), which contributes to the modularity of the text.

There are a few errors, but none that significantly obscure meaning.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

This text could use updated examples showing greater diversity in authors and work. I recommend instructors find supplementary examples relevant to their classes.

I intend to use this text in my courses, supplemented with a few activities and more diverse examples to suit my students' needs.

Reviewed by Sheila Packa, Instructor, Lake Superior College on 2/1/18

The text is a comprehensive guide to research for students in College Composition courses. The text is concise and interesting. Critical thinking, research and writing argument are integrated into his suggested assignments. The author covers... read more

The author covers the research question, library resources, how to paraphrase and use quotes, and collaborative writing projects. There are suggested exercises in the process of research, such as a topic proposal, a guide to developing a strong thesis statement, a full exploration of refutation (called the antithesis), the critique or rhetorical analysis, the annotated bibliography, and a guide to help students to accumulate a good assortment of sources. MLA and APA documentation is covered. Note that this text is published in 2007. Therefore, I recommend the use of MLA 8 Handbook for up-to-date guidelines for correct documentation. The Research Paper is full explained. In the chapter, Alternate Ways to Present Research, the author focuses on a Portfolio. He discusses web publication of research and poster sessions.

I value the clarity of ideas. The text is error-free, and I like the example essays written by students that will serve to inspire students.

The content is relevant. The author guides students through the process in a way that is easy to understand and also academically rigorous. The MLA 8 Handbook is a needed supplement (and that is affordable).

The writing is clear and concise. The organization of the chapters is logical and leads the students through steps in the process of research, writing a reasoned argument, and professional presentation of the research.

Terminology is clear and the framework for research is clear and sensible.

The book's modularity is definitely a strength. It's possible to use chapters of the text without using the entire book and to omit chapters that are not a focus of the instructor.

This book has a logical arrangement of chapters and the assignments are valuable.

The interface is great. It's readable online or in pdf form.

No grammatical errors. There is one detail that reflects changing rules of documentation. In MLA, titles of books, magazines, and journals are now italicized instead of underlined. In this text, they are underlined.

The text is free of bias or stereotypes.

Reviewed by Jennie Englund, Instructor, Composition I & II, Rogue Community College, Oregon on 8/15/17

Twelve chapters are broken into multiple parts. On Page 3 of the Introduction, the text emphasizes its purpose as an "introduction to academic writing and research." The following chapters present more than substantial information to give... read more

Twelve chapters are broken into multiple parts.

On Page 3 of the Introduction, the text emphasizes its purpose as an "introduction to academic writing and research." The following chapters present more than substantial information to give introductory (even well into master) research writers a foundation of the basics, as well as some detail. It differentiates itself as "Academic" research writing through thesis, evidence, and citation. Two of these concepts are revisted in the conclusion. The third (thesis) has its own section, which this reviewer will use in class.

I'm grateful to have reviewed an earlier electronic text. This provided the ability to compare/contrast, and note that this particular text was more comprehensive and in-depth than the guide I had previously reviewed (which was more of a framework, good in its own right.)

Had the guide contained a thorough section on revision, I'd give it a perfect score! Thus, the book very very nearly does what it sets out to do; it provides most of The Process of Research Writing.

Retrieval dates are no longer used on the APA References page. This reviewer would have preferred titles italicized instead of underlined.

The text opens with an introduction of the project, by its author. The project began in 2000 as a text for a major publishing house, but eventually landed via author's rights as an electronic text. Therefore, essentially, the book has already been around quite a while. This reviewer concludes that time, thought, and execution went into publishing the material, and predicts its popularity and usability will grow.

Timeless, the guide could have been used with small updates twenty years ago, and could be used with updates twenty years from now.

The guide could be used as the sole text in a composition course, supplemented by more formal (as well as APA) examples.

The text is organized into 12 chapters; it logically begins with "Thinking Critically about Research," and concludes with "Citing Your Research Using MLA or APA Style." The text includes most of what this reviewer uses to teach academic research writing. However, the book omits the editing/revising process.

The guide poses purposeful questions.

On Page 7 of the Introduction, the text reports being "organized in a 'step-by-step' fashion," with an invitation to the reader to use the book in any order, and revisit passages. The reviewer found the organization to be consistent and as systematic as the actual composition of an academic research paper.

The meat of the text begins with the definition and purpose of "Research." Immediately, a nod to working thesis follows, which is revisited in Chapter 5. Sources are examined and classified into a chart of "Scholarly Versus Non-scholarly or Popular Sources." The segment on "Using the Library" would complement a course or class period on library usage.

The Table of Contents is fluid and logical. Within the text, concepts are revisited and built upon, which the reviewer appreciates. Examples and exercises are given.

Chapter 10 contains an outline of a student research paper (which follows). The paper examines the problems with and solutions for university athletics. The paper is in MLA format. Tone is less formal than this reviewer would use as an example of academic research writing. The reviewer would have welcomed an example of an APA paper, as well.

The last chapter fully realizes instruction introduced at the beginning: citation defines academic writing, and academic writers credit their sources, and present evidence to their readers. I wish this last part emphasized thesis again, too, but in all, it is a very structured, reader-friendly guide.

Charts are integrated and understandable, though the majority of the book is text.

This review found some grammatical errors including capitalization. Book/journal/magazine/newspaper titles are underlined in lieu of italicized.

Student examples include Daniel Marvins, Ashley Nelson, Jeremy Stephens, Kelly Ritter, Stuart Banner, and Casey Copeman. Most examples of citations are from male authors. Text would benefit from multi-cultural authors. Examples/topics include The Great Gatsby,African-American Physicians and Drug Advertising, Cyberculture, ADHD, Diabetes, Student-athletes, and Drunk Driving.Examples are culturally appropriate and multi-disciplinary. Consistent pronoun used: he/him/his

Third-person narration is used; the author addresses the reader directly (and informally). While this perhaps makes a connection between the author and the reader, and adds to understanding, it does not reflect academic research writing, and may confuse beginning writers?

Chapter 5, "Writing a Working Thesis," is among the most clear, comprehensive, and straightforward instruction on the topic this reviewer has seen. I will use this section in my Composition I and II courses, as well as Chapters 1, 3, and 12. I wish this form had a place to rate usability. In that case, this guide would score highly. I commend Dr. Krause's execution and composition, and applaud his sharing this at no cost with the academic community.

Reviewed by Marie Lechelt, ESL/English Instructor and Writing Center Co-director, Riverland Community College on 6/20/17

"The Process of Research Writing" is a textbook that includes all of the major topics covered in most college research writing courses. The style of writing makes it easily understood by students. Depending on your focus in your writing class, you may want to supplement this text with more about argumentative writing. Other writing models, homework exercises, and classroom activities found by the instructor would also compliment the use of this text. While I would not use this textbook in my course from start to finish, I would jump around and use a variety of sections from it to teach research writing. This text could be used for a beginning writing class or a second semester writing course. Based on my students writing experiences and abilities, I would eliminate or include certain sections. There is no index or glossary included. The hyperlinks to other sections also do not work.

The content is accurate and error-free. I didn't detect any biased information either. The MLA and APA information have changed since this book was published. The peer review work, plagiarism, critiquing sources, and many more of the topics are almost exactly what I teach to my students. This format will work well for them.

While most research writing content does not change over time, there are many parts of this book that could be updated. These include examples (The Great Gatsby), hyperlinks, and references to technology. The technology aspect is especially important. Since technology is constantly changing, most textbooks (print and online) are out of date as soon as they are printed. Because of this, teachers are constantly having to use supplemental material, which is fine. Just like our class websites, we have to update this information every semester or even more often. If you choose to use this textbook, keep in mind that this will be necessary. The MLA/APA information is also out of date, but this is also to be expected.

Clarity is one of the benefits of this textbook. Although the style is somewhat informal, it included appropriate topics and terminology for students learning to write research essays. Students can understand the topics with one or two readings and discuss the topics in class. There were a few places that seemed like common knowledge for students at this level, like the library or using computers. Unfortunately, we do still have students who do not come to us having already learned this information. So, I don't think these sections would have a negative impact on other students. Students can also be given optional sections to read, or as I plan to do, the teacher can skip around and only assign some sections.

The majority of the terminology is common knowledge in research writing teaching. The text is fairly informal in writing style, which I believe is an advantage for students. Many times, students will read a text and then I will need to explain the terminology or ideas in depth in my lectures. Since I prefer to complete activities and work on students' writing in class, instead of lecturing, this book will work well. The chapter on the "Antithesis" was new to me. While I have taught these ideas, I have not used this term before. This is a chapter I may not use and instead include supplemental material of my own.

The chapters are divided clearly and could be separated quite easily to use as individual units in a writing class. If the hyperlinks worked though, they would be helpful. Exercises build upon one another, so one could not assign a later exercise without students first understanding the other sections of the text. I plan to use this text in a research writing class, and I will be skipping around and only using some sections. I do not believe there will be any problem with this. While students may at first feel that starting on Chapter 4 might be strange, they are very adaptive and should have no difficulties with this format.

The Table of Contents is clear and easily understood. Each chapter follows a logical sequence, and students will be able to transition from one topic to another without difficulty. The use of charts, headings, bold, highlighting, and some other visual aids help the reader to understand what is most important to remember. Although, this could be improved upon with the use of color and graphics. While the content is valuable, I would most likely skip around when using this book in the classroom. While the author begin with an introduction and then jumps right into research, I focus on topic selection and thesis writing before research begins. Of course, as the author mentions, students will go back to their thesis and research many times before finishing the writing process.

The text is easily navigated, and students would be able to follow the topics throughout. The lack of graphics and color is noticeable and detracts from the content. In a world of advanced technology where students click on hundreds of websites with amazing content each week, online textbooks need to meet this standard. This textbook is similar to a traditional textbook. Some links are also inactive.

There were some typos and small grammatical errors but no glaring instances. They also did not impact understanding.

This book contained no offensive language or examples. However, we have a lot of diversity in our classrooms, and this is not reflected in the book. Expanding the examples or including links to diverse examples would be helpful.

I will be using this text in a second semester writing class. It has valuable information about research writing. I believe it could also be used for a first semester writing class. As mentioned above, I will use sections of the text and skip around to accommodate the needs of my students. Supplemental materials will also be needed to meet current technology needs.

Reviewed by Betsy Goetz, English Instructor, Riverland Community College on 6/20/17

The text covers all subject areas appropriately. read more

The text covers all subject areas appropriately.

Overall, the text is accurate.

Relevant and current.

I liked the clarity of the text, especially the specific exercises for students to apply the theory they have learned.

This text is consistent -- good terminology!

Clear sections to focus on key points of research writing.

Well organized.

Not confusing

Overall, lacking grammatical errors.

Relevant -- research writing and thesis building are timeless.

Reviewed by Karen Pleasant, Adjunct Instructor, Rogue Community College on 4/11/17

The textbook covered the basics of writing a research paper (the term "essay"is preferred by the author) and would be appropriate for an introductory college writing course, such as WR 121 or WR 122. A table of content is provided, but there is no glossary. The textbook guides a student from exploring the initial topic selection through the finished product, although I would have liked the use of citations to be covered in more depth. If I chose this as the textbook for my class I would also need to add supplemental materials about thoroughly developing an argument as well as revising a paper.

The author presented the material in an unbiased manner and does so in a way that provides high readability for students with little to no background in writing a research paper. Excellent examples are provided to reinforce concepts and thoughtful, creative collaborative exercises round out each chapter to give practice in skill mastery. Both MLA and APA formatting styles are included, but the APA section needs to be updated. The book was published in 2007 and many of the APA guidelines have changed., including the preference for using italics versus underlining for book and journal titles.

Each chapter is self-contained and stands alone and , therefore, could easily be updated. Most of the information is relevant and could be used indefinitely. I like that Chapter 11 recommended alternate ways to present the research and suggested more contemporary technology based methods. Chapter 12, about APA and MLA citations, is the chapter that currently needs to be updated and would need to be checked for accuracy annually against the latest APA & MLA guidelines. As it reads, I would handout current materials for APA citation sessions and not use this chapter in the book.

The book is well organized and is very user friendly. I think students would enjoy reading it and be able to relate readily to the content. Examples given and exercises provided help to clarify the content and reinforce the concepts for students. The textbook flows well from selection of initial topic ideas to finished product and will help students to work through the process of writing a research paper.

New terms are thoroughly explained and are used consistently throughout the textbook. The knowledge students gain as they progress through the book feels logical and organized in a usable fashion.

The text is organized so that each chapter stands alone and the order the information is presented can be easily modified to fit the needs of an instructor. The book is that rare combination of being equally functional for both student and instructor.

The topics are presented as needed to guide students through the process of writing a research paper, but could be done in another order if desired. Bold and boxed items are used to emphasize key concepts and chapter exercises.

The textbook is visually appealing and easy to read with adequate use of white space and varied font sizes. I explored the textbook via the PDF documents, which were easy to download, although the hyperlinks were not accessible.

There were noticeable grammatical errors.

The textbook is inclusive and accessible to all and didn't have any content that could be deemed offensive. The approachable layout and writing style make the textbook relevant to college students from a variety of backgrounds.

I would definitely adopt this open textbook for my writing classes. The author provided some wonderful ideas for teaching about research papers and I found many chapter exercises that I would be willing to incorporate into my class . I am especially intrigued by the use of writing an antithesis paper as a lead in to adding opposition to the research paper and look forward to getting student input and feedback about some of the alternative ways to present their research. Compared to textbooks I have used or perused in the past, this book seems more inviting and user friendly for students new to writing college level research papers.

Reviewed by VINCENT LASNIK, Adjunct Professor, Rogue Community College on 4/11/17

This comprehensiveness is one of the strengths of The Process of Research Writing. The Table of Contents (TOC) is fine—and each separate chapter also reproduces the contents listing from high-lever through low-level subsections at the beginning of each chapter. This duplicate listing feature helps orient students to what is covered (and what is not) for every chapter in-context. Yes—It is a fair evaluation that there can generally be easy-to-fix, quickly recognizable updates, enhancements, and notable improvements to virtually any textbook 10-15 years after its initial publication date (particularly related to changing terminology and nomenclature within the dynamic English lexicon, technology applications (databases, websites, ‘search engines,’ current good ‘help sites’ for students learning the latest iteration of APA style for manuscript formatting, in-text citations, and end references, etc.)—and the Krause text is a prime candidate for such a thorough revision. For example, digital object identifiers (the doi was first introduced circa 2000) did not become widely/pervasively established until well into the first decade of the 21st century; the ‘doi’ is an ubiquitous standard today in 2017. Nevertheless, many of the basic (boilerplate) concepts are clearly noted and credibly, coherently explained. The text could use some effective reorganization (as I note elsewhere in my review)—but that is arguably a subjective/personalized perspective more related to the way we approach writing instruction and student academic development at Rogue Community College—and perhaps less of a global/universal criticism.

See my comments in other sections that impact this issue. Overall, Krause’s text appears, “accurate, error-free and unbiased.” There are no obvious problems with this observation/contention. Some of the ‘out-of-date’ specifics in the text need updating as I note in detail in my other comments.

Most of the text describes research-writing strategies that are fairly well-established if not generic to the undergraduate English composition content area; thus, the overall longevity of the existing text is good. I have suggested, however, that any such ‘how-to’ guide should be updated (as this particular version) after its first decade of publication. The content for online research, for example, reflects an early 2000s perspective of emerging technology terms (e.g., defining blogs as “web-logs” is easily 12-15 years behind the use of the term in 2017), and some of the online websites mentioned are no longer relevant. These types of ‘out-of-date’ past-referents/links, however, can be easily updated to 2017+ accuracy. I have made a few suggestions about such an update—including my offer to assist Steve Krause (gratis and pro bono) in this update should my collaboration be desired. Otherwise, Krause might go the more open ‘peer review’ route and assemble a set of active teachers, instructors, and adjunct professors (such as me) who are on the ‘frontlines’ of current praxis for research-based, critical thinking, problem-oriented writing courses across the 11th-12th grade and through the undergraduate and workforce education community.

The text is written is a clear, credible, and cogent prose throughout. This is one of the particular strengths of Krause’s text—and recursively provides an exemplar for well-written composition. On occasion, the clarity for students might be improved by additional ‘real-world examples’ (i.e., more ‘showing rather than mere abstract telling) explicating some obtuse concepts and numerous rules (e.g., for research strategy, proofreading/editing, using search engines and conducting library research, etc.)—but a similar constructive criticism could easily be made of nearly all similar sources.

The text wording, terminology, framework and process emphasis are highly consistent. There are overlaps and dovetailing (i.e., redundancy) in any/every college textbook—but Krause keeps these to a minimum throughout. Some updating of terminology would be appropriate, useful, and needed as I note throughout my OER review.

The text is superb in this regard. The chapters and exercises are highly modular—which supports the customized reorganization I apply myself in my own courses as noted in my other comments. Numerous subheads and special highlighted ‘key points’ textboxes augment this modularity and improve the narrowing of assigned readings, examples, and exercises for most writing courses. The Process of Research Writing is clearly not, “overly self-referential,” and can easily be, “reorganized and realigned with various subunits of a course without presenting much disruption to the reader” by any instructor.

One of the principal weaknesses of the set of chapters is that the given ‘table of contents’ structure is conceptually disjointed—at least insofar as my research writing course is designed. Therefore, to provide a more coherent, logical sequence congruent to the course organization of my Writing 122 (this is an intermediate/advanced-level English Composition II)—it was necessary to assign a completely different order of The Process of Research Writing (Krause, 2007) high-level chapters/pages for weekly course reading assignments as follows:

Week One: Table of Contents; Introduction: Why Write Research Projects?; and Chapter 1: Thinking Critically About Research; Week Two: Chapter 2: Understanding and Using the Library and the Internet for Research. These three starting chapters were reasonable to introduce in Krause’s original sequence. Continuing into Week Two, I also added Chapter 4: How to Collaborate and Write with Others (but I highlighted limited/specific passages only since WR122 does not emphasize collaborative prose composition activities and extensive group-writing projects using such apps as Google Docs). Week Three: I then assigned Chapter 10: The Research Essay—since it was important to orient students to the intrinsic, namesake umbrella concept of researching and writing the research essay—the essential focus of the course I teach. IMPORTANT NEED TO RESTRUCTURE THE OER as it exists: Viewed from a course rationale and content/skill acquisition conceptual level—I have no idea why Krause did not place ‘Writing The Research Essay’ as high as Chapter 2. It comes far too late in the book as Chapter 10. This is actually where the chapter belongs (in my view); the other topics in the remaining Chapters’ (2—12) would more cogently and effectively proceed after first exploring the high-level nature of the research essay task in the first place. The subsequent skills for conducting Online Library Research; Quoting, Paraphrasing, Avoiding Plagiarism, creating a testable ‘Working Thesis,’ producing an Annotated Bibliography (some courses also use a précis assignment), Evaluating and Categorizing Sources, etc.—are realistically supporting, scaffolding, and corroborating functional/operational skills designed to design, research, and produce the research-based essay project. Therefore—from a project-based and problem-oriented pedagogical strategy/approach—a sound argument could be proffered that putting Chapter 10 second in a reordered book would help students on many levels (not the least being engaging interest and promoting contextual understanding for why learning the content of the remaining chapters makes sense and can be critical/applicable to the research-writing process.

Continuing on my own WR122 course text-sequence customization—in Week Four—we move into the attribution phase of the writing process in Chapter 3: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Avoiding Plagiarism. Logically, we then move (in Week Five) to Chapter 5: The Working Thesis so students can ask significant/original questions and determine a point of departure into their research essay. This seemed like a good time to add the concept of ‘opposition views’ (i.e., counter-claims, rejoinder and rebuttal) discussed in Chapter 8: The Antithesis. In Week Six—we moved into essay formatting, in-text citation and end references, so Chapter 12: Citing Your Research Using MLA or APA Style {(focusing on reading pp. 1-2 (brief overview), and pp. 18-33 about APA style)} was assigned. In addition, students also perused Chapter 7: The Critique preceding a related argumentative assignment (i.e., a movie review project). For Week Seven (concurrent with an annotated bibliography project for the main term paper—students read Chapter 6: The Annotated Bibliography, and Chapter 9: The Categorization and Evaluation (of sources) that was ostensibly/logically relevant to the annotated bibliography project. Concluding the course for Weeks Eight-Eleven—there were new required readings. Students were instructed to review previous readings in The Process of Research Writing (Krause, 2007)—time permitting. Also Note: Chapter 11: Alternative Ways to Present Your Research is completely optional reading. It is not particularly applicable to this course; there is a student’s self-reflection about the research process on pp. 3-11 that may have some nominal merit, but it notes MLA style (versus my course’s use of APA 6th edition style only) and is in any case not required.

The text is not fancy; standard black and white (high-contrast) font used throughout. For emphasis of key points, Krause does use special ‘highlight boxes’ with gray background, a thick black stroke on the outside of the rectangular textbox. While the gray level might be lowered (in the update) for improved contrast—the true-black, bulleted, bolded key-terms are easy to perceive/read. The only criticism I have is the distracting overuse of quotation mark punctuation for emphasis; this should be corrected in any updated version. Otherwise, most of the book’s interface presentation supports a good user (student) experience, good printability, and good accessibility per ADA and general disability (e.g., visually impaired learners) protocols.

There are no significant/glaring occurrences of grammatical errors in the text. I am not a ‘grammar snob’ in any case. The prose seems clear, cogent, thoughtful, well-written; it generally uses solid grammar, mechanics, and punctuation. The exception is the overuse of a somewhat casual/conversational tone combined with (what is more of a recognizable issue) a distracting overuse of quotation marks—many of which are simply neither needed nor helpful; most could be quickly removed with an immediate improvement to readability.

I do not see significant, relevant, or glaring faux pas pertaining to any biased disrespect for multiculturalism. All persons (e.g., races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and cultural backgrounds) are equally respected and appreciated. The content area (English composition) is very amenable to a relatively generic, culture-free perspective—and Krause’s examples and prose is well-within any applicable standards of post-modern, scholarly, formal non-fiction in written Standard English.

[1] The Process of Research Writing was ostensibly presented/published to Creative Commons in 2007. No identifiable part/portion of the original edition text appears to have been updated (changed, modified, or improved) since then (i.e., at least 10 years); This is perhaps the single, most apparent flaw/weakness for this textbook. An in-depth revision to 2017 post-rhetorical model essay-writing standards and APA conventions would be invaluable—and quite bluntly—is sorely required. A newly updated Version 2.0 for 2017-18 should be critically planned (and scheduled or already ‘in progress’ if it is not already).

[2] There are many insightful, practical, and high-value approaches to the research writing process; in this regard—the nominal OER title is superbly appropriate for late high-school and beginning college (undergraduate) research essay projects. Even though some of the technical components (e.g., APA style) require updating/revision (which makes basic, reasonable sense after a ‘decade on the shelf’ for any academic research writing source)—Krause’s chapters can effectively replace many expensive, glossy college entry-level textbooks! After presenting the core concepts in a coherent and self-evident manner, Krause supplies a plethora of examples to illustrate those concepts. Then (and this is one of the true strengths of this OER)—each chapter (particularly Chapters 5-10) highlights student-oriented exercises to practice those same core concepts). Because of this latter emphasis—the Krause OER is ‘learner-centered’ (as opposed to ‘content centered’), problem-oriented and performance-oriented as well—providing opportunities for creative, resourceful teachers to adapt/adopt the OER to course assignments.

[3] There does not appear to be a single (standalone) PDF for this OER. This is a notable flaw/weakness for this textbook. Conversely, however, although a single PDF would have some convenient ‘easier downloading’ advantages for students—having separate chapters affords every teacher to create a customized chapter-order (as I have efficiently done to correspond to my course design). The chapters support excellent modularity and the accompanying exercises/examples demonstrate the concepts Krause explicates with a fine degree of granularity for any teacher. Thus—integrating any textbooks or teaching/learning resources (like OERs) always has tradeoffs—plusses and minuses, positives and negatives. The obvious key, therefore, is taking the liberty of using the OER as a supporting scaffold or buttress to an instructor’s original design concept—rather than the foundation around which a course can be designed.

[4] Some minor weaknesses for prose instruction are (a) Krause’s acceptance of passive, sophomoric signal phrasing (i.e., According to X…)—as opposed to strong, active voice such as ‘’X found…’; and (b) a general overuse of quotation marks throughout the book. This is not meant as a harsh criticism—merely an observation that readability could be improved with a newer version that eliminates most quotation marks (Note: In APA style—these punctuation symbols are only used for verbatim quotes. This makes for a cleaner, clearer manuscript).

[5] One of the solid/helpful strengths of the book is a relatively accurate presentation of APA style for in-text citation and end references (Chapter 12). It appears that like many academics—Krause is more familiar and comfortable with the Modern Language Association’s MLA style/formatting. No problem there—I was simply trained on APA beginning in 1984 so it is native to me; I also use the latest version of APA style in all of my writing (college composition) courses. Thus—it should come as no surprise there are a number of obvious APA-associated inaccuracies including (but limited to): (a) meekly accepting ‘n.d.’ (no date) and ‘n.a.’ (no author) sources when a little investigative research by the student (and adherence to the APA rule hierarchy for dates and authors) would easily come up with a sound date and author. Another error (b) seems to be more typographic (formatting) and/or refers to an earlier edition of APA style: the end references in the PDF (and html versions?) use underline in place of italics. The 2011 APA 6th edition style does not use underline in the end references. There are other small (faux pas) errors such as (c) noting generally inaccessible proprietary online databases and servers (again—no longer done in APA). A thorough, meticulous updating of this OER source would probably take care of many of these APA-error issues. I’d be happy to work with Steve on this update at any time.

[6] I use Amy Guptill’s Writing in College: From Competence to Excellence by Amy Guptill of State University of New York (2016) for my English Composition I course that emphasizes general essay writing and a simple research-supported argumentative essay. I teach that course using the following assigned readings: Week One: Chapter 1 (Really? Writing? Again?), pp. 1-7, and Chapter 2 (What Does the Professor Want? Understanding the Assignment), pp. 9-18; Week Two: Chapter 6 (Back to Basics: The Perfect Paragraph), pp. 48-56; Chapter 7 (Intros and Outros), pp. 57-64; Week Four: Chapter 9 (Getting the Mechanics Right), pp. 75-85; Week Five: Chapter 8 (Clarity and Concision), pp. 65-73; Week Six: Chapter 3 (Constructing the Thesis and Argument—From the Ground Up), pp. 19-27; Week Seven: Chapter 4 (Secondary Sources in Their Natural Habitats), pp. 28-37; Week Eight: Chapter 5 (Listening to Sources, Talking to Sources), pp. 38-47. I then switch over to Krause’s OER for my English Composition II course. At Rogue Community College, Writing 122 emphasizes intermediate essay writing and analytical, more rigorous and original research-based essays involving critical thinking. I completely reordered the chapters as described above to fit into my course design. I like Krause’s individual ‘modular’ chapters—but the particular ‘scope and sequence’ he uses are debatable. Overall, however, The Process of Research Writing easily and effectively substitutes/replaces other costly tomes from for-profit academic publishers—even those that offer bundled DVDs and online-access to proprietary tutorial sources. Used in conjunction with other freely available PDF OERs, websites, YouTube videos, tutorial/practice sites from innumerable libraries, blogs (e.g., the APA Blog is particularly helpful)—as well as original/customized sources created by individual instructors for their own courses—the Krause book offers a good, solid baseline for developing research-based writing competencies particularly appropriate for the first two years of college.

Reviewed by Amy Jo Swing, English Instructor, Lake Superior College on 4/11/17

This book covers most of the main concepts of research writing: thesis, research, documenting, and process. It's weak on argument though, which is standard in most research composition texts. The book provides a clear index so finding information is relatively easy. The other weak spot is on evaluation evidence: there is a section on it but not comprehensive examples. Students in general needs lots of practice on how to evaluate and use information.

The information is accurate mostly except for the APA and MLA section. Writing and research writing haven't changed that much in a long time. It's more the technology and tools that change.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 2

The ideas about research and writing in general are fine, However, the references to technology and documentation are very out of date, over 10 years so. Students use technology very differently than described in this text, and the technologies themselves have changed. For example, the author talks about floppy disks and AOL messenger but not about Google Drive, Wikipedia, Prezi, or how to use phones and tablets while researching. Our students are digital natives and need to understand how to use their devices to write and research.

The book is quite readable in general. Concepts are easy to understand. Sometimes, they are almost too simple like the section explaining what a library is. Students might not be sophisticated library users, but they understand in general how they work. The chapters are concise, which is nice for student use too.

Except for pronoun use, the book is consistent in tone and terms. Not all the terms are ones I use in my own teaching, and it would be nice to see explanation of more argument/research frameworks like the Toulmin Model of argument.

The chapters are pretty self-contained and clear as individual units. I can see including certain chapters and leaving out others that aren't as relevant to my teaching style or assignments. One could easily assign the chapters in a different order, but students ask lots of questions when you assign chapter 6 first and then weeks later, assign chapter 2 or 3.

The basic chapters make sense in terms of how they are created and categorized but the order is problematic if an instructor were to assign them in the order presented. For example, the chapter on creating an annotated bibliography comes before the one on documenting (APA/MLA). Students can't complete an annotated bibliography without knowing how to cite sources. Same with evaluating sources. There is so much information on locating sources before any clear mention is made of how to evaluate them. I find that is the weak spot with students. If they learn how to evaluate sources, it's easier to find and locate and research effectively.

Not many images. Students really like info-graphics, pictures, and multi-media. The hyperlinks to other sections of the book do not work in either the PDF or HTML versions. I do like some of the illustrations like mapping and how research is more a web than a linear process. For an online textbook, there aren't a lot of hyperlinks to outside resources (of which there are so many like Purdue's OWL and the Guide to Grammar and Writing).

There were quite a few errors : comma errors, spelling (affect/effect), some pronoun agreement errors, capitalization errors with the title in Chapter Four. The author also uses passive voice quite a bit, which is inconsistent with the general familiar tone. In some chapters, there is constant switching between first, second, and third person. I focus much on point of view consistency in my students' writing, and this would not be a great model for that.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

There is no cultural offensiveness but not much diversity in examples and students names either. Marginalized students (of color, with disabilities, of different sexuality or gender) would not see themselves reflected much.

This is a good basic reference on the process of writing and research. However, it would not be too useful without updated information on technology and documentation. As a web-based text, it reads more like a traditional physical textbook.

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pihlaja, Instructor, Lake Superior College on 2/8/17

The length and scope of this book are appropriate for a semester-long research writing course, with twelve chapters that move from foundational concepts into more specific skills that are needed for the crafting of a paper incorporating MLA or APA citation. In particular, I like that the early chapters cover the questions of "Why Write Research Papers?" and how to think critically, the middle chapters provide specific activities in the skills of quoting and paraphrasing, and the later chapters bring in assignments (such as writing an annotated bibliography) that help students practice and build content for their ultimate paper.There is no index or glossary to this book; however, the table of contents provides an overview of the chapters that guides navigation well.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

In terms of the thinking, this book's information is logical and sound. The explanations of concepts and activities read easily and do a fine job of explicating the why and how of research writing. In a few places, however, the word "effected" is used when it should be "affected." Editing also is needed when the author uses phrases such as "in the nutshell" instead of "in a nutshell." As well, in Chapter 4, there is pronoun/antecedent disagreement when the author uses "their" to refer to "each member." Also, each chapter contains at least one "Hyperlink" to supplemental information, yet the hyperlinks are dead. For the most part, the text is clean and well edited, but we English teachers are line-editing sticklers, so even small, occasional errors stand out. Overall: the ideas presented are accurate and free of bias, yet there are a few, niggling errors.

When it comes to relevance and longevity, this book is problematic. In fact, it is so outdated as to be unusable, at least for this instructor. Certainly, the concepts presented are solid; they don't change with passing years. However, typographically, the book is passe, as it uses two spaces after periods. Even more troubling is that it refers to the Internet as "new" and comes from a point of view that sees this thing called "the World Wide Web" as novel while also noting students might want to rely on microfilm and microfiche during their research. In another example, the author suggests to students that a benefit of writing on computers is that they can share their work with each other on disc or through email. Truly, such references make the book unusable for a class in 2017. Another issue is that the Modern Language Association has updated its guidelines several times since this book's publication; ideally, a text used in a research writing class would cover, if not the latest guidelines, at least the previous version of the guidelines. A full rewrite of the book is necessary before it could be adopted. As the book currently stands, students would roll their eyes at the antiquated technological language, and the teacher would need to apologize for asking students to read a text that is so out-of-date.

The writing in this book is both accessible and intelligent. It's eminently readable. Specifically, the inclusion of things like an "Evidence Quality and Credibility Checklist" at the end of Chapter 1 and the continual use of grey boxes that highlight major concepts is very good. Also extremely helpful are the examples of student writing that end nearly every chapter; these models demonstrate to readers what is expected from each assignment. Finally, the explanations of quoting and paraphrasing are superior -- so clear, so easy for students to digest. Were it not outdated in terms of technological references, I would definitely consider using this book in my classes due to the clarity of the prose.

Consistency rating: 3

For the most part, the book is well structured and consistent in its design and layout. Each chapter provides general explanation of a concept, moves into a specific assignment, and ends with an example or two of student responses to that assignment. Very quickly, readers know what to expect from each chapter, and there's something comforting about the predictability of the layout, especially in a book that is being read on a screen, using scrolling. When it comes to the terminology, my only note would be that the book starts out using a relaxed second-person point of view, addressing students as "you," but then, at the end of Chapter 2, the author suddenly begins also using the first-person "I." This first-person point of view continues throughout the book, so it becomes consistent from that point on, but for me as a reader, I never quite adjusted to that level of informality, particularly when all the sentences using "I" could easily be re-written in the third person. Before reading this text, I hadn't really considered what I like in a book, but now I know: because I want the text to model the ideal, I would prefer a more formal (and consistent) point of view. Today's students struggle to create essays that don't include "you" or "I" -- even when they very consciously are trying to avoid those words. Learning to write from the third person POV is surprisingly challenging. Therefore, my personal preference would be a textbook that consistently models this approach.

The chapters in this book are of a perfect length -- long enough to develop the ideas and present comprehensive explanations yet short enough to be ingested and excised. Put another way, I could see grabbing bits and pieces of this text and using them in my classes. For instance, without adopting the entire text, I still could pull the instructions for the Anti-Thesis essay or the Annotated Bibliography, or I could use the explanation of the purpose of collaboration. Indeed, the chapters and exercises in this book are tight "modules" that allow an instructor to pick and choose or to reorganize the chapters to better fit with an individual course structure. For me, although I won't use this entire text, I can envision incorporating pieces of it into my teaching.

The organization of this book is one of its greatest strengths. It starts with a broad overview of research into an exploration of the process behind seeking out reputable sources, weaves in a few shorter essay assignments that serve as building blocks for a longer paper, and culminates with the ideas for a final, capstone research project -- something that naturally grows out of all the previous chapters. Each chapter in the text flows easily out of the chapter before it. One of this text's greatest strengths is how each successive chapter builds on the concepts presented in the previous chapters.

As noted earlier, the hyperlinks in the book don't work. As well, the screenshots included in the book are blurry and add little, except frustration, to the content. Outside of those issues, though, the book is physically easy to read and navigate, largely thanks to the easy clicking between the table of contents and individual chapters.

As suggested earlier, the book, as a whole, reads easily, yet there are some errors with the homonyms "effected" and "affected," along with pronoun/antecedent disagreement. I also noticed a handful of places where there are extra spaces around commas (in addition to the use of two spaces after periods).

This text is definitely not insensitive or offensive; its tone is fair and balanced, free of bias. On the other hand, this book does not really bring in examples that address diversity. Students reading this book will not see acknowledgment of different races, ethnicities, sexual preferences, or personal histories. Thus, in addition to updating the references to technology, if this book were rewritten, it also could more deliberately address this lack. As it is, the content of this book does feel whitewashed and free of cultural relevance.

There is a lot of promise in this text because the explanations and assignments are so good. But unless it is updated, I don’t see it as usable in a current classroom.

Reviewed by Leana Dickerson, Instructor , Linn Benton Community College on 2/8/17

The author certainly outlines and examines elements of research writing, and does so in a very clear, organized, and thoughtful way. There is no glossary or index included in the text, but the chapters and headings in the table of contents and at the beginning of each section very clearly outline what is to be expected from the text. Most all of the concepts are very thoroughly explained and examined including topics that typically are glossed over in research writing texts, including the opposition to argument, close reading, and the importance of research writing to a variety of career pathways. Although thorough in what is present, there are some issues that I would want to touch on with my research students including developing effective argument, logical organization, and examples of the revision process.

The information in this text is accurate and adequately explained. It seems readily accessible for any college age student, but doesn’t expect students to come with a background in research or writing. MLA formatting for works cited pages is up to date, and even addresses the fact that the format for citation changes regularly and points to appropriate resources outside of the text. The only formatting issue that I noticed were some in-text citations (examples throughout early chapters) that included a comma which is no longer expected by the MLA. In the works cited section (and throughout, in examples) when referring to book titles, the author does use the underline function instead of an italicized book title; the author also refers to the use of either italic or underlined differentiation, yet MLA suggests italics in text form.

The content of this text is very straight forward and although essentially up to date, may need updates as relevant technology develops. Updates should be simple and clear to implement as needed because of the strict organization of each chapter.

I found the content clarity in this text to be refreshing for college age students. Often, as an instructor, I ask my students to read a text and then I must re-visit the content in lecture format to ensure that my students are not lost on terminology or foundational knowledge. This text does not assume any prior knowledge from the reader, but also does not feel rudimentary. The formatting and highlighted importance of some information also provided clarity and consistency throughout. The author paced information well, building on major concepts from the beginning and returning to them throughout. The final stages of the text bring students to a major essay that easily shows how each concept included throughout the text can weave into a larger project.

This text is consistent, and feels organized with format, terminology, and the building of content from beginning to end.

The sections in this text are easily broken into segments that can be taught or read at any point throughout the writing process. The text does build on exercises from the beginning to the end, but each of these can be taken out of a linear timeline and used for multiple kinds of projects. The author actually refers to this organization in text, making it clear how each element can work alone or for a streamlined project.

Concepts build upon one another, and yet can be returned to (or jumped to) out of order and still be easy to access and utilize. The text is broken up nicely with bolded, bulleted, or boxed items which designate a stopping point, a discussion to consider, or important details or concepts to focus on.

The layout and navigation of this text online is very accessible, organized, and easy to read. The text PDFs often open in a full browser window, other times they open as PDF documents, but either way include a clean, streamlined format. The text does not seem to be able to be downloaded, making it potentially difficult for students to access without internet access. One issue that I did encounter was that in PDF format, or in html, hyperlinks do not function.

The text is clear, free of grammatical errors, and flows well.

This text is relevant to all audiences and very approachable for college age students.

I found this text to be a refreshing change from what is typically find in research textbooks; it’s relevance to more than just the assignment will help students connect research to the broader concept of academia and other facets of their lives. The antithesis section is a useful way for students to really engage with an opposing opinion and how they can then incorporate that into a successful research project. Also, the differing ways of presenting research I found to be useful for students to think about their project beyond a stapled stack of pages, and to expand that to differing modes of communication and presentation. I look forward to being able to use this text with students.

Reviewed by Samuel Kessler, Postdoctoral Fellow, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University on 2/8/17

"The Process of Research Writing" covers most of the areas students need to understand as they begin research writing at a college level. It has explanations of theses, bibliographies, citations, outlines, first paragraphs, etc. There is no index or glossary, the latter especially being something that would have been very helpful and easy to put together. Krause has many useful definitions and quick-help guides throughout the text, but they are so scattered and ineffectively labeled that it can be very difficult to find them without reading through whole chapters in one's search. On the whole, buried inside these pages, is a very effective guides to *teaching* about research writing. In truth, this book is a teacher's introduction to a class (or, more realistically, three or four class sessions) devoted to college-level academic writing. Unfortunately, there are a lot of words that one has to get through to find all these subject, which can make for tough going.

Based on the questions and errors I see my students making, Krause has done a strong job of highlighting the basics of proper academic research. He spends much time on sources, especially on learning to differentiate between scholarly, trade, and journalistic sources, as well as how to steer clear and note the signs of online schlock (i.e. much of the internet). His tips for peer-to-peer editing and self-reflexive assignments are just the sort of things our students needs help working on.

This is a strange book. The portions that are about implementing class assignments or explaining terms like thesis and antithesis, as well as the examples of an outline or a good first paragraph, are all excellent tools for a classroom.

But there are so many instances of irrelevant or outdates explanations. No college student today needs to read about why writing on a computer is a useful thing to do. No student needs to read about how email can be a tool for academic exchange. A section on using computers for research? On how to copy and paste within a word document? (And no-one calls it the "World Wide Web".) These are issues for the late 90s, not for students in the second decade of the twenty-first century.

There is also a fair amount that is personal and peculiar to the author: a discussion of why he uses the term "research essay" instead of "research paper"? That is just wasted space, and actually without the argumentative merits of a research thesis that he had been teaching up to that point.

For students at research universities, or even at second-tier state and private colleges, the information about libraries and library catalogues changes so quickly that I could never assign those passages. Instead, we'll spend class time looking at our specific library interface. And often, so much material is being sent off-site these days that in many humanities fields its not even possible to scan the shelves any longer. And in science, books are almost irrelevant: online access journals are where the latest research is stored. A bound edition of *Science* from the 1970s contains very little that's important for a scientific research paper written in 2016--unless that paper is about the history of some form of experiment.

Krause writes in a folksy, breezy second-person. Now, so does Tom Friedman of the Times, though that is one of the main criticisms of his otherwise insights books. Krause has a tendency to be overly wordy. This book should more closely resemble Hemingway than Knausgaard in order to be practical. For students who have Facebook etc. open while they're reading this book, every sentence that's not directly relevant will make their minds wander. There are so many sentences that simply need to be cut. To use this book, I'd need to cut and paste just the relevant passages. And without an index or glossary, assigning sections to students is very hard.

"The Process of Research Writing" is internally consistent. Krause maintains the same tone throughout, and defines terms as he goes along. The chapters vary considerably in length, with the short chapters always being more useful and focused, with less superfluous verbiage and fewer authorial quirks.

Modularity rating: 2

"The Process of Research Writing" is a very difficult text to use. The HTML and PDF versions are identical, which defeats the unique way the internet functions. I read this book on both Safari and Chrome, and in neither browser do the hyperlinks work. The tables of content at the heads of each chapter do not link to their respective sections. The projects, assignments, and definitions do not appear in different windows, which would make them possible to keep open while continuing on in the book. There are many instances in which moving back and forth between sections would be very helpful, and that is simply not possible without having multiple windows of the same book open and going between them that way--something that is very clumsy. And again, there are so many superfluous words that even assigning specific chapters means getting through a lot of talk before actually encountering the various hints, tricks, and explanations that are important for learning how to do college-level research.

"The Process of Research Writing" reads like a series of lectures that are meant to be give in a large lecture class, with assignments appended throughout and at the ends. The order of the books is, overall, what one would expect and need for teaching the basics. However, there is a good deal in Chapter 10 that should have appeared earlier (outlines, for instance), and that becomes part of one long chapter that is difficult to use and should have been divided into smaller sections.

As mentioned, in neither Safari nor Chrome do the hyperlinks work. And there appears to have been no planning for links from the chapter tables-of-content to their various associated sections. This makes it very difficult to get between sections or to return to where one was after going somewhere else in the book. Further, there are many links on the internet that remain stable over long periods of time. The Library of Congress, for instance, about which there is a section concerning its cataloguing system, should have a link. As should WorldCat, which for many people who do not have access to a major research library is the best place for learning about texts. Many services like LexusNexus, ABC Clio, and the NY Times archive all also maintain stable websites that should be externally linked.

Except for a smattering of typos, the book has fine (though informal) grammar. This is not a text that could also be used to demonstrate high-level academic writing.

There is nothing culturally offensive here in any way.

In many ways, this is a much better book for teachers of first-year students than for the students themselves. There are many sections of this book to pull out and assign, or to read together in class, to help students gain an understanding of college-level research. But this is not a book I'd ever assign to my students in total. The suggestions for in-class and homework assignments are all high quality pedagogy. But students shouldn't read about their own assignments--they should just do them. Departments can give this book to first-year professors to help them create class periods where they teach their students how to write papers. That would be an excellent use for this text. But as a book for students themselves, I cannot recommend it.

Reviewed by Margaret Wood, Instructor, Klamath Community College on 8/21/16

The book thoroughly covers the material that first-year college research writers need to know including an introduction to basic academic research concepts, searches and source evaluation from library and web resources, a thorough discussion of summary, paraphrase and direct quotation, collaboration and peer review, topic selection, hypothesis and thesis development, annotated bibliography, text analysis and evaluation, engaging seriously with opposing viewpoints, working with evidence and attributes of evidence, the components of a traditional research essay, alternative forms of presentation (web-based project), and finally MLA and APA documentation. There are also hyperlinks to help readers move to relevant information in other chapters.

While concepts like ethos, logos, and pathos are mentioned in passing, they are not deeply developed. Other topics I generally teach alongside research which are not covered include strategies for defining terms, inductive and deductive logic, and logical fallacies.

I did not identify any inaccuracies or biases. There are areas where focus may be a bit different. For example, the model my institution uses for annotated bibliographies uses the rhetorical precis as a summary model, and also encourages a brief evaluative analysis. On the other hand, the emphasis given to the antithesis is new to me, and looks like a very good idea. I did identify a couple of grammatical issues -- two cases of "effect" instead of "affect", and one pronoun agreement problem.

Good writing principles don't tend to change that much. The discussion of the Web-based research project is very timely.

The book is written in a conversational style which should be easy for students to understand. All technical terms are clearly explained. There are also aids for comprehension and review including: a useful bulleted list at the beginning of each chapter outlines material covered in that chapter; highlighted boxes which provide guidance for class discussion on the topic; sample assignments; easy-to-read checklists of key points.

The text is entirely consistent. Hyperlinks help to connect key points to other chapters.

The material is subdivided into clear and appropriate chapters; moreover, the chapters provide clear subheadings. However, I did identify one instance where subheadings indicated material that is not present in chapter four: Three Ideas for Collaborative Projects * Research Idea Groups * Research Writing Partners * Collaborative Research Writing Projects.

Also, as previously mentioned, some material that I would like to include is not covered in this text.

I feel that chapter 3 should be placed later, at a point in the term where students have actually begun the writing process.

Images, though used infrequently, are blurry, and hyperlinks, at least as I was able to access them, did not appear to be active.

Mentioned above -- two "effect"/"affect" issues and one issue of pronoun agreement

I did not identify any culturally insensitive issues. The one essay topic used throughout, a thesis involving The Great Gatsby, I did not find particularly relevant, since my institution excludes literature from its research projects.

Solid and thorough advice on research writing. Quite heavy on text, but advice is useful and frequently innovative.

Reviewed by Laura Sanders, Instructor, Portland Community College on 8/21/16

The text offers a comprehensive discussion of all the elements of writing a research project. The author covers evaluating sources, using library research, incorporating research into essays, collaborative work, creating a thesis, as well as... read more

The text offers a comprehensive discussion of all the elements of writing a research project.

The author covers evaluating sources, using library research, incorporating research into essays, collaborative work, creating a thesis, as well as writing annotated bibliographies, close reading, opposition, alternative project formats, and citing sources.

Although there is no index or glossary, the text is organized in discrete chapters available on the site as HTML or PDF for easy navigation.

Although I found no inaccuracies, both the APA and MLA handbooks have been updated since the versions used in this text.

Most of the content will not be obsolete any time soon, but the citation chapter is not based on recent APA and MLA handbooks.

The section on alternative ways to present research (Chapter 11) could be updated to include YouTube, Prezi, and more recent technology.

The modular format would make it very easy to update.

The text is written at a level that is appropriate for the target audience, college students who need to build research and writing skills.

This text is internally consistent.

I consider the modules to be one of the main strengths of the text. The sections have useful subheadings.

It would be easy to select specific chapters as course readings.

The chapters follow an intuitive sequence of developing a paper from topic to research to draft.

This text is easy to navigate.

I found no grammar errors.

There are ample opportunities here to add cultural diversity to the sample topics and writing tasks.

I am thrilled to offer this text to my students instead of the incredibly expensive alternatives currently available.

I am particularly interested in using this book for online writing courses, so students who desire more thorough discussion of particular stages of writing a research project could build or refresh foundational skills in these areas.

Introduction
Chapter One: Thinking Critically About Research
Chapter Two: Understanding and Using the Library and the Internet for Research
Chapter Three: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Avoiding Plagiarism
Chapter Four: How to Collaborate and Write With Others
Chapter Five: The Working Thesis Exercise
Chapter Six: The Annotated Bibliography Exercise
Chapter Seven: The Critique Exercise
Chapter Eight: The Antithesis Exercise
Chapter Nine: The Categorization and Evaluation Exercise
Chapter Ten: The Research Essay
Chapter Eleven: Alternative Ways to Present Your Research
Chapter Twelve: Citing Your Research Using MLA or APA Style

Ancillary Material

About the book.

The title of this book is The Process of Research Writing , and in the nutshell, that is what the book is about. A lot of times, instructors and students tend to separate “thinking,” “researching,” and “writing” into different categories that aren't necessarily very well connected. First you think, then you research, and then you write. The reality is though that the possibilities and process of research writing are more complicated and much richer than that. We think about what it is we want to research and write about, but at the same time, we learn what to think based on our research and our writing. The goal of this book is to guide you through this process of research writing by emphasizing a series of exercises that touch on different and related parts of the research process.

About the Contributors

Steven D. Krause grew up in eastern Iowa, earned a BA in English at the University of Iowa, an MFA in Fiction Writing at Virginia Commonwealth University, and a PhD in Rhetoric and Writing at Bowling Green State University. He joined the faculty at Eastern Michigan University in 1998.

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The Process of Writing a Research Paper

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Planning the Research Paper

The goal of a research paper is to bring together different views, evidence, and facts about a topic from books, articles, and interviews, then interpret the information into your writing. It’s about a relationship between you, other writers, and your teacher/audience.

A research paper will show two things: what you know or learned about a certain topic, and what other people know about the same topic. Often you make a judgment, or just explain complex ideas to the reader. The length of the research paper depends on your teacher’s guidelines. It’s always a good idea to keep your teacher in mind while writing your paper because the teacher is your audience.

The Process There are three stages for doing a research paper. These stages are:

While most people start with prewriting, the three stages of the writing process overlap. Writing is not the kind of process where you have to finish step one before moving on to step two, and so on. Your job is to make your ideas as clear as possible for the reader, and that means you might have to go back and forth between the prewriting, writing and revising stages several times before submitting the paper.

» Prewriting Thinking about a topic

The first thing you should do when starting your research paper is to think of a topic. Try to pick a topic that interests you and your teacher — interesting topics are easier to write about than boring topics! Make sure that your topic is not too hard to research, and that there is enough material on the topic. Talk to as many people as possible about your topic, especially your teacher. You’ll be surprised at the ideas you’ll get from talking about your topic. Be sure to always discuss potential topics with your teacher.

Places you can find a topic: newspapers, magazines, television news, the World Wide Web, and even in the index of a textbook!

Narrowing down your topic

As you think about your topic and start reading, you should begin thinking about a possible thesis statement (a sentence or two explaining your opinion about the topic). One technique is to ask yourself one important question about your topic, and as you find your answer, the thesis can develop from that. Some other techniques you may use to narrow your topic are: jot lists; preliminary outlines; listing possible thesis statements; listing questions; and/or making a concept map. It also may be helpful to have a friend ask you questions about your topic.

For help on developing your thesis statement, see the English Center Guide to Developing a Thesis Statement .

Discovery/Reading about your topic

You need to find information that helps you support your thesis. There are different places you can find this information: books, articles, people (interviews), and the internet.

As you gather the information or ideas you need, you need to make sure that you take notes and write down where and who you got the information from. This is called “citing your sources.” If you write your paper using information from other writers and do not cite the sources, you are committing plagiarism . If you plagiarize, you can get an “F” on your paper, fail the course, or even get kicked out of school.

CITING SOURCES

There are three major different formats for citing sources. They are: the Modern Language Association (MLA) , the American Psychology Association (APA) , and the Chicago Turabian style . Always ask your teacher which format to use. For more information on these styles, see our other handouts!

ORGANIZING INFORMATION

After you’ve thought, read, and taken notes on your topic, you may want to revise your thesis because a good thesis will help you develop a plan for writing your paper. One way you can do this is to brainstorm — think about everything you know about your topic, and put it down on paper. Once you have it all written down, you can look it over and decide if you should change your thesis statement or not.

If you already developed a preliminary map or outline, now is the time to go back and revise it. If you haven’t developed a map or outline yet, now is the time to do it. The outline or concept map should help you organize how you want to present information to your readers. The clearer your outline or map, the easier it will be for you to write the paper. Be sure that each part of your outline supports your thesis. If it does not, you may want to change/revise your thesis statement again.

» Writing a research paper follows a standard compositional (essay) format. It has a title, introduction, body and conclusion. Some people like to start their research papers with a title and introduction, while others wait until they’ve already started the body of the paper before developing a title and introduction. See this link for more information about writing introductions and conclusions .

Some techniques that may help you with writing your paper are:

start by writing your thesis statement
use a free writing technique (What I mean is…)
follow your outline or map
pretend you are writing a letter to a friend, and tell them what you know about your topic
follow your topic notecards

If you’re having difficulties thinking of what to write about next, you can look back at your notes that you have from when you were brainstorming for your topic.

» Revising The last (but not least) step is revising. When you are revising, look over your paper and make changes in weak areas. The different areas to look for mistakes include: content– too much detail, or too little detail; organization/structure (which is the order in which you write information about your topic); grammar; punctuation; capitalization; word choice; and citations.

It probably is best if you focus on the “big picture” first. The “big picture” means the organization (paragraph order), and content (ideas and points) of the paper. It also might help to go through your paper paragraph by paragraph and see if the main idea of each paragraph relates to the thesis. Be sure to keep an eye out for any repeated information (one of the most common mistakes made by students is having two or more paragraphs with the same information). Often good writers combine several paragraphs into one so they do not repeat information.

Revision Guidelines

The audience understands your paper.
The sentences are clear and complete.
All paragraphs relate to the thesis.
Each paragraph explains its purpose clearly.
You do not repeat large blocks of information in two or more different paragraphs.
The information in your paper is accurate.
A friend or classmate has read through your paper and offered suggestions.

After you are satisfied with the content and structure of the paper, you then can focus on common errors like grammar, spelling, sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, typos, and word choice.

Proofreading Guidelines

Subjects and verbs agree.
Verb tenses are consistent.
Pronouns agree with the subjects they substitute.
Word choices are clear.
Capitalization is correct.
Spelling is correct.
Punctuation is correct.
References are cited properly.

For more information on proofreading, see the English Center Punctuation and Grammar Review .

After writing the paper, it might help if you put it aside and do not look at it for a day or two. When you look at your paper again, you will see it with new eyes and notice mistakes you didn’t before. It’s a really good idea to ask someone else to read your paper before you submit it to your teacher. Good writers often get feedback and revise their paper several times before submitting it to the teacher.

Source: “Process of Writing a Research Paper,” by Ellen Beck and Rachel Mingo with contributions from Jules Nelson Hill and Vivion Smith, is based on the previous version by Dawn Taylor, Sharon Quintero, Robert Rich, Robert McDonald, and Katherine Eckhart.

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Research & the Writing Process

Ch1 what is research

Stephanie Ojeda Ponce

What is Research Writing?

Research writing is a form of writing that provides information about a subject. Research is searching, gathering, and considering information about something. This broad term can include Googling something or reading and evaluating specialized information and data. The goals of research writing vary on the situation and the type of writing.

In the “Writing Cases” section of their website, Evergreen College’s Native Cases project explains the type of case studies they publish:

“The term “case studies” varies widely. Legal cases, for example, differ considerably from our definition of teaching cases. We define a teaching case as a “significant story of a real, often unresolved, issue that can trigger curiosity, debate and further research. “Effective cases involve controversy, conflicts or puzzling situations with enough tension to invite discussion and problem solving. Some of the different types of teaching cases in our collection are summarized below.”

In many student research writing situations, contributing to an unresolved issue or something about which there is ongoing discussion is seen as valuable.

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) describes Argument and Analytic research paper’s in their digital writing lab. The word paper is used to mean the same thing as essay (since they used to have to be physically done on paper!).

Some Common Types of Research:

Academic Research: Research created by and for universities and colleges.
Lab Research: Investigation or experimentation conducted in a laboratory. For example, chemists could research the interaction of different chemical compounds for medical use.
Field Research: Investigation or experimentation conducted out in the world. For example, Noble Prize Winner Wangari Maathai did field research about planting trees to improve soil and water quality. The project grew and came to be known the Pan African Greenbelt movement.
Secondary Research: This basically means reading and looking into what other people say about a topic. It involves searching through digital, print, audio, and visual sources online or in person. Much of the secondary research process will be done through college library databases.
Primary Research: This is doing research on your own using an experiment, study, survey, or other type of research method.
Archival Research: Searching through print or digital databases for archived documents about events or dialogue. This could involve research such as analyzing digitized newspapers about the 1918 flu pandemic or reviewing first editions of books.

Image of two women in chemistry lab. They are standing at a lab table with supplies. Both are wearing goggles and smiling. One student is holding a beaker with a blue liquid.

Why is Research Conducted and by Whom?

Some people develop research ideas because they want to solve a problem. Others have ideas and find ways to research them. There are multiple approaches to sensemaking and research can be one of them.

A company may ask an employee to research a new technology that might be implemented in the workplace.
An advanced scholar may need to develop and publish research projects to continue to be a competitive applicant for grants or job opportunities.
A consumer might want to research the algorithm and storage practices of the websites they use to understand the risks they expose themselves to online.
A student may conduct secondary research to better understand a concept learned in class.

Image of black woman wearing glasses, blue scrubs, a white long-sleeved shirt, and pink stethoscope. The person is looking through a textbook, taking notes, and holding a glass vial of medicine. In the background, there are other students wearing blue scrubs sitting at tables studying. This image is of Highline College students and from the Highline College photobank.

What Research Will I do in this Class?

Research writing classes for college students build on existing reading and writing skills, developing more specialized approaches for people to find and develop information on their own. This type of writing class provides opportunities for more independent development of topic and research methods. For this level of class (first 90 credits/units of college classes), most of the research will be secondary research. This means many of the activities are using the library (in person or online) and other resources to look up and read existing research. This is an important skill because the “higher up” in a field a person goes, the more they are expected to know and have opinions within the subject. You will also have opportunities to do some primary research, think critically about what the “rules” of research are at schools, and come up with meaningful ways of sharing your research. This text will provide a survey, or information about research in a broad way, of research writing with a focus on skills useful for writing in other college classes at various levels. Within the coursework, there will also be opportunities for students to do conduct and practice a variety of research methods for their own individualized goals.

Research writing involves multiple steps, and requires becoming conversant in a topic. This is not a skill that can be demonstrated with one finished piece or writing or a test. Research writing involves multiple steps that are collaborative – the steps involve other people and resources. For example, at many universities, the entire research writing class is taught by a writing teacher and a library teacher together because library research methods are such a large part of the writing process. Even when the class is not co-taught, library research and support are still important components. Another way research is collaborative is peer review. Published articles have to be read, evaluated, critiqued, edited and approved in order to be published. In academia, there is a lot of hidden and open judgment of writing style, content, and even formatting. Publishing writing is a competitive process with very few people getting paid, and a lot of jobs dependent on quantity, amount, and perception of the published writing. I share this as context so you know a little about what shapes this subject matter, influences what ends up published and available for you to read. Having some awareness of this can be helpful to keep in mind.

Succeeding in Writing

Some students are very excited to dig in to research and writing. Some students are scared of the research part, and others are scared by the writing part.

There are many different genres (types) of writing with different patterns and rules common depending on the type. Instead of following general writing rules, notice the features of each specific type of writing.
Writing classes build the steps into the assignments with short writing assignments, bibliography requirements, drafts, peer review and much more.
Collaboration with the instructor, research librarians, classmates/other writers, and writing tutors are essential to success.
A lot of work goes into producing a little bit of writing. The work involves a lot of reading, note taking, and thinking. Don’t forget to do a lot of thinking about the information and ideas as part of the writing class.
Writing, including research writing, is a long-term multi-step process. Small steps will lead us to the big steps and the whole finished product. Sometimes, steps need to be revisited.

The Writing Process

The most common way people approach writing is – just do it. Some people have a lot of anxiety and fear they move through on their way to just doing the writing, but few people actually go through the steps of the writing process. This works okay for short everyday writing needs like a text message. When the writing task is longer, more-complex, or related to some important evaluation, following the steps of the writing process is more important. The assignments for the majority of college writing classes are steps of the writing process. You write and get input at multiple steps. For example, student and professional researchers write proposals that have a basic thesis and capture some of the early research in order to get input or approval before moving forward with more in-depth work.

The Research Paper Process -Choose a Topic: Understand your assignment parameters, requirements, and due dates -Conduct Background Research: Search for news articles, top hits on Google, and encyclopedia articles. -Refine your Topic: Narrow down what you want to investigate. Think about the who, what, when, where, and why for your topic. -Create a Research Question: Come up with a tentative question you want to answer in your project. -Develop a Search Strategy: Select your resources and develop your keywords -Search: Conduct multiple searches in relevant resources -Evaluate your Results and Sources: Use the CRAAP model: currency, relevancy, authority, accuracy, and purpose -Adjust and/or Repeat your Search: Try different keywords, resources, and strategies depending on your needs -Start Writing: Incorporate your sources into your writing from the beginning -Review and Re-Search: Fill in the holes, explore new areas of interest, dig deeper, etc. -Cite, Review, and Edit: Put the final touches on your project

Capture Your Own Writing Process

What is your personal process when you have to write something that requires thought? You might be responding to a boss’ email, writing an application, or responding to the text of a romantic interest. Either way, there are some individual steps you take that help you with your writing process.

Think about the type of writing you will do for this class. You’ll do short writing that communicates your ideas or ideas & evidence related to the topic. You’ll move through multiple short reading, research, and writing tasks to produce a long research essay. The typical writing process steps are the main content of the class.
Think about the way you typically write. Are there responsibilities you need to deal with? Do you need to put earplugs in because it’s noisy where you’ll be doing work? Do you put your favorite earbuds in and put on a favorite playlist because noise helps you concentrate? How are you sitting? What beverages do you need?
Draw or write a Doing my Best Writing Process. Instead of capturing the steps for the quarter, capture the steps you would take to do your best research and writing for the activities and assignments in this class.

Example: Stephanie’s Best Writing Process

Collage with images and text. Picture of chrysanthemum tea, picture of latte, Apple music icon, picture of Stephanie in her home office with her dogs. Text in image states: Doing My best Writing Process I need a clean work space, water and coffee or tea, a motivating playlist, a cozy shawl, and my dogs sitting with me. They know just when I’ve been working too long and my ideas and words are sounding tired. I also do my best if all of my books are nearby. I consult my notes and annotations in books frequently when I’m doing research-based work.

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2 The Writing Process: 5 Practical Steps

Simone Flanigan

Flanigan overviews five steps to the writing process: Assessing the project and your rhetorical situation; researching and prewriting; drafting; revising and editing; and formatting.

Step 1: assess (review & analyze).

The first step of any writing project is to ensure you understand the project’s specific expectations. Some key requirements to take note of:

Expected length / word count
Number and type of sources required
Type of project (genre) and its requirements/expectations

As you move through the project’s details carefully, take note of anything important and make a list of questions you have. Find answers to those questions before proceeding.

Rhetorical Situation

Next, consider your rhetorical situation. This means considering your writing goals and the needs, wants, and perspectives of your audience in order to achieve those goals. Sometimes writers write strictly to inform an audience, but most of the time they write to directly persuade an audience into action. Before you can possibly persuade someone else, you need to determine what you know about a subject and what you still need to understand. This is also an excellent time to explore your potential bias , which is crucial if you have never done so. Sometimes, the more answers you uncover, the more questions you continue to ask, which is a positive step in finding compelling content for a more interesting project.

HOW TO CONSIDER THE RHETORICAL SITUATION

What are the project’s required goals?
What are my personal goals as the creator and writer of the project?
How will I appeal to pathos, ethos, logos and kairos in my piece?
What assumptions do I have about my subject?
How can I unpack my cultural lenses to better understand where my assumptions are coming from?
What credible sources can help me determine the truth or misunderstandings behind my assumptions?
Who is the best audience when considering my goals?
Why does this particular audience think and feel the way they do? This takes true empathy to unpack.
Run a Google search with keywords separated by the + sign — for example, “homelessness+domestic abuse” — then look for sources from popular magazines, journals, and newspapers.
Search for the same keywords on the Google “news” tab to find current information about the topic.

The more you know about a topic, the more opportunities you will have for finding what really speaks to your personal interests, which will allow for more diverse research and a more creative approach. Each time you go down a different path and your ideas take new shape, it is important to reconsider the rhetorical situation to ensure that you are considering your goals as a writer and meeting the needs of your audience.

Intended Audience

So, how do you know who your audience should be? Finding your intended audience means locating that specific audience you want to direct your persuasive arguments to. While writing projects often start out general, the further you get into your research, the more specific your solutions may become. If you are looking for ways of solving the opiate crisis in America, you may decide to speak directly to pharmaceutical companies, or perhaps your goals are more suited to addressing parents of teens who are prescribed opiates after surgeries. Finding that specific audience is critical to rhetorical success. The more you understand your audience personally, the more likely you will be successful in persuading them.

Mode of Delivery

Your mode of delivery is the medium you use for a project. There are different ways of delivering information: text-based, audio-based, visual-based, etc. Figuring out the best mode of delivery is a key part of the rhetorical situation. First review the project’s instructions: Is there a specific mode of delivery the project asks for? If you have the freedom to choose your own mode, ask yourself questions like:

Would this project be more effective in an audio format?
Would it be more powerful with the inclusion of images?

To answer these questions, you need to look at your audience’s specific needs and make choices based on what modes of delivery will work best for them.

Because so many audiences access information online, multi-modal projects (the use of multiple formats within one project) have become increasingly common. The combination of powerful modes allows for even greater rhetorical success. For example: a photo essay relies on images to tell a story and inspire emotion, but the text accompanied with the photos deepens the understanding of the topic’s technicalities. Understanding more about multimodal communication will allow you to convey your information in new and more interesting ways if you think it would be more compelling to your intended audience.

In summary, make sure you have carefully considered the following questions:

What are the assignment’s specific expectations?
What do I already know about my topic?
What do I still need to understand?
Have I carefully considered the rhetorical situation?
Who should my intended audience be?
What would be the best mode of delivery for this particular audience and rhetorical situation?

STEP 2: PREPARE (Research + Prewrite)

Research questions.

Not all types of writing projects require extensive research, but the ones that do will benefit from crafting a research question. Once you understand your audience’s specific needs, you can develop your research question by using a resource like this detailed how-to guide from Scribbr.

The Internet has revolutionized the way in which writers are able to acquire and disseminate information. Because there are so many options of where to find information, sometimes it feels overwhelming trying to decide where to begin researching. This is why it is so important to work through the research process consciously in order to move beyond the obvious.

Once you have developed a strong research question , you can gather the strongest data from reputable sources and move to the academic database.

HOW TO KNOW IF AN ONLINE SOURCE IS REPUTABLE/RELIABLE

The source is from a reputable and established organization
The writer cites their sources and also has a exemplary reputation
The source uses relevant and up-to-date documentation to support its claims
The source seeks to educate and instill knowledge and is not opinion focused
In most situations, the source is relatively recent, although this might not be the case when working with primary materials

To help you remember how to evaluate a source, check out the CRAAP test and bookmark this page.

For even more strategies on deciding on whether or not a source is reliable, check out this guide by the University of Maryland .

Most writing projects require at least some research. While there are a host of strong, reliable sources online, GoogleScholar and library databases can take your research further and legitimize your ideas. Generally speaking, scholarly information took the author/s considerable time to research, write, and peer review. Their dedication to their research now allows us to participate in the conversation and continue to build on the foundation they already laid.

Library databases are notoriously intimidating. To help you find the right database, try searching for your college’s libguide like this:

[your college’s name]+libguide

There you should find a link to your college’s lib guide where databases are conveniently organized into different subjects. College libguides also usually connect you with specific librarians who can help you with any research questions you have.

Other Types of Research

Not all research comes in the form of using your computer. Examples of field research that could assist your rhetorical goals include:

Site visits
Case studies
Ethnographic studies

Thesis Statements

This amount of preparation may seem intimidating, but by moving through each stage carefully, you prevent the experience of having to start projects over or spending more time revising than actually writing. Prewriting starts with crafting a working thesis statement. The difference between a working thesis statement and a thesis statement is in the word “working.” The working thesis acts as your thesis statement, but as you research and form new ideas and strengthen your arguments, you are able to amend your thesis statement to be even more powerful. As your ideas evolve, so will your thesis statement.

HOW TO WRITE A THESIS STATEMENT

To write a compelling thesis statement, focus on the following:

Example: Given the evidence in the most recent state and nongovernmental organization studies, Utah should preserve and protect its public land, rather than auction it off to oil and gas development.
Example: The evidence in recent reports from [State Agency] and [Nongovernmental Organization] strongly suggests that in order to preserve Utah’s unique landscapes and wildlife, Utah’s public land should remain under federal management.
Example: The evidence [state specific evidence briefly] clearly shows that auctioning public lands to private interests puts Utah’s unique landscapes and wildlife at risk and would also severely restrict public access to those lands, which is why Utah’s public land should remain under federal management.

The more confident you become as a writer, the more complex and unique your thesis statements may become; however, often a thesis statement typically includes:

Stating a specific argument/position
Supporting that thesis statement with three claims
Using credible research to bolster those claims

The stronger your thesis statement and supporting evidence is, the easier it will be for you when you sit down to outline the project itself.

More Resources on Building a Thesis Statement

Study these steps in developing a thesis from Harvard
Look at these tips from Purdue University
Watch this video from Scribbr

Most students admit they skip outlining their work, but without intentional outlining, your strong, powerful points can be lost on an audience. In order to prevent confusing or misdirecting an audience, take the time to consider the order in which you organize your information. This step takes ample focus and time, which is why it’s tempting to skip it altogether, but without understanding how to outline and why it’s so important, your writing goals may never be carried out as effectively as they could.

Over time, writers typically start to outline in a more organic way, but understanding this step must happen first.

HOW TO OUTLINE

Spending time outlining your work gives yourself a map for the drafting process, which means rather than struggling to figure out what to say next, your outline shows you what points and sources come next. While you practice different methods of outlining, consider using your sources as a way to structure your project. For example, say you have seven strong sources that you plan on using in your project: decide what order to share them in that will yield the strongest rhetorical results. Or, you could also focus on your main claims and determine in which order those arguments become the most persuasive.

Whether you are working on an essay, a multi-modal piece, a podcast, a video, etc., being intentional about outlining your work before you begin writing will overall create a more productive and pleasant experience within the writing process.

More Resources on Outlining

Read this multi-modal piece from Scribbr: How to Write an Essay Outline
Read this essay from San Jose State University Writing Center

STEP 3: DRAFT

At this point, you are finally in the drafting stage of your work. Because you have done so much preparatory work to get here, the following steps will go smoother than ever.

Because you already took the time to outline, you created a guide for drafting your project. The outline shows you when and where to share your main claims and supporting evidence. Each genre has specific expectations, so make sure you take a look at professional examples of the type of project you are creating. If you have chosen an essay as the ideal mode of delivery, your paragraph structure will likely follow an arrangement similar to this:

Summarize paragraph topic or introduce new claim
State evidence
Explain evidence
Emphasize your point
Transition to new paragraph

Also in this step of the writing process, you will use your sources to layer and support your arguments, which means you need to understand how to cite those sources. Answering the question “How do I cite my sources?” isn’t as simple as it used to be. Citing sources isn’t just about deciding between MLA , APA , or Chicago ; it’s about returning to the rhetorical situation. If you are writing an essay for a college course that is asking for MLA, then absolutely use MLA. But what if a project is being published online? Most essays published on online platforms link their sources, so referring to sources is as easy as a click of the mouse. Even using traditional software like Microsoft Word allows for writers to embed or hyperlink their sources . If you still feel overwhelmed with citations, check out this article by Annika Clark called “ Finding the Right Spiderman: An Introduction to Reference and Citation Formats .”

The goal of citation is always to guide and inform the reader. Citations:

introduce source material
give the reader a way to reference the source
offer the audience specific information (like page numbers) so that a reader can find the information without difficulty

As you draft your work, you also want to return to your thesis statement and make any needed changes to strengthen and clarify it. You might also find that you need additional research to strengthen changes you’ve made to your work. From there you are ready to complete your writing and move to the revision stage.

STEP 4: REVISE & EDIT

Editing and revising are similar, but what separates them is really about time and effort. Editing looks to fix those smaller grammatical issues you may have missed. Revising is when you need to revisit actual steps:

Is this thesis strong enough?
Are these the best sources?
Is this the right mode of delivery?

Editing is fairly easy, especially when you use helpful services like Grammarly and Citation Machine . Revising can feel daunting, but the more time you spend with steps 1–3, the less likely it will be that your work needs a dramatic revision.

Often when we begin the editing and revising process, we discover that we may need to reorder our claims. The outline is a guide, but after spending considerable time with our research and in the heads of our audience, sometimes we find that an argument is stronger in another order. In addition, sentences often need to be reworded or restructured in order to be more clear and straightforward.

As you consider your work one final time, return to your introduction and conclusion. The body of your project is what stabilizes your argument — it is the life of your argument — but the introduction and conclusion are how you connect to your reader and in turn have them connect to your goals.

HOW TO REVISE/EDIT

Ask a trusted source to read your work and give critical feedback
Decide if you need to revamp or revise your introduction or conclusion
Check for and eliminate redundancies
Remove jargon
Condense wordy sentences
Replace generic words (such as “things”) with concrete examples
Add examples and descriptions where needed to illustrate ideas
Read your work aloud (preferably to another person) so you can catch any oversights
Ensure you have included all the documentation/citations needed
Certify that all your sources are cited correctly
Run a grammar and spell check

Revising and editing are important steps in completing a strong draft for your intended audience. When you reread your piece (and have others offer peer feedback), you are able to revisit areas that may need to be strengthened. Writers often say a piece is never complete and could be revised countless times, but if you put time and energy into the revision process, you can get closer to assuring you have met your rhetorical goals.

STEP 5: FORMAT

Formatting is the last step of the writing process and is usually as simple as following the formatting rules and expectations for the layout of the project or looking more carefully at the expectations of that particular mode of delivery. For example, if you look on The Atlantic’s website, each article is formatted with the same font, size, and spacing.

HOW TO FORMAT

Each mode of delivery has its own expectations, but in general here are some details to consider:

Does the project meet the minimum length requirements?
Is the text you include legible and consistent?
Are your paragraphs indented or separated from other paragraphs using white space?
Are all graphics and images high quality and without pixilation?
If writing an essay, are your margins correct?
What accessibility edits do you need to make?
Are there any other requirements of the project you need to consider?

Formatting generates consistency when work is displayed on the same platform. Formatting creates continuity. Formatting is the last polish before you share your work with the world. While this last step is simple, don’t minimize its significance. Remember the rhetorical situation? While our work might be airtight ― strong thesis, intentional organization, powerful sources, poetic conclusion ― if you haven’t formatted the work to look good, you may have already lost your audience.

Know what is required of you
Answer any questions you still have
Evaluate your rhetorical situation
Determine the best mode of delivery for your intended audience
Conduct preliminary research
Consider the pathos, ethos, logos and kairos of your piece
Develop your research question
Understand what makes a source reliable
Get more help with citations by reading “ Finding the Right Spiderman: An Introduction to Reference and Citation Formats “
Use Google Scholar
Use your library databases
Consider other types of field research
Develop a working thesis
Organize material and create an outline
Start writing!
Use your outline to guide you
Cite your sources based on the rhetorical situation
Have a trusted source read and offer critical feedback
Read through your work aloud (preferably to another person)
Use tool like Grammarly and Citation Machine to help you catch errors and cite sources
Return to the body of your essay and look for any places you may need to add additional research and data to strengthen your points and arguments
Look for sentences and sections that may need to be reordered or reworded
Revise your introduction and conclusion to be as powerful as possible
Format your project based on the requirements of the piece or use your own formatting considering the mode of delivery and/or rhetorical situation

Once you understand the importance of each one of these steps and have practiced them, you may begin to feel comfortable creating your own writing process. That’s great! These steps, when followed in sequential order, will aid in your success as a writer, and over time you can allow yourself to try new ways of crafting out of order. The writing process doesn’t have one face, but limitless faces. Once you understand the rules of writing you are set free to play with them intentionally.

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The Writing Process

The writing process is something that no two people do the same way. There is no "right way" or "wrong way" to write. It can be a very messy and fluid process, and the following is only a representation of commonly used steps. Remember you can come to the Writing Center for assistance at any stage in this process.

Steps of the Writing Process

Step 1: Prewriting

Think and Decide

Make sure you understand your assignment. See Research Papers or Essays
Decide on a topic to write about. See   Prewriting Strategies  and Narrow your Topic
Consider who will read your work. See Audience and Voice
Brainstorm ideas about the subject and how those ideas can be organized. Make an outline. See  Outlines

Step 2: Research (if needed)

List places where you can find information.
Do your research. See the many KU Libraries resources and helpful guides
Evaluate your sources. See Evaluating Sources and Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Make an outline to help organize your research. See Outlines

Step 3: Drafting

Write sentences and paragraphs even if they are not perfect.
Create a thesis statement with your main idea. See Thesis Statements
Put the information you researched into your essay accurately without plagiarizing. Remember to include both in-text citations and a bibliographic page. See  Incorporating References and Paraphrase and Summary
Read what you have written and judge if it says what you mean. Write some more.
Read it again.
Write some more.
Write until you have said everything you want to say about the topic.

Step 4: Revising

Make it Better

Read what you have written again. See Revising Content and Revising Organization
Rearrange words, sentences, or paragraphs into a clear and logical order.
Take out or add parts.
Do more research if you think you should.
Replace overused or unclear words.
Read your writing aloud to be sure it flows smoothly. Add transitions.

Step 5: Editing and Proofreading

Make it Correct

Be sure all sentences are complete. See Editing and Proofreading
Correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
Change words that are not used correctly or are unclear.
APA Formatting
Chicago Style Formatting
MLA Formatting
Have someone else check your work.

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Resources for Writers: The Writing Process

Writing is a process that involves at least four distinct steps: prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. It is known as a recursive process. While you are revising, you might have to return to the prewriting step to develop and expand your ideas.

Prewriting is anything you do before you write a draft of your document. It includes thinking, taking notes, talking to others, brainstorming, outlining, and gathering information (e.g., interviewing people, researching in the library, assessing data).
Although prewriting is the first activity you engage in, generating ideas is an activity that occurs throughout the writing process.
Drafting occurs when you put your ideas into sentences and paragraphs. Here you concentrate upon explaining and supporting your ideas fully. Here you also begin to connect your ideas. Regardless of how much thinking and planning you do, the process of putting your ideas in words changes them; often the very words you select evoke additional ideas or implications.
Don’t pay attention to such things as spelling at this stage.
This draft tends to be writer-centered: it is you telling yourself what you know and think about the topic.
Revision is the key to effective documents. Here you think more deeply about your readers’ needs and expectations. The document becomes reader-centered. How much support will each idea need to convince your readers? Which terms should be defined for these particular readers? Is your organization effective? Do readers need to know X before they can understand Y?
At this stage you also refine your prose, making each sentence as concise and accurate as possible. Make connections between ideas explicit and clear.
Check for such things as grammar, mechanics, and spelling. The last thing you should do before printing your document is to spell check it.
Don’t edit your writing until the other steps in the writing process are complete.

Research Guides

6 Stages of Research

1: Task Definition
2: Information Seeking
3: Location & Access
4: Use of Information
5: Synthesis
6: Evaluation

Ask a Librarian

Browse our FAQ, Chat Live with a Librarian, Call, Text, Email, or Make an Appointment.

We are here to help!

Ask the Right Questions

The scope of an investigation determines how large or small your investigation will be. Determining the scope of an investigation is the critical first step in the research process because you will know how far and how deep to look for answers. This lesson will teach you how to develop a research question as a way to determine the scope of an investigation.

Click the image to open the tutorial in a new window.

Keyword(s): 5W Criteria, Ask the Right Questions, Guided Inquiry, Information Literacy, Library, New Literacies Alliance, Research as Inquiry, Research Question

Purpose of this guide

The purpose of this guide is to walk you through the 6 stages of writing an effective research paper. By breaking the process down into these 6 stages, your paper will be better and you will get more out of the research experience.

The 6 stages are:

Task Definition (developing a topic)
Information Seeking (coming up with a research plan)
Location & Access (finding good sources)
Use of Information (Reading, taking notes, and generally making the writing process easier)
Synthesis (coming up with your own ideas and presenting them well)
Evaluation (reflection)

This research guide is based on the Big6 Information Literacy model from https://thebig6.org/

Task Definition

The purpose of task definition is to help you develop an effective topic for your paper. .

Developing a topic is often one of the hardest and most important steps in writing a paper or doing a research project. But here are some tips:

A research topic is a question, not a statement. You shouldn't already know the answer when you start researching.
Research something you actually care about or find interesting. It turns the research process from a chore into something enjoyable and whoever reads your work can tell the difference.
Read the assignment before and after you think you have come up with your topic to make sure you are answering the prompt.

Steps to Developing a Topic

Assignment Requirements
General Idea
Background Research
Ask Questions
Topic Question

Read your assignment and note any requirements.

Is there a required page length?
How many sources do you need?
Does the paper have to be in a specific format like APA?
Are there any listed goals for the topic, such as synthesizing different opinions, or applying a theory to a real-life example?

Formulate a general idea.

Look at your syllabus or course schedule for broad topic ideas.
Think about reading assignments or class lectures that you found interesting.
Talk with your professor or a librarian.
Check out social media and see what has been trending that is related to your course.
Think about ideas from popular videos, TV shows, and movies.
Read The New York Times (FHSU students have free access through the Library)
Watch NBC Learn (FHSU students have free access through the Library)
Search your library for relevant journals and publications related to your course and browse them for ideas
Browse online discussion forums, news, and blogs for professional organizations for hot topics

Do some background research on your general idea.

You have access to reference materials through the Library for background research.
See what your course notes and textbook say about the subject.
Google it.

Reference e-books on a wide range of topics. Sources include dictionaries, encyclopedias, key concepts, key thinkers, handbooks, atlases, and more. Search by keyword or browse titles by topic.

Over 1200 cross-searchable reference e-books on a wide variety of subjects.

Mind map it.

A mind map is an effective way of organizing your thoughts and generating new questions as you learn about your topic.

Video on how to do a mind map.
Coggle Free mind mapping software that is great for beginners and easy to use.
MindMup Mindmup is a free, easy to use online software that allows you to publish and share your mind maps with others.

Ask Questions to focus on what interests you.

Who? What? When? Where? Why?

We can focus our ideas by brainstorming what interests us when asking who, what, when where, and why:

anonymous by Gregor Cresnar from the Noun Project

Research Question: Does flexible seating in an elementary classroom improve student focus?

Write out your topic question & reread the assignment criteria.

Can you answer your question well in the number of pages required?
Does your topic still meet the requirements of the paper? Ex: is the question still about the sociology of gender studies and women?
Is the topic too narrow to find research?

Developing a Topic Tutorial

The following tutorial from Forsyth Library will walk you through the process of defining your topic.

Next: 2: Information Seeking >>
Last Updated: Mar 29, 2024 11:34 AM
URL: https://fhsuguides.fhsu.edu/6stages

Ellen Herman

The Stages of Writing Research Papers

1. Identifying and Refining a Researchable Topic or Question

2. Gathering Primary and Secondary Sources

3. Organizing Your Notes and Other Research Information

What system will you use to keep track of your bibliographies? Your reading notes? The quotations, images, or other specific items that jumped out at you during the course of research? If you are writing about a complex event that unfolds over time, constructing a chronology can be helpful.
It can be useful to group your materials in a way that relates to your questions and to the story you plan to tell. Try categorizing them so you can easily recall which are more important and which are less important.

4. Outlining

What relevant background to your subject must your reader have to understand your argument?
What organizational scheme makes the most sense for your subject and intellectual goals? Chronology is often useful in historical writing, and some historians prize narrative writing. Thematic forms of organization are also very common and can make a lot of sense. If your paper proceeds by way of a comparison, how will that comparison be structured?
Are there terms you will need to define at the outset? Characters you will need to introduce? Timelines you will need to explain? If so, where should these go?
Will you be placing your subject in the context of historiography? If so, where in the paper should this be presented? (Some historians devote considerable text to this; some utilize footnotes.) Historiographical questions include: What are the major interpretive debates about your subject? Who are the key commentators on your subject? What makes your approach and argument original and different?
Balance between general context and the heart of your research. One common error is to get so involved in telling the background story that you forget to mention your actual subject until page 15! Aim for proportionality in your outline. The most important themes and questions should get the most attention and space.
Balance between more general assertions and concrete evidence and examples to back those assertions up. Another common error is to gravitate toward either overly general or overly detailed writing. The former results in vagueness that cannot sustain an argument. The latter results in failure to develop an argument at all.
Remember that evidence helps you answer questions about who, what, where, when, and why.
Be careful not to expect your sources to do more than they can. Use multiple sources to support a claim you think is especially unusual or controversial. Consider tackling the weakness of your sources directly, anticipating obvious criticism rather than ignoring it.

5. Formulating Your Argument

What exactly is your subject?
What exactly is your argument (sometimes also called a “thesis”)?
Your subject and your argument are not identical. Your argument is the original point you are making, the result of all the thinking you have done during the course of research. It is a claim about the significance of a historical subject (or problem or question) and a promise that you will demonstrate that your approach to the subject–your interpretation–is persuasive and compelling. An argument is more than an announcement about what your subject will be. It is an assertion about what your subject means and why it matters.

6. Writing an Introduction

The introduction should introduce your subject, state your argument, and reveal for the reader what you plan to accomplish in the paper.
You can also explain briefly why the paper is organized as it is so that the reader will know exactly what to expect. Think of the introduction as a textual map for an intellectual journey.

7. Drafting the Body of Your Paper

8. Writing a Conclusion

Return to your argument and remind your reader of the most compelling evidence presented to support it.

9. Revising

Excellent papers are drafted far enough ahead of time so that you have time to re-read, reflect, and revise–all of which will make your paper better than it would have been without revision.
Consider asking trusted colleagues to read and comment on your work.
Think about the overall organization of your paper. Does is flow logically and cohere throughout? Are there bumpy spots that need reworking, better transitions, and reorganization?
Think about each paragraph. Does it go where you say it will go? Do you offer concrete evidence and examples when you make general points? Is the transition from the paragraph before smooth? Is the transition to the next paragraph equally smooth?
Think about each sentence: grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, etc. Ask yourself if your writing is as bold and direct as possible. Be ruthless about eliminating pompous language, jargon, and fussy constructions. They will not impress your reader or do justice to your ideas.

10. Proofreading

Use your computer’s spell checker, but don’t stop there.
Many people find that it is easier to catch errors on paper than on a screen.
Try reading your work aloud. It can be a little embarrassing at first, but it is a great technique for zooming in on errors, weak spots, and awkward phrases.

Ai, ethics & human agency.

Collaboration

Information Literacy

Writing process, the writing process – research on composing.

The writing process refers to everything you do in order to complete a writing project. Over the last six decades, researchers have studied and theorized about how writers go about their work. They've found that the writing process can be seen in three main ways: (1) a series of steps or stages ; (2) a cognitive, problem-solving activity ; and (3) a creative, intuitive, organic, dialogic process that writers manage by listening to their inner speech and following their felt sense . Learn about scholarship on the writing process so you can understand how to break through writing blocks and find fluency as a writer, researcher, and thought leader.

Synonymous Terms

Composing process.

In writing studies , the writing process may also be known as the composing process . This may be due to the dramatic influence of Janet Emig’s (1971) dissertation, The Composing Processes of Twelfth Graders . Emig’s research employed think-aloud protocols and case-study methods to explore the composing processes of high school students.

Creative Process

In creative writing and literature, the writing process may be known as the creative process .

In the arts and humanities the term creative process is reserved for artistic works, such as paintings, sculptures, performance art, films, and works of literature.

Related Concepts: Composition Studies ; Creativity; Felt Sense ; Growth Mindset ; Habits of Mind ; Intellectual Openness ; Professionalism and Work Ethic ; Resilience ; Self Regulation & Metacognition

What is the Writing Process?

The writing process refers to everything you do in order to complete a writing project.

People experience and define the writing process differently, according to their historical period, literacy history, knowledge of writing tools, media , genres — and more.

One of the takeaways from research on composing is that we’ve learned writers develop their own idiosyncratic approaches to getting the work done. When it comes to how we all develop, research , and communicate information , we are all special snowflakes. For example,

Hemingway was known for standing while he wrote at first light each morning.
Truman Capote described himself as a “completely horizontal author.” He wrote lying down, in bed or on a couch, with a cigarette and coffee handy.
Hunter S. Thompson wrote through the nights, mixing drinking and partying with composing
J.K. Rowling tracked the plot lines for her Harry Potter novels in a data.
Maya Angelou would lock herself away in a hotel room from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. so she has no distractions.

Research on composing processes conducted over the past 60 years has led to three major distinct ways of defining and conceptualizing the writing process:

prewriting , invention , research , collaboration , planning , designing , drafting , rereading , organizing , revising , editing , proofreading , and sharing or publishing
The writing process refers to cognitive, problem-solving strategies
The writing process refers to the act of making composing decisions based on nonrational factors such as embodied knowledge , felt sense , inner speech, and intuition.

1. The writing process refers to writing process steps

The writing process is often characterized as a series of steps or stages. During the elementary and middle-school years, teachers define the writing process simply as prewriting , drafting , revising , and editing . Later, in high-school and college, as writing assignments become more challenging, teachers introduce additional writing steps: invention , research , collaboration , designing , organizing , proofreading , and sharing or proofreading.

2. The writing process refers to Problem-Solving Strategies

As an alternative to imagining the writing process to be a series of steps or stages that writers work through in linear manner, Linda Flower and John Hayes suggested in 1977 that writing should be thought of as a “thinking problem,” a “problem-solving process,” a “cognitive problem solving process,” or a “goal-directed thinking process.”

3. The writing process refers to the act of making composing decisions based on flow, felt sense and other elements of embodied knowledge

For some writers, viewing the writing process as a series of steps or problems feels to mechanistic, impersonal and formulaic. Rather than view that the writing process to be a series of writing steps or problem solving strategies , Sondra Perl , an English professor, suggests that composing is largely a process of listening to one’s felt sense — one’s “bodily awareness of a situation or person or event:

“A felt sense doesn’t come to you in the form of thoughts or words or other separate units, but as a single (though often puzzling and very complex) bodily feeling”. (Gendlin 1981, 32-33)

What are Writing Process Steps?

In elementary and middle schools in the U.S., the writing process is often simplified and presented at four or five key steps: prewriting , writing , revising , and editing –and sometimes and publishing or sharing . As students progress through school, the writing process is presented in increasingly complex ways. By high school, teachers present “the writing process steps” as

Proofreading
Sharing – Publishing

Is there one perfect way to work with the writing process?

No, there is no one ideal writing process. The steps of the writing process a writer engages in vary from project to project. At times composing may be fairly simple. Some situations require little planning , research , revising or editing , such as

a grocery list, a to-do list, a reflection on the day’s activity in a journal
documents you routinely write, such as the professor’s letter of recommendation, a bosses’ performance appraisal, a ground-water engineer’s contamination report.

Over time, writers develop their own unique writing processes. Through trial and error, people can learn what works for them.

Composing may be especially challenging

when you are unfamiliar with the topic , genre , medium , discourse community
when the thesis/research question/topic is complicated yet needs to be explained simply
when you are endeavoring to synthesize other’s ideas and research
when you don’t have the time you need to perfect the document.

What are the main factors that effect how writers compose documents?

Writers adjust their writing process in response to

Writers assess the importance of the exigency, the call to write, before commiting time and resources to launching
the writers access to information
What they know about the canon, genre, media and rhetorical reasoning
their writerly background
the audience
the schedule.

Why Does the Writing Process Matter?

The writing processes that you use to compose documents play a significant role in determining whether your communications are successful. If you truncate your writing process, you are likely to run out of the time you need to write with clarity and authority .

Studying the writing processes of successful writers can introduce you to new rhetorical moves, genres , and composing processes. Learning about the composing processes of experienced writers can help you learn how to adjust your rhetorical stance and your writing styles to best accomplish your purpose .
By examining your writing processes and the writing processes of others, you can learn how to better manage your work and the work of other authors and teams.
By recognizing that writing is a skill that can be developed through practice and effort, you can become more resilient and adaptable in your writing endeavors.

[ For an example of process pedagogy , see professional writing, which breaks the processes involved in writing a recommendation report down into a 15-week schedule. ]

Do experienced writers compose in different ways than inexperienced writers?

Yes. Experienced writers engage in more substantive, robust writing processes than less experienced writers.

Experienced writers tend to have more rhetorical knowledge and a better understanding of composing steps and strategies than inexperienced writers.
Experienced writers tend to be more willing than inexperienced writers to make substantive changes in a draft, often making changes that involve rethinking the meaning of a text. Some professional writers may revise a document hundreds of times before pushing send or publishing it.
Experienced writers engage in revision as an act of internal conversation, a form of inner speech that they have with themselves and an imagined other–the internalized target audience. In contrast, inexperienced writers tend to confuse editing for revision . They tend to make only a few edits to their initial drafts, focusing primarily on surface-level changes such as correcting grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors.
Experienced writers are adept at working collaboratively, leveraging the strengths of team members and effectively coordinating efforts to produce a cohesive final product. Inexperienced writers may struggle with collaboration, communication, and division of labor within a writing team

What is Process Pedagogy?

Process pedagogy, which is also known as the process movement, emerged in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In The Making of Knowledge in Composition , Steve North (1987) links the emergence of process pedagogy to

Sputnik and America’s concern it was falling behind Russia
the GI Bill and the changing demographics of undergraduate students in the post-war era.

Additionally, process pedagogy emerged in response to dissatisfaction with traditional, product-oriented approaches to teaching writing. In the current-traditional paradigm of writing, the focus of the classroom was on “the composed product rather than the composing process; the analysis of discourse into words, sentences, and paragraphs; the classification of discourse into description, narration, exposition, and argument; the strong concern with usage (syntax, spelling, punctuation) and with style (economy, clarity, emphasis)” (Young, 1978, p. 25).

The process movement reflected a sea change on the part of middle schools, high schools, and universities in the U.S. Traditionally, classroom instruction focused on analysis and critique of the great works of literature:

“The student is (a) exposed to the formal descriptive categories of rhetoric (modes of argument –definition, cause and effect, etc. — and modes of discourse — description, persuasion, etc.), (b) offered good examples (usually professional ones) and bad examples (usually his/her own) and (c) encouraged to absorb the features of a socially approved style, with emphasis on grammar and usage. We help our students analyze the product, but we leave the process of writing up to inspiration” (Flower and Hayes, 1977, p. 449).

In contrast to putting the focus of class time on analyzing great literary works, the canon , process pedagogy calls for teachers to put the emphasis on the students’ writing:

Students need help with prewriting , invention , research , collaboration , writing , designing , revising , organizing , editing , proofreading , and sharing
Teachers do not comment on grammar and style matters in early drafts. Instead, they focus on global perspectives . They prioritize the flow of ideas and expression over correctness in grammar and mechanics.
Students engage in prewriting and invention exercises to discover and develop new ideas
Students repeatedly revise their works in response to self-critique , peer review , and critiques from teachers
Teachers should provide constructive feedback throughout the writing process.

What does “teach the process and not the product mean”?

“Teach the process not the product ” is both the title of a Donald Murray (1972) article and the mantra of the writing process movement, which emerged during the 1960s.

The mantra to teach the process not the product emerged in response to the research and scholarship conducted by Donald Murray, Janet Emig, Peter Elbow, Ann Berthoff, Nancy Sommers, Sondra Perl, John Hayes and Linda Flower.

This Model of Process Pedagogy illustrates the role of feedback in document development

What does it mean to describe the writing process as recursive ?

The term recursive writing process simply means that writers jump around from one activity to another when composing . For instance, when first drafting a document, a writer may pause to reread something she wrote. That might trigger a new idea that shoots her back to Google Scholar or some other database suitable for strategic searching .

How do researchers study the writing process?

The writing process is a major subject of study of researchers and scholars in the fields of composition studies , communication, writing studies , and AI (artificial intelligence).

The writing process is something of a black box: investigators can see inputs (e.g., time on task) or outputs (e.g., written discourse ), yet they cannot empirically observe the internal workings of the writer’s mind.

At the end of the day investigators have to jump from what they observe to making informed guesses about what is really going on in the writer. Even if investigators ask a writer to talk out loud about what they are thinking as they compose , the investigators can only hear what the writer is saying: they cannot see the internal machinations associated with the writer’s thoughts. If a writer goes mute, freezes, and just stares blankly at the computer screen, investigators cannot really know what’s going on. They can only speculate about how the brain functions.

Research Methods

To study or theorize about the writing process, investigators may use a variety of research methods .

Doherty, M. (2016, September 4). 10 things you need to know about banyan trees. Under the Banyan. https://underthebanyan.blog/2016/09/04/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-banyan-trees/

Emig, J. (1967). On teaching composition: Some hypotheses as definitions. Research in The Teaching of English, 1(2), 127-135. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED022783.pdf

Emig, J. (1971). The composing processes of twelfth graders (Research Report No. 13). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Emig, J. (1983). The web of meaning: Essays on writing, teaching, learning and thinking. Upper Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc.

Ghiselin, B. (Ed.). (1985). The Creative Process: Reflections on the Invention in the Arts and Sciences . University of California Press.

Hayes, J. R., & Flower, L. (1980). Identifying the Organization of Writing Processes. In L. W. Gregg, & E. R. Steinberg (Eds.), Cognitive Processes in Writing: An Interdisciplinary Approach (pp. 3-30). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Hayes, J. R. (2012). Modeling and remodeling writing. Written Communication, 29(3), 369-388. https://doi: 10.1177/0741088312451260

Hayes, J. R., & Flower, L. S. (1986). Writing research and the writer. American Psychologist, 41(10), 1106-1113. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.41.10.1106

Leijten, Van Waes, L., Schriver, K., & Hayes, J. R. (2014). Writing in the workplace: Constructing documents using multiple digital sources. Journal of Writing Research, 5(3), 285–337. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2014.05.03.3

Lundstrom, K., Babcock, R. D., & McAlister, K. (2023). Collaboration in writing: Examining the role of experience in successful team writing projects. Journal of Writing Research, 15(1), 89-115. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2023.15.01.05

National Research Council. (2012). Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century . Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.https://doi.org/10.17226/13398.

North, S. M. (1987). The making of knowledge in composition: Portrait of an emerging field. Boynton/Cook Publishers.

Murray, Donald M. (1980). Writing as process: How writing finds its own meaning. In Timothy R. Donovan & Ben McClelland (Eds.), Eight approaches to teaching composition (pp. 3–20). National Council of Teachers of English.

Murray, Donald M. (1972). “Teach Writing as a Process Not Product.” The Leaflet, 11-14

Perry, S. K. (1996). When time stops: How creative writers experience entry into the flow state (Order No. 9805789). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (304288035). https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/when-time-stops-how-creative-writers-experience/docview/304288035/se-2

Rohman, D.G., & Wlecke, A. O. (1964). Pre-writing: The construction and application of models for concept formation in writing (Cooperative Research Project No. 2174). East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University.

Rohman, D. G., & Wlecke, A. O. (1975). Pre-writing: The construction and application of models for concept formation in writing (Cooperative Research Project No. 2174). U.S. Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Sommers, N. (1980). Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers. College Composition and Communication, 31(4), 378-388. doi: 10.2307/356600

Vygotsky, L. (1962). Thought and language. (E. Hanfmann & G. Vakar, Eds.). MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.1037/11193-000

Discovering Your Unique Writing Process: A Guide to Self-Reflection

Problem-Solving Strategies for Writers: a Review of Research

The 7 Habits of Mind & The Writing Process

The Secret, Hidden Writing Process: How to Tap Your Creative Potential

The Ultimate Blueprint: A Research-Driven Deep Dive into The 13 Steps of the Writing Process

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Joseph M. Moxley

Understanding your writing process is a crucial aspect of developing as a writer. For both students and professional writers, reflection on the process of writing can lead to more effective...

Traditionally, in U.S. classrooms, the writing process is depicted as a series of linear steps (e.g., prewriting, writing, revising, and editing). However, since the 1980s the writing process has also...

In contrast to the prevailing view that the writing process refers to writing steps or problem solving strategies, a third view is that the writing process involves nonrational factors, such...

This article provides a comprehensive, research-based introduction to the major steps, or strategies, that writers work through as they endeavor to communicate with audiences. Since the 1960s, the writing process has...

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2.3: Technical Writing Research and Writing Process

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Adam Rex Pope
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Technical Writing Research and Writing Process

Below, I’ll be discussing what I see as seven phases of the writing process for technical writing. I use the term phases because these are not really steps, but instead ways of viewing the project that you go through. In general, you go through these phases in order. However, you may jump back to the mindset of one phase or another without ever really leaving your current phase. (You might question purpose, for example, while identifying document goals). Or, you might decide once you reach a certain phase that you need to take what you’ve learned and revert to a previous phase or even the first phase. That might sound horrifying, but some of the best writing comes from those types of responsible decisions. Trust me, if you think it might be best to start over and you don’t, someone else is going to eventually see your text and likely come to the exact same conclusion.

Writing Project Phases

Phase 1: Coming to a Purpose

The first phase of a writing task is often coming to a purpose. Sometimes this phase, like all of the phases, can take a long time. Other times, you can get through the entire timeline in the space of a minute or two (such as when you’re writing a work email).

What usually controls the direct of the first phase is the origin of your writing task—is this something you want to do or is this something you’ve been asked to do. If you’re being asked to do something, you have much less control over the purpose that you’re carrying out. If you’re doing something on your own, you’re going to be able to craft purpose with a bit more control.

Identifying Your Purpose

• What am I doing?

• Who am I doing it for?

• How will they use it?

• What will it be about?

• When will it be used?

• Why am I being asked to do this?

The answer to the above questions will give you a sense of your purpose. You don’t always need to know all the answers to the above, and really you just want a sketch of the answers at this point. But, you need to know the general gist of each of these questions to have a clear idea of purpose. Once you’ve figured these questions out, you should have a clear idea of what you will be doing and who you will be doing it for.

For an example, you might be asked to write a white paper on a new service your company is creating. Below, you’ll find the rundown for this project via the questions on purpose:

What: I am drafting a white paper, an informational and persuasive text designed to education folks enough to know why they should want a service.

Who: I am doing this work for my immediate supervisor, but really this is a service to the entire company and getting new clients helps us keep the doors open.

How: The reader should use this paper to understand our service and why it is valuable and worth having.

What: It will be about our new service that provides on-site minor medical care for construction firms.

When: It will be used in the early part of the sales process. It may be used as a cold-call tool.

Why: I am a technical writer and familiar with the program and our sales process, so I am being asked to write this document.

Notice in the example above, most of what I’m writing is coming from the writer’s own understanding of things. Understanding your purpose, ideally, shouldn’t involve a ton of research. You just need to know the parameters of your project and what is going to be required and what will be recognized as success. These are primarily internal metrics, not external ones. Once you know these things, you can move on to the real work of research in Phase 2.

Phase 2a: Identifying Research Goals

In Phase 2, we move away from the internal understanding of the project we started with in Phase 1 and expand to understand the project from outside perspectives. We’ll also carry out research in this phase, so we’ll really be going past simply identifying. In doing all of this, we’ll be trying to figure out what we need to know to be effective writers in the situation we’re currently in. This phase is a long one, but it is one of the most important steps in good technical writing!

To identify research goals, we need to know what we don’t know. I won’t go into the full Donald Rumsfeld quote on known-knowns and known-unknowns, but we do need to get a sense of what we need to find out. This is a fairly natural course of events if you think about it—what would be the purpose of research if we already knew what we were going to find out?

To help out in identifying what we need to find out, I like to work through a series of questions. (You may be noticing a pattern at this point). Below, you’ll find the first set of questions I often ask:

Identifying Research Goals

• Who is going to be the primary user of this text?

• Who might they consult when reading this text?

• Who might be interested in this text for secondary reasons?

• What laws and regulations will govern this text?

• Who in my organization is going to control the release of this text?

• What will they expect?

In each of the above questions, we’re trying to get at the question of who. We need to figure out the identity of the users of our documents, and we need to know who is going to be assisting them in that use. At first, that might seem like an odd question, but if you examine your own use of important documents as well as workplace practices, it makes more sense.

When you use an important document, you often ask folks that know more about specific parts of that text for assistance. For example, if you’re looking over an application for a college, you might ask someone who has applied successfully to that college or another college for assistance in a particularly tricky part. If you’re in a business situation and you are reviewing a bid for a new service, you might ask one of your employees or coworkers with expertise in a particular part of the package you don’t understand or know much about. In each case, these consultants are not the primary user, but they’re using the text nonetheless.

Once you’ve identified consultants and users, you’re going to want to at least consider who might run into this text for secondary reasons. This might be someone who is a competitor—they want to see your text so they can make sure they’re staying competitive with your offerings. It might be a news organization that wants to report on your business practices. It might even be an advocacy group that has decided you are their enemy! (For example, you might be building a new shopping development near a historic neighborhood full of folks who simply don’t want your traffic in their streets).

The next who you want to identify is the governmental who—which federal, state, and international laws might govern this text? What government agencies might you need to interact with? What will the expect? This question doesn’t always come into play, but when it comes into play, it can be of the utmost importance. There is nothing quiet like running afoul of a governmental agency’s paperwork demands.

Finally, you’re going to want to know who in your organization is going to control this text’s release. This might be the person that tasked you with the purpose you’re operating under. This might be the legal department. What matters is that you know who they are and what they want. If you’ve done your homework in assessing Purpose, this may well be the easiest bit of research.

Phase 2b: Researching Context

Once you’ve identified all of the relevant who answers, you’ll need one more pass to do some actual research. Yep, it’s time for another list of questions. For each of your who’s, you’ll need to answer the following questions:

Research Context

• What does this user need from the text?

• What will be this user’s attitude towards my text?

• What will this user appreciate in my text?

• How will this user’s political situation impact their interaction with my text?

In each question, we’re going to be trying to find out what exactly we need to know when we’re doing our writing of the text. With the question on need, we’re trying to figure out what use is going to look like for an individual user. With the question on attitude, we’re trying to ascertain how we need to present the information to get a good response. With the question of appreciation, we need to know what will win over a particular user. With the idea of politics, we need to know the internal stakes for each user when working with our text. (Note: when we discuss politics in this text, we’re almost always talking about politics in the general sense—what groups exist and how will they respond to our choices? We usually aren’t talking about political parties and elections and the like.)

These questions likely make more sense when they’re given some context. Below you’ll find an example of answering each one of these questions for a primary user in our example of the service white paper:

Need: The user will need to know what we offer, how the service is carried out, what the cost of the service will be, the benefits of the service for their business, and the competitive advantage the service will offer them.

Attitude: As this will be drafted as a cold-call document, it will likely be met with some skepticism. In order to get past this, we’ll need to make the document quite informative for the users and make sure it doesn’t come across as a hard sell from page one.

Appreciation: The users will appreciate timely and up-to-date research on industry best practices. Anything we can do to make the reader feel like they’ve got a better appreciation of what is current and cutting edge in the business will be advantageous. If we can do this without coming across as someone after a sale at all costs, we’ll likely get a good response, even if we don’t get a sale for this service at this time. Building a solid relationship matters.

Politics: We will be sending these documents to the owners of the companies we want to address. There will be generally fewer political hang ups over this because they will be the final decision maker. However, there may be some political issues that arise if the employer already has a service provider for healthcare. Additionally, there could be internal pressure from employees or external pressure from governmental agencies to provide better healthcare for employees on the job site, so this may be something we can take advantage of.

For each of your users, you’ll want to answer questions just like the example above. As you can see, hopefully, these questions are designed to push you to find out information and to put that information on the page. You can also put these questions on a whiteboard for discussion purposes. Often having generative questions can make group writing more effective because it gives you a way to get the expertise out of each member’s head and into the shared discussion space.

Gathering Research on Users and Context

Before we move further into the phases, we should pause to note that the questions above on the context we’re researching are fundamentally different than the internal-facing questions from Phase 1. In Phase 1, we could easily answer questions because they were from our own situation and our own circumstances. In Phase 2, especially in 2b, we’re looking at other people’s circumstances—that’s a totally different animal. You can’t just wing it when you’re answering questions about other people because you aren’t other people. You’re you.

To gather information on other people, you need to actually do some research. Some of this research can be research from academic sources and trade publications. Some of it can be from the experiences you’ve had as well as the experience of others you might be writing with. But, all of that is no substitute for actually interacting with the folks you’re going to be writing with!

In the back of this text, you’ll find several smaller chapters on research methods. You’ll likely need to consult at least one or two of these methods to gather information on the context of your audience/ users. To start off, interviews might be a useful place to begin if you have access to the folks you will be writing for. Read through the various approaches’ introductions and you’ll get a feel for which might fit your situation best.

After you’ve carried out your research, you’ll be in a much better place to make decisions about your audience and writing for them. You’ll be able to ask yourself questions and then have data to answer them instead of relying on suppositions, anecdotes, and hunches.

Section Break - Purpose, Goals, and Context

When you write a paper in a course, how do you assess the purpose of the assignment? What helps you in this process? What impedes you?
What documents can you think of that, in your mind, represent a firm understanding of purpose but a poor understanding of context? Why?
Create two short texts, each with the same purpose, but designed with different contexts. They might be a tweet or an email body message or a text. How do they differ and why?

Phase 3a: Identifying Document Goals

Once you’ve identified your research goals and done some research, you’ll be ready to move on to the next phase of the writing process, the phase where we turn from users and audience to the structural makeup of our text.

When we talk about document goals, you may be tempted to conflate that with coming to a purpose in Phase 1. While they do sound similar, the focus in Phase 3 is on the actual document—the key features of the text and the expectations that readers will have for it. The difference here is that we’re looking at the ways that the actual document, its features and its structure and appearance, helps meet our purpose and satisfy the expectations of our audience. Again, they sound similar but have an altogether different focus.

Document goals come in a couple of forms, each with their own focus and point of view. Some goals are focused on the document’s genre—what kind of document is this supposed to be, and what does that kind of document look like? Others are focused on the way the document’s structure will be oriented to meet the purpose of the text and the audience’s needs and expectations. Taken together, all of these goals help us plan out the drafting of our text to make sure we’re as effective as possible in our writing efforts.

Identifying Document Goals

• What genre will the document be?

• What topics will the document need to cover/convey?

• What types of information will need to be highlighted?

• What accommodations will be needed?

Each of the questions for this phase focus on identifying key aspects of our text’s structure and content that will need to be researched to gain a clear understanding of what will be required. Some of this research can be internal, and some may be external.

Document Genre

For the question of document genre, you will need to look to your internal and external expectations. This may be a fairly simply step—your purpose may explicitly discuss what genre will be required. If not, you’ll need to do some primary research. Look for similar documents in the professional world that carry out the same goal as yours. What genre are the documents? Are they all the same? Are they different? Identify one genre that you feel would best fit your current goals, or make a mashup that meets your own internal goals.

One example might be the police procedural television show. In these shows, the audience follows along with police officers as they go about their daily work. Not all of these are framed the same way of course, and older shows like Dragnet maintain a focus just on the cases, whereas newer shows may focus more on the people doing the policing and their lives, sometimes even with some comedy added in with shows like Castle or Brooklyn 99. In each case, there are certain hallmarks that are echoed by each show that places the show within the procedural genre. That doesn’t mean that there are hard and fast rules that must be followed—genres change all the time—but, there are expectations that must be met or at least addressed.

Document genres work the same way. When you think about annual reports, tax returns, grant proposals, or even memos, each of these texts play by a certain set of genre rules and expectations. Often you can see similarities between the function of genre examples taken from any number of places, even if the specifics of how the genre works will be tailored to a specific audience and organization.

Fundamentally, document genres (and others really) represent an approach to working with a given text. A genre is the way that a textual problem has been solved. If the solution was effective, it was likely repeated. As time went by, the solution was tweaked to meet challenges the original approach didn’t address. The genre continues onward as a way to meet a challenge until it faces one that it simply can’t address. At that point the genre is either retired or fundamentally overhauled to meet the new situation.

To research genre, you should first look to your purpose. Is there an already present genre in your organization you’ve been asked to create a text within? If you already have a standard format for something like an annual report, use that. You should never go searching for a new genre or a new approach simply because you’re making a new text. Unless the genre is no longer solving the problem, keep it as-is. Otherwise, you spend valuable time you could be writing your document trying to come up with a new approach when none is needed.

If you don’t have an in-house genre, you need to create one. Look at example documents that are doing the same thing your document is doing. What structural choices are present? What kind of language is used (informal vs formal)? Take notes about all of this and sketch out your own model based on the examples. It will be a bit shaky on the first go, but that’s what happens anytime you create a new approach to a technical writing task. This is why versioning and revisions exist.

Topics and Audience

Once you’ve got an idea of genre, you need to think about the topics you need to cover. Look at the purpose of your text and look at your audience and their context. What will you need to cover in order to complete your purpose and satisfy your audience?

For example, if you’re being asked to write a series of instructions on how to upload video content to the web for grade schoolers, you will approach this much differently than if you were writing the same content for a retirement community looking to get their members more engaged with social media. In the first example, fundamental questions about video, the web, and social media wouldn’t need to be addressed. Kids get those things. However, the elderly members of the retirement community may not have a firm grasp of how the web works, how video hosting on the web works, and they may even distrust computers! With that said, both groups would likely benefit from a robust set of tips on privacy, so that isn’t to say each group is totally different.

Make a list of your topics and try to make a note next to each item explaining what you mean and why you think that topic needs to be included. You may think this level of documentation is silly (and it would be for something like a three-sentence email to arrange for your friend to meet you for lunch), but being able to look back and explain to your superiors why you’ve made the choices you did in a document based on research and evidence can be a powerful tool when your choices are called into question or someone wants to know why your work is so successful.

Thinking About Types of Information

We we ask about types of information, we’re really thinking about formatting. What types of information in your text will need to have custom formatting? Will there be keywords? Will there be warnings? Will there be cautions? Will there be movies and books listed? Will you be using non-standard characters a lot, such as names in Arabic or Japanese? Each of these questions is a formatting question.

You’ll want to make a list of each of the types of information that will have a special format. If you want to be exhaustive, you could even include numbers and symbols associated with chemical formulas or mathematical equations. The goal here is to have a handle on what will be represented in the text.

Once you have a list of these types of information, sketch out what your formatting for each will be briefly. Will caution be yellow? Will warnings be red? Will formulas be inline or separate from text? Sketch out those answers now. If you’re not sure, do some research. Look at how others have presented the same data in their texts. If you have an internal style guide, use it. If you have a normal way of doing this in your own organization, use that. Otherwise, do the research and make your notes!

Thinking about Accommodations

When we think about accommodations, we’re trying to identify alterations to the text that will be necessary to make sure our users will be able to use it without unnecessary burdens being placed on them. When we think about accommodations, you’ll be thinking about things like the following list:

• Do we have users with special color needs for color-coding?

• Do we have users that will access the text via a screen-reader that will require image captions?

• Do we have users that will need the text translated into another language?

• Do we have users that will need the text written to a specific reading level?

These questions and others will help you identify any accommodations you might need to make.

Your goal here is to make sure you know any sort of need that will be have to be addressed by your or your organization as you write. In some cases, you will have an office in the organization that handles this type of content. In the US, this type of content usually falls under Section 508 rules and regulations when dealing with government agencies. Other countries and organizations may differ in their approaches.

By approaching accommodations early in the writing process, you’ll be in a better position to ensure your text will serve its audience well, regardless of the way they’ll be reading it.

Phase 3b: Implementing Document Goals

Once we’ve identified document goals, we need to do some research and planning to get those goals ready to draft. We need to explicitly identify what genre means for us in this context, we need to connect our list of topics with a series of sections in the text, and we need to create a miniature style guide for any special information and accommodations that will be needed.

Genre Requirements for Drafting

First, we need to explicitly write down how the genre of our text will work. This usually involves two steps: identifying the specific sections that will be needed, and identifying the voice used in the text. For the specific sections, we’ll need to identify what sections are expected in our genre. Next, we’ll need to make sure we have a consistent voice throughout—this may be casual, formal, or something in between.

For example, if we’re going to be working on an annual report, there may be some expected sections that will be present. Now, we’re not getting to the point of topics and sub-topics here, but we need to know about major segments of the text. For an annual report, there may need to be a special executive summary that will be present. Knowing that needs to be in the text helps us plan our our writing task. There might also be an expectation of appendices with hard data included. Knowing that helps us make sure the document meets the expectations given by the genre.

When it comes to voice, we just need to make sure we know what voice we’re using. This can be the start of our mini style guide. Simply describe the voice and how it should work. Will it be formal with no contractions? Will it be informal with a lot of “you” and other direct address use? Will it be silly? Jot down your goals and then use this later as a rubric for your own writing. This type of work is especially useful when you’re working in a team environment where several writers need to use the same voice to write sections that will be combined into one larger document.

Setting up Topics and Sections

Next, you’ll want to connect your topics that need to be covered with specific sections for the document. You’ll want to sketch out the major sections and then map your content to each area. You’ll rely on your research on the audience as well as your purpose here to craft a table of contents for your text.

This will be a rough outline of the text and may look something like the list below:

I. Introduction

i. Salutation to readers (familiar customer for 10 years)

ii. Background on project (reworking of a project by other contractor

iii. Description of rest of text

II.Project Approach

i. Previous work (Current CEO ordered this work)

ii. Current method (Focus on environmental factors)

III. Project Staff

i. Leadership structure (Emphasize experience)

ii. Team member bios (Structure around leads)

IV. Project Timeline

i. Overall timeline (Focus on Earth Day deadline)

ii. Possible delays and challenges (Highlight variables)

V. Goals and Outcomes

i. Overall project goals (Connect with ongoing relationship and with ongoing relationship and environment)

ii. Rubric for measuring success (Use contract for detailed specifics)

VI. Closing (Personal thanks and contact information)

In the above example, I’ve sketched out a potential structure for a project report that might be given to a client at the outset of the project, presenting the reader with a simplified and accessible version of the existing technical plans that emphasizes the why of what will be going on. In each case in parenthesis are some notes that will be useful regarding the audience and the writing. For example, when talking about previous work, there is a note that the current CEO ordered the infrastructure being replaced. Knowing this, we would want to be rather gentle with our critiques of what is currently being done—there is no reason to throw our client under the bus, especially when that can make the boss look bad to an entire organization.

In your own work, you may want to follow a structure like the above, or you might try something altogether different. What matters is that you come up with a structure for the text that covers all the content you’ve identified as necessary while creating sections that make sense within the genre you’re drafting, sections that will help this text meet your stated purpose. We’re trying to put all the stuff we now know into a plan that we can use for the actual writing work ahead of us.

Style and Accommodations

Last, you’ll want to come up with a mini style guide addition that covers any content that needs special formatting or accommodation. A style guide for our purposes is really just a list of things that should be done in the document to maintain consistency. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does need to be clear and accessible those doing writing and editing. We’ll get into this in much more detail later when we talk about project management in a later chapter.

Think about the style guide as the place you go to answer any questions regarding how something should look. When someone is writing a warning, the style guide should give them instructions on how that should be formatted. When someone is including an image, the style guide should list any special instructions for accommodations. The text will work as a reference for your writing, and a living one at that.

Style guides can and do grow over time. Anytime you have to spend more than a moment deciding what something should look like, make a new entry in your style guide. By doing this consistently, you’ll make sure you have a record of the choices you’re making and an explanation of those choices. In a group situation, this allows you to hash out your approach once and then maintain it consistently across multiple authors and perhaps even multiple documents. In the world of coding, you often see a similar documentation alongside code, but also within code in the form of explanatory comments. In all of the situations above, you’re trying to remain consistent and help future you remember what past you wanted done.

The style guide can be fairly simple, as you see in the below example:

Style Guide for Green Infrastructure Project

Voice: The overall voice of this document should be formal, though contractions will be allowed. Formal titles, names, and address should be used throughout

Major Sections: Each major section should be in Impact font, 14pt, bold. The color for each major section should be green (color code should be decided by end of project)

Sub-Sections: Sub-sections should have titles in 12pt Times New Roman and should use italics. The color should be standard black.

Images: All images should include descriptive captions that will be screen-reader accessible.

Revision Log for Style Guide:

Version 1.0 Original style guide added

Version 1.1 Image caption guidelines stipulated to accommodate screen readers as client has several members of team that will be using these devices.

Again, the style guide doesn’t have to be too terribly complicated, but it should be a place you can go to make sure you’re addressing document issues consistently throughout your writing. Making a decision once and then referring back to it makes life simpler.

Section Break - Document Goals and Structure

What is your favorite genre of television? What do you like about that genre, and how do you identify it? What boundaries can be broken? What boundaries do you consider to be firm?
Pick a genre of text like a report or a memo. Find as many examples as you can within ten minutes of searching online. Quickly catalog the examples. What do the extremes look like?
Find a style guide online. What types of information does the style guide contain? Why do you think it is there?

Phase 4: Drafting

Though you might have wondered if we’d ever get here, we’re now at the phase of writing where they actual document comes into shape—drafting. The drafting phase is the most important phase in that this phase actually creates your text, but it can only be successful if it is built upon a firm foundation of research from the previous phases. (And yes, this is even true of short emails with an abbreviated version of the process).

When drafting, you’ll be taking your style guide and section outline and fleshing out the content you’ll be creating. In each section, you’ll want to draft a text based on your guidelines and your audience research. When you wonder how to approach a particular subject, think back to your research on audience and purpose and genre. Any choices you make should be, whenever possible, grounded in research and tied to your users.

When drafting, I find it is often helpful to skip the introduction of your text and to move directly into the body. An introduction is designed to introduce a text, but that is fairly difficult if no text exists. By skipping your introduction and moving into your body you are able to get going on content you can actually create without needing to know the entire document’s content. Once you’ve finished the text, go back and introduce it. It may seem counter-intuitive, but it helps quite a bit.

As you go, think a bit about how you’re saving your text and how it is accessible. You’ll likely want to have at least one backup of your text, and you may even want to save versions as you go. This will allow you to revert to an older copy or an earlier point in the process if you realize you’ve gone in the wrong direction or realize an earlier draft of a section was better than the current one. Saving your text can also be useful when accidents happen. If you lose the device with your text, accidentally delete your current draft, or have a file that gets corrupted, backups make things much less stressful.

Collaborative Drafting

You’ll also want to think about making your text accessible to any collaborators. I won’t go through the trouble of advocating for any particular type of solution to share with your collaborators—these services change and morph all the time. But, I will say that it is ideal to use some platform that hosts files with synchronized updates when you’re doing a lot of work on the same document at once.

If you and your team need to be in the same text at the same time, use a platform that will host the file natively—a platform that lets you edit in browser in real time. If you just need to have the files available, you can use different options that will sync up as you need them to.

Above all, don’t use email! Nothing in life is worse than trying to reconcile multiple files and multiple versions of a text into a final document from a chain of emails. Emailing files leads to poor communication in highly collaborative texts. If you’re editing, it’s not a big deal. If you’re actively drafting, it can ruin your text, or at least your life for the duration of the project.

Finally, as you draft collaboratively, think about voice and tone. Make sure you’ve all got the same supporting documentation to draw on. Make sure that you all have an idea of what the text is supposed to sound like and how it is supposed to relate to the audience and subject. Life is not fun when you get a text with two to four authors and each author has written with a different tone and vocabulary. At the end of that process you’re either rewriting the word choices or putting together a series of texts that simply don’t belong together. Neither is fun. Create a style guide. Use the style guide. Love the style guide.

Phase 5: Editing and Revision

Alright, so you’ve finished your text. Congratulations. Next, you need to make some decisions based on your goals, timeline, and resources. You may wonder why editing comes first as you gaze at this list, as editing is normally treated as a secondary/final concern—you don’t edit something you are going to revise heavily. It all comes down to the decision you’ll make based on the three topics I mentioned at the start of this paragraph: goals, timeline, and resources.

In some cases, you will want to immediately jump into editing a text when it is finished. Why? Your goal may be to get the text out the door quickly and to respond to a pressing request. This would be a useful workflow if you’re writing an email reply to an important client or member of your organization. You need to get information back quickly in this case, so editing immediately makes sense. You aren’t going to spend too much time on this text because, frankly, it isn’t a major document.

Think about the level of importance of your text—is your goal a simple response or a durable document that will withstand continued scrutiny and use. Some documents just aren’t worth as much time as others. That may feel a bit sacrilegious in a writing course, but it is true. If I’m texting someone a quick reply, it is nowhere near as important as a formal assessment document for a graduate program I might be writing the same day. As such, I should set my goals accordingly.

Another item to consider is the timeline you need to meet. Sometimes, you simply don’t have a lot of time. In those cases, you may need to jump directly into editing. In those types of situations, I recommend focusing much of your time on the first two pages. Most readers are going to set their mental image of your in the first few pages; if you have a ton of errors in that space, they are not going to like you very much. However, if your first two pages (or first page even) are immaculate, then you’re going to get a less critical reader that will forgive more later in the text. In short, you don’t want to trip the “gotcha” response in your reader. If you start out with tons of errors, then it almost becomes a game to find more. If you start out flawlessly, the text becomes a narrative rather than something to be read critically while looking for errors.

In situations where you have ample amounts of time, do not edit first. To do so would be a colossal waste of resources and time. Editing is hard work and it takes a lot of focus and time. You don’t want to spend an hour editing three pages that get deleted from the final text or entirely rewritten after testing. If you have more time than a few moments, save editing for last!

A final consideration is resources. You may note that in the middle of the next section is a testing phase. Testing is an ideal step in any technical document that will be used. There is almost always a gap between what happens in the writer’s head and what happens when the text is used. Sometimes that is a gap that has been created because the author is so familiar with a process they skipped a step. Sometimes it is simply a mismatch in terminology between an interface and a document. In any case, testing is very useful. But, it is not always something you have resources for.

Testing really can run a spectrum, something we’ll talk about later and in the final segment of this text with research method, but sometimes there just aren’t any resources to carry out testing. That may be because of budgets or timelines, but it can also be due to institutional views of the writing process. Some organizations simply don’t have testing on their radar as something that is done in technical writing.

In cases where testing is not feasible, go through the text as closely as you can. Think about how accurate the text will be for its intended use. Read the text aloud if at all possible—this catches more errors than you’d realize because of the way we read texts of our own creation. Once this is done, move along to revision or editing, depending on your timeline and goals.

Phase 5a: Editing

Editing, as we discussed previously, is going to be your last phase in virtually any writing context. Even when you briefly look over a text before you send it, you are in essence editing. But, it comes first in this list because many times when you are writing you will simply stop here. There won’t be time or need for testing or revision. And, as we discussed—that is okay.

When we talk about editing, we usually think about two types of editing—copyediting and comprehensive editing. In some situations, you’ll just do copyediting. In other cases, you’ll be doing comprehensive editing that goes much further. Think about your goals, timeline, and resources when you make this choice.

Copyediting

Copyediting is simply looking for issues in the text related to grammar, structure, and content. Does the text do what is says it will? Do the sections come in the correct order? Are terms used consistently? Is structure consistent? Is the grammar okay? Is the spelling consistent and regionally-situated?

In copyediting, you are looking at the text as a finalized document that needs some checking on the textual level. In a fast-paced environment, this is a quick glance. In a slow-paced environment, this may extend to checking terms in a style guide for consistency with institutional norms and spellings. (For example, if you have British and American clients, you need to standardize color or colour). As in everything, think about your goals, timeline, and resources.

When carrying out copyediting, you want to ask the following questions of the document before assessing the document via these questions’ answers:

Copyediting Question

• What does the document say it does?

• What sections does the document say it contains?

• What is the voice of the document?

• How is the first section formatted?

Once you have these answers, you can then assess the text. I recommend you move through the questions in the order listed above using the answers you’ve generated as a standard for testing.

For example, if the document says it will teach you how to true a bicycle wheel, does it actually do that? Can you understand the process by reading through the text? If not, you need to revise accordingly. In cases where you are the author, this is simple. In cases where you are simply an editor, pass it back to the author with instructions on what to add.

As another example, the text might reference an appendix that includes a conversion chart for converting dosing from milliliters to teaspoons. Does the text actually have that appendix? If it doesn’t, that calls for revision as well. (Or maybe just locating the lost file).

With something like voice or formatting or term use, you want to go by the start of the text versus the rest. (This is based on the assumption the author at least got the first bit the way they intended—that isn’t always true, but it can be a good strategy). If the document starts incredibly formal and then swaps randomly in one section to being informal, that requires revision. If the text has blue headings for the first half, it doesn’t need to suddenly swap to green with no reason,. The same goes for calling a process by one name and then swapping to another. In technical writing, there is no real need for creative re-naming. Consistency and intelligibility are more important than keeping things fresh and new.

Comprehensive Editing

Comprehensive editing is much more involved than copyediting—make sure you have time and resources and it meets your goals. In addition, make sure you do the comprehensive work before you copyedit! Just like with editing as a whole, copyediting is listed first because many times that will be where you stop due to limits in time, resources, or a mismatch of goals with the process.

Instead of looking at the details, comprehensive editing looks at the big picture. Does the document stand together? Does the order of the text make sense? Is the correct audience being targeted here? Should the current sections stay in the text, or should something be added or removed? All of these questions are fair game!

With comprehensive editing, you want to query the document based on the purpose and audience.

This can be as wide ranging or as narrow as you have time/desire for. The following questions can be useful in this process:

Comprehensive Editing Questions

• Who is the primary audience?

• How will their context impact their reading of the text?

• Who might be a consulting audience?

• What aspects of the text might need to be tailored to them?

• What is the purpose of this text?

• How does this text fit with other texts in the organization/genre?

Once you have these answers, you can start to comprehensively edit the text. Using these answers, you have a rubric for grading the text’s content, formatting, and style.

To narrow comprehensive editing to something that fits within this sub-section of the book—I teach an entire course on editing—you can follow the following steps as you go through a comprehensive editing:

Check to make sure the text has everything the audience is going to need. If the audience is made up of novices, make sure the text has ample explanation of technical terms. If the audience may need additional resources that will be hard to fine, provide them for the audience
Make sure the text is appropriately ordered to carry out the task at hand. Sometimes when we write texts, we don’t always write in the best order for use. Think about the way the text develops. Does it build from one section to another? Does one section later in the text need to be earlier for a section to make sense? If so, consider moving it!
Analyze the voice of the text—does it make sense for the subject and audience? Think about who your audience is and what they will think about your subject. Is the choice of voice appropriate? If you have a skeptical audience, you likely don’t want to have a super-excited voice that doesn’t critically engage with your subject matter. On the other hand, if your audience already agrees with you fully, it wouldn’t make sense to be skeptical of everything.
If the text has multiple types of users, make sure they can stay in their lanes. Sometimes, a text will have a variety of users that will have different skill levels. In those cases, you need to be wary of how the text is formatted for their use. For example, if you have expert users that know terms and processes, you won’t want to label each and every step and process—your expert users will get exasperated quickly. Instead, think about how you can signal that content is for new users. With instructions, you might have a bold, simple instruction for each step of a process that caters to advanced users or those referencing the text. Under that bold text, you can include normal formatting in paragraph form or just a few sentences that explains what the step means in detail for those who are learning for the first time. Pretty meta, huh?

Once you are done with copyediting, you’ll want to revise. If you have time, editing again can be useful, though at some point you’ll want to switch from comprehensive to copyediting. You can continually comprehensively edit a text forever. Find a stopping place that honors your goals, timeline, and resources.

Section Break - Editing and Drafting

When does a document warrant comprehensive editing versus simple copyediting? Come up with some criteria to help judge when a document commands enough importance to require comprehensive editing.
Rank the platforms you prefer for group writing, naming your top three. What influences your preference? What features matter when you’re writing with others?

Phase 5b: Testing

Testing is the middle step of our process, though if you have a great deal of time, it may well be the first one—it depends on your purpose and audience for testing. Testing can have different permutations depending on your resources and timeline. You might simply do internal testing with folks in your organization testing out your work. Alternatively, you could actively recruit testers in the generic sense to go over your text. Or, you could get the actual users that will use your text to test it—and those could be internal or external, depending on what you’re writing.

If you are simply passing something along for internal testing, it is more likely that you might send it directly to testers after drafting, or perhaps after a quick edit. With internal testers, you don’t have to be as concerned with the polish and finish as you might with external testers—they won’t be judging your organization based on this text. However, in some cases where the politics of internal testing are fraught (such as cases where the testers see all of this work as silly), you may want to make sure the text is exceptionally polished.

With external testers, you’re going to be either finding folks that fit a generic profile of users or you’ll be finding the actual users to test with. In each case, you’ll want to make sure the text is polished and doesn’t reflect badly on your organization. With a generic profile, you’ll just want to find folks that will fit a certain set of parameters to test your text. These may be individuals with similar age ranges or skill levels as your users. Or, it could just be the general public. With actual users, something we’ll cover later in this chapter in more detail, you’ll be working with the folks who would be using your text to make sure it works as intended.

Testers can be paid or unpaid, but in each case you need to treat their time and experience as valuable. If you pass along a text riddled with errors that looks like a joke, you’re going to be wasting your time and theirs. If you go through the trouble of testing a text with outside users, at least make sure you have a polished text!

Goals of Testing

When you’re doing testing, you’re asking folks to use texts as they are intended; in the process of using them, you’re hoping to find problems with the text. You might find that there are terms that are unclear to the average user. You might find an important step is mislabeled or omitted entirely. In each case, you’re trying to figure out what happens when your text actually gets used the way it would after it leaves your desk. It may seem like overkill, especially since you’re reading this text in a college classroom environment, but testing can save you and your organization time, money, and reputation losses associated with sending an awful text out into the world that simply is not fit for use, or in a worst-case scenario, dangerous.

Later in this chapter, and in the end of the text, we’ll get into the specifics of testing. For now, here is a general workflow you can use for testing:

Testing Workflow

• Identify what you want to learn from testing

• 6Find users that will be testing your text

• Have the users make use of the text in ways that will help you learn what you want

• Record or observe this use, or have the users self-report

Take your findings into the revision process or editing process, depending on the changes needed

With the above workflow, you can get a rough idea of how you can update a text to better fit the intended workflow it will be part of. Later, we’ll dive into this with considerably more detail with specific research methods.

Phase 5c: Revision

So, it has come to this. For many writers, revision is a bad word. Revision is failure to launch, failure to generate a good text the first time. Nothing could be further than the truth. Revision is central to the production of great writing—almost no one gets it right the first time. In fact, many of the most trusted types of texts, such as peer-reviewed academic work or works published by major presses, are produced in environments that are designed to lead to revision and reflection by the author!

Now, as a note—revision and editing are different in this text, and in general practice. Revision often happens when an author reflects on a text. Editing usually happens when an outsider or a non-author reflects on the text. Sometimes revision will incorporate the suggestions of an editor and will be guided by reviewer feedback. Other times, it is self-contained.

When it comes to revision, you can think about it on two levels: global and local revision. Global revision comes first and involves looking at the big picture of your text; in many ways, it is the author’s side of comprehensive editing. With global revision, you move paragraphs, you check to see if topic sentences are supported by the rest of a paragraph, you delete content or add content as needed. With local revision, you focus on small-scale stuff. Does this sentence sound right? Is this the correct word? How can I fix this comma splice?

For carrying out revision, you want to first make sure you have ample time to actually revise, and you need to make sure you’re doing it right. In regards to time, if you are pressed for time, you likely will need to focus more on local revision—large-scale changes to a text can create large-scale problems. If you don’t think you have time for a total overhaul, don’t half-overhaul. Focus on fixing what is there rather than altering it dramatically. If you do have time, focus on global before local. As with comprehensive and copyediting, you don’t want to fix something small that will be deleted later because the larger component it is part of has been removed from your text.

Much of the work of revision maps on top of the work of editing—usually revision and editing are separate parts of a process. Editing identifies the issues, and revision fixes them. (Every editor varies in how much work they do and how much the author does. At the least in modern workflows you’ll have to approve changes in your text). In the case of a single author, you often do both at the same time. Your global revision and comprehensive editing are one and the same. In larger organizations, this is broken up into individual roles with different folks doing different parts of the work.

Carrying out revision effectively takes practice—you learn how to best respond to your own writing by responding to your own writing. There isn’t one workflow that works best, but below I’ll provide some checklists for global and local revision to give you a starting point. Not all of these suggestions will fit every situation, but consider them a good starting point that you can adapt to your own writing. (For example, you might notice after a while that you tend to create a lot of extra “is” formulations where instead of saying “this takes practice,” you say “this is something that takes practice.” In cases like that, you’ll want to focus on finding these “is” formulations because you know that is your kryptonite).

Global Revision Checklist

• Is there a document map?

• Do the major sections follow the plan of the document map?

• Are there sections that shouldn’t be in the document?

• Does each paragraph have a topic sentence?

• Does the rest of the paragraph match up with these topic sentences?

In the above checklist, you focus almost entirely on how the document and paragraphs are structured. The idea is that the document map is your starting point—it tells you what should be in the text and the order that those things should be in. You’ll then audit the rest of the text based on that map before descending to the paragraph level and treating each paragraph’s topic sentence as a document map for that paragraph, auditing each paragraph’s sentences to make sure they fit with that text’s purpose. You can add in some of the extra checklist items from comprehensive editing if you’d like to make this more thorough.

Local Revision Checklist

• If you have time, read the document aloud.

• If you are pressed for time, read the first page aloud

• Search for errors you know that you often make

• Double-check terms that are important for the text

• Work on re-writing sections (important ones especially) that you feel have poor flow or read badly

In the second checklist, you’re focusing almost entirely on small-scale issues. Reading the document aloud is central to effective local editing (and copyediting many times), because it forces you to actually read each work. Often times when we read, we skim without realizing it. When we read our own work, we tend to both skim and edit the text as we read; we read what we meant rather than what it says. Reading aloud gets around both of these issues and helps with the problem most of us face— we can’t stand reading our own work. You can also have your word processor read to you, but I find reading aloud keeps you more focused and able to catch errors

Phase 6: Proofing

Proofing is a phase of the writing process that many guides and writers overlook, but it can be the most important one when it comes to costly mistakes and embarrassing errors. You’ll sometimes see it called proofreading. Proofing involves the creation of proofs—samples of your final document with all of the production choices and text choices put into the form they will have in publication.

Proofing is valuable because it can catch errors that won’t show up in the drafting process alone. For example, you might think that a certain color combination looks great with a certain type of paper when you’re drafting, but when you actually get the printed proof, it looks awful and the colors clash. Or, you might have accidentally used an RGB color code when you should have used CMYK and your text or document has colors that are nothing like what you expected and planned for. Or, you might realize that a choice of font size or style simply doesn’t allow for easy reading when placed into a real-world document. Proofing helps you catch these errors before you’ve paid for an entire run of a document.

In college writing, proofing is not something you run into that much. Most of your writing in classes is often in an office-style program that will go to your professor. Most technical writing, however, goes to outside audiences that will be using your texts. Whereas proofing doesn’t usually make sense in college settings because you rarely get something professionally printed and put together, it is a must in professional settings.

Proofing can be very project-dependent, but a few suggestions can help when you’re looking over a proof. We will cover proofing again when we discuss the production process later in the text.

Proofing Checklist

• Do all of the images look correctly colored and free of pixelation?

• Are all fonts correct or have some fonts been substituted for incorrect ones?

• Are the colors accurate?

• Is the paper correct?

• Is all content on the page, or is some content cut off due to being too close to the binding or too close to the edge of the document (the bleed region)?

• Can the document be read easily

• Are there any errors in formatting or spelling or grammar?

By following through with proofing after final revision, you can catch some last-minute errors and mismatches between what you hoped to find when you created your document and what you find in front of you. Again, proofing is about saving you money and embarrassment—you don’t want to print a run of hundreds or thousands of pages with really awkward and obvious errors throughout. Even the best editor will miss some errors—proofing gives you a chance to catch and replace those before you pay money to get them printed and sent out to your users.

If you want to take things to the next level, you can do some proofreading as well. Proofreading as part of the editing process involves taking the last version of the text that was editing and reading through it and the final proof concurrently, looking for situations where changes that should have been made didn’t make it into the final document.

Phase 7: Publication

Congratulations—you did it. Publication is the final phase of the writing process, a process you may have thought would never end in this text. With publication, you are confident in your text and your proof and you’re ready to send it out to the world. Often publication is a matter of logistics and delivery—you want to make sure the write amount of documents get out to the right people at the right time. We’ll cover publication more in Chapter 6.

For publication, you have a fairly simple checklist:

Publication Checklist

• How many copies do I need?

• Who needs a copy of the text?

• When do they need it?

Once you’ve made sure you’ve got your bases covered, the writing process for your document is over! Congrats—it got published.

Section Break - Testing, Revision, Proofing, and Publishing

Carry out some basic testing on an institutional website of your choosing. Pick a website from your institution you are familiar with and have someone else in the class that isn’t familiar with the site carry out some tasks. Make note of how they perform and where they have issues. Prepare a brief report on the test that you could pass along to the webmaster.
Revision can be a struggle for almost any writer. What do you struggle with during revision? What tactics do you use to avoid these struggles or to overcome them? Share with the rest of your class and look for common ground and new strategies for succeeding.

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Stages of the Writing Process

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Writing can’t be done without going through certain stages. All writers go through their own unique writing processes before they make their final drafts. Usually, writers start with choosing topics and brainstorming, and then they may outline their papers, and compose sentences and paragraphs to make a rough draft. After they make a rough draft, writers may begin revising their work by adding more sentences, or removing sentences. Writers may then edit their rough draft by changing words and sentences that are grammatically incorrect or inappropriate for a topic.

Brainstorming

Before you start writing, you will think about what to write, or how to write. This is called, brainstorming . When you brainstorm for ideas, you will try to come up with as many ideas as you can. Don't worry about whether or not they are good or bad ideas. You can brainstorm by creating a list of ideas that you came up with, or drawing a map and diagram, or just writing down whatever you can think of without thinking about grammar. Think of this like the erratic thunder and lightning that comes from a thunderstorm.

Next, you may want to outline your paper based on the ideas you came up with while you were brainstorming. This means that you will think about the structure of your paper so that you can best deliver your ideas, and meet the requirements of writing assignments. You will usually outline your paper by beginning with its three major parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. The specific structure of each essay may vary from assignment to assignment. Many writers call this a skeleton unto which you develop or “flesh out” the paper. Once you have the skeleton in place, you can start thinking about how to add additional detail to it.

Rough Draft

Your professors or instructors will often require you to submit a rough draft of your paper. This usually means that your work is still in progress. In the rough draft, readers want to see if you have a clear direction in your paper. When you are required to submit a rough draft, it doesn't need to be perfect, but it does need to be complete. That means, you shouldn't be missing any of the major parts of the paper. For more information on drafting and revising your work, watch our Drafting and Revising video.

Revise and Edit your writing

What is the difference between revise and edit ?

Revision lets you look at your paper in terms of your topic, your ideas, and your audience. You may add more paragraphs or remove paragraphs to better fit into a given genre or topic. In a word, revising means that you organize your writing better in a way that your audience can understand your writing better. You may want to read our resource on basic rhetorical elements to help guide your revision.

Editing typically means that you go over your writing to make sure that you do not have any grammatical errors or strange phrases that make it difficult for your readers to understand what you are trying to say. In other words, editing means that you take care of minor errors in your writing. This is a lot like polishing your writing.

Polish your writing

We often hear professors or instructors say that you need to “ polish your writing .” What do you mean by polish ?

The word polish originally meant to make something smooth and shiny, as in “she polished her leather shoes.” In writing, polish can mean to improve or perfect, or refine a piece of writing by getting rid of minor errors. In other words, when your professors or instructors say, “polish your writing,” it means that you should go over your writing and make sure you do not have any errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and to make sure that you do not have any sentences that do not make sense.

Do You Know The 7 Steps Of The Writing Process?

How much do you know about the different stages of the writing process? Even if you’ve been writing for years, your understanding of the processes of writing may be limited to writing, editing, and publishing.

It’s not your fault. Much of the writing instruction in school and online focus most heavily on those three critical steps.

Important as they are, though, there’s more to creating a successful book than those three. And as a writer, you need to know.

The 7 Steps of the Writing Process

Read on to familiarize yourself with the seven writing process steps most writers go through — at least to some extent. The more you know each step and its importance, the more you can do it justice before moving on to the next.

1. Planning or Prewriting

This is probably the most fun part of the writing process. Here’s where an idea leads to a brainstorm, which leads to an outline (or something like it).

Whether you’re a plotter, a pantser, or something in between, every writer has some idea of what they want to accomplish with their writing. This is the goal you want the final draft to meet.

With both fiction and nonfiction , every author needs to identify two things for each writing project:

Intended audience = “For whom am I writing this?”
Chosen purpose = “What do I want this piece of writing to accomplish?”

In other words, you start with the endpoint in mind. You look at your writing project the way your audience would. And you keep its purpose foremost at every step.

From planning, we move to the next fun stage.

2. Drafting (or Writing the First Draft)

There’s a reason we don’t just call this the “rough draft,” anymore. Every first draft is rough. And you’ll probably have more than one rough draft before you’re ready to publish.

For your first draft, you’ll be freewriting your way from beginning to end, drawing from your outline, or a list of main plot points, depending on your particular process.

To get to the finish line for this first draft, it helps to set word count goals for each day or each week and to set a deadline based on those word counts and an approximate idea of how long this writing project should be.

Seeing that deadline on your calendar can help keep you motivated to meet your daily and weekly targets. It also helps to reserve a specific time of day for writing.

Another useful tool is a Pomodoro timer, which you can set for 20-25 minute bursts with short breaks between them — until you reach your word count for the day.

3. Sharing Your First Draft

Once you’ve finished your first draft, it’s time to take a break from it. The next time you sit down to read through it, you’ll be more objective than you would be right after typing “The End” or logging the final word count.

It’s also time to let others see your baby, so they can provide feedback on what they like and what isn’t working for them.

You can find willing readers in a variety of places:

Social media groups for writers
Social media groups for readers of a particular genre
Your email list (if you have one)
Local and online writing groups and forums

This is where you’ll get a sense of whether your first draft is fulfilling its original purpose and whether it’s likely to appeal to its intended audience.

You’ll also get some feedback on whether you use certain words too often, as well as whether your writing is clear and enjoyable to read.

4. Evaluating Your Draft

Here’s where you do a full evaluation of your first draft, taking into account the feedback you’ve received, as well as what you’re noticing as you read through it. You’ll mark any mistakes with grammar or mechanics.

And you’ll look for the answer to important questions:

Is this piece of writing effective/ Does it fulfill its purpose?
Do my readers like my main character? (Fiction)
Does the story make sense and satisfy the reader? (Fiction)
Does it answer the questions presented at the beginning? ( Nonfiction )
Is it written in a way the intended audience can understand and enjoy?

Once you’ve thoroughly evaluated your work, you can move on to the revision stage and create the next draft.

5. Revising Your Content

Revising and editing get mixed up a lot, but they’re not the same thing.

With revising, you’re making changes to the content based on the feedback you’ve received and on your own evaluation of the previous draft.

To correct structural problems in your book or story
To find loose ends and tie them up (Fiction)
To correct unhelpful deviations from genre norms (Fiction)
To add or remove content to improve flow and/or usefulness

You revise your draft to create a new one that comes closer to achieving your original goals for it. Your newest revision is your newest draft.

If you’re hiring a professional editor for the next step, you’ll likely be doing more revision after they’ve provided their own feedback on the draft you send them.

Editing is about eliminating errors in your (revised) content that can affect its accuracy, clarity, and readability.

By the time editing is done, your writing should be free of the following:

Grammatical errors
Punctuation/mechanical and spelling errors
Misquoted content
Missing (necessary) citations and source info
Factual errors
Awkward phrasing
Unnecessary repetition

Good editing makes your work easier and more enjoyable to read. A well-edited book is less likely to get negative reviews titled, “Needs editing.” And when it comes to books, it’s best to go beyond self-editing and find a skilled professional.

A competent editor will be more objective about your work and is more likely to catch mistakes you don’t see because your eyes have learned to compensate for them.

7. Publishing Your Final Product

Here’s where you take your final draft — the final product of all the previous steps — and prepare it for publication.

Not only will it need to be formatted (for ebook, print, and audiobook), but you’ll also need a cover that will appeal to your intended audience as much as your content will.

Whether you budget for these things or not depends on the path you choose to publish your book:

Traditional Publishing — where the publishing house provides editing, formatting, and cover design, as well as some marketing
Self-Publishing — where you contract with professionals and pay for editing, formatting, and cover design.
Self-Publishing with a Publishing Company — where you pay the company to provide editing, formatting, and cover design using their in-house professionals.

And once your book is live and ready to buy, it’s time to make it more visible to your intended audience. Otherwise, it would fail in its purpose, too.

Are you ready to begin 7 steps of the writing process?

Now that you’re familiar with the writing process examples in this post, how do you envision your own process?

While it should include the seven steps described here, it’ll also include personal preferences of your own — like the following:

Writing music and other ambient details
Writing schedule
Word count targets and time frames

The more you learn about the finer details of the writing process, the more likely you are to create content your readers will love. And the more likely they are to find it.

Wherever you are in the process, our goal here is to provide content that will help you make the most of it.

at what stages of the writing process does research

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