1. The general writing strategy proposed in this e-Book
is recommended to anybody still gaining experience. Emphasis
is placed firmly upon making detailed plans before starting a
writing task. You are then advised to produce multiple
drafts, and then to revise
extensively what you have written.
2. However, other techniques of composition exist, and may
even be appropriate for different subjects and tasks.
Some people are more comfortable with approaches which
involve the collection of data, or the gradual
generation of a work.
3. Each stage of the pre-writing phase
may be punctuated by any amount of thinking for instance. Some people
make rough notes first, then put them on one side. Meanwhile,
they might be thinking about what they are going to write -
either consciously or unconsciously. Some time later, often
without any apparent effort on their part, they find that the
ideas in their rough notes have expanded and developed.
4. Some people are more at ease with unplanned writing.
They like to see what emerges during the
process. They find that one idea sparks off others as it is
written down. Too much planning might give them
the feeling that their possibilities have been hemmed in, that
their plan acts as a straightjacket rather than a foundation on
which to build.
5. What follow are brief descriptions of the most common writing
strategies. If you feel uncomfortable with detailed
planning, read through them all. Try to find one which suits
your temperament. You might even wish to experiment with
one or two until you discover the most appropriate to your
needs.
6. Outline - draft
In this approach you create a list of
headings or numbered topics on the subject.
These follow the same
order that they will be arranged in the finished piece of work. Each
one of these items is then expanded separately and discussed in
turn until the final text is generated. Computer programmes which assist this approach are called 'outliners'.
7. Draft - revise
This approach may be suitable if you
prefer to work spontaneously, free from the constraints of
detailed planning. You set down a stream of 'first
thoughts' and ideas. These may have only glancing
relevance to the finished work, but they give you a sense
that there is something to work with. You might deliberately
avoid criticising the quality of what is produced.
These first thoughts then form both a rough draft and a source
of inspiration for further writing. More work on drafting and
revision is then done until the final text is produced.
8. The polished draft
Sometimes when producing longer pieces
of work, there may not be time for creating multiple drafts. In
this case you might choose to maximise the quality of the
first draft. This will cut down on work to be done at a later stage.
The preparatory stages of collecting information, and planning
will have been done. A draft is produced which is as close as
possible to the end product. Care will be taken with grammar,
word choice, spelling, and sentence construction. All this may
not eliminate the necessity for a subsequent draft, but the bulk
of the detailed work will have been done.
9. Expansion
In this popular approach, you assemble materials and notes,
then individual items are selected for separate
consideration. Each of the notes is gradually expanded until
some shape and ideas begin to emerge. This is the opposite of
planning. Each separate issue is being explored to see what it
might yield. Individual topics might be developed independently
so that you don't feel overwhelmed by the whole
assignment. This is sometimes
called a 'discovery' approach to writing.
10. Cut and paste
This approach is one of collection and assembly.
You gather together a variety of materials related
to what will be the end product. These might be notes,
quotations, fragments of earlier writing, extracts from other people's work, or materials which might just act as prompts or sources of ideas. The
materials are then moved around and organised until they fit
the current writing task. The results may be used as
a plan or a rough draft on which the finished piece of work will
be based.
