Planning,
Writing,
and Revising
Module Four
©2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
LO 4-1 Apply processes for writing quality
improvement.
LO 4-2 Manage time for writing projects.
LO 4-3 Plan writing and speaking projects
for increased success.
LO 4-4 Apply strategies for revision.
4-2
Learning Objectives (cont.)
LO 4-5 Support writing with grammar and
spell-checkers.
LO 4-6 Apply strategies for feedback and
revision with it.
LO 4-7 Apply strategies for form letter use.
LO 4-8 Apply strategies for writer’s block
and procrastination solutions.
4-3
Planning, Writing, and Revising
Planning
Analyzing the problem, defining your
purposes, and analyzing the audience
Gathering the information you need
4-4
Planning, Writing, and Revising
Writing
Putting words on paper or on a screen.
Writing can be lists, fragmentary notes or a
formal draft.
4-5
Planning, Writing, and Revising
Revising
Evaluating your work and measuring it against your
goals
Getting feedback from someone else
Editing the draft to see that it satisfies the
requirements of standard English
Proofreading the final copy to see that it’s free
from typographical errors
4-6
Planning, Writing, and Revising
The activities do not have to come in this
order.
You do not have to finish one activity to
start another.
4-7
Planning, Writing, and Revising
You may do an activity several times, not
just once.
Most writers do not use all activities for all
the documents they write.
4-8
Does it matter what process I use?
Realize that the first draft can be revised.
Write regularly.
Break big jobs into smaller chunks.
Have clear goals for purpose and audience.
4-9
Does it matter what process I use?
Have several different strategies to choose
from.
Use rules flexibly.
Edit after the draft is complete.
4-10
I don’t have much time.
How should I use it?
To get the best results from the time you have,
spend only a third of your time actually
“writing.”
Spend at least one-third of your time analyzing
the situation and your audience, gathering
information, and organizing what you have to
say.
4-11
I don’t have much time.
How should I use it?
Spend another third evaluating what you’ve
said, revising the draft(s) to meet your
purposes and the needs of the audience and
the organization, editing a late draft to remove
any errors in grammar and mechanics, and
proofreading the final typed copy.
4-12
Allocating Time in Writing a Memo
4-13
What planning should I do before I
begin writing or speaking?
4-14
Clustering Helps Generate Ideas
4-15
Customized Planning Guides for
Specific Documents
4-16
What is revision? How do I do it?
Revising Editing
making changes that making surface-level
will better satisfy your changes that make
purposes and your the document
audience. grammatically correct.
4-17
What is revision? How do I do it?
Proofreading
checking to be sure
the document is free
from typographical
errors.
4-18
Thorough Revision Checklist
Figure 4.4
4-19
Light Revision Checklist
Figure 4.5
4-20
Can a grammar checker do
my editing for me?
You need to know the rules of grammar and
punctuation to edit.
Editing should always follow revision.
There’s no point in taking time to fix a
grammatical error in a sentence that may be
cut when you clarify your meaning or tighten
your style.
4-21
I spell-check.
Do I still need to proofread?
Read once quickly for meaning to see that
nothing has been left out.
Read a second time, slowly.
To proofread a document you know well,
read the lines backward or the pages out of
order
4-22
How can I get better feedback?
Cycling
process of drafting,
getting feedback,
revising, and getting
more feedback
4-23
Questions to Ask Readers
Figure 4.6
4-24
Can I use form letters?
Form letter
a prewritten fill-in-the-blank letter designed for
routine situations
Boilerplate
language—sentences, paragraphs, even pages
—from a previous document that a writer
includes in a new document.
4-25
Revising After Feedback
When you get feedback that you
understand and agree with, make the
change
If you get feedback you don’t understand,
ask for clarification
Paraphrase.
Ask for more information.
Test your inference.
4-26
Revising After Feedback
When you get feedback that you don’t
agree with
If it’s an issue of grammatical correctness, check
this book.
If it’s a matter of content, recognize that something
about the draft isn’t as good as it could be.
If the reader thinks a fact is wrong (and you know
it’s right), show where the fact came from.
4-27
How can I overcome writer’s block
and procrastination?
Participate actively in the organization and
the community.
Practice writing regularly and in
moderation.
Learn as many strategies as you can.
Talk positively to yourself.
Talk about writing to other people.
4-28
How can I overcome writer’s block
and procrastination?
Set a regular time to write.
Develop a ritual for writing.
Try freewriting.
Write down the thoughts and fears you have as
you write.
Identify the problem that keeps you from writing.
Set modest goals and reward yourself for reaching
them.
4-29
