Thinking about writing processes

A lecture that I really really enjoy is the COMMUNICATION SKILLS lecture thanks to our amazing lecturer Miss.Leanne Sultana. Last Tuesday 22nd February we had good tips in order to improve in Assignment Writing.
Questions we might keep in mind before beginning to write an essay or an assignment.

• When you write an important text, do you make more than one draft?
• Do you prefer to write on paper or use a computer? Have you ever asked yourself why?
• What do you do before you start writing?
• How do you start writing? Do you begin at 'the beginning' or jump in wherever you have some ideas? Do you think one approach is better than another?
• What do you do while you are writing? Do you stop and think? Do you ever go back to the beginning and start again?
• When you finish your first complete draft, what do you do next?
• What are the stages you should take in assignment writing?

Then we had a class task in order to see which stages are first and more :
I worked with my friend Rodianne Xuereb and we came up with these 6 stages...

1. Read the question carefully, understand it and highlight the key points.
2. Brainstorming
3. Planning
4. First draft
5. Final draft
6. Check your work again and go through it carefully

I wrote them on the board and they were almost correct because the six Stages in Assignment Writing actually are :

1. Preparation
2. Planning
3. Drafting
4. Polishing
5. Letting go & finally
6. Reflecting on tutor feedback

Now let's analyse them one by one :

Preparation

This stage consists of :

• Identifying what the question is asking of you

• Taking note of the guidance you've been given

• Researching or carrying out an experiment or collecting data

• Thinking over your ideas

• Estimating time available

• Making notes

Planning

Planning your assignment involves :

• Identifying what is relevant and what is not

• Taking account of the word limit

• Selecting appropriate evidence or quotations

• Refining your ideas

• Working out an appropriate and logical structure

Drafting

This stage comprises a single task:

• writing the assignment, perhaps with one or more early draft

Polishing

Polishing your assignment means :

• Checking your spelling and grammar

• Making sure your references are correct

• Reviewing what you have written and making changes

• Checking the word count

Letting go

This is more than just sending off your assignment. Letting go includes :

• Submitting the assignment

• Deciding when the assignment is finished

• Conducting a self-review

Reflecting on Tutor Feedback :

And finally:

• comparing your self-review with your grade and tutor comments.

As you can see, the actual writing of the assignment is only one part of the process!  Good luck!