The Islamia University of Bahawalpur

Faculty of Computing

Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

Lesson: 3

THE WRITING PROCESS AND ITS STAGES

Writing process:
The writing process refers to the series of steps or stages that writers follow to
produce written works. It encompasses the various tasks and activities involved in
crafting a piece of writing. The writing process is often iterative and recursive,
meaning that writers may cycle through the stages multiple times as they refine
their ideas, revise their drafts, and polish their writing.

Stages of writing:
The writing process is divided into stages to help writers manage the complexity of
the writing process and to facilitate the development of clear, coherent, and
polished written works. Following are the stages of writing:

1. Prewriting
2. Drafting
3. Revising
4. Editing
5. Publishing

1|Page
Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

1.The prewriting stage:

Prewriting

Select a topic

Determine your
purpose

Select your
Audience

Collect ideas and

information

Make an outline

1. Prewriting: The prewriting stage is the initial phase of the writing process,
during which writers select their topic, consider their target audience,
brainstorm ideas, gather information, and plan the structure and organization of
their writing. It serves as a foundation for the subsequent stages of drafting,
revising, editing, and publishing. The prewriting stage is essential because it
helps writers generate and organize their thoughts before they begin composing
their actual draft.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF WHEN BEGINNING A WRITING

ASSIGNMENT
• Were you given a topic, or can you choose one?

• What is the purpose of this assignment? Are you informing, persuading,

analyzing, entertaining, or summarizing for your readers?
• Who is the audience? Is it the general public? Your teacher? Your peers? Your
head? Your supervisor? A journal?

• What are the five W’s of the written work? Who? What? When? Where?
Why? These questions help you generate ideas and collect information
regarding your topic.

2|Page
 Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

• What is the format or outline of your work? What is the number of

paragraphs? What will be in the introduction, body and conclusion of this
work? Is it an assignment? A creative Essay? An article? an application? Is it a
singular paragraph? a poetry? Prose? Play? Or a short story?

I. Selecting a topic:
Selecting a topic during the prewriting stage of the writing process is a crucial
step that sets the foundation for the entire writing endeavor. It can be
determined by a number of ways.

a) Identify Your Interests: Start by reflecting on your own interests, passions, and
areas of expertise. Think about topics that you find intriguing or that you have a
personal connection to. Choosing a topic that genuinely interests you can make
the writing process more engaging and enjoyable.

b) Narrow Down Your Options: Review the list of potential topics you have
generated and consider which ones have the most potential for exploration and
development. Look for topics that are specific enough to be manageable within
the scope of your assignment or writing task. You may need to narrow down
your options by considering factors such as relevance, feasibility, and the
availability of resources.

c) Conduct Preliminary Research: Once you have narrowed down your list of
potential topics, conduct some preliminary research to gather more information
and assess the viability of each topic. Look for sources of information such as
books, articles, websites, and databases that can provide background
information and help you evaluate the depth and breadth of each topic.

d) Refine and Finalize Your Topic: Based on your research and consideration of
audience and purpose, refine and finalize your topic selection. Choose a topic
that is specific, focused, and well-defined, and that you feel confident and
enthusiastic about exploring further.

TOPIC EXAMPLE: Integration of AI in Academia

II. Determine your purpose

Determining the purpose of your writing during the prewriting stage is essential
as it guides the direction, tone, and content of your composition.
a) Identify Your Goals: Begin by clarifying your goals for the writing task. Ask
yourself what you hope to achieve with your writing. Are you seeking to
inform, persuade, entertain, reflect, analyze, or argue? Understanding your

3|Page
 Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

overarching objectives will help you define the purpose of your writing more
clearly.

b) Define the Scope: Determine the scope and focus of your writing. Are you
addressing a broad topic or a specific aspect of it? Clarify the boundaries of
your writing and identify the key points or arguments you intend to cover. This
will help you refine the purpose of your writing and ensure that it remains
focused and coherent.

TOPIC EXAMPLE: Integration of AI in Academia

Determining purpose:

Are you going to inform about how AI is being integrated?

Are you going to persuade how AI has become crucial for branches of Academia?

Are you going to reflect on the history of relationship that exists between AI and
Academia?

Are you going to argue the spectrum of delimitations in the fields of academia caused
by lack AI integration?

III. Select your Audience

Selecting the audience for your written work during the prewriting stage is a
critical step that helps you tailor your message, tone, and content to meet the
needs and interests of your readers effectively.

a) Identify Potential Audience Groups: Begin by identifying the potential

audience groups who are likely to be interested in or affected by your writing.
Consider factors such as demographics (age, gender, education level,
occupation), interests, knowledge level, and perspectives. Think about who
would benefit from or be impacted by your message.

b) Assess Potential Needs and Interests: Consider the needs, interests, and
concerns of your potential audience groups. Think about what they already
know about the topic, what questions they may have, and what information
or solutions they may be seeking. Choose an audience group whose needs and
interests align closely with the purpose and content of your writing.

c) Tailor Your Message and Tone: Once you have selected your target audience,
tailor your message and tone to suit their preferences and expectations. Adapt
your language, style, and tone to resonate with your chosen audience and
effectively communicate your message. Consider using examples, analogies,
and language that are familiar and relatable to your audience.

4|Page
 Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

TOPIC EXAMPLE: Integration of AI in Academia

Selecting your audience:

If your target audience is parents, you will need to break down basic technological
terminology, use relatively simple vocabulary and put emphasis on its benefits in
order to tackle any negative preconceived notions that they might have.

If your target audience is students, you will need to base the foundation of your
written work around the premises that deals with AI practically, provides practical
applications and methods that students can use.

If your target audience is a professor and the body of work is in the form of module
submission, you will need to use technical and formal language.

IV. Collect ideas and information

During the prewriting stage of the writing process, collecting ideas and
information is a crucial step that lays the groundwork for the development of a
coherent and compelling piece of writing. This phase involves brainstorming,
researching, and gathering relevant material to inform and support the writer's
intended message or argument.
Writers may employ various techniques such as:

1. Listing
2. Mapping/clustering
3. Free writing
4. Looping
5. Brainstorming
6. Discussing
7. Outlining
8. Charting

a) Listing

The listing technique is a valuable tool used during the prewriting stage of the
writing process to generate ideas and organize thoughts on a particular topic. It
involves creating lists of words, phrases, or concepts related to the topic at hand.
This technique allows writers to quickly capture ideas without worrying about
structure or coherence, providing a starting point for further exploration and
development of their writing. Lists can be created in a linear format or in a more
visual form, such as a bulleted or numbered list.

5|Page
Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

One of the key advantages of the listing technique is its flexibility and simplicity. It
allows writers to rapidly come up with a wide range of ideas and associations,
encouraging creativity and exploration of different angles or perspectives on the
topic. Additionally, lists can serve as a visual aid for organizing thoughts and
identifying patterns or connections between ideas.

Method: The idea is to write down as many things as possible. Use single words or
phrases not sentences. Don’t worry about spelling or sorting good or bad ideas.

b) Mapping/clustering
Clustering, also called mind mapping or idea mapping, is a strategy that allows you
to explore the relationships between ideas.

Method:

• Put the subject in the center of a page. Circle or underline it.

• As you think of other ideas, write them on the page surrounding the central
idea. Link the new ideas to the central circle with lines.

• As you think of ideas that relate to the new ideas, add to those in the same
way.

6|Page
Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

c) Free writing
Freewriting is a process of generating a lot of information by writing non-stop
in full sentences for a predetermined amount of time. It allows you to focus on a
specific topic but forces you to write so quickly that you are unable to edit any
of your ideas.

Method: Freewrite on the assignment or general topic for five to ten minutes
non-stop. Force yourself to continue writing even if nothing specific comes to
mind (so you could end up writing “I don’t know what to write about” over and
over until an idea pop into your head. This is okay; the important thing is that you
do not stop writing). This freewriting will include many ideas; at this point,
generating ideas is what is important, not the grammar or the spelling.
After you have finished freewriting, look back over what you have written and
highlight the most prominent and interesting ideas; then you can begin all over
again, with a tighter focus (see looping). You will narrow your topic and, in the
process, you will generate several relevant points about the topic.

d) Looping
Looping is a freewriting technique that allows you to focus on your ideas
continually while trying to discover a writing topic.

7|Page
Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

Method: After you freewrite for the first time, identify a key thought or idea in
your writing, and begin to freewrite again, with that idea as your starting point.
You will loop one 5-10 minute freewriting after another, so you have a sequence of
freewritings, each more specific than the last. The same rules that apply to
freewriting apply to looping: write quickly, do not edit, and do not stop.

Loop your freewriting as many times as necessary, circling another interesting

topic, idea, phrase, or sentence each time. When you have finished four or five
rounds of looping, you will begin to have specific information that indicates what
you are thinking about a particular topic.

e) Brainstorming
Brainstorming means thinking of as many ideas as possible in a short amount of
time. You can brainstorm on your own or in groups. Write down your ideas so that
you don’t forget them. Write down everything that comes to your mind;
don’t worry about sorting out ‘good’ or ‘bad’
ideas. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar.

Method:

1. Make lists of all the ideas that come to you. Don’t worry about trying to
write in complete sentences. Just capture your ideas quickly.

2. Brainstorm by having conversations with other people. Bounce ideas off

of a friend, or raise a topic of conversation with a group of people.

3. Brainstorm while reading. Annotate and interact with the text (use sticky
notes if you need to) to capture your reactions, commentary, and own ideas.

f) Discussing
Discussing as a prewriting technique involves engaging in conversations or
dialogues with others to explore ideas, clarify thoughts, and generate new insights
on a particular topic. This collaborative approach to prewriting can be highly
effective in stimulating creativity, fostering critical thinking, and refining one's
understanding of the subject matter.

8|Page
Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

Method of conducting group Discussions

1. Select Participants: Choose a group of individuals who have a vested interest

in or relevant knowledge about the topic you want to discuss. Aim for diversity
in perspectives and experiences to encourage rich and varied dialogue.

2. Set Objectives: Define the objectives or goals of the discussion session. What
do you hope to achieve by discussing the topic? Are you looking to generate
new ideas, clarify concepts, explore different viewpoints, or identify potential
challenges or opportunities?

3. Provide Context: Briefly introduce the topic and provide context to

participants to ensure everyone is on the same page. Share any relevant
background information, key terms, or guiding questions to frame the
discussion and guide participants' contributions.

4. Facilitate the Discussion: As the facilitator, guide the conversation to ensure

that key points are addressed and that all participants have the opportunity to
contribute. Encourage active listening, respectful communication, and open-
mindedness among participants.

5. Ask Open-ended Questions: Pose open-ended questions or prompts to

stimulate discussion and encourage participants to share their thoughts, ideas,
and perspectives. Avoid leading questions or questions that elicit simple yes or
no answers.

6. Encourage Exploration: Encourage participants to explore different

viewpoints, challenge assumptions, and ask probing questions to deepen their
understanding of the topic. Create a supportive environment where participants
feel comfortable expressing their opinions and engaging in constructive debate.

7. Capture Ideas: Record key ideas, insights, and themes that emerge during the
discussion. This could involve taking notes, using a whiteboard or flip chart, or
using digital tools for collaborative note-taking.

8. Reflect and Summarize: Take time to reflect on the discussion and summarize
the main points, key takeaways, and areas of consensus or disagreement. This
helps consolidate the ideas generated during the discussion and provides a basis
for further exploration and development.

g) Charting
Charting is a prewriting technique that is best suited for a piece of writing that
involves comparisons and contrasts. It can be highly effective in visually
organizing the similarities and differences between two or more subjects. Here's
a method for using charting specifically for this purpose:

9|Page
Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

EXAMPLE OF CHARTINING
• Personalizes instruction

• AI offers efficiency
ADVANTAGES OF AI
• Streamlines administrative tasks

• lack human empathy

• exacerbate inequalities
DISADVANTAGES OF AI
• raise concerns about data privacy and
security.

10 | P a g e