It is very important that every time you do a major piece of writing, you complete all of the stages of the Writing Process. Often, the steps of the process are more important than the outcome of the process. The steps of the Writing Process can be easily remembered by the acronym BURPPP.

Brainstorm Generate a list of as many ideas and details to support those ideas as possible. Brainstorming may also involve using graphic organizers like thought webs and outlines. Work by yourself, with a partner or as a group. This is a very important step because it makes writing your first draft much easier, and the product will be much stronger.

Ugly Copy Write a “rough” copy. Focus on organization and idea development. Don’t worry too much about sentence fluency or conventions. Just try to get your ideas on paper, in an organized and well developed manner.

Revise Now is time to go back to the ugly copy and tear it apart. Find places that need more development and fix them. Check organization: is the format appropriate and proper? Have you used appropriate openings and closers? Check sentence fluency: do you have a variety of sentence types and lengths? Have you fixed run-ons and fragments? Make sure that the appropriate voice comes through in all of the writing, and that you have used interesting and descriptive words.. This is the most important phase of the Writing Process.

Proofread Now it is time to focus on conventional and grammatical errors. Fix spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, word problems and any other simple errors that will make your writing more difficult to read. Ask someone else to read your writing as well.

Publish Do a final copy in the format that is required. Make sure it is readable and neat.

Proofread Before you hand in your writing or present it, do one last proofread to check for typos or conventional errors.

The Six Traits of Writing The six traits of writing should be part of your writing everytime you write. You need to consider them when you are writing, and when you are revising your writing. The six traits of writing are: Ideas, Organization, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Voice and Conventions. These are also found on your writing rubrics.

Ideas This trait is the heart of the message, the central idea and the support for that idea. Readers are looking for clarity (the message must make sense), focus (the topic is narrowed to a manageable size), and quality details (beyond the obvious or general).

Organization This is the internal structure – the skeleton of the piece. Readers are looking for an inviting opening that gets and holds a reader’s attention, sequencing that is both logical and effective, careful linking of one idea or paragraph to another, and an effective ending that ties up loose endsand leaves the reader with something to think about.

Voice This is the personal quality of the piece, a sense of the writer behind the words – their individual fingerprints on the page. Readers look for a “flavour” or tone appropriate to the purpose for the writing and the audience, a sense of commitment to the topic, involvement in the writing, enthusiasm and integrity.

Word Choice Readers look first for correct and acurate use of language, words that are vivid and precise rather than general, and language that is appealing, memorable and noteworthy. Effective, original use of everyday words and descriptive adjectives create pictures in the reader’s mind.

Sentence Fluency This trait focuses on the rhythm and cadence of the piece – how does it play to the ear when read aloud? Readers “listen” for smoothness and easy flow. They also look for variety and logic in sentence beginnings, differences in sentence lengths and types, and variations in general patterning. Run-on sentences and sentence fragments make the writing difficult to understand and must be corrected.

Conventions This trait reflects the general correctness of the piece. Readers look for writing that has been edited and proofread with care. They check spelling, punctuation, grammar and usage, paragraphing and use of capital letters.