The UVic Writer's Guide


Writing As A Process


In Greek legend, the goddess of wisdom, Athena, was born fully armed from the head of Zeus. Unfortunately, this is the only recorded instance of instant wisdom. Especially in the medium of the written word, the communication of complex ideas is a process--a process that requires thinking and rethinking, working and reworking. The student who claims to have dashed off an 'A' essay at one in the morning the night before it was due is either a liar or a genius.

Writing is a complex process; it is a learned craft which requires a lot of practice, and no formula can guarantee a good essay. What we suggest in the following section is a workable linear model for preparing and writing an essay--it could be summed up in a chart, thus:

But the actual process you will probably go through will be far more complicated, more like this:

The important thing is to keep the simple model in mind. As you become more proficient, you will become more confident in developing your own study practices and writing techniques.


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Copyright, The Department of English, University of Victoria, 1995
This page updated Wednesday, April 5, 1995