Writing is a five-step process:

• First, the writer completes the prewriting step in which he brainstorms and selects a topic, gathers information, and organizes facts.
• Next the writer drafts the piece. In this step the writer concentrates on committing his ideas to paper understanding that revising and proofreading come later.
• The third step in the process is editing or revising. In this step the writer checks for an interesting beginning, the amount and quality of the information contained, organization, clear language, and appropriate conclusion. A thesaurus is valuable in this step of the process.
• In the proofreading step the writer corrects errors in capitalization, punctuation, grammar, spelling, and mechanics. A dictionary is critical for use in this step.
• Finally, the writer publishes his work. The final copy of the writing is a clean copy, complete and free of errors. This copy should be typewritten or written in blue or black ink on white lined paper.