Sunday, September 9, 2007

The more effort up front, the better the result




No matter what you are writing—a report, an essay, or any other document—I can’t stress enough how important it is to spend time on the pre-writing phase. At Lucent Books, my editor said she had found that the more time she and the writer spend thrashing out the proposed book content before writing is begun, the faster the book goes. She and I spent hours on the phone, I did tons of research, and we had almost weekly exchanges of FedEx documents. We spent three months doing this, and I was thinking, “holy smokes, I’ll be ready to retire before this book gets written.” Once we had all our thoughts aligned and expectations synchronized, I started writing. It took me one month.

In your comments, explain exactly how you will tackle writing the compare/contrast essay. What are your pre-writing tasks? What will you do to write it? What will you do to make sure it will get an A? BE SPECIFIC!

15 comments:

J.P.Derrick said...

For me it is always useful to write an outline with a few notes to go along, then write out the paper following my previous points and elaborating where necessary

Shelley Otto said...

I intend to take notes from both web sites then come up with an idea and start with a rough draft. After the rough draft I will go back and weed through the mumbo jumbo and take out what I don't think I need. Then I will go to academic services and have them read it and give me some more ideas. I will rewrite it again or edit I mean. Finally I hope I'm done.

rriggen said...

For this assignment I will compare both websites, then make an outline of my rough draft. When my rough draft is done I will have someone proofread it. This will make it easier to write my final draft.

Ryan Emenecker said...

I plan to first surf the web for job sites. I will analyze the sites and pick two for my paper. Then I will start jotting down ideas of how I will contrast and compare. From there I will make an outline. Then it is time to start typing.

sarahstaples said...

I plan on taking notes at the same time that I am looking at the two websites. After I think that I have gathered enough information, then I will make an outline with the most related facts. With my ouline I will complete my first draft. I will then have my draft proofread by someone else. After that is done then I will type my completed paper.

The Frugal Bugle said...

I will do the research for this project which includes looking for two websites to compare and contrast. Then, I will jot down some notes on the similarities and differences and make an outline. I will make a first draft and have my daughter review it and make suggestions. I may also take it to academic services. Then, I will make the changes and do the final draft.

Heather said...

I would start with a step by step thing like this
1 I would think about what I am going to write
2 reach the topic
3 outline
4 write
5 read and fix what needs to be fixed
6 have some one read and comment on what could be better
7 fix the writing
8 turn the writing in
and hope that I get a good grade.

Nikki S. said...

I always have someone else check my work. I give them a copy and let them write on it. Then I fix it and hand another copy to another person until I get a copy back without any errors. I do this mainly at work, and I do plan on bringing the compare/contrast essay in to work as well. I also will email it to my mom, but she won’t be as gentle as my co-workers.

Nicole Steele said...

I like to write down notes before I aucally start writting a paper. After I do that I start writting paragraph by paragraph, making sure they connect to each other, making sense. I also like others to profread it and give me ideas and feedback about it. I will then go through it again and make my finishing touches.

Lottie said...

To write an essay I start by researching Web sites. Decide what I will write about and take notes from both sites. Make an outline of my research and write a rough draft. Check to make sure it includes everything I want in my essay. Check my essay for errors and have someone else read it for errors.

Jake Lynch said...

When I am writing a paper I always start by researching my topic on the web. I will also use any resources that apply. But I will always have someone look over my paper.

Haru said...

I like to put all my thoughts into different categories, and from there figure out where they fit into the essay. Than I have someone else go over the material before I make a final copy.

richardson said...

I am used to putting things off to the last minute so I will probably look at the web sites and write it the day before trying to get it done.

Chris Beck said...

I am comparing myspace classified jobs to monster.com

richardson said...

I've always had trouble with the prewriting phase. I always get distracted if I start anything ahead of time. I always do the entire paper at one time and really never proof read it.