Page 285 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

9 Proofread the draft Check spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Edit out
10 Produce a final copy unnecessary words.

Produce and turn in your final product.

Discussion of the Writing Methodology

There are several forms of college essays. The subject area, the assignment, and your instructor will most
likely give you the guidelines for what essay form best fits a given writing situation. An anthropology
instructor, for example, may ask you to compare and contrast courtship and marriage rituals in your culture
and another culture. A chemistry instructor may ask you to explain the process by which elements combine.
A social work instructor may ask you to look at the causes and effects of addictions, and a political science
instructor may ask you to define a specific form of government. The Writing Methodology will be applied
the same way for each of these assignments, though the resulting essays will be markedly different. For
longer, researched essays, you may want to assess and revise (Steps 7 and 8) several times as you write
the essay. Be sure to reserve time in this process so that you can put the essay down for a while, and come
back to it with a fresh perspective. Don’t forget to reserve time to proofread your work before you turn in
your final copy; your hard work deserves the best possible presentation.

The Writing Methodology can also be used effectively for essay exams. However, unless the essay exam
is a take-home exam, you will not have time to revise extensively, though you can probably still do a bit
of pre-writing and you should still have a thesis.

As an example of the Writing Methodology, we are going to follow Abby as she drafts an argument essay.
Argument essays are common in many different classes and fields, and often, though not always, involve
research. Since we have introduced research methods in Chapter 10, we will not dwell on them here. After
this discussion, you will be asked to write your own essay. Further examples of the process and the Writing
Methodology are given in Activity 11.1.

Scenario: Abby’s instructor has asked the class to come up with either an issue of interest or concern
on which to base an essay. He also asked that the essay be an argument: that is, the students need
to take a stand on an issue and support that stand. Some issues will require research; some may not.
Abby has decided to write on a topic she knows something about and in which she is genuinely
interested. She knows she may have to do some research to strengthen her points later on.

Abby’s college has two campuses. At the main campus, the students pay a fee to park for the entire
school year. At the downtown campus, students must pay a parking fee at a city-owned ramp every
time they park. The parking costs for those taking classes downtown are significantly higher than
the cost for parking at the main campus. Abby, who has a strong opinion on most things, feels this
is unfair. Her classmates agree. They have said they will support her if she sends her essay to the
college president.

Step 1—Prepare for Writing or Prewriting
Abby spent some time free writing: for fifteen

Chapter 11 — Writing in College 279