Experienced writers can make their writing say what they mean. In contrast, less experienced writers often become absorbed in finishing an assignment. Once finished, they move on to the next assignment, often without analyzing what helped or hindered them in completing the previous assignment and, thus, without learning how their writing might be made easier or better. This chapter describes the writing processes used by experienced writers, processes I call planning, freewriting, rewriting, and revising. By knowing and using these processes, you should be able to avoid those frustrating moments that both inexperienced and experienced writers occasionally face as they begin to write or as they revise an awkward sentence or a confusing paragraph.
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