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Purdue University Globle
CM107 College Composition I
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The writing process is a structured approach that helps writers develop, organize, revise, and present ideas effectively. For CM107 Unit 3, understanding concepts such as pre-writing, brainstorming, drafting, revision, thesis statements, supporting details, organization, tone, audience, and grammar can help students produce clearer and more effective academic writing.
Writing is not simply the act of putting sentences together. Effective writing requires planning, developing ideas, organizing information, reviewing a draft, and correcting errors before the final version is submitted. These skills apply to essays, discussion posts, research papers, reports, professional documents, and many other forms of communication.
This guide explains the major CM107 Unit 3 writing terms and concepts in straightforward language so students can understand how each concept contributes to the overall writing process.
The writing process is a series of stages writers use to develop an idea into a finished piece of writing. Although writers may move between stages as they work, the process commonly includes pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing or submitting.
Each stage has a different purpose. Pre-writing helps generate and organize ideas, drafting turns those ideas into sentences and paragraphs, revision improves meaning and structure, and editing focuses on correctness. The final stage prepares the work for submission or publication.
The five commonly recognized stages are:
Pre-writing: Generate ideas and plan the writing.
Drafting: Develop ideas into a preliminary version.
Revising: Improve content, organization, clarity, and coherence.
Editing: Correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and formatting.
Publishing or submitting: Prepare and present the completed work.
Using a process rather than trying to create a perfect first draft can make academic writing more manageable and effective.
Pre-writing occurs before the first complete draft. During this stage, writers identify what they want to communicate, explore possible ideas, research relevant information, and decide how the material should be organized.
Analyze means examining a subject by separating it into parts and considering how those parts relate to one another. Academic assignments frequently use words such as analyze when students are expected to go beyond description and explain relationships, causes, evidence, or significance.
Brainstorming is a technique for generating ideas before beginning a formal draft. Writers can list possibilities, create questions, write keywords, or record thoughts without immediately judging whether every idea is useful.
Brainstorming is particularly helpful when a writer knows the general topic but is unsure what specific points to include.
Freewriting involves writing continuously for a set amount of time without stopping to correct grammar, spelling, or sentence structure. The goal is to generate ideas rather than create a polished final product.
Freewriting can help writers discover ideas they might not have considered through formal planning.
Mind mapping is a visual brainstorming strategy in which a central topic is connected to related ideas. Writers can use branches to show supporting points, examples, questions, or related concepts.
This method can be useful when a topic contains several interconnected ideas that need to be organized before drafting.
Questioning helps writers explore a topic by asking questions such as who, what, when, where, why, and how.
For example, when researching an issue, a writer might ask:
Who is affected by the issue?
What is happening?
When did it occur?
Where does it occur?
Why does it matter?
How can the issue be addressed?
These questions can help establish the scope and direction of a paper.
A topic is the general subject being discussed in a piece of writing. For example, nursing education could be a topic, while a paper about the effect of simulation-based learning on nursing students would address a much more specific subject.
The main idea is the central point the writer wants the reader to understand. In a paragraph, the main idea is often expressed through a topic sentence and supported by relevant details.
A thesis statement is a concise statement that communicates the central argument, position, or purpose of an academic paper. It provides direction for the paper and helps readers understand what the writer intends to demonstrate or explain.
A strong thesis should be specific enough to guide the discussion and should align with the assignment’s purpose.
Supporting details provide evidence and explanation for a main idea or thesis. Depending on the assignment, supporting material may include examples, facts, statistics, research findings, explanations, or quotations from credible sources.
Supporting details should be relevant to the point being made rather than added simply to increase the length of a paper.
An outline is a plan that organizes the main ideas and supporting points before drafting begins. An outline can help writers determine what information belongs in the introduction, body, and conclusion.
A working outline is a flexible plan that can change as research and writing develop. Writers may add, remove, or rearrange sections as they gain a better understanding of the subject.
A detailed outline provides a more specific structure for the paper. It can identify major sections, individual points, supporting evidence, and the order in which ideas will be presented.
Drafting is the stage in which writers turn their plans into actual sentences and paragraphs. The purpose of an initial draft is to develop ideas and establish a logical structure rather than produce a flawless final version.
Drafting means creating a preliminary version of a piece of writing based on the writer’s research, planning, and ideas. During drafting, writers focus primarily on developing meaningful content and maintaining a logical progression.
The first draft is the initial complete version of a document. Writers should generally avoid becoming overly focused on minor grammar or wording issues while developing the first version.
Revision and editing provide opportunities to improve the draft after the main ideas have been developed.
Academic essays generally require a clear structure so readers can understand the writer’s purpose and follow the development of the argument.
The introduction establishes the subject of the paper and provides the reader with relevant context. Depending on the assignment, it may introduce the problem or topic, establish its significance, and present the thesis statement.
An effective introduction prepares the reader for the discussion that follows without providing unnecessary information.
Body paragraphs develop the major points that support the thesis. A strong paragraph typically centers on one main idea and uses evidence and explanation to develop that idea.
The relationship between the evidence and the writer’s point should be clear. Simply presenting a source or statistic is not enough; academic writing should explain why the evidence matters.
A concluding sentence brings a paragraph to a logical close. It may reinforce the paragraph’s main point or help transition the reader toward the next idea.
The conclusion brings the paper’s discussion together. It can reinforce the thesis, synthesize important points, and explain the broader significance of the discussion.
A conclusion should provide closure rather than simply repeating every sentence from the introduction.
An organizational pattern describes the way information and ideas are arranged within a piece of writing. Choosing an appropriate structure helps readers understand relationships among ideas.
Common organizational patterns include:
Chronological order: Presents information according to time or sequence.
Cause and effect: Explains why something happened and what resulted.
Compare and contrast: Examines similarities and differences.
Problem and solution: Describes a problem and presents possible responses.
Order of importance: Arranges information according to significance.
Order of importance organizes ideas according to their relative significance. A writer may begin with the least important point and build toward the strongest point, or use the reverse approach.
The best arrangement depends on the writer’s purpose and the expectations of the assignment.
Transitions are words, phrases, or sentences that show relationships between ideas. They help readers understand whether the writer is adding information, presenting a contrast, explaining a result, or providing an example.
Common transitions include:
However
Therefore
For example
In addition
Similarly
In contrast
As a result
Effective transitions contribute to coherence and make the movement between ideas easier to follow.
The purpose of writing determines what the writer is trying to accomplish. Identifying the purpose before drafting can help determine the appropriate content, structure, evidence, and tone.
Writing to analyze examines a subject by breaking it into components and explaining how those components relate to one another.
Writing to argue presents a position and supports it with reasoning and evidence. Academic arguments should rely on credible evidence rather than unsupported opinions.
Writing to describe provides information about a person, place, object, event, or experience. Descriptive writing may use specific details to help readers understand the subject.
Writing to discuss explores an issue, question, or topic by considering relevant information and potentially multiple perspectives.
Writing to evaluate makes a judgment about a subject using appropriate criteria or standards. Evaluation should explain the basis for the judgment.
Writing to propose presents a recommended course of action or solution to a problem. Proposals commonly explain the issue, recommend an approach, and provide reasons supporting the recommendation.
Writing to respond communicates a writer’s reaction, interpretation, or reflection regarding a text, issue, event, or experience.
Writing to summarize presents the main points of a larger source in a shorter form. An effective summary focuses on essential information and accurately represents the original source.
Grammar provides the rules and structures that help readers understand written communication. Strong academic writing requires attention to sentence structure, word choice, punctuation, and grammatical accuracy.
Active voice occurs when the subject performs the action.
Example: The student completed the assignment.
Active voice can make sentences direct and easier to understand, although the passive voice may be appropriate in some academic and scientific contexts.
Passive voice occurs when the subject receives the action.
Example: The assignment was completed by the student.
Passive construction is not automatically incorrect. It can be useful when the action or result is more important than the person performing the action.
The subject identifies the person, place, thing, or concept that a sentence is about or that performs the action of an active-voice verb.
A verb communicates an action, occurrence, or state of being.
Examples include write, analyze, explain, become, and is.
A dependent clause contains a subject and a verb but does not express a complete thought by itself.
For example:
Because the student studied for the exam…
The clause requires additional information to form a complete sentence.
A preposition expresses a relationship between words, often involving location, time, direction, or connection.
Common prepositions include in, on, under, between, after, before, and toward.
A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and generally includes an object, such as a noun or pronoun.
Example: under the table
In the sentence The book is under the table, “under the table” is a prepositional phrase.
Writing style should reflect the audience, purpose, genre, and expectations of the assignment. Academic writing generally emphasizes clarity, precision, professionalism, and appropriate evidence.
Formality refers to the level of professional or academic language used in writing. College assignments generally require language that is clear, professional, and appropriate for an academic audience.
Tone communicates the writer’s attitude toward the subject and audience. Depending on the context, writing may have a formal, neutral, persuasive, optimistic, critical, or conversational tone.
Tone should remain appropriate for the purpose and intended readers.
A genre is a category or type of writing with particular characteristics and expectations. Examples include essays, research papers, reports, business correspondence, narratives, and reflective writing.
Understanding the genre helps writers determine how information should be presented.
The intended audience is the group of readers for whom a piece of writing is created. Identifying the audience helps writers make appropriate decisions about terminology, tone, detail, background information, and examples.
A contraction combines words into a shortened form, such as don’t, can’t, or it’s. In formal academic writing, contractions are often avoided unless the assignment or style guide permits them.
Slang consists of highly informal words or expressions associated with particular groups or communities. Slang is generally inappropriate for formal academic writing because it can reduce clarity and professionalism.
Textspeak refers to abbreviated digital communication, including shorthand, acronyms, emojis, and informal abbreviations. It is generally unsuitable for formal academic assignments.
A cliché is an expression that has been used so frequently that it may no longer feel original or precise. Academic writers should generally favor specific and meaningful language over unnecessary clichés.
An idiom is an expression whose intended meaning cannot always be understood from the literal meanings of its individual words. Idioms can be effective in informal communication but may sometimes reduce clarity in academic writing, especially for readers from different cultural or linguistic backgrounds.
Complexity refers to the level of interconnectedness among ideas, concepts, and sentence structures. Effective academic writing should provide sufficient depth without making ideas unnecessarily difficult to understand.
Purpose describes the reason a writer is creating a particular piece of communication. Common purposes include informing, analyzing, explaining, persuading, evaluating, proposing, or entertaining.
A controlling idea narrows a broad topic and establishes the specific direction of the writing. It helps prevent a paper from becoming too broad or unfocused.
For example, healthcare is a broad topic, while the role of electronic health records in improving nursing documentation provides a more focused direction.
Following the writing process can improve the quality of academic work because each stage addresses a different aspect of writing. Planning helps establish direction, drafting develops the ideas, revision improves the content, and editing corrects language and formatting problems.
Students can make the process more effective by allowing enough time for each stage instead of waiting until the deadline to write and submit the final version.
A practical approach is to:
Understand the assignment requirements.
Identify the topic and purpose.
Brainstorm and research relevant information.
Develop a thesis or controlling idea when appropriate.
Create an outline.
Write the first draft.
Revise for organization, clarity, and content.
Edit grammar, punctuation, spelling, and formatting.
Check sources and citations.
Proofread and submit the final version.
Understanding CM107 Unit 3 writing process and key concepts provides a foundation for stronger academic communication. Writers can improve their work by treating writing as a process rather than a single activity.
The most important concepts include:
Pre-writing helps generate and organize ideas before drafting.
Drafting turns planned ideas into a preliminary document.
Revision improves the content, structure, clarity, and effectiveness of a draft.
Editing focuses on grammar, punctuation, spelling, and mechanics.
A thesis statement communicates the central argument or purpose of an academic paper.
Supporting details provide evidence and explanation for the main idea.
Organizational patterns determine how information is arranged.
Transitions help readers understand relationships between ideas.
Tone and formality should match the audience and purpose.
Active and passive voice are both grammatical constructions that can be appropriate depending on context.
CM107 Unit 3 focuses on fundamental writing processes and concepts, including pre-writing, brainstorming, drafting, organization, thesis statements, supporting details, grammar, style, audience, purpose, and revision.
The five commonly identified stages are pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing or submitting. Writers may move between these stages as they develop and refine their work.
Pre-writing helps writers generate ideas, narrow a topic, conduct preliminary research, identify a purpose, and organize information before creating a complete draft.
A thesis statement is a concise statement that communicates the central argument, position, or purpose of an academic paper. It provides direction for the paper’s main discussion.
Supporting details are facts, examples, statistics, research findings, explanations, and other relevant evidence used to develop and strengthen a main idea or thesis.
Revision focuses primarily on improving ideas, organization, clarity, evidence, and overall effectiveness. Editing focuses on correcting grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence-level issues, and formatting.
Transitions help connect sentences, paragraphs, and sections by showing relationships between ideas. They contribute to logical flow and make writing easier for readers to follow.
Active voice emphasizes the person or thing performing an action, while passive voice emphasizes the person or thing receiving the action. Both are grammatically valid, and the appropriate choice depends on context and purpose.
Knowing the intended audience helps writers choose appropriate vocabulary, tone, level of detail, examples, and explanations. Audience awareness makes communication more relevant and effective.
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association. https://apastyle.apa.org/products/publication-manual-7th-edition
Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). General writing resources. Purdue University. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/index.html
The Open University. (n.d.). Essay and report writing skills. https://help.open.ac.uk/topics/essay-and-report-writing
The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Tips & tools. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools
