Writing as a Process

        I learned very early in my education that the kids who sat down and took their research papers step by step, task by task, always ended up with a better grade than those of us who wrote each word as it came to our heads. I learned that writing (mature writing) is a series of tasks. However, I am still learning exactly what is involved in that process. I suppose writing can be broken down into four steps: finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing. 

        Instruction by Mrs. Natalie Bishop, librarian here at Gardner-Webb University, has proved very useful to me when it comes to finding. I learned how to find an online database relevant to the information I am trying to find, and then search that database for journals, scholarly articles, books, and even pictures. This is a sure-fire way to find the exact material you are looking for. While using the internet and search engines such as Google may result in one or two useful articles, it could mean sifting through the boatloads of unhelpful links to get there. You could also go to a library to find relevant information in print, but who really does that anymore?

       Once you think you've found good sources, you need to evaluate. This is a concept I have come to understand quite clearly since being in Dr. Theado`s Comp 102 class. There is a lot of correct information out there. There is also a lot of incorrect information out there. I like to evaluate credibility by breaking it down into three levels. First of all, who published the material? If National Geographic puts their name on something, that information is as credible as every National Geographic piece that ever was and every National Geographic piece that will be. Second, whose material did the publisher publish? A journalist is a great writer, but not as knowledgable as an expert. Lastly, whose material did the author include? A journalist can be a very reliable source if the journalist includes an interview with an expert, or a statistic from the national bureau of xyz. If your piece survives my three-layered weed-out device, you can accept it as reliable- that is, if you think me a credible source. 

        It could be that you reach this point and realize that your source would be unfitting to include in your writing. This is where you would analyze. "How well does what this person is saying compliment what I`m trying to say?" One thing to take into consideration is the focus of the piece. For instance, the piece could be about disruptive children in the Hoboken, NJ public school system, but focuses on the teachers` reactions rather than your intended subject- the cause for student disruption. 

       After you have found sources, evaluated their credibility, and analyzed their focus, you can synthesize. Good writers work information gained from outside sources into their writing in smooth, understandable, and beneficial ways. They do not plagiarize. They synthesize. The purpose of everything mentioned above is to write stronger, more mature prose. So as writers, we should take information and implement it in a way that builds our message up and presents a healthy, wholesome argument.