Get Back To Basics To Break Writer's Block

The Knobull team has explored articles for explaining writing skills and practices. Many of these sources were created by other college writing centers, writing instructors, or writing textbook authors.

The writing process involves teaching students to write in a variety of genres, encouraging creativity, and incorporating writing conventions. This process can be used in all areas of the curriculum and provides an excellent way to connect instruction with state writing standards. 

The following are ways to implement each step of the writing process:

• Prewriting—This step involves brainstorming, considering purpose and goals for writing, using graphic organizers to connect ideas, and designing a coherent structure for a writing piece. Students can engage in whole-class brainstorming to decide topics on which to write. Brainstorm individually or in small groups with a specific prompt, such as, “Make a list of important people in your life,” for example. Online graphic organizers might help students to organize their ideas for specific writing genres during the prewriting stage. Examples are the Essay Map, Notetaker, or Persuasion Map. 
• Drafting—Students can work independently at this stage. Confer with other students individually as they write, offering praise and suggestions while observing areas with which students might be struggling.
• Revising and Editing—Explore how to revise specific aspects of writing to make it more coherent and clear. You can model reading your own writing and do a think aloud about how you could add more details and make it clearer. Read work more than once and think about whether it really conveys what they want to their reader. Reading work aloud to classmates and others helps them to understand what revisions are needed. 
• As students implement the writing process, they will begin to master writing and take it into all aspects of life.
• Peer review, with clear guidelines for students to give feedback on each other’s work, motivates students, allows them to discuss their writing with their peers, and makes the work load a little lighter for you. The Peer Edit with Perfection! PowerPoint Tutorial is a useful tool to teach students how to peer review and edit. In addition, the Knobull Message Board can be helpful with this process.
• Students can edit their own work using a checklist, such as the Editing Checklist. Editing is when students have already revised content but need to correct mistakes in terms of spelling, grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, and word choice. 
• Use of the Knobull blog, small-group lessons, or individual conferencing if necessary to make sure that students have made thoughtful changes to their writing content before moving on to the final draft.