Chapter 21 The first steps in the writing process are the most crucial for developing a well-written

Once you have generated a topic sentence and the details to support that
topic sentence, it is time to organize your ideas. By organizing your ideas
you will create a clear picture of the structure of your paragraph. The most
efficient way to organize ideas is to outline them. With the aid of an outline
you will be able to decide if you have enough supporting ideas for your topic
sentence and you will be able to eliminate those details that do not support
your topic sentence. The outline will also let you test various methods of
organization to decide which one suits your topic sentence the best and let
you test the placement of your topic sentence within the paragraph to see
where it will have the greatest impact on the reader. With the use of an
outline you should be able to create organized, coherent, unified,
well-supported paragraphs.

Chapter 22: Writing a Paragraph: Writing, Revising, and

The next step in the writing process is producing a rough draft. A rough
draft translates your list of details into sentences full of description,
action, and detail. Once you have written the first draft, the real work begins.
As you edit your draft, you will analyze each sentence for clarity; you will
evaluate your overall sentence structure to be sure you have variety in your
sentences; you will look at the words you've chosen to be sure they are
accurate. As you go through additional drafts you will also evaluate the grammar
and mechanics of your sentences to be sure that you don't have any grammatical
errors. Once you have edited the paragraph, you are almost finished with the
writing process. All that remains is the Final lines.

Chapter 23: Writing a Paragraph: Polishing, Proofreading, and Preparing Final Copy?Final Lines

The last step in the writing process is proofreading. After you have finished
developing and supporting your ideas and after you have checked the
organization, it is time to put the finishing touches on your paragraph. As your
last step you need to check the spelling, punctuation, mechanics, and word
choice of your paragraph as well as check to be certain you have a concluding
statement. You cannot check all of these things in one reading so you should
break the task into sections. First, check the punctuation and mechanics of your
paragraphs. This means you are making sure you don't have errors like comma
splices or fragments. You are also making sure you put question marks at the
ends of questions and periods at the ends of statements.

The next step is to check your word choice and spelling. You want to be sure
that you have used the correct words for your intended meaning, so you want to
be sure that you haven't used a two when you need a too. Be sure to double check
the spelling of any word you often misspell and look up any word you are unsure
of. If you are word processing, use the spell check on your computer to help you
with your possible spelling mistakes.

Chapter 24: Writing a Paragraph: Focus on Coherence and Unity

The last chapter discussed the importance of using good grammar and good word
choice in your writing. However, the most grammatically perfect paragraph will
not receive a good grade if it is poorly organized and not focused on a central
idea. The paragraph must have unity and coherence. These ideas were discussed
briefly in chapter 22, but in this chapter we will explore unity and coherence
more fully so that you can learn how these elements impact your writing.

As you learned in Chapter 22, coherence is whether or not what you write
makes sense and whether or not the ideas are arranged in a logical manner. If
ideas are out of order in writing, then the reader has a very difficult time
trying to understand your point. As a result the reader will lose interest and
you will not be able to convey your point.

Unity is equally important. Unity means that your writing sticks to one point