Process Writing: Focusing

Focusing means deciding the central idea or the thesis which you want to answer the reader's question: What are you trying to tell me? Often we do not discover our main idea, or at least what we want to say about our main idea, until we have started writing. When we focus our writing we also reveal our attitude towards the topic about which we are writing. Writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper is a good way of learning to focus our writing.

Suppose you decide to make Smoking the topic of a composition. You could decide to focus on one of the following areas:

• Write a letter of complaint about smoking in public buildings.
• Survey smokers to find out their reasons for starting smoking.
• Survey smokers to analyze smoking habits.
• Write an article for a youth publication persuading young people not to start smoking.
• Write an article for smokers giving advice on how to quit smoking.
• Write an article proposing an anti-smoking campaign.

While your topic is the same in each case, your focus is different, resulting in very different compositions. Go here for a writing exercise that helps you develop your ability to focus a composition.  

1. Model of Process Writing | 2. Planning/Generating Ideas | 4. Structuring | 5. Drafting | 6. Evaluating | 7. Reviewing/Revision | Printer friendly version of these seven pages