Unit 1

Planning a writing task

Authors: Fabiana Elba Azurmendi and Elena
Caixal Manzano

Translation and adaptation: Marcel Colet

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Introduction

The writing process has three main stages: planning the text, the production of the
text and, finally, the revision and correction. Units 1 and 2 will deal with the planning
process of an academic writing. These units will help you get acquainted with a series
of techniques in order to produce new ideas for writing. You will also be introduced to
the main traits of the written English.

The objectives of Unit 1 are:

 Recognise and discover your main traits as a learner

 Select and identify the writing objectives
 Generate ideas to write academic texts
 Learn the basic traits of the written English
 Get used with learning theories

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 1. Language and context

About the writing process, Cassany (1995) states: “it reminds me of organizing a party
[...]. Your pans, dishes, glasses, spoons and casseroles get dirty. You spill the oil on
the floor; you slip and fall [...]. You wish you never thought about doing a party.
Finally, the guests arrive and they compliment you for the cooking and you answer:
«That’s nothing... It was easy... The oven did all the hard work»”.

Studies about the process of writing prove that there are big differences between
learners and experts. When writing, learners do not follow any strict order, meanwhile,
the experts organise their prose according to the three stages mentioned above:
planning, writing and revision. The first stage will be presented below and it embraces
all the processes of planning before writing a text.

1.1 Plain language and the traits of the written English

A transparent communication is essential for a good government. Therefore,

it is authorities responsibility to make official writing comprehensible –it must
not confuse the people, neither using unfamiliar words nor inextricable long
sentences.
ROBERT D. EAGLESON

The unstoppable globalization has rapidly increased the need of a new communicative
culture: to be allowed to effectively and clearly communicate. Governments look
forward to simplifying the old administrative language, schools prepare their students
to comprehensibly express opinions and Internet has greatly contributed to increase
written communication.

During the last decades, it has been created several initiatives to help the population
to express coherently and clearly. Among these initiatives, it has to be noted the Plain
Language Movement, originated in the 1960s and 1970s. This movement was
originated by consumers associations of the USA which realised that the citizens have

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the right to completely understand important texts which directly affect them:
insurance documents, contracts, laws, sentences, rules, etc.

The Plain Language Movement promotes the idea that readability does not mean
avoiding language richness, but avoiding the excess of bombastic expressions which
clearly confuses the reader. This is why, according to Cassany (1995), it is important
to bear in mind the following premises:

 It uses a proper language (register, vocabulary) for the reader (needs,

knowledge) and for the document (theme, objective). For example, the
scientific papers include specific terminology and data understandable only to
experts, but manuals of scientific dissemination use plainer vocabulary,
accessible for every reader.
 It has a rational design which allows to quickly find the important
information. Relevant data appears in the parts of the text which the eyes
directly focus. Footnotes or parenthesis does not contain important
information.
 It is understood the first time it is read. The writing is not appropriate if the
reader stops because he or she cannot understand the syntactic structure.

Languages such as Spanish, French or Italian has a strong bureaucratic tradition, thus,
these changes are slowly inserted. Public administrations still use bombastic
expressions, write long sentences with digressions and use terminology that is
unintelligible for people that do not work in this context.

Reflection task 1

Read the following text and find the main problems, such as long sentences,
inappropriate structures, etc.:

Dear Medicare Beneficiaries:

Recent legislation included Medicare+Choice, which will result in changes to the

Medicare program. These changes have helped to preserve the financial health of the
Medicare trust fund for another 10 years. Importantly, you now have new preventive

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health benefits and new patient protections. In addition, starting in 1999, Medicare will
offer new health plan choices. You may want to look at these choices.

To help you understand these changes, we have revised your Medicare Handbook and
given it a new name – Medicare & You. It includes a description of the new preventive
benefits available to you (see page 8), the new rights you have as a patient (see page
28), and the new health plan options available to you (see pages 9-18). It will help you
identify some of the important questions you will want to ask and includes a list of
important resources for you to use to get more information (see pages 19a-d).
Medicare information is also available on the Internet at www.medicare.gov. If you
don’t have a computer, your local library or senior center may be able to help you
access the Medicare website.

Source: Plain Language Action and Information Network (2010): PLAIN Principles of
Plain Language: Exercise Packet.
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/resources/for_trainers/PLAIN.cfm

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The
comments are posted in the section “Evaluation”.

Reflection task 2

Write in plain language the second paragraph of the text of reflection task 1.

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The
comments are posted in the section “Evaluation”.

Reflection task 3

Write in plain language the following texts, bear in mind the ideas treated
during the unit:

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 1. The initiative works to educate specific underserved communities to recognize
and report intolerance and hate crimes, to assist victims in accessing culturally
and linguistically appropriate services, and to advocate on behalf of victims for
institutional changes that can reduce hate crimes.

2. In most cases, your California Small Business certification or Non-Profit

registration will be completed online in one business day or less when you have
at hand the necessary information from your tax returns and business
documents to enter into the online system.

Source: Plain Language Action and Information Network (2010): PLAIN Principles of
Plain Language: Exercise Packet.
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/resources/for_trainers/PLAIN.cfm

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The comments are posted in
the section “Evaluation”.

1.2 Searching and organizing ideas

As noted above, expert writers plan the text before start writing its final version. Right
after, there is a list of techniques to start writing a text:

1.1.1 Searching ideas

Before producing ideas, it is important, especially in academic writing,

to investigate about the topic of the text. Next unit will address in
detail the analysis of the bibliography.

In addition, not following the instructions or the formal

requirements (number of pages, font, bibliography, etc.)
of academic tasks (final papers, thesis, presentations,
etc.) is, alongside the writing, causes of a lower mark. For
this reason, following the instructions and clarifying doubts is so important in academic
tasks.

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1.1.2 Producing ideas

Once the topic, the instructions and the formal

requirements are completely understood, the
production of ideas starts. Otherwise, all the
work done might be useless and the texts
would be wrong. The list below presents
different techniques for producing ideas:

 Brainstorming: it consists in quickly writing down several ideas about to the

topic.
 Topic exploration: it is a technique focused on contemplating which information
is needed for the academic task. It is divided in two parts that might be used
consecutively or separately:
o The star: The words who, what, when, where, how and why are
presented on the drawing of a star. Try to answer the questions.
o The cube: The drawing of a cube has the following words: describe,
compare, relate, analyse, apply and argue. A list can be used as well.
 Exposing key words: key words have important information for the topic
treated. According to Cassany (1995), it consists in “identifying the words,
making a list of all the ideas they hide (a selective brainstorming) and write
again or restructure the text with the new information”.
 Free writing: this technique consists in writing an unlimited text without
stopping. It is always necessary to review this kind of texts.
 Starting sentences: it consists in completing several sentences which starts with
“The most important point is...” The objective is to choose the most relevant
ideas for the topic.
 Take notes: it consists in writing down the ideas that may occur while doing
another activity or task: taking the bus, in a conference, etc.

Reflection task 4
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Identify the technique of ideas production used below:

Fuente: CASSANY, Daniel; (1995). La cocina de la escritura. Colección Argumentos. Ed.

Anagrama. Barcelona.

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The comments are posted in
the section “Evaluation”.

Reflection Task 5

Identify the technique of ideas production used below:

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Fuente: CASSANY, Daniel; (1995). La cocina de la escritura. Colección Argumentos.
Ed. Anagrama. Barcelona.

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The comments are posted in
the section “Evaluation”.

Reflection Task 6

Identify the technique of ideas production used below:

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Fuente: CASSANY, Daniel; (1995). La cocina de la escritura. Colección Argumentos.
Ed. Anagrama. Barcelona.

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The comments are posted in
the section “Evaluation”.

Reflection Task 7

Identify the technique of ideas production used below:

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Fuente: CASSANY, Daniel; (1995). La cocina de la escritura. Colección Argumentos.
Ed. Anagrama. Barcelona.

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The comments are posted in
the section “Evaluation”.

1.1.3 Planning

When the production of ideas is finished, they have to be hierarchical organized.

Ideographs, mind maps, diagrams or summaries might be useful.

According to Arnoux, Di Stefano and Pereira (2002), the summary is a derivative

exercise of a previous reading and depends on it. Writing a summary has two main
qualities: (a) the reduction of the text extension and (b) the fidelity to the original
text.

Other aspects to take into account while writing a summary are the paratextual
information, the discursive genre of the source text and purpose of the summary. In
this way, information about the author, its purpose and organisation can be identified.
The selected information will directly depend on the type of summary and its object.

According to the authors noted before, bibliographic reviews, reviews and journalistic
abstracts are types of summary. They also state that, “depending on the case, the
summary will try to make easier the identification and search of information, to give
an evidence of a research, to invite the reading of the source text, to guide the
interpretation of a document or to contribute remembering it.” The two stages for
writing a summary are the following:

Reformulation based on reduction

 Suggest a hypothesis about the text.
 Read the whole text. The hypotheses are verified or rectified.
 Reformulate the text in two stages by respectively suppressing and generalising
information.
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Suppression:
 Select essential information and delete superfluous information, like comments,
evaluations, descriptions, examples, clarifications or specifications. Thus, the
basic information is more comprehensible.
 Take notes from the selected fragments and write a first draft.
 Transform these fragments in a new text.

Reflection Task 8

Identify the technique of ideas production used below:

Read the comments about this task in the virtual campus. The comments are posted in
the section “Evaluation”.

1.1.4 Checklist
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When the search, production and organization of ideas is finished, it is important to
check that you have all the necessary information. The checklist below can be used as
a model and can be extended according to the text:

Did I follow a writing plan?

Did I used an organizing graph?
Is there a clear purpose?
Is the audience contemplated?
Do you need to add any information?
Are the ideas consistent? Is your main idea stablished?
Did you include details which help the reader to understand the idea?
¿Ha respondido al problema planteado en la consigna de escritura?
Do you need to remove some ideas?
Is there extra information which distracts the reader?
Did you repeat information?
Is there information not included to the topic?
Do you need to write some parts again?
Does the first part attract the reader’s attention?
Is there any unclear idea?
Is it a narration or it demonstrates what it is said?
Will it make the reader think about the topic?
Do you need to relocate some parts?
Does the order make sense?
Are the main points emphasised?

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2. Review

This section summarise the knowledge acquired during this unit:

 In the Introduction of the unit several processes of academic writing have

been described: planning, redaction and revision. The main objective has also
been presented.

 Plain language and the traits of the written English has treated the
importance of writing with clarity, but not casting aside richness or being
vulgar. The main traits of the written language have been treated too.

 Searching and organizing ideas has given some practical sources to write a
text. These techniques are divided in:
o The search of relevant information and the importance of following the
instructions given.
o The most usual ideas techniques to produce ideas.
o Planning and organization of those ideas.
o And, finally, the use of the checklist to check the appropriateness of the
process.

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3. Check your knowledge

Enter the Virtual Campus and access the Reflection exercises section. There you will
find the tasks you have seen during this unit. You have to complete all of them and,
when you finish them, the system will provide you the feedback. If you need more
information, consult the file “Assessment”, right under the section Assessment of the
unit.

Remember that, apart from reading the Contents and completing the Reflection
Exercises, you have to complete the activities and the exam or the final task. The
teacher had provided the information about them in the Group Forum.

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Bibliography

ARNOUX, DI STEFANO y PEREIRA (2002): La lectura y la escritura en la universidad

EudeBA. Buenos Aires

CASSANY, Daniel; (1995). La cocina de la escritura. Colección Argumentos. Ed.

Anagrama. Barcelona.

KEMPER, NATHAN, ELSHOLZ y SEBRANEK (1995): Writers Express. Write Source Educational
Pub. House.

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