Summary for Chapter One

In chapter one, Hacker discuses ways in which we can create ideas for any writing assignment. She also provides suggestions as to how to go about when organizing your ideas. Writing is a process, there's steps that you have to take to crank out good material. Organization is key. The first step is to assess the writing situation. The second step is to explore the subject that you're writing about. After exploring the subject, you should create a tentative thesis. The final step of this writing process is to sketch out an outline or plan.

As you're assessing the situation, keep in mind a few things. You want to know what your subject is exactly, know what your sources of information will be, your purpose, who your audience will be, and specifics that include the length of the assignment and deadlines. By knowing all of the above, you're able to execute your writing well. Once you have this down, Hacker believes that the next step is to explore your subject. Some ways in which you can do this is by talking to others about your subject and listening to their input. You can take notes on the text and on your sources of information. Freewriting is also a good idea. The third step is to create a tentative thesis, this basically means that you want to establish a central idea. A thesis should provide direction for both the writer and the reader. Sometimes it's a good idea to know your thesis early on because this can help you with your draft. Drafting is the final process. Sketch an outline so that you have an idea of how your ideas will be structured. A formal outline can be written after you have a rough draft, that way you can visually see if your essay's structure makes sense.

This chapter is going to help me out when I have to write an essay. In the past, my way of writing is very unorganized. I don't use structure as far as planning and sketching out an outline. I tend to just write and let the ideas come to me as i'm typing. It works out okay for me. I can produce good work, but I think if I organize my ideas to begin with, I might be able to produce excellent work. Planning is important because that way I can see beforehand whether or not my essay is going to flow smoothly and logically.