Choose a medium

Create diagrams or illustrations 

Create an outline

Write a draft 

Edit and Revise

Choose a medium

If you haven't already chosen a medium, do so now. 

Consider your goals, audience, and experience. If you don’t have much time, choose a medium you are familiar with. Learning to create in a new medium is a major project in itself. 

You should be familiar with software for the medium you choose. For example, word processing for papers, HTML editors for creating Web pages, or presentation software for standup presentations. 

Some design issues are related to the medium. If you are doing a multimedia presentation, consider interactive user interface issues. For web design, good resources include: 

Yale C/AIM Web Style Guide at http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/contents.html 

Web Usability Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen at http://www.useit.com/alertbox/. 

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Create Diagrams or Illustrations 

Visual thinking is extremely valuable in facilitating conceptualization and creativity, according to James Adams in Conceptual Blockbusting (1986, p.88). 

Try creating diagrams or illustrations to represent the ideas you are working with. In so doing you may clarify your thinking and come up with new ideas. 

Don’t be concerned about the artistic merit of your diagrams or drawings. The point is to liberate your imagination and thinking by representing the material in a new way. This can help you design and write your paper or presentation. 

For more about using diagrams (or "clusters") as an aid to writing and creativity, read Gabriele Rico's excellent book Writing the Natural Way (1983). 

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Create an Outline 

Put your notes and ideas in sequence by creating an outline.  An outline is essential for organizing your material. 

An outline should not make the writing process feel constrained or unnatural. Feel free to modify your outline as you go along. 
 
Note: Some word processing programs include an integrated outliner. This valuable feature allows you to quickly restructure your document and immediately see the results. 

After you have created an outline you can focus on individual pieces of content without having to worry too much about how each piece will fit in with all the other pieces. 

If you are creating a multimedia or web-based presentation, convert your outline into a storyboard or prototype. For example, you could create a prototype that shows the screens the user will see, with the major headings and visual elements. 

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Write a Draft 

Don’t worry about perfection in writing your draft. You can correct errors later when you edit your work. If you are too concerned with getting everything perfect before putting it on paper, you may find it difficult to write anything at all. 

The notes you already created make up the bulk of your first draft. The main task that remains is to write transitions between notes (Atchity, 1986, p. 91). Depending on how detailed your notes are, you may also need to write passages that expand on their content. 

Transitions link one note to another, so that your text flows in a natural way that shows how the chunks of information and ideas are related to each other. 
 

Write transitions between related notes. This will result in several groups of  notes and transitions.

 

Combine the groups in a sequence based on your outline.

 

Once you have completed a draft, take a break. Getting away from the work for a day or two will be refreshing and help you be more effective when you come back to edit your draft. 

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Edit and Revise 

Carefully review your draft and make improvements and corrections. If you know a good editor, have that person take a look at your draft as well. It helps to have another pair of eyes review your work. 
 

Review the content. Look for the same things you look for in evaluating a source, including credibility, accuracy, and significance. Are there errors, omissions, or weak arguments that you can improve?

 

Review the writing and design.  Is it readable and understandable? Are there problems with grammar or spelling? Does the organization make sense? Is it  wordy or redundant? Is it aesthetically appealing? 

 

Verify the accuracy of all quotations, and make sure all references are listed according to appropriate style guidelines. (Check with your instructor if you aren’t sure which style guidelines to use.) 

 

Consider doing a usability test. Have someone who belongs to your target audience look at your work. Listen to their feedback and incorporate any valuable suggestions. 

 

Proof your final document or product. Run a spelling check with your word processor. Check for any mistakes you may have made in entering revisions.

 

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Step 8 Outcomes 

Diagrams or illustrations 

Outline or prototype 

Draft 

Finished product 

Satisfaction of a job well done! 

Health Sciences Library / HSL Instructional Modules  
Evaluating Online Information