Writing under pressure: the quick writing process

Publisher's description: Most writing is done under pressure. An executive has to produce a three-page position paper by tomorrow at nine. A department head suddenly has to write a one-page action memo by noon. A graduate student has a twenty-page research paper due in a week. Or a sophomore has to answer four essay questions for a three-hour exam. Indeed, most students and professionals write under pressure--limited time, limited space, a supervisor or instructor to please--yet few approach the task systematically. In Writing Under Pressure, Sanford Kaye provides a system--the Quick Writing Process (QWP)--that focuses on real-world writing tasks and shows how to produce the clearest, most honest, most powerful work possible under the constraints of time and space. A writing instructor with twenty-five year's experience teaching students and professionals in business and government, Kaye shows writers how to budget time--how much time to allot to planning, generating material, drafting and polishing to get the meaning they are after--and how to use this time efficiently. In addition, he discusses particular writing situations in which Qwp can be applied to make the most of what the writer knows. For instance, he shows how to take exams, revealing how instructors select questions and evaluate essays. He also considers writing in business and government, featuring an insightful analysis of a memo by Colonel Oliver North that highlights one of the most important issues writers in business and government face: whether to write the truth as they see it or simply what their boss wants to hear. Kaye shows how to break through the stifling organizational codes and write memos and position papers that count. Most guides to writing ignore the constraints of time and space. In Writing Under Pressure, Sanford Kaye tackles these problems head on, making this volume an essential reference for students, businessmen, and government officials--for anyone faced with a difficult writing assignment that has to be done now.

Part 1: QWP: The Quick Writing Process: -- 1: Preparing -- Drawing a blank -- Reader's questions -- Writer's question -- Representation -- Chapter 2: Planning And Generating: -- Pressures -- Writer's commitment -- Generating a provisional thesis and because-clauses -- Commentary on generating the because-clauses -- Chapter 3: Time and space: -- QWP timetable related to structure -- Developing the QWP model for my position paper -- Chapter 4: Generating the argument-outline: -- Analyzing what to keep -- Discovering what's left out -- Argument-outline -- Developing QWP model -- Chapter 5: Producing the raw draft: -- Overcoming the anxiety the revising -- Freeing the figure from the stone: an overview -- Cutting the raw draft down to size -- Commentary on the first cuts -- When and how to use feedback -- Chapter 6: Producing the roughly final draft: -- Unifying the cut draft -- Improving the roughly final draft -- Proofreading -- Chapter 7: Producing the final draft: -- Final product -- Writing blues -- Real and imaginary readers -- Chapter 8: Integrated QWP system: -- QWP model -- Integrating the QWP system -- Adapting QWP to your own needs -- Part 2: Writer Under Pressure: -- Chapt…