The super-secret academic writing process involves six steps:

1. Research to gather data. Usually this means finding sources, reading and taking careful notes. However, data can also be collected other ways.

2. Pre-drafting. As the name implies, this is what is done before writing the first draft. This involves things such as planning, creating outlines, talking with others, generating ideas, or finding structure.

3. First-draft. This is the first attempt to get ideas on the page.

4. Revise. This is the heart of the writing process. Here the writer rereads, reshapes, gets feedback, and revises many times.

5. Editing. Editing should occur only after a piece has been revised several times. Here the writer looks for spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.

6. Share. This is the very last step. This is where the paper is sent out into the world.