There is no widely accepted definition for the process approach to writing. Brown summarises the features of process writing as follows:

(1) Focus on the process of writing that leads to the final written product;
(2) Help student writers understand their own composing process;
(3) Help them build repertoires of strategies for prewriting, drafting, and rewriting;
(4) Give students time to write and rewrite;
(5) Place central importance on the process of revision;
(6) Let students discover what they want to say as they write;
(7) Give students feedback throughout the composing process (not just on the final product) to consider as they attempt to bring their expression closer and closer to intention;
(8) Encourage feedback both from the instructor and peers;
(9) Include individual conferences between teacher and student during the process of composition.
In other words, writing activities should serve to encourage a process of brainstorming, drafting, writing, feedback, revising and editing, which proceeds in a cyclical fashion resembling the writing process of a real writer. These types of activities should 'encourage the idea that learning to write is more important than creating a final product; it is the learning of a series skills leading to that product.’
The process approach to writing does not only pay attention to what students do while they are writing, it also attaches great importance to what they and the teacher do before they start writing and after they finish writing. The main procedures of process writing include creating a motivation to write, brainstorming, mapping, freewriting, outlining, drafting, editing, revising, proofreading and conferencing.