This study sought to examine the pre-task planning and post-task revising practices of adults with low literacy and how those practices affect overall writing quality. Seventy-six adults with low literacy composed essays in response to a prompt and were given time for pre-task planning and post-task revising. Results showed that participants with higher planning skills were able to utilize planning and revising processes to increase the detail included in their compositions while potentially streamlining the language contained therein. Writers with lower planning skills, in contrast, focused on lower level aspects of writing (e.g., word choice) and were unable to make use of the more demanding processes of planning and revising to improve their compositions. These findings suggest a hierarchical development of writing skills and the possibility of sacrifices in certain areas of the writing process as writers focus on other areas. Practical implications for practitioners are discussed.