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A First Draft of Essay

A first draft is a rough sketch of the key ideas and arguments in an essay. It allows writers to elaborate on their outline and give their points initial form before revision. While not requiring meticulous attention to detail, the first draft is an essential stage of writing that shapes how ideas are expressed. Writers should focus on transferring their outline points to prose without editing, and leave revision for subsequent drafts after stepping away from the work.

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171 views3 pages

A First Draft of Essay

A first draft is a rough sketch of the key ideas and arguments in an essay. It allows writers to elaborate on their outline and give their points initial form before revision. While not requiring meticulous attention to detail, the first draft is an essential stage of writing that shapes how ideas are expressed. Writers should focus on transferring their outline points to prose without editing, and leave revision for subsequent drafts after stepping away from the work.

Uploaded by

usama ijaz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A first draft is a rough sketch of your future

piece of writing. Sometimes your first draft may become the final one due to
it being rather satisfactory, but in most cases, it requires further work. A first
draft is a way to elaborate on the main points of your essay stated in your
outline, giving them a sample form. It may seem paradoxical, but while
being one of the most important stages of the writing process, most first
drafts don’t require a tremendous attention to detail.

Steps for Writing a First Draft of an Essay

1. Take a closer look at your assignment and the topic if it was given to
you by your instructor. Revise your outline as well. This is needed for your
clearer understanding of the tasks you must accomplish within the draft, and
to make sure you meet the requirements of the assignment.
2. Sketch out the introduction of your essay. At this point, don’t get stalled
on form; introductory part should inform readers about what the topic is, and
state your point of view according to this topic. The introduction should also be
interesting to read to capture readers’ attention, but this task has more to do
with thoughtful and scrupulous writing, and thus should be left for later.
3. Based on your outline, start transferring your ideas to paper. The main
task here is to give them the initial form and set a general direction for their
further development, and not to write a full paper.
4. Chalk out the summarizing paragraph of your essay. It should not
contain any new ideas, but briefly reintroduce those from the main body, and
restate your thesis statement.
5. Read through the draft to see if you have included the information you
wanted to, but without making any further corrections, since this is a task for
the second and final drafts.

Key Points to Consider

1. While an outline is needed to decide on what to write, the first draft is


more about answering a question: “How to write?” In the first draft, you shape
your ideas out, and not simply name and list them, as you did in an outline.
2. When you start writing your thoughts down, it may happen that one idea
or concept sparks new connections, memories, or associations. Be attentive
to such sidetracks; choose those of them that might be useful for your writing,
and don’t delve in those that are undesirable in terms of the purpose of your
paper (academic, showing opinion). A successful piece of writing is focused
on its topic, and doesn’t include everything you have to say on a subject.
3. Making notes for yourself in the margins or even in the middle of the text
is a useful practice. This can save you time and keep you focused on the
essence of your essay without being distracted by secondary details. For
example, such notes could look like this: “As documented, the Vietnam War
cost the United States about … (search for the exact sum of money and
interpret it in terms of modern exchange rates) U. S. dollars.”
4. When you finish crafting your first draft, it is useful to put it aside and
completely quit thinking about writing for a certain period of time. Time away
will allow you to have a fresh look at your draft when you decide to revise it.

Do and Don’t

Do Don’t
Do revise your first draft if it looks too Don’t pay too much attention to
long. Indeed, if your first draft is lengthy— punctuation, grammar, spelling, word choice,
which is actually a rough sketch—imagine how style of writing, and other minor peculiarities
long your paper will become if you expand on which completely don’t matter in the first draft;
each idea chalked out and fill it with factual your thoughts on the subject is what matters at
data. this point.
Do reread the draft several times and Don’t write your thoughts down in
return to the requirements of your assignment details. Usually it is enough to write down a
and topic if you feel you are getting stalled. Use couple of concise sentences to be able to return
brainstorming techniques to get out of writer’s to a certain idea later without losing the
block. discourse.
Do leave empty space in the text when Don’t consider crafting a first draft of an
writing. It may happen that you come across essay as unnecessary. Even if you have an
certain details that are necessary for your essay, outline written, a draft is still necessary; while
but can be left out at the moment. To avoid an outline helps you to figure out what to write
being distracted by thoughts that are not about, the first draft can help you understand
connected with your focus, leave blank space in how to write. The first draft helps you to shape
their place—you will be able to return to them out your thoughts, and thus is a crucial part of
later. the essay writing process.
Do set a time limit for yourself. A Don’t wait for a special occasion to
reasonable deadline will help you work more come for inspiration to draft your essay. You
intensely and make everything in time, and at may feel discouraged, but treat it as “do or die.”
the same time you will avoid overworking and Otherwise, you will constantly find
intellectual exhaustion. justifications for doing nothing.
Do write the first draft as rapidly as you
can. This point refers to the procedure of writing
itself. When you stop to think over a certain
phrase, you will most likely dig into details,
analysis, and comparisons; you will start seeking
for the best option for this particular phrase, thus
forgetting about the rest of the draft.

Common Mistakes When Writing a First Draft of an Essay

– Editing and revising a draft in process of writing. If you stop after each
sentence to think it over, you will most likely lose your flow; besides, many
people have an internal editor or critic who can’t stand it if the material is
written imperfectly. Therefore, first you should deal with the whole draft,
and only after that proofread and edit it.

– Paying too much attention to secondary arguments, factual material, and


other minor peculiarities. The main goal of the first draft is to sketch out
your main ideas; you can fill it with details later. If you think you will forget
about an important fact or remark, make brief notes in margins.

– Ignoring the role of a first draft in the essay writing process. Though it
may seem you are wasting time working on a draft, you are working on the
essay itself. You need to understand how your outline works in full written
form.

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