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Rough Drafting: Get Words Down

Getting the first draft written can be a struggle. Let's explore practical guidance and tailored strategies to enhance your rough drafting game.

The priority: make words happen

Many students feel self-conscious or even ashamed when their work is in a rough state. They want their writing to be engaging, logically structured, and well supported from the very first attempt. That's a nice fantasy, but in reality, those unrealistic expectations can lead to procrastination and writing anxiety.

'Whether it's a vignette of a single page or an epic trilogy like The Lord of the Rings, the work is always accomplished one word at a time.' – Stephen King ¹

To state it rather unacademically, when we produce a first draft, our goal is to make words happen. That's it. Our goals shift as we get deeper into the process: as we transform that first draft into a second draft or the second into a third, we begin to make structural changes, refine our arguments, incorporate additional evidence, and more.

The rough draft, though? Again, this is simply where you make words happen.

¹ King, S. (2000) On writing: a memoir of the craft. New York: Scribner.

Find your bearings

For most people, the writing process begins with activities like research/reading, invention, planning, and just plain thinking. Amidst all those activities, writers sometimes lose track of the assignment's specific aims. Therefore, when you sit down to begin your draft, carefully re-read the assignment prompt, first.

  • Do your rough plans and ideas align with the stated goals?
  • Do you understand the key content/literature well enough to begin writing? (You don't need to be 100% finished with your research – focus on whether you know enough to make a meaningful start.)

Next, study any invention or planning items you have completed (e.g. mind maps, outlines, bulleted lists, and so on). Even writers who prefer to dive right in might benefit from jotting down a few important moves they plan to make in the draft (i.e., 'Define theory of XYZ'; 'Analyse the two case studies'; 'Explain method used').

Finally, choose a general starting point for your drafting: it does not have to be the beginning! You might find it easiest to begin with the introduction, but many people prefer to draft the body of the essay first.

Top tip: When finishing up your drafting for the day, make a note of where you will begin the next time you sit down to write. Annotate your outline to show what you have drafted and what points still remain.

Embracing the chaos of an imperfect rough draft can benefit your writing. Accepting this premise in theory is a start, but putting it into practice is trickier – to help you out, in the next sections, we will cover practical tips and approaches to move deeper into your rough draft.