Drafting is the first step in the writing process. What is drafting? To draft is to put the raw material for your paper "on the table" or onto the page (or electronic file).

When I am preparing a meal, the first thing I do is assemble ingredients for everything I will cook. If I am making spaghetti, I get out the meat, tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, and spices. I also decide whether I will serve cornbread or rolls with my spaghetti. There is no way I can prepare spaghetti unless I first get my ingredients together.

The purpose of a rough draft is to provide raw material for you to revise. A draft may be compared to the ingredients for my spaghetti. Once your rough draft is completed you can organize it by grouping ideas together under subtopics. I organize the ingredients, simmering tomato sauce and spices together while cooking pasta separately.

A rough draft should be "right brain activity," and purely creative. Go creatively crazy! Don't allow your "left brain" to be a grammar cop until you reach the editing step, which comes later in the process. Don't worry about spelling and grammar mistakes until the final edit. A draft is meant to be flexible. It will not resemble your finished paper in most cases.

Q. 1Describe your own drafting process. What is the purpose of a rough draft? Write 4-5 sentences.

Many students begin by researching the topic. THIS IS NOT THE CORRECT APPROACH!

You must avoid plagiarism at all costs. Once you have read through research material, it is almost impossible not to allow that material to influence your draft. We will cover this point more thoroughly later in the semester.

Begin by listing your own ideas about your topic. In order to produce a successful first draft, you must find a connection between your own knowledge and the topic. This is your unique perspective or point of view.

You will be assigned a subject, but you must arrive at a specific topic for each assignment. In essence, you must be in the driver's seat as you choose an individual topic! Your topic should fit you like a glove and should disclose the overall subject through the individualized lens of your personal perspective.

Q. 2How can you transform a subject into a workable topic for your paper? Write 4-5 sentences.

You cannot draft about something you don't know about. How can you get over that hurdle?

You MUST tailor your topic to fit YOU. For instance, if I were assigned a paper on sky-diving, I would be forced to assume the stance of a "curious seeker of information." I have never been sky-diving!   : )

I would begin by drafting about my own lack of familiarity with the subject and then about my subsequent research process. My rough draft would consist of a "frame" into which I could drop quotes about skydiving.

Q. 3Describe the draft of a research paper which presents the writer as a "curious seeker of information." Write 4-5 sentences.

Once you have listed ideas for your paper, choose 3 or 4 of the most important ones. These will be your subtopics. In order to be successful, a paper must be well-organized and must have subtopics. An informal outline, like a cluster, is an efficient way to organize your ideas.When you draft you get the raw material for your paper "on the table" or onto the page or computer screen. Try to get as much length as possible in your initial draft. Then, you will be able to shape your paper and delete excess material without coming up short. To adjust the length of your paper, simply add more subtopics.

Q. 4Describe the process of selecting subtopics. How important are subtopics to a well-organized paper? Write 4-5 sentences.This may be the first time some have considered drafting before conducting research. In order to make this work, you must start with a topic you know something about, and then segue into your research material. Create a "frame" into which you can fit the research material. A rough draft is raw material; when it has been organized, it becomes a revised draft. You will eventually plug pertinent research material into your revised rough draft just as you place a drawing into a frame.

The introduction and conclusion will be easy to draft once you have worked out the order of ideas in your paper. They are nearly impossible to complete until you have done so!

Q. 5What will be included in your introduction and conclusion? What will be left out? Write 2-3 sentences.