#Rough draft writing how to

It’s your billboard and it answers these two questions: What is this paper about? What all can I expect to find here? Your supporting points expand on this. Your thesis statement belongs nearer the end of your introduction statement and it works with your key points.

The thesis statement is the big deal, the summarized core, the banana in your banana spit sundae.

#Rough draft writing how to

You want one.įor more information, see this article about how to write a thesis statement. Response paper, you want to give a thesis statement and list the key points you are using so that the reader has some clues as to what is going to happen.Ībout that handy thesis statement. Your introduction is like a map: it tells your readers where you are going and what they can expect to gain from reading your paper. Each body paragraph will talk about a support from the text, lectures, or peer groups, all working together beautifully when writing academic papers. Your introduction and conclusion will have your thesis on Katerina. We’ll talk more about building them later. You want to write about why they support your thesis and if you’ve further developed these supports in class or in peer groups. These few instances are your body paragraphs. You want to take one main point from the book.įor instance: “I think that in Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew, Katerina pulls a fast one over Petruchio by ultimately making the unwanted arranged wedding work in her favor.” All you need now are a few instances that support your opinion for the wonderful Katerina. Expand as much as you can now, you can edit out excess out of your rough draft later. You’re good to go, my friend, write paragraphs on those key points that support your thesis. You have picked three or four points you want to write about.You have great notes and/or a good outline.You have learned more about the class, various opinions and interpretations from classroom discussion or peer groups.If the idea of writing a body paragraph makes your heart sad, remember: if you’ve been playing along, you’re more than prepared, by now. You can always save the introduction for later. If you write the body paragraphs though, you know exactly where your paper is going. However, it’s hard to write that map if you aren’t totally sure yet what direction your paper is taking. Your introduction and conclusion are very closely related, they work like a map that guides your readers. I remember once and I’ll never forget when I was in college and meandering the halls, I stopped and heard a professor say to a student: “When you’re writing academic papers, and no one ever tells you this, and most people won’t think of it on their own, but no one said you had to start at the beginning.” It may well behoove you to write the body of your paper first. You’re writing a rough draft, it is not time to polish anything yet. I’m not saying you’ll be writing gems and pearls of words, but you will have something. Odds are you’ll find that once you start writing and putting words and thoughts together on paper – keeping an eye on your notes and outline – you may just be surprised. Step 2: Write - It’s not where you start it’s that you start. You do not have to write the introduction first.

Remember this and feel the stress leave your poor, frazzled mind: No one said you had to start at the beginning. It can be very confusing and potentially overwhelming. Step 1: Look at your notes, then look at a white screen, then your notes, then a white screen. Order & Organization: No One Said You Had To Start At The Beginning: Your rough draft should take the shape of: You want to take one key idea (this turns into your thesis statement, and is found near the end of your introduction) from your outline and have three or four supports (these turn into body paragraphs). Here you’re taking your outline and expanding on it. The rest is artifice, and we’ll talk about that more later. Your purpose with the first draft is to take all the response stuff in your head (and hopefully in your outline) and turn it into an organized, intelligent paper. (Whee!) It’s Called A “Rough” Draft For A Reason: (Whew!)įrom the outlines comes your first draft.

If you played along with the pre-writing series, you’ve learned some important key words, then read your book and taken notes, talking about the book in class and then re-examined your notes, adapted them as necessary and created an outline. In this part I’m going to help you get over the fear of the white screen and turn the ideas in your head into a rough draft. The key word of response paper is “respond” and you think: “That’s no big deal,” but it feels different when you’re looking at the white, blank screen of your computer.