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Drafting and Revising

• Drafting • Revising • Assignment • Internet Resources

Drafting could be described as giving yourself the freedom to write poorly.

This approach worked for Larry Gelbart. In an interview with the New York Times, he explained how he wrote episodes of M*A*S*H:

''First, you get the idea. It may germinate for a long time or it just pops into your head. And then you work out a structure. And when you feel confident enough, you start to write. And you have to allow yourself the liberty of writing poorly."

What does Gelbart mean by "writing poorly"? He had to write a TV sitcom every week, so why didn't he try for perfection the first time?

" You have to get the bulk of it done, and then you start to refine it," he believes. "You have to put down less than marvelous material just to keep going to whatever you think the end is going to be—which may be something else altogether by the time you get there."

Drafting is the process of "put(ting) down less than marvelous material." In the process, you may get new ideas. Just go with the flow. You can always polish after you've discovered what you want to say.

Writer Anne Lamott suggests that the first draft is the down draft, aimed at getting ideas down; the second draft is the up draft, which fixes up any obvious problems; the final draft is the dental draft, which inspects and polishes.

If you're having trouble finishing your draft, here are some things to try:

• bribery: promise yourself a reward: After I write one page, I can...
• focus: Piers Steel found that procrastinators tend to prefer short-term gains over long-term goals. Remind yourself of what you'll gain from getting the draft done.
• chunking: if a task seems overwhelming, break it into smaller pieces and tackle just the first step
• switch gears: if writing paragraphs seems like torture, create your cover page or start your list of references. Once you see progress, you'll find it easier to get going.
• pacing: taking breaks is actually more productive than forcing yourself to work without stopping. Try Merlin's Procrastination Hack: '(10+2)*5
• threats: if you can't motivate yourself, let Dr. Wicked's Write or Die do it for you. (You set the word/time goals and the threat level. Kamikaze Mode, anyone?)

Internet Resources for Developing a Draft

Drafting

	Getting Ideas (Webster CC)
	Developing a Research Question (Empire State)
	The Question Is the Answer (McKenzie)
	How to Create a Concept Map (Utah State)
	Why Can't I Write? Some Advice on Drafting (RLC)
	Introductions (.doc)
	Two Styles of Drafting: Fast vs. Slow (Williams & McEnerney)
	P.I.E. Paragraph Structure (Merritt College)

Revising

	All Good Writing Is Rewriting (Nordquist)
	Questions for Revision (Purdue OWL)
	Revising (UNC)
	Global and Local Perspectives (POWA)
	Revision Strategies (OhioLINK)
	Revising the Draft (Harvard)
	Online Technical Writing: Planning Reports—Outlining (advanced topics such as eliminating one-line entries and comparing the outline to the draft; McMurrey)
	Power-Revision Techniques (McMurrey)
	Proofreading Strategies (Merritt College)
	A Strategy for Analyzing and Revising a First Draft (Williams & McEnerney)
	Rejecting Our First Draft Culture: Strategies for Revision (Scanlan)

Class Materials

	Rubrics and models on KU-ACE
	Introductions (.doc)
	Hooks & Clinchers directions
	Hooks & Clinchers handout