what does drafting an essay mean

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8.3 Drafting

Learning objectives.

• Identify drafting strategies that improve writing.
• Use drafting strategies to prepare the first draft of an essay.

Drafting is the stage of the writing process in which you develop a complete first version of a piece of writing.

Even professional writers admit that an empty page scares them because they feel they need to come up with something fresh and original every time they open a blank document on their computers. Because you have completed the first two steps in the writing process, you have already recovered from empty page syndrome. You have hours of prewriting and planning already done. You know what will go on that blank page: what you wrote in your outline.

Getting Started: Strategies For Drafting

Your objective for this portion of Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” is to draft the body paragraphs of a standard five-paragraph essay. A five-paragraph essay contains an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. If you are more comfortable starting on paper than on the computer, you can start on paper and then type it before you revise. You can also use a voice recorder to get yourself started, dictating a paragraph or two to get you thinking. In this lesson, Mariah does all her work on the computer, but you may use pen and paper or the computer to write a rough draft.

Making the Writing Process Work for You

What makes the writing process so beneficial to writers is that it encourages alternatives to standard practices while motivating you to develop your best ideas. For instance, the following approaches, done alone or in combination with others, may improve your writing and help you move forward in the writing process:

• Begin writing with the part you know the most about. You can start with the third paragraph in your outline if ideas come easily to mind. You can start with the second paragraph or the first paragraph, too. Although paragraphs may vary in length, keep in mind that short paragraphs may contain insufficient support. Readers may also think the writing is abrupt. Long paragraphs may be wordy and may lose your reader’s interest. As a guideline, try to write paragraphs longer than one sentence but shorter than the length of an entire double-spaced page.
• Write one paragraph at a time and then stop. As long as you complete the assignment on time, you may choose how many paragraphs you complete in one sitting. Pace yourself. On the other hand, try not to procrastinate. Writers should always meet their deadlines.
• Take short breaks to refresh your mind. This tip might be most useful if you are writing a multipage report or essay. Still, if you are antsy or cannot concentrate, take a break to let your mind rest. But do not let breaks extend too long. If you spend too much time away from your essay, you may have trouble starting again. You may forget key points or lose momentum. Try setting an alarm to limit your break, and when the time is up, return to your desk to write.
• Be reasonable with your goals. If you decide to take ten-minute breaks, try to stick to that goal. If you told yourself that you need more facts, then commit to finding them. Holding yourself to your own goals will create successful writing assignments.
• Keep your audience and purpose in mind as you write. These aspects of writing are just as important when you are writing a single paragraph for your essay as when you are considering the direction of the entire essay.

Of all of these considerations, keeping your purpose and your audience at the front of your mind is the most important key to writing success. If your purpose is to persuade, for example, you will present your facts and details in the most logical and convincing way you can.

Your purpose will guide your mind as you compose your sentences. Your audience will guide word choice. Are you writing for experts, for a general audience, for other college students, or for people who know very little about your topic? Keep asking yourself what your readers, with their background and experience, need to be told in order to understand your ideas. How can you best express your ideas so they are totally clear and your communication is effective?

You may want to identify your purpose and audience on an index card that you clip to your paper (or keep next to your computer). On that card, you may want to write notes to yourself—perhaps about what that audience might not know or what it needs to know—so that you will be sure to address those issues when you write. It may be a good idea to also state exactly what you want to explain to that audience, or to inform them of, or to persuade them about.

Writing at Work

Many of the documents you produce at work target a particular audience for a particular purpose. You may find that it is highly advantageous to know as much as you can about your target audience and to prepare your message to reach that audience, even if the audience is a coworker or your boss. Menu language is a common example. Descriptions like “organic romaine” and “free-range chicken” are intended to appeal to a certain type of customer though perhaps not to the same customer who craves a thick steak. Similarly, mail-order companies research the demographics of the people who buy their merchandise. Successful vendors customize product descriptions in catalogs to appeal to their buyers’ tastes. For example, the product descriptions in a skateboarder catalog will differ from the descriptions in a clothing catalog for mature adults.

Using the topic for the essay that you outlined in Section 8.2 “Outlining” , describe your purpose and your audience as specifically as you can. Use your own sheet of paper to record your responses. Then keep these responses near you during future stages of the writing process.

My purpose: ____________________________________________

____________________________________________

My audience: ____________________________________________

Setting Goals for Your First Draft

A draft is a complete version of a piece of writing, but it is not the final version. The step in the writing process after drafting, as you may remember, is revising. During revising, you will have the opportunity to make changes to your first draft before you put the finishing touches on it during the editing and proofreading stage. A first draft gives you a working version that you can later improve.

Workplace writing in certain environments is done by teams of writers who collaborate on the planning, writing, and revising of documents, such as long reports, technical manuals, and the results of scientific research. Collaborators do not need to be in the same room, the same building, or even the same city. Many collaborations are conducted over the Internet.

In a perfect collaboration, each contributor has the right to add, edit, and delete text. Strong communication skills, in addition to strong writing skills, are important in this kind of writing situation because disagreements over style, content, process, emphasis, and other issues may arise.

The collaborative software, or document management systems, that groups use to work on common projects is sometimes called groupware or workgroup support systems.

The reviewing tool on some word-processing programs also gives you access to a collaborative tool that many smaller workgroups use when they exchange documents. You can also use it to leave comments to yourself.

If you invest some time now to investigate how the reviewing tool in your word processor works, you will be able to use it with confidence during the revision stage of the writing process. Then, when you start to revise, set your reviewing tool to track any changes you make, so you will be able to tinker with text and commit only those final changes you want to keep.

Discovering the Basic Elements of a First Draft

If you have been using the information in this chapter step by step to help you develop an assignment, you already have both a formal topic outline and a formal sentence outline to direct your writing. Knowing what a first draft looks like will help you make the creative leap from the outline to the first draft. A first draft should include the following elements:

• An introduction that piques the audience’s interest, tells what the essay is about, and motivates readers to keep reading.
• A thesis statement that presents the main point, or controlling idea, of the entire piece of writing.
• A topic sentence in each paragraph that states the main idea of the paragraph and implies how that main idea connects to the thesis statement.
• Supporting sentences in each paragraph that develop or explain the topic sentence. These can be specific facts, examples, anecdotes, or other details that elaborate on the topic sentence.
• A conclusion that reinforces the thesis statement and leaves the audience with a feeling of completion.

These elements follow the standard five-paragraph essay format, which you probably first encountered in high school. This basic format is valid for most essays you will write in college, even much longer ones. For now, however, Mariah focuses on writing the three body paragraphs from her outline. Chapter 9 “Writing Essays: From Start to Finish” covers writing introductions and conclusions, and you will read Mariah’s introduction and conclusion in Chapter 9 “Writing Essays: From Start to Finish” .

The Role of Topic Sentences

Topic sentences make the structure of a text and the writer’s basic arguments easy to locate and comprehend. In college writing, using a topic sentence in each paragraph of the essay is the standard rule. However, the topic sentence does not always have to be the first sentence in your paragraph even if it the first item in your formal outline.

When you begin to draft your paragraphs, you should follow your outline fairly closely. After all, you spent valuable time developing those ideas. However, as you begin to express your ideas in complete sentences, it might strike you that the topic sentence might work better at the end of the paragraph or in the middle. Try it. Writing a draft, by its nature, is a good time for experimentation.

The topic sentence can be the first, middle, or final sentence in a paragraph. The assignment’s audience and purpose will often determine where a topic sentence belongs. When the purpose of the assignment is to persuade, for example, the topic sentence should be the first sentence in a paragraph. In a persuasive essay, the writer’s point of view should be clearly expressed at the beginning of each paragraph.

Choosing where to position the topic sentence depends not only on your audience and purpose but also on the essay’s arrangement, or order. When you organize information according to order of importance, the topic sentence may be the final sentence in a paragraph. All the supporting sentences build up to the topic sentence. Chronological order may also position the topic sentence as the final sentence because the controlling idea of the paragraph may make the most sense at the end of a sequence.

When you organize information according to spatial order, a topic sentence may appear as the middle sentence in a paragraph. An essay arranged by spatial order often contains paragraphs that begin with descriptions. A reader may first need a visual in his or her mind before understanding the development of the paragraph. When the topic sentence is in the middle, it unites the details that come before it with the ones that come after it.

As you read critically throughout the writing process, keep topic sentences in mind. You may discover topic sentences that are not always located at the beginning of a paragraph. For example, fiction writers customarily use topic ideas, either expressed or implied, to move readers through their texts. In nonfiction writing, such as popular magazines, topic sentences are often used when the author thinks it is appropriate (based on the audience and the purpose, of course). A single topic sentence might even control the development of a number of paragraphs. For more information on topic sentences, please see Chapter 6 “Writing Paragraphs: Separating Ideas and Shaping Content” .

Developing topic sentences and thinking about their placement in a paragraph will prepare you to write the rest of the paragraph.

The paragraph is the main structural component of an essay as well as other forms of writing. Each paragraph of an essay adds another related main idea to support the writer’s thesis, or controlling idea. Each related main idea is supported and developed with facts, examples, and other details that explain it. By exploring and refining one main idea at a time, writers build a strong case for their thesis.

Paragraph Length

How long should a paragraph be?

One answer to this important question may be “long enough”—long enough for you to address your points and explain your main idea. To grab attention or to present succinct supporting ideas, a paragraph can be fairly short and consist of two to three sentences. A paragraph in a complex essay about some abstract point in philosophy or archaeology can be three-quarters of a page or more in length. As long as the writer maintains close focus on the topic and does not ramble, a long paragraph is acceptable in college-level writing. In general, try to keep the paragraphs longer than one sentence but shorter than one full page of double-spaced text.

Journalistic style often calls for brief two- or three-sentence paragraphs because of how people read the news, both online and in print. Blogs and other online information sources often adopt this paragraphing style, too. Readers often skim the first paragraphs of a great many articles before settling on the handful of stories they want to read in detail.

You may find that a particular paragraph you write may be longer than one that will hold your audience’s interest. In such cases, you should divide the paragraph into two or more shorter paragraphs, adding a topic statement or some kind of transitional word or phrase at the start of the new paragraph. Transition words or phrases show the connection between the two ideas.

In all cases, however, be guided by what you instructor wants and expects to find in your draft. Many instructors will expect you to develop a mature college-level style as you progress through the semester’s assignments.

To build your sense of appropriate paragraph length, use the Internet to find examples of the following items. Copy them into a file, identify your sources, and present them to your instructor with your annotations, or notes.

• A news article written in short paragraphs. Take notes on, or annotate, your selection with your observations about the effect of combining paragraphs that develop the same topic idea. Explain how effective those paragraphs would be.
• A long paragraph from a scholarly work that you identify through an academic search engine. Annotate it with your observations about the author’s paragraphing style.

Starting Your First Draft

Now we are finally ready to look over Mariah’s shoulder as she begins to write her essay about digital technology and the confusing choices that consumers face. As she does, you should have in front of you your outline, with its thesis statement and topic sentences, and the notes you wrote earlier in this lesson on your purpose and audience. Reviewing these will put both you and Mariah in the proper mind-set to start.

The following is Mariah’s thesis statement.

Here are the notes that Mariah wrote to herself to characterize her purpose and audience.

Mariah chose to begin by writing a quick introduction based on her thesis statement. She knew that she would want to improve her introduction significantly when she revised. Right now, she just wanted to give herself a starting point. You will read her introduction again in Section 8.4 “Revising and Editing” when she revises it.

Remember Mariah’s other options. She could have started directly with any of the body paragraphs.

You will learn more about writing attention-getting introductions and effective conclusions in Chapter 9 “Writing Essays: From Start to Finish” .

With her thesis statement and her purpose and audience notes in front of her, Mariah then looked at her sentence outline. She chose to use that outline because it includes the topic sentences. The following is the portion of her outline for the first body paragraph. The roman numeral II identifies the topic sentence for the paragraph, capital letters indicate supporting details, and arabic numerals label subpoints.

Mariah then began to expand the ideas in her outline into a paragraph. Notice how the outline helped her guarantee that all her sentences in the body of the paragraph develop the topic sentence.

If you write your first draft on the computer, consider creating a new file folder for each course with a set of subfolders inside the course folders for each assignment you are given. Label the folders clearly with the course names, and label each assignment folder and word processing document with a title that you will easily recognize. The assignment name is a good choice for the document. Then use that subfolder to store all the drafts you create. When you start each new draft, do not just write over the last one. Instead, save the draft with a new tag after the title—draft 1, draft 2, and so on—so that you will have a complete history of drafts in case your instructor wishes you to submit them.

In your documents, observe any formatting requirements—for margins, headers, placement of page numbers, and other layout matters—that your instructor requires.

Study how Mariah made the transition from her sentence outline to her first draft. First, copy her outline onto your own sheet of paper. Leave a few spaces between each part of the outline. Then copy sentences from Mariah’s paragraph to align each sentence with its corresponding entry in her outline.

Continuing the First Draft

Mariah continued writing her essay, moving to the second and third body paragraphs. She had supporting details but no numbered subpoints in her outline, so she had to consult her prewriting notes for specific information to include.

If you decide to take a break between finishing your first body paragraph and starting the next one, do not start writing immediately when you return to your work. Put yourself back in context and in the mood by rereading what you have already written. This is what Mariah did. If she had stopped writing in the middle of writing the paragraph, she could have jotted down some quick notes to herself about what she would write next.

Preceding each body paragraph that Mariah wrote is the appropriate section of her sentence outline. Notice how she expanded roman numeral III from her outline into a first draft of the second body paragraph. As you read, ask yourself how closely she stayed on purpose and how well she paid attention to the needs of her audience.

Mariah then began her third and final body paragraph using roman numeral IV from her outline.

Reread body paragraphs two and three of the essay that Mariah is writing. Then answer the questions on your own sheet of paper.

• In body paragraph two, Mariah decided to develop her paragraph as a nonfiction narrative. Do you agree with her decision? Explain. How else could she have chosen to develop the paragraph? Why is that better?
• Compare the writing styles of paragraphs two and three. What evidence do you have that Mariah was getting tired or running out of steam? What advice would you give her? Why?
• Choose one of these two body paragraphs. Write a version of your own that you think better fits Mariah’s audience and purpose.

Writing a Title

A writer’s best choice for a title is one that alludes to the main point of the entire essay. Like the headline in a newspaper or the big, bold title in a magazine, an essay’s title gives the audience a first peek at the content. If readers like the title, they are likely to keep reading.

Following her outline carefully, Mariah crafted each paragraph of her essay. Moving step by step in the writing process, Mariah finished the draft and even included a brief concluding paragraph (you will read her conclusion in Chapter 9 “Writing Essays: From Start to Finish” ). She then decided, as the final touch for her writing session, to add an engaging title.

Writing Your Own First Draft

Now you may begin your own first draft, if you have not already done so. Follow the suggestions and the guidelines presented in this section.

Key Takeaways

• Make the writing process work for you. Use any and all of the strategies that help you move forward in the writing process.
• Always be aware of your purpose for writing and the needs of your audience. Cater to those needs in every sensible way.
• Remember to include all the key structural parts of an essay: a thesis statement that is part of your introductory paragraph, three or more body paragraphs as described in your outline, and a concluding paragraph. Then add an engaging title to draw in readers.
• Write paragraphs of an appropriate length for your writing assignment. Paragraphs in college-level writing can be a page long, as long as they cover the main topics in your outline.
• Use your topic outline or your sentence outline to guide the development of your paragraphs and the elaboration of your ideas. Each main idea, indicated by a roman numeral in your outline, becomes the topic of a new paragraph. Develop it with the supporting details and the subpoints of those details that you included in your outline.
• Generally speaking, write your introduction and conclusion last, after you have fleshed out the body paragraphs.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

4b. Drafting

Drafting is the point in the writing process at which you compose a complete first version of an essay. There are as many ways to write a first draft as there are essays in the world. Some academic writers begin their drafts with body paragraphs and work backwards to their introduction while others feel the need to develop a solid introduction before launching into the body of the essay.  The best advice offered by most professional writers is to try not to worry too much about how unprepared, disorganized, repetitive, or uninspired a first draft might feel because relatively few of us can sit down and compose an entire essay (or even email) that is ready to be published in a single draft.  As students, it can be easy to overlook the fact that the books and articles we read for class have been revised and edited many times and with the support of many people prior to publication. Your instructors will expect you to perform the role of both writer and editor before turning in your final draft.

As you dive into the drafting stage of the writing process, the following advice may come in handy when you are facing the pressure of deadlines and grades:

Begin with the part of your essay you know the most about or feel least nervous about.

• Having an outline allows you to start with the third, fifth, or second paragraph of an essay without worrying how it will flow with the rest. Your initial paragraphs may vary in length or contain insufficient reasoning or evidence as you draft. Topic sentences, transitions, and other details can be cleaned up later. Be sure to cite sources even if you’re unsure what quotation or other evidence you might include to reduce your formatting time later (and help you avoid unintentional plagiarism).

Just do it!

• Hesitation can be a writer’s worst enemy. Facing a blank page can feel like a climbing to the top of a diving platform and being too wary to jump or being unable to choose a restaurant for dinner.  Although every good writer should be self-critical at times, try to remember that a first draft can be terrible and still be very useful. Try not to look back or doubt your ideas – there will be time for that later. Treat your drafting sessions like freewriting and do not worry about transitions, spelling, punctuation, and other mechanics.

Leave yourself a short note or comment at the end of each writing session .

• Every writer has picked up something they wrote a day or week ago and wondered what the heck they were thinking. Take an extra minute at the end of a writing session to leave yourself a short note or comment to remind yourself where you hope to pick up or anything you need to look up. Notes and comments can also be useful if you feel a sentence in your paragraph may be tangential or incomplete and you want to come back to it later.

Pace yourself and take breaks .

• Essays take time to develop. Hopefully, you can find a place to write where you are comfortable and able to avoid distractions. Turn off your phone and try not to have an internet browser open unless citing evidence.

Be reasonable with your goals .

• Begin each writing session by taking a moment to consider how long you plan to write and what you hope to accomplish. Plan breaks to stretch and rehydrate. Holding yourself to a goal for each session will help you stay on track toward your deadlines and give you a sense of achievement. Rewarding yourself after each successful writing session can be useful motivation as well.

Keep your audience, purpose, and task requirements in mind .

• By the time we get several paragraphs or hours into a writing task, we can become so attached to our own ideas and writing style that we lose track of our audience and purpose. Asking yourself “who will be reading this essay?” and “how will it be assessed?” or “what is my overall purpose?” can help you keep an eye on the big picture. Checking assignment guidelines will help guide your work and help you ensure that your draft meets an instructor or editor’s expectations.

The Value of First Drafts

A first draft is a complete version of a piece of writing, but it is certainly not expected to be the final version. During the revision stage, you will have the opportunity to make all kinds of changes to your first draft before you put the final touches on it during the editing stage. A first draft gives you a complete working version of an essay that is ready to share with peers, writing coaches, instructors, and/or editors that can be improved with revision and editing.

Writing as Inquiry Copyright © 2021 by Kara Clevinger and Stephen Rust is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Introductions & Conclusions

The introduction and conclusion of an essay serve an important purpose: They provide a kind of framing for the body of an essay. That framing helps your audience better understand your writing. The introduction prepares your reader for the ideas that are to come in the body of your essay. The conclusion provides important reminders about key points from the body of your essay and provides you with an important opportunity to leave a lasting impression on your audience.

The following pages will help you develop a strong frame for your essay. You’ll want to write effective introductions and conclusions. After all, they are the first and last impressions your audience will have of your essay.

Introductions

But just because the introduction comes at the beginning, it doesn’t have to be written first. Many writers compose their introductions last, once they are sure of the main points of their essay and have had time to construct a thought-provoking beginning, and a clear, cogent thesis statement.

Introductions Purpose

The introduction has work to do, besides grabbing the reader’s attention. Below are some things to consider about the purposes or the tasks for your introduction and some examples of how you might approach those tasks.

The introduction needs to alert the reader to what the central issue of the paper is.

The introduction is where you provide any important background information the reader should have before getting to the thesis.

The introduction tells why you have written the paper and what the reader should understand about your topic and your perspective.

The introduction tells the reader what to expect and what to look for in your essay.

The thesis statement (typically at the end of the introduction) should clearly state the claim, question, or point of view the writer is putting forth in the paper.

Introductions Strategies

Although there is no one “right” way to write your introduction, there are some common introductory strategies that work well. The strategies below are ones you should consider, especially when you are feeling stuck and having a hard time getting started.

Consider opening with an anecdote, a pithy quotation, an image, question, or startling fact to provoke your reader’s interest. Just make sure that the opening helps put your topic in some useful context for the reader.

Then he nodded and said, “I think it’s good you kept your own name Mom!”

“You do?” I asked, pleased that he understood my reasons.

“Yep, because you don’t look like a Bob.”

Question: The study of anthropology and history reveals that cultures vary in their ideas of moral behavior. Are there any absolutes when it comes to right and wrong?

Overall, your focus in an introduction should be on orienting your reader. Keep in mind journalism’s five Ws: who, what, when, where, why, and add in how. If you answer these questions about your topic in the introduction, then your reader is going to be with you.

Of course, these are just some examples of how you might get your introduction  started , but there should be more to your introduction. Once you have your readers’ attention, you want to provide context for your topic and begin to transition to your  thesis , and don’t forget to include that thesis (usually at or near the end of your introduction).

Conclusions

Any single paper might have a number of conclusions, but as the writer, you must consider who the reader is and the conclusion you want them to reach. For example, is your reader relatively new to your topic? If so, you may want to restate your main points for emphasis as a way of starting the conclusion. (Don’t literally use the same sentence(s) as in your introduction but come up with a comparable way of restating your thesis.) You’ll want to smoothly conclude by showing the judgment you have reached is, in fact, reasonable.

Just restating your thesis isn’t enough. Ideally, you have just taken your reader through a strong, clear argument in which you have provided evidence for your perspective. You want to conclude by  pointing out the importance or worthiness of your topic and argument. You could describe how the world would be different, or people’s lives changed if they ascribed to your perspective, plan, or idea.

You might also  point out the limitations  of the present understanding of your topic, suggest or  recommend future action , study, or research that needs to be done.

If you have written a persuasive paper, hopefully, your readers will be convinced by what you have had to say!

See It in Practice

In this videocast, we check in with our student writer after she has written a rough draft of her introduction to her essay. In the video, she discusses her strategies and explains why she feels she has a good start on her essay.

Ready to Write

Although it’s sometimes easier to write your introduction after having written the body of your essay, if you’re able to draft an introduction as you begin, it can certainly help you get going with your drafting and give you some nice direction as you develop your body paragraphs. With that in mind, try drafting your introduction for your essay using, perhaps, a strategy explored in this section. Don’t forget to consult your assignment one more time to have the requirements fresh in your mind as you begin. Remember, this will be just a rough draft of your introduction, and there will be plenty of time for revision later.

Your conclusion will likely be drafted as you wrap up your essay. Just like your introduction, your conclusion should fit well with the rest of your essay. Be sure to review the lessons here before you begin drafting your conclusion.

Remember to spend some time getting feedback on your introduction and conclusion as well. Many times, professors may not have time to review entire essays before an assignment is due, but they will often be willing to take quick looks at introductions and conclusions. Of course, feedback from your classmates will also help a lot!

THESIS STATEMENTS

A strong thesis statement crystallizes your paper’s argument and, most importantly, it’s  arguable .

This means two things. It goes beyond merely summarizing or describing to stake out an interpretation or position that’s not obvious, and others could challenge for good reasons. It’s also arguable in the literal sense that it can be  argued , or supported through a thoughtful analysis of your sources. If your argument lacks evidence, readers will think your thesis statement is an opinion or belief as opposed to an argument.

It helps to understand why readers value the arguable thesis. What larger purpose does it serve? Your readers will bring a set of expectations to your essay. The better you can anticipate the expectations of your readers, the better you’ll be able to persuade them to entertain seeing things your way.

Academic readers (and readers more generally) read to learn something new. They want to see the writer challenge commonplaces—either everyday assumptions about your object of study or truisms in the scholarly literature. In other words, academic readers want to be surprised so that their thinking shifts or at least becomes more complex by the time they finish reading your essay. Good essays problematize what we think we know and offer an alternative explanation in its place. They leave their reader with a fresh perspective on a problem.

We all bring important past experiences and beliefs to our interpretations of texts, objects, and problems. You can harness these observational powers to engage critically with what you are studying. The key is to be alert to what strikes you as strange, problematic, paradoxical, or puzzling about your object of study. If you can articulate this and a claim in response, you’re well on your way to formulating an arguable thesis in your introduction.

PARTS OF A THESIS SENTENCE

The thesis sentence is the key to most academic writing.

The purpose of academic writing is to offer your own insights, analyses, and ideas—to show not only that you understand the concepts you’re studying, but also that you have thought about those concepts in your own way, agreed or disagreed, or developed your own unique ideas as a result of your analysis. The thesis sentence is the one sentence that encapsulates the result of your thinking, as it offers your main insight or argument in condensed form.

A basic thesis sentence has two main parts:

• Topic:  What you’re writing about
• Angle:  What your main idea is about that topic

Thesis:  A regular exercise regime leads to multiple benefits, both physical and emotional. Topic:  Regular exercise regime

Angle:  Leads to multiple benefits

Thesis:  Adult college students have different experiences than typical, younger college students. Topic:  Adult college students

Angle:  Have different experiences

Thesis:  The economics of television have made the viewing experience challenging for many viewers because shows are not offered regularly, similar programming occurs at the same time, and commercials are rampant. Topic:  Television viewing

Angle:  Challenging because shows shifted, similar programming, and commercials

THESIS ANGLES

Most writers can easily create a topic: television viewing, the Patriot Act, Shakespeare’s  Hamlet . The more difficult part is creating an angle. But the angle is necessary as a means of creating interest and as a means of indicating the type and organization of the information to follow.

Click on each of the thesis angles in the box below that you want to learn more about.

So what about this thesis sentence?

As a reader, you understand intuitively that the information to come will deal with the different types of experiences that adult college students have. But you don’t quite know if the information will deal only with adults, or if it will compare adults’ experiences with those of typical college students. And you don’t quite know what type of information will come first, second, third, etc.

Realize that a thesis sentence offers a range of possibilities for specificity and organization. As a writer, you may opt to pique reader interest by being very specific or not fully specific in your thesis sentence. The point here is that there’s no one standard way to write a thesis sentence.

Sometimes a writer is more or less specific depending on the reading audience and the effect the writer wants to create. Sometimes a writer puts the angle first and the topic last in the sentence, or sometimes the angle is even implied. You need to gauge your reading audience and you need to understand your own style as a writer. The only basic requirements are that the thesis sentence needs a topic and an angle. The rest is up to you.

COMMON PROBLEMS

Although you have creative control over your thesis sentence, you still should try to avoid the following problems, not for stylistic reasons, but because they indicate a problem in the thinking that underlies the thesis sentence.

Thesis Sentence too Broad

Hospice workers need support. The sentence above actually is a thesis sentence; it has a topic (hospice workers) and an angle (need support). But the angle is very broad. When the angle in a thesis sentence is too broad, the writer may not have carefully thought through the specific support for the rest of the writing. A thesis angle that’s too broad makes it easy to fall into the trap of offering information that deviates from that angle.

Thesis Sentence too Narrow

Hospice workers have a 55% turnover rate compared to the general health care population’s 25% turnover rate. The above sentence really isn’t a thesis sentence at all, because there’s no angle idea to support. A narrow statistic, or a narrow statement of fact, doesn’t offer the writer’s own ideas or analysis about a topic. A clearer example of a thesis statement with an angle of development would be the following:

*The high turnover rate in hospice workers (55 percent) compared to the general health care population (25 percent) indicates a need to develop support systems to reverse this trend.

Where to Place a Thesis?

In the U.S., it’s customary for most academic writers to put the thesis sentence somewhere toward the start of the essay or research paper. The focus here is on offering the main results of your own thinking in your thesis angle and then providing evidence in the writing to support your thinking.

A legal comparison might help to understand thesis placement. If you have seen television shows or movies with courtroom scenes, the lawyer usually starts out by saying, “My client is innocent!” to set the scene, and then provides different types of evidence to support that argument. Academic writing in the U.S. is similar; your thesis sentence provides your main assertion to set the scene of the writing, and then the details and evidence in the rest of the writing support the assertion in the thesis sentence.

THESIS CREATION

Think of the thesis as the mid-point of an hourglass.

You develop ideas for writing and prewriting, using various strategies until a main idea or assertion emerges. This main idea or assertion becomes your point to prove—your working thesis sentence.

Once you have a working thesis sentence with your main idea, you can then develop more support for that idea, but in a more focused way that deepens your thinking about the thesis angle.

Realize that a thesis is really a working thesis until you finalize the writing. As you do more focused research or develop more focused support, your thesis may change a bit. Just make sure that you retain the basic thesis characteristics of the topic and angle.

THESIS CHECKLIST

When you draft a working thesis, it can be helpful to review the guidelines for a strong thesis. The following checklist is a helpful tool you can use to check your thesis once you have it drafted.

SEE IT IN PRACTICE

In the videocast below, our student writer takes a closer look at her thesis from her rough draft introduction and makes some revisions based on the things she has learned about a good thesis in The Writing Process.

THESIS STATEMENT ACTIVITY

After completing this activity, you may download or print a completion report that summarizes your results.

ARGUMENTATIVE THESIS ACTIVITY

Analyze this.

Before you try to develop a thesis of your own, it can be helpful to see how another author presents an argumentative thesis.

In this  Analyze This  video, watch as one student shares a short analysis of an online article ( Live and Learn ) with a specific focus on locating and evaluating the thesis. The student will share a summary of the article and then explore the author’s thesis in the article.

Now that you have learned about the importance of developing a strong argumentative thesis for your argumentative essay, it’s time to visit our student who is engaging in her own argumentative writing process.

In this video, watch as she shares her drafts of thesis statements and her process of arriving at a good working thesis, which will guide her throughout the rest of her writing process.

PARAGRAPHING

Paragraphs can be shown through breaks between lines or through indentations of the first line of the paragraph. Paragraphs are important for ease of reading; they help to offer ideas in “chunks” that the eye and brain can more easily comprehend (as opposed to offering information in one large block of text, which is hard to read).

Paragraphs are necessary in academic writing to show changes in ideas or further development of ideas. In academic writing, paragraphs present mini ideas that often develop out of the thesis sentence’s main idea.

Thesis Sentence

• A regular exercise regimen creates multiple benefits, both physical and emotional.

Beginnings of Paragraphs

• One physical benefit of having a regular exercise regimen is longevity. Recent studies have shown that . . .
• Exercise reduces heart and cholesterol rates when done at least three times per week . . .
• Another physical benefit of regular exercise is that it results in stronger heart and lungs . . .
• People who exercise regularly have less trouble with sleep disorders . . .
• A benefit that spans the physical and emotional results of regular exercise is the release of endorphins, or substances produced by glands as a byproduct of exercise . . .
• In multiple studies, regular exercise has been shown to reduce stress . . .
• Because regular exercise often helps to slow the effects of aging and maintain a good body weight, people who exercise regularly experience the emotional benefits of good self-image and self-confidence in their looks . . .

Although all of these paragraph beginnings are related to the main idea of the  benefits of exercise , they all show a slight shift in content, as the writer moves from one benefit to another.

TOPIC SENTENCES

Topic sentences have a topic and an angle, just like thesis sentences. But the angle of topic sentences usually is smaller in range than that of the thesis sentence. Very often the topic remains the same from thesis to the topic sentence, while the angle shifts as the writer brings in various types of ideas and research to support the angle in the thesis.

Look at this sample again; these are topic sentences created from the thesis sentence. The topic remains the same in all (regular exercise) and the overall angle remains the same (benefits). But the angle narrows and shifts slightly from topic sentence to topic sentence as the writer brings in different supporting ideas and research.

Realize that all paragraphs do not need topic sentences. Sometimes, you may need multiple paragraphs to help explain one topic sentence, because you have a lot of supporting information.

PARAGRAPHING & TRANSITIONING

When to paragraph.

How do you know when “enough is enough”—when you have enough information in one paragraph and have to start a new one? A very rough guide is that you need more than one or two paragraphs per page of type. Paragraphing conventions online require even shorter paragraphs, with multiple short paragraphs on one screen.

It’s best to deal with paragraphs as part of the revision step in the writing process. Find places where the information shifts in focus and put paragraph breaks in those places. You can do your best to paragraph as you draft but know you’ll address paragraphing more during the revision process.

Linking Paragraphs: Transitions

Transitions are words or phrases that indicate linkages in ideas. When writing, you need to lead your readers from one idea to the next, showing how those ideas are logically linked. Transition words and phrases help you keep your paragraphs and groups of paragraphs logically connected for a reader. Writers often check their transitions during the revising stage of the writing process.

Here are some examples of transition words to help as you transition both within paragraphs and from one paragraph to the next.

In this videocast, our student writer takes a look at one of her paragraphs she has drafted for her essay. She discusses the transitions and transitional words she uses in her paragraph to help connect her ideas within the paragraph and to make a transition to the next paragraph in her essay.

ESSAY WRITING

A college essay goes by many names: paper, research paper, essay, theme. Most of these names refer to a piece of writing in which you offer your own idea about a topic. This concept is really important. The purpose of most college essay writing assignments is not for you to find and directly report the information you find. Instead, it’s to think about the information you find, come up with your own idea or assertion about your topic, and then provide the support that shows why you think that way.

Another thing to remember about a college essay is that, in most cases, a writing process is emphasized. Following a thorough writing process, like the one described for you here,  will lead you to a better product. Although you may have some timed writings in college, most of your college essays will involve a writing process. When you use a strong writing process, you’re working to create your very best work!

The video below shows real students from a college writing class talking about writing for college and what they learned from taking a college writing class.

TRADITIONAL ESSAY STRUCTURE

Although college essays can offer ideas in many ways, one standard structure for expository essays is to offer the main idea or assertion early in the essay, and then offer categories of support.

Thinking again about how a lawyer makes a case, one way to think about this standard structure is to compare it to a courtroom argument in a television drama. The lawyer asserts, “My client is not guilty.” Then the lawyer provides different reasons for lack of guilt: no physical evidence placing the client at the crime scene, the client had no motive for the crime and more.

In writing terms, the assertion is the  thesis sentence , and the different reasons are the  topic sentences .

Thesis Sentence (assertion): The 21st-century workforce requires a unique set of skills.

Topic Sentence (reason) #1: Workers need to learn how to deal with change.

Topic Sentence (reason) #2: Because of dealing with such a rapidly changing work environment, 21st-century workers need to learn how to learn.

Topic Sentence (reason) #3: Most of all, in order to negotiate rapid change and learning, workers in the 21st century need good communication skills.

As you can see, the supporting ideas in an essay develop out of the main assertion or argument in the thesis sentence.

TRADITIONAL STRUCTURE ACTIVITY

An essay is based on a series of ideas and assertions in the thesis and topic sentences (which are like mini thesis sentences). But an essay is more than a series of ideas. An essay expands on its thesis and topic sentence ideas with examples, explanations, and information. An essay also leads the reader into the thesis sentence idea, supports that idea and convinces the reader of its validity, and then re-emphasizes the main idea. In other words, an essay has an introduction, body, and conclusion.

The first interaction below will review your knowledge; the second will test your knowledge.

ROUGH DRAFTS

In this section, you have been learning about traditional structures for expository essays (essays that are thesis-based and offer a point-by-point body), but no matter what type of essay you’re writing, the rough draft is going to be an important part of your writing process. It’s important to remember that your rough draft is a long way from your final draft, and you will engage in revision and editing before you have a draft that is ready to submit.

Sometimes, keeping this in mind can help you as you draft. When you draft, you don’t want to feel like “this has to be perfect.” If you put that much pressure on yourself, it can be really difficult to get your ideas down.

The sample rough draft on the right shows you an example of just how much more work a rough draft can need, even a really solid first draft. Take a look at this example with notes a student wrote on her rough draft. Once you complete your own rough draft, you will want to engage in a revision and editing process that involves feedback, time, and diligence on your part. The steps that follow in this section of the Excelsior OWL will help!

Rough Draft Example

Using the information from this section on developing a clear structure for a college essay, our student has now established a plan for her essay and has created a visual to help illustrate what her final essay will look like. In the video, she discusses her introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

ATTRIBUTIONS

• Content Adapted from Excelsior Online Writing Lab (OWL). (2020).  Excelsior College. Retrieved from https://owl.excelsior.edu/ licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-4.0 International License .

English 101: Journey Into Open Copyright © 2021 by Christine Jones is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The Writing Process

Making expository writing less stressful, more efficient, and more enlightening, search form, step 3: draft.

“It is an unnecessary burden to try to think of words and also worry at the same time whether they’re the right words.” — Peter Elbow

There are many reasons that people (including native speakers) find writing difficult, but one of the biggest is that when we write our papers, we are often trying to do two things at once:

• To say them in the best possible way (i.e., perfectly), with correct grammar and elegant wording

These are two complex but very different mental processes. No wonder writing can seem difficult. Add to this a third obstacle ,

•  To write in a foreign language

and you might think it’s a wonder that you can write at all!

There is a simple solution, however, namley to separate these processes into distinct steps. Namely, when writing your first draft, just focus on getting the ideas roughly into sentences . Don't worry too much about grammar, spelling, or even ideal vocabulary. You can not worry for three reasons :

• If you are writing expository papers, your English is probably now at a fairly high level, so it will actually be difficult for you to make too many mistakes;
• You have already outlined your ideas, working with the language and finding much accurate vocabulary there, meaning that you're not working from scratch but rather building on something you are already familiar with . Now you're just putting it in sentence and paragraph form;

And the third and biggest reason:

• The term “Draft” (instead of “Write”) implicitly contains the awareness that you will have other drafts in the future , meaning that you know that this one will be  revised and edited in later steps.

Just let the ideas flow into sentences as though you are pouring concrete into wooden frame; you'll smooth it out later.

Thus when drafting, simpy do the following:

• Either print out your detailed outline and have it in front of you, or have it on the left side of your computer screen and your draft document on the right.

• Do write complete sentences and paragraphs, and try moderately to use proper grammar, accurate wording, and transition words to link your ideas as necessary.
• However, almost as in freewriting, don't let yourself get stuck . You may pause for a few seconds, but don't labor over sentences. Just get them down and move on.
• Even without worrying excessively about grammar, putting your ideas in sentence form will not always be easy.  Ideas can be complex and difficult to express, and even native English speakers must struggle sometimes to say (or even know!) exactly what they mean, so don't expect yourself to be able to do it the first time.
• Let yourself write freely and feel the satisfaction of 1) getting a draft done, and then 2) crafting it to say what you want to say the way you want say it.

Click to watch a short video modeling how to write a draft.

• Peterborough

Drafting the English Essay

• Creating an outline
• The use of "I" (first-person)
• Historical present
• Drafting body paragraphs
• The introduction
• The conclusion

Creating an Outline

Making an outline before you start to write has the same advantage as writing down your thesis as soon as you have one. It forces you to think about the best possible order for what you want to say and to think through your line of thought before you have to write sentences and paragraphs.

Remember that an essay and its outline do not have to be structured into five paragraphs.  Think about major points, sections or parts of your essay, rather than paragraphs. The number of sections you have will depend on what you have to say and how you think your thesis needs to be supported. It is possible to structure an essay around two major points, each divided into sub-points. Or you may structure an essay around four, five or six points, depending on the essay's length. An essay under 1500 words may fall naturally into three sections, but let the number come from what you have to say rather than striving for the magic three.

Creating an outline also helps you avoid the temptation of organizing your essay by following the plot line of the text you are writing about and simply retelling the story with a few of your own comments thrown in. If you conscientiously make an outline that is ordered to best support your thesis, which is there in print before your eyes, your essay’s organization will be based on supporting your argument not on the text’s plotline.

Read more on organizing your essay

Writing the Draft

If you have followed good essay-writing practice, which includes developing a narrowed topic and analytical thesis, reading closely and taking careful notes, and creating an organized outline, you will find that writing your essay is much less difficult than if you simply sit down and plunge in with a vague topic in mind.

Always keep your reader in mind when you write. Work to convince this reader that your argument is valid and has merit. To do this, you must write clearly. The best writing is the product of drafting and revising.

As you write your rough draft, your ideas will develop, so it is helpful to accept the messy process of drafting. Review your sections as you write, but leave most of the revision for when you have a completed first draft. When you revise, you can refine your ideas by making your language more specific and direct, by developing your explanation of a quotation, and by explaining the connections between your ideas. Remember that your goal is clear expression; use a formal tone, avoid slang and colloquial terms, and be precise in your language.

Stylistic Notes for Writing the English Essay

The use of "i".

The judicious use of "I" in English essays is generally accepted. (You may run into a professor who doesn't want you to and says so, and, in that case, don't). The key is to not to overuse "I". When writing your draft, you may find it helpful to get your thoughts flowing by writing "I think that..." but when you revise, you will find that those three words can be eliminated from the sentences they begin.

For example:

I think that these poems also share a rather detached, unemotional, matter-of-fact acceptance of death.

Revised: These poems share a rather detached, unemotional, matter-of-fact acceptance of death.

I think death, dying, and the moments that precede dying preoccupy Dickinson.

Revised: Death, dying, and the moments the precede dying preoccupy Dickinson.

The Historical Present

Instructors generally agree that students should use the the present tense, which is known as the historical present, when describing events in a work of literature (or a film) or when discussing what authors or scholars say about a topic or issue, even when the work of literature is from the past or uses the past tense itself, or the authors and scholars are dead.

Examples of historical present:

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream , Bottom is a uniformly comedic figure.

Kyi argues that “democracy is the political system through which an empowerment of the people occurs.” 

It is considered more accurate to use the present tense in these circumstances because the arguments put forward by scholars, and the characters presented and scenes depicted by novelists, poets, and dramatists continue to live in the present whenever anyone reads them. An added benefit is that many find the use of the historical present tense makes for a more lively style and a stronger voice.

Drafting Body Paragraphs

The body of the essay will be made up of the claims or points you are making, supported by evidence from the primary source, the work in question, and perhaps some secondary sources. Your supporting evidence may be quotations of words or phrases from the text, as well as details about character, setting, plot, syntax, diction, images and anything else you have found in the work that is relevant to your argument.

Writing successful paragraphs

You may find yourself quoting often, and that is fine. The words from the text are, after all, the support for the argument you are making, and they show that your ideas came from somewhere and are grounded in the text. But try to keep your quotations as short and pertinent as possible. Use quotations effectively to support your interpretation or arguments; be sure to explain the quotation: what does it illustrates and how?

Effectively integrating evidence

Make sure you don't use or quote words whose definition or meaning you are not sure about. As a student of English literature, you should make regular use of a good dictionary; many academics recommend the Oxford English Dictionary . Not knowing what a word means or misunderstanding how it is used can undermine a whole argument. When you read and write about authors from previous centuries, you will often have to familiarize yourself with new words. To write good English essays, you must take the time to do this.

Sample Body Paragraph

This body paragraph is a sample only. Its content is not to be reproduced in whole or part. Use of the ideas or words in this essay is an act of plagiarism, which is subject to academic integrity policy at Trent University and other academic institutions.

“Because I could not stop for Death” describes the process of dying right up to and past the moment of death, in the first person.  This process is described symbolically. The speaker, walking along the road of life is picked up and given a carriage ride out of town to her destination, the graveyard and death. The speaker, looking back, says that she “could not stop for Death – / [so] He kindly stopped for” her (1-2).  Dickinson personifies death as a “kindly” (2) masculine being with “civility” (6). As the two “slowly dr[i]ve” (5) down the road of life, the speaker observes life in its simplicity: the “School,” (9), “the Fields of Gazing Grain” (11), and the “Setting Sun” (12), and realizes that this road out of town is the road out of life. The road’s ending at “a House that seemed / A Swelling of the Ground” (17-18) is a life’s ending at death, “Eternity” (24).  Once in the House that is the speaker’s grave, that is, after death, the speaker remains conscious. Her death is not experienced as a loss of consciousness, a sleep or oblivion. Her sense of time does change though:

Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet Feels shorter than the Day I first surmised the Horses' Heads Were toward Eternity – (20-24) 

It has become difficult for the speaker to tell the difference between a century and a day. But she knows it has been “Centuries” since then, so the implication is that her consciousness has lived on in an eternal afterlife.

What works in the sample paragraph?

• The topic sentence makes a clear claim that the rest of the paragraph develops through details, quotations and analysis.
• The quotation is followed by the writer’s analysis of the quoted words and argument about their implication. This is the best way to use textual evidence.

The Introduction

Often, the introduction is the hardest part to write. Here you make your first impression, introduce the topic, provide background information, define key terms perhaps, and, most important, present your thesis, upon which the entire essay hangs. Many people find it easiest to write the introduction last or to write a very rough introduction that they change significantly once the draft is complete.  

Strategies for writing the introduction

Sample Introduction

This introductory paragraph is a sample only. Its content is not to be reproduced in whole or part. Use of the ideas or words in this essay is an act of plagiarism, which is subject to academic integrity policy at Trent University and other academic institutions.

Emily Dickinson was captivated by the riddle of death, and several of her poems deal with it in different ways. There are many poems that describe, in the first person, the process of dying right up to and including the moment of death, often recalled from a vantage point after death in some sort of afterlife. As well, several poems speculate more generally about what lies beyond the visible world our senses perceive in life. This essay examines four of Dickinson’s poems that are about dying and death and one that is more speculative. Two are straightforwardly about dying, while the other two present dying symbolically, but taken together they show many similarities.   Death is experienced matter-of-factly and without fear and with a full consciousness that registers details and describes them clearly. All the poems examined hint at an afterlife which is not described in traditionally Christian terms but which is not contradictory to Christian belief either. Yet death remains a riddle. While one poem may emphasize an afterlife of peace, silence and anchors at rest, others only hint at an ongoing consciousness, and one both asserts that something beyond life exists while also saying that belief is really only a narcotic that cannot completely still the pain of doubt. Dying, the moment of death, and what comes after preoccupy Dickinson: in these poems, death and eternity both “beckon” and “baffle” (Dickinson, “This World is not Conclusion” 5).

What works in this sample introduction?

• This essay has a good, narrowed, focused topic.
• The introduction does not include a general statement about life or poetry. The essay is about five poems by Dickinson, and right from the beginning, its focus is on that.
• The thesis of the essay is one sentence, but it may be more. Note that this thesis statement does not list supporting points; a good thesis statement provides the organizing principle of the essay, and the essay writer has decided to let the supporting points appear throughout the body of the essay.

The Conclusion

An effective conclusion unifies the arguments in your essay and explains the broader meaning or significance of your analysis. It is best to think of the conclusion as an opportunity to synthesize your ideas, not just summarize them. It is also your chance to explain the larger significance of your argument: if your reader now agrees with your thesis, what do they understand about the theme, the text, or the author?

Strategies for writing the conclusion

Sample Conclusion

This concluding paragraph is a sample only. Its content is not to be reproduced in whole or part. Use of the ideas or words in this essay is an act of plagiarism, which is subject to academic integrity policy at Trent University and other academic institutions.

In many ways, “On this wondrous sea” sums up the attitude toward death and eternity seen in all the poems examined. Death is experienced without fear, and life is shown as leading up to death and eternity. What exactly this eternity is like is only hinted at in most of these poems. So, what is beyond continues to “baffle,” but none of the poems present death as extinction with nothing beyond; rather what is beyond “beckons.” Death and eternity are something known, a grave that is a house, a consciousness living on, a shore to which we come “at last” after a life both stormy and “wondrous.”

What works in this sample conclusion?

• This paragraph does not just repeat the introduction. It pulls together the main ideas contained in the entire essay to try to point out their larger significance. Rather than a point-by-point list, it is a summary of what it all means taken together.
• Understanding The English Essay
• Developing a Topic and Thesis for an English Essay
• Using Secondary Sources in an English Essay
• Glossary of Common Formal Elements of Literature
• Documenting Sources in MLA Style (Modern Languages Association)

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6.16: Introduction to Drafting

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• Lumen Learning

What you’ll learn to do: evaluate drafting techniques

Writing is a way to end up thinking something you couldn’t have started out thinking.

—Peter Elbow, Writing Without Teachers

According to English Professor and author Peter Elbow, the best way to accomplish deep thinking is through a series of drafts that come together to produce an emerging “center of gravity” that then translates into the main focus on the work. This process should be a holistic process, not a linear process. Elbow’s reasoning behind this concept of multiple drafts follows the idea that, “if [a writer] learns to maximize the interaction among his own ideas or points of view, he can produce new ones that didn’t seem available to him.”

In other words, it’s difficult to predict where your thoughts and your argument will end up when working on an essay draft. And that’s a good thing.

This is the reason that writing assignments are so common in higher education: they develop a deep level of thinking that’s only possible through this process.

Contributors and Attributions

• Outcome: Drafting. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Image of draft. Authored by : Kim Louie for Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Draft document. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : https://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_document . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

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4 Chapter 4: Drafting a Paper

For many years now, most instruction on student writing tends to focus on process instead of product. Students frequently struggle to get their thoughts together, and as assignment that simply involves an essay with a single deadline can often set a student up for failure. Sometimes, a college paper will have a set of checkpoints built in (a proposal due by a certain day, followed by a draft due by another day, and so on). At other times, students have to provide this structure themselves.

Drafting consists of putting together ideas in a format that a reader will be able to understand. Ideally, a draft will allow a reader to follow the thought process of the writer while still satisfying the reader’s curiosity or interest in particular topics (or subtopics) of a given subject.

Overview:  A lot of teachers remember writing essays using a combination of notecards, annotated bibliographies, and outlines. Others might have experienced peer workshops and drafting. Many teachers, however, have not had the need to sit down and think about why these steps are necessary. Some teachers might not even have accepted that the steps are necessary.

On a functional level, focusing on the process of writing (instead of just the final essay) gives students a chance to organize and to develop their ideas. It also allows teachers a chance to determine when or where a student has encountered difficulties.

Application:  Most writing has steps, and even if those steps vary from class to class or from assignment to assignment, time needs to be built into both teacher and student schedules to finish each of these steps. Additionally, it tends to be more rewarding for students and teachers alike if at least a single checkpoint is built into the writing process (e.g. a proposal that is due, a bibliography that is turned in, or a draft that is contemplated by classmates).

A student in a class without these built-in checkpoints needs to work hard to develop them, and students in such classes really need to create their own chances to talk with faculty about their progress. On the other hand, faculty who lack the time or the ability to build in these checkpoints need to be understanding of the difficulties students will face with completion and with the development of their ideas.

What to Avoid:  Don’t think of an essay as something that happens in a single sitting or at a single moment in time.

LENGTH versus DEPTH

Students, teachers, tutors, and online study guides all get it wrong. When we talk about essays, we really shouldn’t talk about how long an essay is; we should talk about how deep an essay is. Plenty of essays can be fairly long without making a valid argument, but it’s a lot less likely for an essay to be short and to still include everything that it needs.

Overview:  Imagine typing the same sentence over and over again until it filled six pages. Does that fulfill the requirement of a six-page essay? Maybe it does, but only in the minds of those deliberately trying to undermine the learning environment. Likewise, imagine writing just one sentence that happens to make a valid factual claim and turning it in for the six-page assignment. Isn’t that one valid claim enough? Shouldn’t the ‘essay’ be judged on quality instead of quantity?

Not really. Both of these fictional student responses to an assignment overlook the idea of development. Take a moment to think about the reasons a teacher might have for assigning an essay. Most of the time, when college instructors are asked why they assign essays, they give the same basic answers: essay assignments are designed to check a student’s knowledge of an issue, to require a student to think critically about course content, and to improve the ability of a student to put course content into a broader context. Neither the ‘repeat the same content over and over again’ example nor the ‘cut all of the content down to the shortest possible answer’ example fulfills these goals.

Application:  In order to demonstrate knowledge of an issue, a student needs to be able to explain that issue (in this case, in writing) in a way that is clear. Simply copying and pasting the Wikipedia entry doesn’t display this knowledge any more than driving through a fast-food restaurant displays an understanding of cooking. This is why even with proper source citation, direct quotation tends to be less meaningful than a student paraphrasing content into his or her own words—the first simply checks a box, while the second requires a bit more understanding.

Likewise, writing an essay about the content of a course usually requires the student to support a claim about one of the subjects the course covers (an essay needs a thesis, or something like a thesis). However, the real length of a good essay does not come from repeating the same point. It comes from developing an idea. Frequently, students are expected to show their work. In math, students are asked to explain how they reached the answers. In argument, students are expected to explain what evidence, and what reasoning, supports their theses. For students who really struggle to find ideas, both the Toulmin model and the scientific method offer suggestions for how such essays can be structured.

What to Avoid:  Try not to think of an essay as an attempt to explain why you, personally, support your main claim. Instead, think of an essay as an effort to demonstrate the knowledge and understanding that went into reaching a conclusion.

ORGANIZATION

If you have ever had a discussion end only to think, five minutes or five hours later, “oh, I should have said ______,” then you understand how frustrating it can be to try to organize an essay. Our best thoughts rarely occur to us when they are most useful, and even good ideas can seem silly when they are stranded without support or context. This is why organization is key for college-level essays.

Overview:  One of the most frustrating things about writing anything, let alone writing essays for a grade, is how difficult it can be to organize thoughts into a meaningful form. Many different strategies have been proposed, and most of them work a little bit. One thing that seldom works is for a writer to keep all of the thoughts on the screen in the order those thoughts happen to drift through his or her head. However, the solution is rarely as simple as ‘outlining’ a potential essay in advance. Instead, organizing an essay requires understanding its goals.

An essay that is asking for a student to demonstrate an understanding of course content should probably focus most of its body on that course content, with very little ‘off topic’ on external material. On the other hand, an essay that specifically asks students to contextualize their writing should probably split its content much more evenly, with frequent connections being drawn between lecture notes, the textbook, and the broader world.

Application:  Students writing college-level essays should remember their readers. Information should be presented with the mindset of explaining related facts to someone who wants to understand why the essay presents its thesis or central claim.

Writers of college essays have a major advantage over writers of professional documents. A writing assignment given by an instructor is almost certainly possible (not easy, but possible). Other students have likely struggled with and completed the assignment before. However, this advantage also has a downside—instructors grading college-level essays have seen good and bad versions before. They already have their own preferences. Be sure to ask about and to include these preferences in your own writing. Remember that it is not your place to organize your essay the way you prefer; it is your responsibility to organize the essay in a way your reader will think makes sense.

What to Avoid:  Don’t think of organization as a one-time thing. It is a process. Students need to set aside time to evaluate how their essays are organizes as they write them.

TRANSITIONS AND PARAGRAPHING

Even if you have a good, general idea of how you want to organize your thoughts, it can be difficult to move from major idea to major idea. It can be even harder to decide which ideas belong together.

Overview:  Whenever you’re trying to get somewhere new, you need directions. Whether you look at a map, read road signs, or have a navigation system guiding you, you need to know ‘what’s next.’ Reading an essay also requires guidance.

It is the responsibility of the author of an essay to explain how two different ideas relate. Transitions are supposed function like road signs or navigational signals, telling readers what relationships exist between ideas while also serving to indicate what differences merit the move from one section of an argument to the next.

Paragraphs, on the other hand, are a bit more complex. In a general sense, a paragraph is a group of related sentences connected by a shared focus. However, that’s not a very useful definition. Instead, it’s helpful to think of a paragraph as a bite of information. If you ‘feed’ your reader to small of a bite, it’s not very interesting; if you offer too big of a bite, it’s going to be hard for your reader to process it all. Instead, a paragraph should be broken in two whenever it is getting too big to understand. The easiest place to break a paragraph is when it essential to understand the first section—and to reflect on it—before reading the second section.

Application:  Students should be certain that they write a document that is easy to navigate, posting ‘signs’ along the way to help a reader. If it is difficult to explain the relationship between two ideas, the student writer should consider the possibility that one or both of the ideas needs to be moved to another part of the essay, closer to the sections it does relate to.

Likewise, paragraphs need to be seen from the perspective of the reader, not the author. Look at a paragraph and imagine it is in an assigned reading such as a textbook. Is it massive and daunting? Would you think about skimming it? Is it so small and vague that you wonder why it is left to stand on its own? Paragraphs do not have a magic length—complex arguments might have longer paragraphs than simple narratives, for example—but by remembering that each paragraph needs to be used by somebody else, student writers can get closer to managing the length and form of their essays.

What to Avoid:  Do not assume that simply because you intuit a relationship between ideas that your readers will agree. Don’t forget that someone needs to read the document after you’ve written it—turning in the essay is only the midpoint of the process.

REVISION and EDITING

Think about a professional athlete, musician, or actor. Imagine if, after each performance, that person could take back the worst quarter of his or her actions and try them over again. The ball is never dropped, the note is never misplayed, and the line is never forgotten. The ability to revisit a performance is a rare opportunity, and yet most amateur writers fail to take advantage of the chance. There are two ways to improve a writing performance after the fact: revision and editing.

Overview:  Spending long periods of time thinking about a subject and trying to explain that subject in a clear, concise, and objective manner is not a skill most people practice. Opinions tend to be reached gradually, over time, and are then offered for discussion. Dialogue occurs. Then, all parties move on. College essays don’t work this way. As a result, writing an essay is a very strange experience. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that many of us aren’t very good at it. The first time a student writes an essay for a college course might be the first time that student seriously thinks about the causes of World War I, the role of convergent evolution in biology, or the ethics of anti-smoking policies. Therefore, the initial draft of such an essay is likely to be shaky. Thoughts are probably incomplete. Evidence might be poorly explained.

After this first attempt at writing the essay, then, students should try to look at the essay again and try to see what needs to be changed. This process takes time. It means that the essay cannot be put off until right before the due date. It means that the student needs to spend even more time on a single assignment. However, it also means that one aspect of the student’s course performance is completely under his or her own control—because the student can keep working on the essay until it makes sense. This process, revision, is different than editing.

Editing is a more familiar process to many students. Editing consists of going through a written document and fixing mistakes. Proofreading an essay can help a student spot misspelled words, and looking over a document can allow for corrections of minor factual errors. Editing can be done after a desperate attempt to finish an essay just before a deadline, and frequent editing can help a student create writing that communicates clearly.

Application:  When a draft is complete, the student who wrote the essay needs to take some time away from the essay (anywhere from thirty minutes to a couple of days, depending on the schedule). Then, the student needs to return to the draft and look at it honesty and critically. This is when having a friend or family member look at the draft can be a good idea, but only if this other person is going to be critical—blind support and encouragement isn’t all that useful. Once the student has looked at the draft and taken some notes on what need to get better, it’s time to go back to writing.

Editing and proofreading should not happen once. Students who proofread need to be aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. Struggle with punctuation? Then go over that part twice. Have trouble with spelling? Then stop relying on spell-checking software and go through the document slowly. The essay is a part of your course performance that is under your control. Take advantage of this opportunity.

What to Avoid:  Don’t confuse revision and editing. It is possible to revise a document and still to fail in editing it. Likewise, just because a document has been proofread does not mean that it has been revised.

Writing Academic Arguments Copyright © by Joshua P. Sunderbruch. All Rights Reserved.

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How to Write a Great Essay Draft In College

Table of content.

• 01. What Makes Essay Drafts Important
• 02. Four Key Steps WhenWriting the First Draft
• 03. Do This When Wondering How to Write a Draft Essay
• 04. Mistakes to Avoid
• 05. Summary of All Crucial Points
• 06. Make a Good Draft and Reap Its Benefits

Students grimace at the thought of essay draft whenever they are asked to write one. Sure, some understand its necessity, but most others just wave it off, thinking that drafts are an unnecessary complication professors made up to make their lives more difficult. Who is right and who is wrong here? Let’s find out by establishing what a draft is. It’s a rough version of the final paper where a writer expresses an outline of their ideas, presenting their skeleton and putting some meat on it. 

But just knowing draft essay definition isn’t enough, you also have to fully realize its relevance and ways in which it should be created. Drafts are vital components of academic writing process: they could help students understand how their introduction, body, and conclusion are going to look like before their paper is fully written. They give you chances to catch mistakes and discrepancies before they go too far as with their help, you can correct everything on time. Let us expand on this thought and explain how an effective draft should be created.

What Makes Essay Drafts Important

Students are right to assume that writing a draft takes time. But what they usually dismiss is the fact that after this document is ready, they can submit it for preliminary assessment. Professor will take a look at it, underlining its strong and weak points, and if everything is more or less fine, you’ll get to keep the draft and transform it into the final essay. This way, the time you spent on it won’t disappear into nowhere — your final version will be at least half-done. 

Look at any example of a draft essay — sometimes they resemble a finished work because you can already understand writer’s point, their evidence, the  structure of an essay  and conclusion. You’ll be expanding a draft to make it into an essay, not writing it from scratch. In addition, even if professor tells you that whole thing needs to be redone because you focused on the wrong theme, it’s better to know about it in advance instead of writing an even longer essay and getting a failing grade for it. Look at this file like you would at the sample of final work. This is your opportunity to learn whether you’re moving in the right direction and take actions in case you took a wrong turn.

Four Key Steps WhenWriting the First Draft

What is a first draft? It’s initial try at building a picture of a future essay. Later, it might be sent back to you for revision or expansion, so you could write a second and third draft. If you want to prevent this situation from happening, it’s preferable to do a great job from the first try. These are the steps you should take.

1. Develop an outline

After deciding on what topic you should write about, start planning the points you’ll be exploring. Determine which bits should be mentioned in the body — it is the most important thing. For example, if you’re working on the theme of English postmodernism, indicate which factors represent it. Place one per each paragraph and add a few more details to them. After this skeleton is ready and you can move on toward the next step.  

2. Make a thesis

Thesis is a key statement of students’ paper that plays an equally relevant role in your first draft essay, so be sure to devise it early on. Decide, what is the central argument? What do you plan to prove? Your reader should be able to understand your goal simply by reading  thesis statement , so make this bit count and base your work on it.  

3. Find good sources

You might have to include more sources when working on the final paper, but deciding on key ones is important at this stage. Choose two or three articles or books. Remember that they should be credible and created within the last 5 years. Dedicate each source to a paragraph, determining main ideas you’ll be supporting with their help.

4. Write at least 3-5 sentences about each key point

Everything is prepared, so it is time for actual writing. Focus only on key elements  —  other details should be added in later versions. Craft a short introduction with thesis. Explore every body point from an outline in 3 or 5 sentences; be brief, concise, and don’t deviate from the course you’ve set. Mention sources in support, even if you don’t provide full evidence yet. Conclude essay by adding some more sentences in the final part. Remember about limits: go for expressing all relevant factors, not for expanding your rough file just to increase the word count.

Useful information: Use our  free conclusion generator  is only a few clicks away.

Do This When Wondering How to Write a Draft Essay

In every assignment, there are some considerations that a student should take into consideration. With drafts, at least three could be distinguished. First, remember your goal. Since drafting entails giving shape to different ideas, this process has an unstable structure. Some new ideas might occur; other ideas could disappear. This is a natural occurrence and you shouldn’t be worried about it. Just keep your judgment sound: sometimes new direction could help you reach your goal more effectively, but other times, it only distracts. Keep visualizing it and you’ll be fine.

The second point worth remembering when drafting an essay is taking a break from writing. Walk somewhere, read something else, and then evaluate your draft. This could reveal some missteps that require correcting. The third consideration is your notes. It isn’t obligatory to make them, but at the same time, they could serve as guidelines showing what you intend to work on after draft is returned to you. They are a useful bridge between a draft and a final essay.   

Mistakes to Avoid

Looking through a draft essay example is a great idea for seeing what mistakes people make. If you know it, you can learn in advance what to avoid and how to smoothen rough angles of your work. Here are three most frequent errors everyone should be wary of.

• Too many details . Common mistake many students make lies in treating a draft like a final essay. They try filling it with all details at once, expressing their opinions fully and not leaving anything out. As a result, they end up with work that equals or exceeds the size of real essay.
• No  structure . Other students, on the contrary, feel too lazy to bother with this task. What is a draft essay for them? This is an unpleasant necessity. That’s why they create a paragraph or two, jumping between points chaotically and hoping that it would be enough. Work performed in such manner is largely useless, and it won’t help with an essay in the slightest. 
• Too much editing.  Sure, doing some light editing and  is always good since it allows making sure that your sentences are coherent, but when drafting, it is vital not to overdo it. Some students get too focused on eliminating all technical mistakes, to the point where they forget about everything else. Drafts are training exercise for students, not some final version that must be polished perfectly. Content is far more important.   

Summary of All Crucial Points

Are you still wondering how to draft an essay? We decided on summarizing the points we mentioned and develop our list with best and worst things students could do in the process of their work. Keep them in mind and you’ll stand higher chances of succeeding.

• Preliminary research.  Conduct thorough research right away. Selecting sources,  making an outline , and figuring out potential scope of future work are vital processes that you should take care of as soon as possible. It’ll come in handy both in a sample version and in an essay itself.
• Present key essay points in your document.  Through thesis and brainstorming, determine major points of an essay. Describe them in a draft, giving each of them a few sentences. In most cases, their number doesn’t exceed 5, but it depends on an overall size of your planned work.  
• Leave space for additions.  Remember that professor expects you to flesh out your ideas in a real paper, so present only raw facts in your draft. There should be space for expanding them at some later stage. You’ll use more evidence, ideas, and arguments there — be sure your word count covers it all.

Don’t:

• Make document too long.  Ideally, draft essay should present about 50-60% of its final version. Students are going to have enough time for expanding paragraphs and fill them with secondary details, so avoid doing it all in one go. Be specific, don’t be detailed.  
• Treat it as a  final  paper.  Don’t think that your draft is the same thing as a complete essay. That’s not true and it could only confuse you further. These rough essays are exercises, you’re only shaping real paper in them. Time for doing more is going to come afterward.   
• Think it is unimportant.  Drafts have an absolute importance, and students shouldn’t forget about this fact. By relying on them, you could see how your final essay would look like if you continued pursuing this course. What you invest into it will pay off, so work hard and follow recommendations provided by your teacher.

Make a Good Draft and Reap Its Benefits

Now that you know draft paper definition and the relevance it carries, you shouldn’t have problems with understanding why creating it is so essential. Consider this to be your training ground. Explore ideas, build links between them, think about sources that should be used in their support, and work on making solid conclusion. When everything is done, send final work for your professor’s assessment. They are going to review and express their opinion on your efforts, both strengths and weaknesses included. In turn, you’ll gain an opportunity to  correct the essay  and elaborate on the strong sides of your text.  

Find some great essay draft example in the Internet if you aren’t sure how to write your own. Start brainstorming right after that, noting down different  essay ideas . Work on each part, from introduction to body and conclusion, exploring an outline of the main essay points. Introduce academic sources in every body paragraph, and that’s it! Your draft will inspire your final paper, serving as its strong foundation. 

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5 Drafting Part 1: Getting Started

“Drafting Part 1: Getting Started” is the first installment of three chapters that focus on the drafting stage within the writing process. It includes some mental strategies for getting started and then walks the reader through a fictional student’s initial attempt at a rough draft. Draft Parts 2 and 3 offer other tips that are important to review before an initial draft, and we recommend that those chapters be read in conjunction with this one.

Drafting  is the stage of the writing process in which you develop a complete first version of a piece of writing.

Even professional writers admit that an empty page scares them because they feel they need to come up with something fresh and original every time they open a blank document on their computers. Because you have completed the first two steps in the writing process, you have already recovered from empty page syndrome. You have hours of prewriting and planning already done. You know what will go on that blank page: what you wrote in your outline.

Getting Started: Strategies For Drafting

This chapter will walk you through how to begin drafting a basic five-paragraph academic essay, a structure many students may be familiar with from their K-12 teaching. College essays move beyond the five-paragraph structure, but it’s a place we can start from.

A traditional five-paragraph essay contains an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. If you are more comfortable starting on paper than on the computer, you can start on paper and then type it before you revise. You can also use a voice recorder to get yourself started, dictating a paragraph or two to get you thinking. In this lesson, Mariah does all her work on the computer, but you may use pen and paper or the computer to write a rough draft.

What makes the writing process so beneficial to writers is that it encourages alternatives to standard practices while motivating you to develop your best ideas. For instance, the following approaches, done alone or in combination with others, may improve your writing and help you move forward in the writing process:

• Begin writing with the part you know the most about.  You can start with the third paragraph in your outline if ideas come easily to mind. You can start with the second paragraph or the first paragraph, too. Although paragraphs may vary in length, keep in mind that short paragraphs may contain insufficient support. Readers may also think the writing is abrupt. Long paragraphs may be wordy and may lose your reader’s interest. As a guideline, try to write paragraphs longer than one sentence but shorter than the length of an entire double-spaced page.
• Write one paragraph at a time and then stop.  As long as you complete the assignment on time, you may choose how many paragraphs you complete in one sitting. Pace yourself. On the other hand, try not to procrastinate. Writers should always meet their deadlines.
• Take short breaks to refresh your mind.  This tip might be most useful if you are writing a multipage report or essay. Still, if you are antsy or cannot concentrate, take a break to let your mind rest. But do not let breaks extend too long. If you spend too much time away from your essay, you may have trouble starting again. You may forget key points or lose momentum. Try setting an alarm to limit your break, and when the time is up, return to your desk to write.
• Be reasonable with your goals.  If you decide to take ten-minute breaks, try to stick to that goal. If you told yourself that you need more facts, then commit to finding them. Holding yourself to your own goals will create successful writing assignments.
• Keep your audience and purpose in mind as you write.  These aspects of writing are just as important when you are writing a single paragraph for your essay as when you are considering the direction of the entire essay.

Of all of these considerations, keeping your purpose and your audience at the front of your mind is the most important key to writing success. If your purpose is to persuade, for example, you will present your facts and details in the most logical and convincing way you can  for the intended audience . What looks like strong evidence to some audiences will seem weak or irrelevant to others.

Your purpose will guide your mind as you compose your sentences. Your audience will guide word choice. Are you writing for experts, for a general audience, for other college students, or for people who know very little about your topic? Keep asking yourself what your readers, with their background and experience, need to be told in order to understand your ideas. How can you best express your ideas so they are totally clear and your communication is effective?

You may want to identify your purpose and audience on an index card that you clip to your paper (or keep next to your computer). On that card, you may want to write notes to yourself—perhaps about what that audience might not know or what it needs to know—so that you will be sure to address those issues when you write. It may be a good idea to also state exactly what you want to explain to that audience, or to inform them of, or to persuade them about.

Writing at Work

Many of the documents you produce at work target a particular audience for a particular purpose. You may find that it is highly advantageous to know as much as you can about your target audience and to prepare your message to reach that audience, even if the audience is a coworker or your boss. Menu language is a common example. Descriptions like “organic romaine” and “free-range chicken” are intended to appeal to a certain type of customer though perhaps not to the same customer who craves a thick steak. Similarly, mail-order companies research the demographics of the people who buy their merchandise. Successful vendors customize product descriptions in catalogs to appeal to their buyers’ tastes. For example, the product descriptions in a skateboarder catalog will differ from the descriptions in a clothing catalog for mature adults.

Exercise 5.1

My purpose: ____________________________________________

My audience: ____________________________________________

Setting Goals for Your First Draft

A draft is a complete version of a piece of writing, but it is not the final version. The step in the writing process after drafting, as you may remember, is revising. During revising, you will have the opportunity to make changes to your first draft before you put the finishing touches on it during the editing and proofreading stage. A first draft gives you a working version that you can later improve.

Workplace writing in certain environments is done by teams of writers who collaborate on the planning, writing, and revising of documents, such as long reports, technical manuals, and the results of scientific research. Collaborators do not need to be in the same room, the same building, or even the same city. Many collaborations are conducted over the Internet.

In a perfect collaboration, each contributor has the right to add, edit, and delete text. Strong communication skills, in addition to strong writing skills, are important in this kind of writing situation because disagreements over style, content, process, emphasis, and other issues may arise.

The collaborative software, or document management systems, that groups use to work on common projects is sometimes called groupware or workgroup support systems.

The reviewing tool on some word-processing programs also gives you access to a collaborative tool that many smaller workgroups use when they exchange documents. You can also use it to leave comments to yourself.

If you invest some time now to investigate how the reviewing tool in your word processor works, you will be able to use it with confidence during the revision stage of the writing process. Then, when you start to revise, set your reviewing tool to track any changes you make, so you will be able to tinker with text and commit only those final changes you want to keep.

Basic Elements of a First Draft

If you have been using the information in this chapter step by step to help you develop an assignment, you already have both a formal topic outline and a formal sentence outline to direct your writing. Knowing what a first draft looks like will help you make the creative leap from the outline to the first draft. A first draft should include the following elements:

• An  introduction  that piques the audience’s interest, tells what the essay is about, and motivates readers to keep reading.
• A  thesis statement  that presents the main point, or controlling idea, of the entire piece of writing.
• A  topic sentence  in each paragraph that states the main idea of the paragraph and implies how that main idea connects to the thesis statement.
• Supporting sentences  in each paragraph that develop or explain the topic sentence. These can be specific facts, examples, anecdotes, or other details that elaborate on the topic sentence.
• A  conclusion  that reinforces the thesis statement and leaves the audience with a feeling of completion.

These elements follow the standard five-paragraph essay format, which you probably first encountered in high school. This basic format is valid for most essays you will write in college, even much longer ones. For now, however, Mariah focuses on writing the three body paragraphs from her outline.

The Role of Topic Sentences

Topic sentences make the structure of a text and the writer’s basic arguments easy to locate and comprehend. In college writing, using a topic sentence in each paragraph of the essay is the standard rule. However, the topic sentence does not always have to be the first sentence in your paragraph even if it the first item in your formal outline.

When you begin to draft your paragraphs, you should follow your outline fairly closely. After all, you spent valuable time developing those ideas. However, as you begin to express your ideas in complete sentences, it might strike you that the topic sentence might work better at the end of the paragraph or in the middle. Try it. Writing a draft, by its nature, is a good time for experimentation.

The topic sentence can be the first, middle, or final sentence in a paragraph. The assignment’s audience and purpose will often determine where a topic sentence belongs. When the purpose of the assignment is to persuade, for example, the topic sentence should be the first sentence in a paragraph. In a persuasive essay, the writer’s point of view should be clearly expressed at the beginning of each paragraph.

Choosing where to position the topic sentence depends not only on your audience and purpose but also on the essay’s arrangement, or order. When you organize information according to order of importance, the topic sentence may be the final sentence in a paragraph. All the supporting sentences build up to the topic sentence. Chronological order may also position the topic sentence as the final sentence because the controlling idea of the paragraph may make the most sense at the end of a sequence.

When you organize information according to spatial order, a topic sentence may appear as the middle sentence in a paragraph. An essay arranged by spatial order often contains paragraphs that begin with descriptions. A reader may first need a visual in his or her mind before understanding the development of the paragraph. When the topic sentence is in the middle, it unites the details that come before it with the ones that come after it.

As you read critically throughout the writing process, keep topic sentences in mind. You may discover topic sentences that are not always located at the beginning of a paragraph. For example, fiction writers customarily use topic ideas, either expressed or implied, to move readers through their texts. In nonfiction writing, such as popular magazines, topic sentences are often used when the author thinks it is appropriate (based on the audience and the purpose, of course). A single topic sentence might even control the development of a number of paragraphs.

Developing topic sentences and thinking about their placement in a paragraph will prepare you to write the rest of the paragraph.

The paragraph is the main structural component of an essay as well as other forms of writing. Each paragraph of an essay adds another related main idea to support the writer’s thesis, or controlling idea. Each related main idea is supported and developed with facts, examples, and other details that explain it. By exploring and refining one main idea at a time, writers build a strong case for their thesis.

How long should a paragraph be?

One answer to this important question may be “long enough”—long enough for you to address your points and explain your main idea. To grab attention or to present succinct supporting ideas, a paragraph can be fairly short and consist of two to three sentences. A paragraph in a complex essay about some abstract point in philosophy or archaeology can be three-quarters of a page or more in length. As long as the writer maintains close focus on the topic and does not ramble, a long paragraph is acceptable in college-level writing. In general, try to keep the paragraphs longer than one sentence but shorter than one full page of double-spaced text.

Journalistic style often calls for brief two- or three-sentence paragraphs because of how people read the news, both online and in print. Blogs and other online information sources often adopt this paragraphing style, too. Readers often skim the first paragraphs of a great many articles before settling on the handful of stories they want to read in detail.

You may find that a particular paragraph you write may be longer than one that will hold your audience’s interest. In such cases, you should divide the paragraph into two or more shorter paragraphs, adding a topic statement or some kind of transitional word or phrase at the start of the new paragraph. Transition words or phrases show the connection between the two ideas.

In all cases, however, be guided by what you instructor wants and expects to find in your draft. Many instructors will expect you to develop a mature college-level style as you progress through the semester’s assignments.

Exercise 5.2

To build your sense of appropriate paragraph length, use the Internet to find examples of the following items. Copy them into a file, identify your sources, and present them to your instructor with your annotations, or notes.

• A news article written in short paragraphs. Take notes on, or annotate, your selection with your observations about the effect of combining paragraphs that develop the same topic idea. Explain how effective those paragraphs would be.
• A long paragraph from a scholarly work that you identify through an academic search engine. Annotate it with your observations about the author’s paragraphing style.

Starting your first paragraph

Now we are finally ready to look over Mariah’s shoulder as she begins to write her essay about digital technology and the confusing choices that consumers face. As she does, you should have in front of you your outline, with its thesis statement and topic sentences, and the notes you wrote earlier in this lesson on your purpose and audience. Reviewing these will put both you and Mariah in the proper mind-set to start.

The following is Mariah’s thesis statement.

Here are the notes that Mariah wrote to herself to characterize her purpose and audience.

Mariah chose to begin by writing a quick introduction based on her thesis statement. She knew that she would want to improve her introduction significantly when she revised. Right now, she just wanted to give herself a starting point.

Remember Mariah’s other options. She could have started directly with any of the body paragraphs.

You will learn more about writing attention-getting introductions and effective conclusions in a later chapter.

With her thesis statement and her purpose and audience notes in front of her, Mariah then looked at her sentence outline. She chose to use that outline because it includes the topic sentences. The following is the portion of her outline for the first body paragraph. The roman numeral II identifies the topic sentence for the paragraph, capital letters indicate supporting details, and arabic numerals label subpoints.

Mariah then began to expand the ideas in her outline into a paragraph. Notice how the outline helped her guarantee that all her sentences in the body of the paragraph develop the topic sentence.

If you write your first draft on the computer, consider creating a new file folder for each course with a set of subfolders inside the course folders for each assignment you are given. Label the folders clearly with the course names, and label each assignment folder and word processing document with a title that you will easily recognize. The assignment name is a good choice for the document. Then use that subfolder to store all the drafts you create. When you start each new draft, do not just write over the last one. Instead, save the draft with a new tag after the title—draft 1, draft 2, and so on—so that you will have a complete history of drafts in case your instructor wishes you to submit them.

In your documents, observe any formatting requirements—for margins, headers, placement of page numbers, and other layout matters—that your instructor requires.

Exercise 5.3

Study how Mariah made the transition from her sentence outline to her first draft. First, copy her outline onto your own sheet of paper. Leave a few spaces between each part of the outline. Then copy sentences from Mariah’s paragraph to align each sentence with its corresponding entry in her outline.

Continuing the First Draft

Mariah continued writing her essay, moving to the second and third body paragraphs. She had supporting details but no numbered subpoints in her outline, so she had to consult her prewriting notes for specific information to include.

If you decide to take a break between finishing your first body paragraph and starting the next one, do not start writing immediately when you return to your work. Put yourself back in context and in the mood by rereading what you have already written. This is what Mariah did. If she had stopped writing in the middle of writing the paragraph, she could have jotted down some quick notes to herself about what she would write next.

Preceding each body paragraph that Mariah wrote is the appropriate section of her sentence outline. Notice how she expanded roman numeral III from her outline into a first draft of the second body paragraph. As you read, ask yourself how closely she stayed on purpose and how well she paid attention to the needs of her audience.

Mariah then began her third and final body paragraph using roman numeral IV from her outline.

Exercise 5.4

Reread body paragraphs two and three of the essay that Mariah is writing. Then answer the questions on your own sheet of paper.

• In body paragraph two, Mariah decided to develop her paragraph as a nonfiction narrative. Do you agree with her decision? Explain. How else could she have chosen to develop the paragraph? Why is that better?
• Compare the writing styles of paragraphs two and three. What evidence do you have that Mariah was getting tired or running out of steam? What advice would you give her? Why?
• Choose one of these two body paragraphs. Write a version of your own that you think better fits Mariah’s audience and purpose.

Writing a Title

A writer’s best choice for a title is one that alludes to the main point of the entire essay. Like the headline in a newspaper or the big, bold title in a magazine, an essay’s title gives the audience a first peek at the content. If readers like the title, they are likely to keep reading.

Following her outline carefully, Mariah crafted each paragraph of her essay. Moving step by step in the writing process, Mariah finished the draft and even included a brief concluding paragraph. She then decided, as the final touch for her writing session, to add an engaging title.

Writing Your Own First Draft

Now you may begin your own first draft, if you have not already done so. Follow the suggestions and the guidelines presented in this section.

Key Takeaways

• Make the writing process work for you. Use any and all of the strategies that help you move forward in the writing process.
• Always be aware of your purpose for writing and the needs of your audience. Cater to those needs in every sensible way.
• Remember to include all the key structural parts of an essay: a thesis statement that is part of your introductory paragraph, three or more body paragraphs as described in your outline, and a concluding paragraph. Then add an engaging title to draw in readers.
• Write paragraphs of an appropriate length for your writing assignment. Paragraphs in college-level writing can be a page long, as long as they cover the main topics in your outline.
• Use your topic outline or your sentence outline to guide the development of your paragraphs and the elaboration of your ideas. Each main idea, indicated by a roman numeral in your outline, becomes the topic of a new paragraph. Develop it with the supporting details and the subpoints of those details that you included in your outline.
• Generally speaking, write your introduction and conclusion last, after you have fleshed out the body paragraphs.

Write What Matters Copyright © 2020 by Liza Long; Amy Minervini; and Joel Gladd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to Write the First Draft

Part 4: How to Write the First Draft

Introduction

By this stage, you will have a final essay plan and a research document that presents your findings from the research stage in an organised and easy-to-use way. Together, these documents provide a clear map and all the information you need to write a well-structured essay , in a fraction of the time it would otherwise take. 

This timesaving comes from the fact that you have already made all the big decisions about your essay during the research phase: 

• You have a clear idea of your answer to the essay question.
• You know the main topics you will discuss to support your answer.
• You know the best order in which to discuss these topics. 
• You know how many words should be spent on these topics, based on their importance to supporting your answer.
• You know what points you will make under each topic and will discuss each of these in a new paragraph. 
• You know exactly what information each paragraph of your essay should contain. 

You have already compiled your list of references or bibliography, and have easy access to all the details you need to correctly cite and reference your work. 

Formal academic language

Before starting to write your essay, you must understand that using formal academic language is essential when writing at university. Formal academic language is clear and concise. You should never use 20 words when 10 will do; and your writing should leave no room for misunderstanding or confusion.

First person should almost always be avoided when writing an essay; however, it is recommended that you check with your tutor or lecturer about their attitude towards the first person and when it should be used, if ever. Conversely, contractions (e.g. shouldn’t, could’ve, he’s and hasn’t) are always inappropriate in academic writing. The only time you should see a contraction in academic text is in a direct quotation, usually taken from informal or spoken text. 

Care should be taken to craft grammatically correct sentences, with no errors of spelling or punctuation. Colloquialisms and idiomatic language should be avoided. (These are characteristics of informal or spoken language.) It is also important to avoid racist, sexist and gender-specific language in your writing. Instead, use inclusive and gender-neutral vocabulary. For more information, please see our blog article ‘ Simplicity in Academic Writing ’.

Introductions

As you already have a clear idea of what your essay will include, you can write your introduction first. Of course, you should always come back to your introduction at the end of writing your essay to make sure that it definitely introduces all the topics you discussed. (You should not discuss any topics in the body of your essay that you have not mentioned in the introduction.) 

Some other points to remember when writing your introduction are that you need to clearly state your answer to the essay question (your thesis statement), not just introduce the question. Also, your introduction should include no information that is not directly relevant to your topic. Including irrelevant background information in the introduction is a common mistake made by novice academic writers. 

See the following example of a poor introduction. Then, compare it with the example of a good introduction below that. These example introductions are for the same 1,000-word essay used for the examples given in earlier stages of this guide, ‘How to Begin’ and ‘How to Organise Your Research’.

This is an example of a poor introduction: In 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain on a quest to find a new trade route to Asia. Despite the fact that he believed he had landed in the East Indies, Columbus had found another continent entirely. This essay will examine the issue of whether or not indigenous culture was completely decimated in the Americas as a result of Spain’s colonisation in the 16th century. It will look at the areas of family, religion and language.

This is an example of a good introduction:  Beginning in the sixteenth century, Spanish colonisation of the Americas had a significantly negative effect on the cultural practices of the indigenous population. In particular, the introduction of new diseases and the consequent demographic collapse dramatically weakened indigenous culture and their ability to resist Spanish domination. However, aspects of the culture of some indigenous groups survived and even thrived—it was not completely decimated. Through an examination of the evidence related to religion, family and language, including the effects of colonisation on these areas of society, this essay will demonstrate aspects of indigenous beliefs, customs and practices that managed to endure.

In the example of a poor introduction, background information is included that is not directly relevant to the topic. Also, it does not answer the question, it only introduces it. Finally, it does not introduce all the topics to be discussed (as outlined in the final essay plan), and for those it does introduce, it does not mention them in the order they will be discussed in the essay (as outlined in the final essay plan). 

By contrast, the good introduction provides a clear thesis statement; introduces, in order, all the topics to be discussed; and only includes information that is directly relevant to the essay question. 

Topic sentences

As explained in ‘How to Begin’, every paragraph needs a topic sentence. The topic sentence introduces the new topic about to be discussed. It also links the topic back to the essay question, to make it clear why it is relevant and how it advances your argument. 

The following are examples of topic sentences for Topic 1 ‘Disease and demographic impact’, Topic 2 ‘Religion’ and Topic 4 ‘Language’, as outlined in the final essay plan in ‘How to Finalise Your Essay Plan’. Notice how they link back to the thesis statement: ‘Spain’s colonisation had a significantly negative effect on the indigenous population of the Americas but some aspects of the culture of some indigenous groups survived and even thrived—it was not completely decimated’.

Topic 1: One of the most obvious negative effects of colonisation was the introduction of diseases that caused rapid demographic collapse among the indigenous population. Topic 2: Missionaries arrived to preach Catholicism to the Native Americans, but they allowed the Native Americans to keep parts of their culture and religion that did not clash with Catholic value and traditions.   Topic 4: The Spanish did not force their language on the Native Americans, but there were nonetheless cases of indigenous languages fading out of use and being replaced with Spanish.

A common misconception is that your paragraphs need a concluding sentence for each topic. This is not true, and in fact results in unnecessary repetition, especially in a short essay. 

If you have carefully followed the steps outlined in the articles on organising your research and finalising your essay plan, your final essay plan should clearly indicate what information will go in each paragraph of your essay. Each paragraph should contain only one main idea. Care should also be taken to only spend as many words as planned on each paragraph. If you decided in your research and planning stages that 150 words were enough to discuss a certain topic, then stick as closely to that plan as possible. Likewise, unless you have a very good reason for doing otherwise, follow your planned order of paragraphs, as that order should reflect the most logical arrangement and help your essay to flow well.

When writing your paragraphs, you want to choose the best supporting evidence and examples from your research to use. You must also ensure that you are inserting the necessary in-text citations and compiling your final reference list as you are writing, rather than leaving this until the end. This should be easy to do, as all these details are readily available in your research document (see ‘How to Organise Your Research’). 

Conclusions

As explained in ‘How to Begin’, a conclusion should restate the thesis statement and summarise the points that were made in the body of the essay in the order in which they were made. The conclusion offers an important opportunity to synthesise the points you have made to support your argument and to reinforce how these points prove that your argument is correct. In many ways, the conclusion is a reflection of the introduction, but it is important that it is not an exact repeat of it. A key point of difference is that you have already provided ample evidence and support for your answer to the essay question, so the purpose of your conclusion is not to introduce what you will say, but rather to reiterate what you have said. Further, your conclusion absolutely must not contain any new material not already discussed in detail in the body of your text.  

Referencing

It is important that you acknowledge your sources of information in your academic writing. This allows you to clearly show how the ideas of others have influenced your own work. You should provide a citation (and matching reference) in your essay every time you use words, ideas or information from other sources. In this way, you can avoid accidental plagiarism. 

Referencing also serves other purposes. It allows you to demonstrate the depth and breadth of your research, to show that you have read and engaged with the ideas of experts in your field. It also allows you to give credit to the writers from whom you have borrowed words or ideas. For your reader, referencing allows them to trace the sources of information you have used, to verify the validity of your work. Your referencing must be accurate and provide all necessary details to allow your reader to locate the source.

Whether you have been provided referencing guidelines to follow, or have selected guidelines that you consider appropriate for your field, these must be followed closely, correctly and consistently. All work that is not 100% your own should be referenced, including page numbers where necessary (see ‘How, When and Why to Reference’). Your referencing should be checked carefully at the end of writing to ensure that everything that should have been referenced has been referenced, all in-text citations have corresponding reference list entries and the reference list or bibliography is correctly ordered.

Your document should be neatly and consistently formatted, following any guidelines provided by your tutor or lecturer. Neat formatting shows that you have taken pride in your work and that you understand the importance of following convention. 

If no guidelines have been provided to you, we recommend you use the following formatting guidelines: 

• normal page margins
• 12 pt Times New Roman or Arial font for the body (10 pt for footnotes)
• bold for headings
• 1.5 or double line spacing for the body (single spacing for footnotes)
• a line between each paragraph (or a first line indent of 1.27 cm for each paragraph).

These are the guidelines most commonly preferred by Australian and New Zealand universities. 

Learning how to write your first draft can feel overwhelming. To solidify your knowledge, you might like to watch Dr Lisa Lines' video on the topic on our YouTube channel . If you need any further assistance, you can read more about our professional editing service . Capstone Editing is always here to help.

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Essay Writing Part 2: How to Organise Your Research

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Essay Writing Part 3: How to Finalise Your Essay Plan

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Before handing in any assignment, you must take the time to carefully edit and proofread it. This article explains exactly how to do so effectively.

Home > Homeschool Topics > The Writing Process- Drafting and Editing

The Writing Process- Drafting and Editing

Writing is a process that involves several distinct steps: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. It is important for a writer to work through each of the steps in order to ensure that he has produced a polished, complete piece.  The writing process is not always linear.  A writer may move back and forth between steps as needed.  For example, while you are revising, you might have to return to the prewriting step to develop and expand your ideas.

Last month we learned about prewriting .  Prewriting is anything you do before you write a draft of your document. It includes thinking, taking notes, talking to others, brainstorming, outlining, and gathering information.  Although prewriting is the first activity you engage in, generating ideas is an activity that occurs throughout the writing process.  During prewriting a writer will choose a manageable topic, identify a purpose and audience, draft a sentence that expresses the main idea of piece, gather information about the topic, and begin to organize the information.  Examples of prewriting include brainstorming, freewriting, and questioning.  Many people find it helpful to use a shape planner or graphic organizer to organize their thoughts during the prewriting process.

The second step of the writing process involves drafting.  During drafting, the writer puts his ideas into complete thoughts, such as sentences and paragraphs.  The writer organizes his ideas in a way that allows the reader to understand his message.  He does this by focusing on which ideas or topics to include in the piece of writing.  During drafting, the writer will compose an introduction to the piece and develop a conclusion for the material.  At the end of this step of the writing process, the author will have completed a “rough draft.”

Drafting—The Process

The process of drafting a piece of writing begins with an analysis of the prewriting.  The author must use his prewriting notes to determine a focus for the piece.  This may involve narrowing the focus of the topic and perhaps identifying a purpose for the piece.

For example, an author may decide to write an essay about dogs.  He could have developed his prewriting notes with information about three topics relating to dogs:  Show dogs, working dogs, and dog racing.  These are all topics that could stand alone in an essay.  During drafting, the author should choose just one of these topics for his piece of writing.

Once he has chosen a topic, he should identify a purpose for the essay.  For instance, if the writing was meant to be informational, he might choose to write about working dogs, his purpose being to impart information.  On the other hand, if he chose to write a persuasive essay, perhaps he would choose to write about dog racing, arguing for or against this controversial topic.  After determining a purpose for a piece of writing, it is easy to begin drafting.  Any information that is unrelated to the topic and its purpose should be eliminated from the prewriting.

The author begins writing by composing an introduction to the piece.  The purpose of the introduction is not only to state the topic of the piece, but it should also draw the reader in to the piece of writing.  For young children, the introduction may be one sentence stating the topic.  More sophisticated writers will create an introductory paragraph that identifies the topic, sets the purpose for the writing, and suggests how the topic will be developed throughout the piece.  The introduction to a piece of writing should be interesting.  The tone of the introduction will vary according to the topic.  If an author is writing a personal narrative, he might decide to begin with a creative quote about his experience.  When writing an informational essay, the tone of the introduction must follow suit.  It should be focused and informative.

A solid, interesting introduction sets the stage for the rest of the rough draft.  An author should begin drafting the piece by organizing his notes in a sequence that will make sense to the reader.  The focus should be on logical connections between topics.  A young writer will compose the body of a piece of writing by including detail sentences related to the topic sentence.  An older author should organize his writing in to paragraphs.  Each paragraph should include its own topic sentence.  Smooth transitions between paragraphs are important in creating a cohesive piece of writing, no matter the subject.  A writer should refer back to his prewriting to keep him on track and ensure that the piece of writing maintains its focus.

A writer should complete a rough draft by composing a conclusion.  The purpose of a conclusion is to wrap up the piece of writing by connecting all of the related thoughts and ideas.  The best conclusions are creative, engaging, and leave few questions unanswered in the mind of the reader.  Younger students can conclude a piece of writing with a simple sentence.  Advanced writers should include a conclusion paragraph.

Upon completion of a rough draft, the writer should take on the first edit of his work.  Editing is an on-going process, not a one time event.  When an author edits his work, he is checking the piece for errors.  These are typically errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and formatting (indenting of paragraphs, etc.).  A writer should be encouraged to edit as much of his own paper as possible.  Early writers should, with some prompting, be able to check a paper for correct capitalization and punctuation.  As a child ages, he will be able to correct other errors on his own.  Some students find it beneficial to read their work out loud while editing.  This makes it easier to find mistakes.  Editing should not be a negative process.  This is a time to work on creating a polished piece of writing that will make the author proud.  The author should be reminded that he will need to edit his work at least two more times.  He will edit before composing a final copy and then use the same process to check over his final product.

The Importance of Modeling

Writing can be a difficult process for children.  Many students are hesitant writers.  Because of this, it is important for the home teacher to demonstrate appropriate writing strategies.  When dealing with a child who does not enjoy writing, it is very important to model each step of the writing process.

The home teacher should plan to model a composition which parallels the one being written by the student.  For example, if the child is writing on the topic “My Favorite Vacation,” the home teacher might choose to write his own composition at the same time as the child is writing, focused on a similar topic.  This topic might be “My Favorite Weekend” or “My Favorite Holiday.”

The home teacher should plan to work through each step of the writing process with his student.  The teacher should show the child, with his own topic, how to complete a prewriting exercise.  He should then assist the student with this activity, moving through the process step by step, focused on the topic chosen by the student.  A child does not instinctively understand how to take prewriting notes and convert them in to a piece of writing.  The home teacher should model the procedure for this with his own topic.  He should take the time to explain to the student how he chose to focus his composition, why he has chosen to include certain ideas instead of others, and how he plans to organize the piece of writing.  The teacher should then encourage the student to verbalize his thought process and work together to assist the child with the assigned composition.

Writing is a flexible process.  A confident author recognizes that there is always room for improvement and celebrates each step toward a finished piece of writing that he is proud of.

Next month, we will continue our series on writing by focusing on revision.

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• How to write an essay outline | Guidelines & examples

How to Write an Essay Outline | Guidelines & Examples

Published on August 14, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An essay outline is a way of planning the structure of your essay before you start writing. It involves writing quick summary sentences or phrases for every point you will cover in each paragraph , giving you a picture of how your argument will unfold.

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Table of contents

Organizing your material, presentation of the outline, examples of essay outlines, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about essay outlines.

At the stage where you’re writing an essay outline, your ideas are probably still not fully formed. You should know your topic  and have already done some preliminary research to find relevant sources , but now you need to shape your ideas into a structured argument.

Creating categories

Look over any information, quotes and ideas you’ve noted down from your research and consider the central point you want to make in the essay—this will be the basis of your thesis statement . Once you have an idea of your overall argument, you can begin to organize your material in a way that serves that argument.

Try to arrange your material into categories related to different aspects of your argument. If you’re writing about a literary text, you might group your ideas into themes; in a history essay, it might be several key trends or turning points from the period you’re discussing.

Three main themes or subjects is a common structure for essays. Depending on the length of the essay, you could split the themes into three body paragraphs, or three longer sections with several paragraphs covering each theme.

As you create the outline, look critically at your categories and points: Are any of them irrelevant or redundant? Make sure every topic you cover is clearly related to your thesis statement.

Order of information

When you have your material organized into several categories, consider what order they should appear in.

Your essay will always begin and end with an introduction and conclusion , but the organization of the body is up to you.

Consider these questions to order your material:

• Is there an obvious starting point for your argument?
• Is there one subject that provides an easy transition into another?
• Do some points need to be set up by discussing other points first?

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Within each paragraph, you’ll discuss a single idea related to your overall topic or argument, using several points of evidence or analysis to do so.

In your outline, you present these points as a few short numbered sentences or phrases.They can be split into sub-points when more detail is needed.

The template below shows how you might structure an outline for a five-paragraph essay.

• Thesis statement
• First piece of evidence
• Second piece of evidence
• Summary/synthesis
• Importance of topic
• Strong closing statement

You can choose whether to write your outline in full sentences or short phrases. Be consistent in your choice; don’t randomly write some points as full sentences and others as short phrases.

Examples of outlines for different types of essays are presented below: an argumentative, expository, and literary analysis essay.

Argumentative essay outline

This outline is for a short argumentative essay evaluating the internet’s impact on education. It uses short phrases to summarize each point.

Its body is split into three paragraphs, each presenting arguments about a different aspect of the internet’s effects on education.

• Importance of the internet
• Concerns about internet use
• Thesis statement: Internet use a net positive
• Data exploring this effect
• Analysis indicating it is overstated
• Students’ reading levels over time
• Why this data is questionable
• Video media
• Interactive media
• Speed and simplicity of online research
• Questions about reliability (transitioning into next topic)
• Evidence indicating its ubiquity
• Claims that it discourages engagement with academic writing
• Evidence that Wikipedia warns students not to cite it
• Argument that it introduces students to citation
• Summary of key points
• Value of digital education for students
• Need for optimism to embrace advantages of the internet

Expository essay outline

This is the outline for an expository essay describing how the invention of the printing press affected life and politics in Europe.

The paragraphs are still summarized in short phrases here, but individual points are described with full sentences.

• Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages.
• Provide background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press.
• Present the thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.
• Discuss the very high levels of illiteracy in medieval Europe.
• Describe how literacy and thus knowledge and education were mainly the domain of religious and political elites.
• Indicate how this discouraged political and religious change.
• Describe the invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg.
• Show the implications of the new technology for book production.
• Describe the rapid spread of the technology and the printing of the Gutenberg Bible.
• Link to the Reformation.
• Discuss the trend for translating the Bible into vernacular languages during the years following the printing press’s invention.
• Describe Luther’s own translation of the Bible during the Reformation.
• Sketch out the large-scale effects the Reformation would have on religion and politics.
• Summarize the history described.
• Stress the significance of the printing press to the events of this period.

Literary analysis essay outline

The literary analysis essay outlined below discusses the role of theater in Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park .

The body of the essay is divided into three different themes, each of which is explored through examples from the book.

• Describe the theatricality of Austen’s works
• Outline the role theater plays in Mansfield Park
• Introduce the research question : How does Austen use theater to express the characters’ morality in Mansfield Park ?
• Discuss Austen’s depiction of the performance at the end of the first volume
• Discuss how Sir Bertram reacts to the acting scheme
• Introduce Austen’s use of stage direction–like details during dialogue
• Explore how these are deployed to show the characters’ self-absorption
• Discuss Austen’s description of Maria and Julia’s relationship as polite but affectionless
• Compare Mrs. Norris’s self-conceit as charitable despite her idleness
• Summarize the three themes: The acting scheme, stage directions, and the performance of morals
• Answer the research question
• Indicate areas for further study

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

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You will sometimes be asked to hand in an essay outline before you start writing your essay . Your supervisor wants to see that you have a clear idea of your structure so that writing will go smoothly.

Even when you do not have to hand it in, writing an essay outline is an important part of the writing process . It’s a good idea to write one (as informally as you like) to clarify your structure for yourself whenever you are working on an essay.

If you have to hand in your essay outline , you may be given specific guidelines stating whether you have to use full sentences. If you’re not sure, ask your supervisor.

When writing an essay outline for yourself, the choice is yours. Some students find it helpful to write out their ideas in full sentences, while others prefer to summarize them in short phrases.

You should try to follow your outline as you write your essay . However, if your ideas change or it becomes clear that your structure could be better, it’s okay to depart from your essay outline . Just make sure you know why you’re doing so.

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3.4 – Drafting

Learning objectives.

• Identify drafting strategies that improve writing.
• Use drafting strategies to prepare the first draft of an essay.

Drafting is the stage of the writing process in which you develop a complete first version of a piece of writing.

Even professional writers admit that an empty page scares them because they feel they need to come up with something fresh and original every time they open a blank document on their computers. Because you have completed the first two steps in the writing process, you have already recovered from empty page syndrome. You have hours of prewriting and planning already done. You know what will go on that blank page: what you wrote in your outline.

Getting Started: Strategies For Drafting

Your objective for this portion of “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” is to draft the body paragraphs of a standard five-paragraph essay. A five-paragraph essay contains an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. If you are more comfortable starting on paper than on the computer, you can start on paper and then type it before you revise. In this lesson, Mariah does all her work on the computer, but you may use pen and paper or the computer to write a rough draft.

Making the Writing Process Work for You

What makes the writing process so beneficial to writers is that it encourages alternatives to standard practices while motivating you to develop your best ideas. For instance, the following approaches, done alone or in combination with others, may improve your writing and help you move forward in the writing process:

• Begin writing with the part you know the most about. You can start with the third paragraph in your outline if ideas come easily to mind. You can start with the second paragraph or the first paragraph, too. Although paragraphs may vary in length, keep in mind that short paragraphs may contain insufficient support. Readers may also think the writing is abrupt. Long paragraphs may be wordy and may lose your reader’s interest. As a guideline, try to write paragraphs longer than one sentence but shorter than the length of an entire double-spaced page.
• Write one paragraph at a time and then stop. As long as you complete the assignment on time, you may choose how many paragraphs you complete in one sitting. Pace yourself. On the other hand, try not to procrastinate. Writers should always meet their deadlines.
• Take short breaks to refresh your mind. This tip might be most useful if you are writing a multipage report or essay. Still, if you are antsy or cannot concentrate, take a break to let your mind rest. But do not let breaks extend too long. If you spend too much time away from your essay, you may have trouble starting again. You may forget key points or lose momentum. Try setting an alarm to limit your break, and when the time is up, return to your desk to write.
• Be reasonable with your goals. If you decide to take ten-minute breaks, try to stick to that goal. If you told yourself that you need more facts, then commit to finding them. Holding yourself to your own goals will create successful writing assignments.
• Keep your audience and purpose in mind as you write. These aspects of writing are just as important when you are writing a single paragraph for your essay as when you are considering the direction of the entire essay.

Of all of these considerations, keeping your purpose and your audience at the front of your mind is the most important key to writing success. If your purpose is to persuade, for example, you will present your facts and details in the most logical and convincing way you can.

Your purpose will guide your mind as you compose your sentences. Your audience will guide word choice. Are you writing for experts, for a general audience, for other college students, or for people who know very little about your topic? Keep asking yourself what your readers, with their background and experience, need to be told in order to understand your ideas. How can you best express your ideas so they are totally clear and your communication is effective?

Using the topic for the essay that you outlined in Section 3.2 “Outlining” , describe your purpose and your audience as specifically as you can. Use your own sheet of paper to record your responses. Then keep these responses near you during future stages of the writing process.

My purpose:

My audience:

Setting Goals for Your First Draft

A draft is a complete version of a piece of writing, but it is not the final version. The step in the writing process after drafting, as you may remember, is revising. During revising, you will have the opportunity to make changes to your first draft before you put the finishing touches on it during the editing and proofreading stage. A first draft gives you a working version that you can later improve.

Discovering the Basic Elements of a First Draft

If you have been using the information in this chapter step by step to help you develop an assignment, you already have both a formal topic outline and a formal sentence outline to direct your writing. Knowing what a first draft looks like will help you make the creative leap from the outline to the first draft. A first draft should include the following elements:

• An introduction that piques the audience’s interest, tells what the essay is about, and motivates readers to keep reading.
• A thesis statement that presents the main point, or controlling idea, of the entire piece of writing.
• A topic sentence in each paragraph that states the main idea of the paragraph and implies how that main idea connects to the thesis statement.
• Supporting sentences in each paragraph that develop or explain the topic sentence. These can be specific facts, examples, anecdotes, or other details that elaborate on the topic sentence. Don’t forget to include in-text citations at this step, to help you track your facts and research and avoid forgetting a source as you work.
• A conclusion that reinforces the thesis statement and leaves the audience with a feeling of completion.

These elements follow the standard five-paragraph essay format, which you probably first encountered in high school. This basic format is valid for most essays you will write in college, even much longer ones. For now, however, Mariah focuses on writing the three body paragraphs from her outline. Chapter 4 “ Writing Essays: From Start to Finish ” covers writing introductions and conclusions, and you will read Mariah’s introduction and conclusion in Chapter 4 “Writing Essays: From Start to Finish” .

Elements of a First Draft

You’ve already seen these terms in context elsewhere in your textbook. Can you identify the correct definition for each of the following words?

• thesis statement
• supporting sentences
• introduction
• topic sentence
• An            piques the audience’s interest, tells what the essay is about, and motivates readers to keep reading. (Tip: the first paragraph)
• A             presents the main point, or controlling idea, of the entire piece of writing. (Tip: usually the last sentence of the introduction)
• A             in each paragraph states the main idea of the paragraph and implies how that main idea connects to the thesis statement. (Tip: usually the first sentence of the paragraph)
• The              in each paragraph develop or explain the topic sentence. These can be specific facts, examples, anecdotes, or other details that elaborate on the topic sentence. (Tip: also referred to as supporting details).
• A              that reinforces the thesis statement and leaves the audience with a feeling of completion. (Tip: the last paragraph)

Activity Source: “ Elements of a Draft (Pre-Test 6) ” Brenna Clark Gray (H5P Adaptation) is based on content from Writing for Success – 1st Canadian Edition by Tara Harkoff & [author removed], licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

The Role of Topic Sentences

Topic sentences make the structure of a text and the writer’s basic arguments easy to locate and comprehend. In college writing, using a topic sentence in each paragraph of the essay is the standard rule. However, the topic sentence does not always have to be the first sentence in your paragraph even if it the first item in your formal outline.

When you begin to draft your paragraphs, you should follow your outline fairly closely. After all, you spent valuable time developing those ideas. However, as you begin to express your ideas in complete sentences, it might strike you that the topic sentence might work better at the end of the paragraph or in the middle. Try it. Writing a draft, by its nature, is a good time for experimentation.

The topic sentence can be the first, middle, or final sentence in a paragraph. The assignment’s audience and purpose will often determine where a topic sentence belongs. When the purpose of the assignment is to persuade, for example, the topic sentence should be the first sentence in a paragraph. In a persuasive essay, the writer’s point of view should be clearly expressed at the beginning of each paragraph.

Choosing where to position the topic sentence depends not only on your audience and purpose but also on the essay’s arrangement, or order. When you organize information according to order of importance, the topic sentence may be the final sentence in a paragraph. All the supporting sentences build up to the topic sentence. Chronological order may also position the topic sentence as the final sentence because the controlling idea of the paragraph may make the most sense at the end of a sequence.

When you organize information according to spatial order, a topic sentence may appear as the middle sentence in a paragraph. An essay arranged by spatial order often contains paragraphs that begin with descriptions. A reader may first need a visual in his or her mind before understanding the development of the paragraph. When the topic sentence is in the middle, it unites the details that come before it with the ones that come after it.

Developing topic sentences and thinking about their placement in a paragraph will prepare you to write the rest of the paragraph.

The paragraph is the main structural component of an essay as well as other forms of writing. Each paragraph of an essay adds another related main idea to support the writer’s thesis, or controlling idea. Each related main idea is supported and developed with facts, examples, and other details that explain it, along with in-text citations that point to the sources on the essay’s reference page. By exploring and refining one main idea at a time, writers build a strong case for their thesis.

Paragraph Length

How long should a paragraph be?

One answer to this important question may be “long enough”—long enough for you to address your points and explain your main idea. To grab attention or to present succinct supporting ideas, a paragraph can be fairly short and consist of two to three sentences. A paragraph in a complex essay about some abstract point in philosophy or archaeology can be three-quarters of a page or more in length. As long as the writer maintains close focus on the topic and does not ramble, a long paragraph is acceptable in college-level writing. In general, try to keep the paragraphs longer than one sentence but shorter than one full page of double-spaced text.

Always be guided by what you instructor wants and expects to find in your draft. Many instructors will expect you to develop a mature college-level style as you progress through the semester’s assignments.

Long enough! A paragraph can be only a few sentences or much longer, provided it doesn’t ramble. In general, aim for between a minimum of 3 sentences and a maximum of one page of double-spaced text .

Activity source: “Paragraph Length” by Emily Cramer is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

To build your sense of appropriate paragraph length, use the Internet to find examples of the following items. Copy them into a file, identify your sources, and present them to your instructor with your annotations, or notes.

• A news article written in short paragraphs. Take notes on, or annotate, your selection with your observations about the effect of combining paragraphs that develop the same topic idea. Explain how effective those paragraphs would be.
• A long paragraph from a scholarly work that you identify through an academic search engine. Annotate it with your observations about the author’s paragraphing style.

Starting Your First Draft

Now we are finally ready to look over Mariah’s shoulder as she begins to write her essay about digital technology and the confusing choices that consumers face. As she does, you should have in front of you your outline, with its thesis statement and topic sentences, and the notes you wrote earlier in this lesson on your purpose and audience. Reviewing these will put both you and Mariah in the proper mind-set to start.

Mariah’s thesis statement

Here are the notes that Mariah wrote to herself to characterize her purpose and audience.

Purpose & Audience for Mariah’s work

Purpose: My purpose is to inform readers about the wide variety of consumer digital technology available in stores and to explain why the specifications for these products, expressed in numbers that average consumers don’t understand, often cause bad or misinformed buying decisions.

Audience: My audience is my instructor and members of this class. Most of them are not heavy into technology except for the usual laptops, cell phones and MP3 players, which are not topics I’m writing about. I’ll have to be as exact and precise as I can be when I explain possibly unfamiliar product specifications. At the same time, they’re more with it electronically than my grandparents’ VCR flummoxed generation, so I won’t have to explain every last detail.

Mariah chose to begin by writing a quick introduction based on her thesis statement. She knew that she would want to improve her introduction significantly when she revised. Right now, she just wanted to give herself a starting point. You will read her introduction again in Section 3.4 “Revising and Editing” when she revises it.

Remember Mariah’s other options. She could have started directly with any of the body paragraphs.

You will learn more about writing attention-getting introductions and effective conclusions in Chapter 4 “Writing Essays: From Start to Finish” .

With her thesis statement and her purpose and audience notes in front of her, Mariah then looked at her sentence outline. She chose to use that outline because it includes the topic sentences. The following is the portion of her outline for the first body paragraph. The roman numeral II identifies the topic sentence for the paragraph, capital letters indicate supporting details, and Arabic numerals label subpoints.

Mariah’s Sentence Outline for her 1st body paragraph

• Books can be downloaded electronically.
• Devices can store hundreds of books in memory.
• Booksellers sell their own e-book readers.
• Electronics and computer companies also sell e-book readers.
• The devices are owned by different brands and may not be compatible.
• Few programs have been made to fit the other way people read by borrowing books from libraries.

Baron, N.S. (2015). Words Onscreen : The Fate of Reading in a Digital World . Oxford University Press.

Mariah’s first body paragraph

Continuing the first draft.

Mariah continued writing her essay, moving to the second and third body paragraphs. She had supporting details but no numbered subpoints in her outline, so she had to consult her prewriting notes for specific information to include.

If you decide to take a break between finishing your first body paragraph and starting the next one, do not start writing immediately when you return to your work. Put yourself back in context and in the mood by rereading what you have already written. This is what Mariah did. If she had stopped writing in the middle of writing the paragraph, she could have jotted down some quick notes to herself about what she would write next.

Preceding each body paragraph that Mariah wrote is the appropriate section of her sentence outline. Notice how she expanded Roman numeral III from her outline into a first draft of the second body paragraph. As you read, ask yourself how closely she stayed on purpose and how well she paid attention to the needs of her audience.

Mariah’s 2nd body paragraph outline

• Compact digital cameras are light but lack the megapixels.
• Single lens reflex cameras, or SLRs, may be large but can be used for many functions.
• Some cameras that combine the best features of both compacts and SLRs.
• Choosing the camera type involves the confusing “megapixel wars” (It takes a camera, 2011).
• The zoom lens battle also determines the camera you will buy (It takes a camera, 2011)

It takes a camera. (2011).  Consumer Reports, 76 (8), 38-47.

Mariah’s 2nd body paragraph

Digital cameras have almost totally replaced film cameras in amateur photographers’ gadget bags. My father took hundreds of slides when his children were growing up, but he had more and more trouble getting them developed. His smart phone had a camera, but he knew that a stand-alone camera would offer more features, particularly a superior optical zoom (It takes a camera, 2011). He decided to buy a digital camera. But, what kind of camera should he buy? The small compact digital cameras could slip right in his pocket, but if he tried to print a photograph larger than an 8 x 10, the quality would be poor. When he investigated buying a single lens reflex camera, or SLR, he discovered they were as versatile as his old film camera, also an SLR, but they were big and bulky. Then he discovered yet a third type, which combined the smaller size of the compact digital cameras with the zoom lenses available for SLRs. His first thought was to buy one of those, but then he realized he had a lot of decisions to make. How many megapixels should the camera be? Five? Ten? What is the advantage of each? Then came the size of the zoom lens. He know that 3x was too small, but what about 25x? Could he hold a lens that long without causing camera shake? He read hundreds of photography magazines and buying guides, and he still wasn’t sure he was right.

Mariah then began her third and final body paragraph using Roman numeral IV from her outline.

Mariah’s 3rd body paragraph outline

• In the resolution wars, what are the benefits of higher resolution?
• In the screen-size wars, what does HDR and backlighting mean?
• Does every home really need a media center?

Hall, P. (2022, March 30). How to choose the right TV. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-buy-the-right-tv/

Mariah’s 3rd body paragraph

Reread body paragraphs two and three of the essay that Mariah is writing. Then answer the questions on your own sheet of paper.

• In body paragraph two, Mariah decided to develop her paragraph as a nonfiction narrative. Do you agree with her decision? Explain. How else could she have chosen to develop the paragraph? Why is that better?
• Compare the writing styles of paragraphs two and three. What evidence do you have that Mariah was getting tired or running out of steam? What advice would you give her? Why?
• Choose one of these two body paragraphs. Write a version of your own that you think better fits Mariah’s audience and purpose.

Writing a Title

A writer’s best choice for a title is one that alludes to the main point of the entire essay. Like the headline in a newspaper or the big, bold title in a magazine, an essay’s title gives the audience a first peek at the content. If readers like the title, they are likely to keep reading.

Following her outline carefully, Mariah crafted each paragraph of her essay. Moving step by step in the writing process, Mariah finished the draft and even included a brief concluding paragraph (you will read her conclusion in Chapter 4 “Writing Essays: From Start to Finish” ). She then decided, as the final touch for her writing session, to add an engaging title.

Thesis statement: Everyone wants the newest and the best digital technology, but the choices are many, and the specifications are often confusing.

Working title: Digital Technology: The Newest and the Best at What Price?

Writing Your Own First Draft

Now you may begin your own first draft, if you have not already done so. Follow the suggestions and the guidelines presented in this section.

Key Takeaways

• Make the writing process work for you. Use any and all of the strategies that help you move forward in the writing process.
• Always be aware of your purpose for writing and the needs of your audience. Cater to those needs in every sensible way.
• Remember to include all the key structural parts of an essay: a thesis statement that is part of your introductory paragraph, three or more body paragraphs as described in your outline, and a concluding paragraph. Then add an engaging title to draw in readers.
• Write paragraphs of an appropriate length for your writing assignment. Paragraphs in college-level writing can be a page long, as long as they cover the main topics in your outline.
• Use your topic outline or your sentence outline to guide the development of your paragraphs and the elaboration of your ideas. Each main idea, indicated by a roman numeral in your outline, becomes the topic of a new paragraph. Develop it with the supporting details and the subpoints of those details that you included in your outline.
• Support your ideas with sources, using citations.
• Generally speaking, write your introduction and conclusion last, after you have fleshed out the body paragraphs.

Attribution & References

Except where otherwise noted, this chapter (text & images) is adapted from “ 8.3 Drafting ” In Writing for Success by University of Minnesota licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 . Additional accessibility features have been added to original content.

• conclusion. ↵

Communication Essentials for College Copyright © 2022 by Jen Booth, Emily Cramer & Amanda Quibell, Georgian College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Revising Drafts

Rewriting is the essence of writing well—where the game is won or lost. —William Zinsser

What this handout is about

This handout will motivate you to revise your drafts and give you strategies to revise effectively.

What does it mean to revise?

Revision literally means to “see again,” to look at something from a fresh, critical perspective. It is an ongoing process of rethinking the paper: reconsidering your arguments, reviewing your evidence, refining your purpose, reorganizing your presentation, reviving stale prose.

But I thought revision was just fixing the commas and spelling

Nope. That’s called proofreading. It’s an important step before turning your paper in, but if your ideas are predictable, your thesis is weak, and your organization is a mess, then proofreading will just be putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. When you finish revising, that’s the time to proofread. For more information on the subject, see our handout on proofreading .

How about if I just reword things: look for better words, avoid repetition, etc.? Is that revision?

Well, that’s a part of revision called editing. It’s another important final step in polishing your work. But if you haven’t thought through your ideas, then rephrasing them won’t make any difference.

Why is revision important?

Writing is a process of discovery, and you don’t always produce your best stuff when you first get started. So revision is a chance for you to look critically at what you have written to see:

• if it’s really worth saying,
• if it says what you wanted to say, and
• if a reader will understand what you’re saying.

The process

What steps should i use when i begin to revise.

Here are several things to do. But don’t try them all at one time. Instead, focus on two or three main areas during each revision session:

• Wait awhile after you’ve finished a draft before looking at it again. The Roman poet Horace thought one should wait nine years, but that’s a bit much. A day—a few hours even—will work. When you do return to the draft, be honest with yourself, and don’t be lazy. Ask yourself what you really think about the paper.
• As The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers puts it, “THINK BIG, don’t tinker” (61). At this stage, you should be concerned with the large issues in the paper, not the commas.
• Check the focus of the paper: Is it appropriate to the assignment? Is the topic too big or too narrow? Do you stay on track through the entire paper?
• Think honestly about your thesis: Do you still agree with it? Should it be modified in light of something you discovered as you wrote the paper? Does it make a sophisticated, provocative point, or does it just say what anyone could say if given the same topic? Does your thesis generalize instead of taking a specific position? Should it be changed altogether? For more information visit our handout on thesis statements .
• Think about your purpose in writing: Does your introduction state clearly what you intend to do? Will your aims be clear to your readers?

What are some other steps I should consider in later stages of the revision process?

• Examine the balance within your paper: Are some parts out of proportion with others? Do you spend too much time on one trivial point and neglect a more important point? Do you give lots of detail early on and then let your points get thinner by the end?
• Check that you have kept your promises to your readers: Does your paper follow through on what the thesis promises? Do you support all the claims in your thesis? Are the tone and formality of the language appropriate for your audience?
• Check the organization: Does your paper follow a pattern that makes sense? Do the transitions move your readers smoothly from one point to the next? Do the topic sentences of each paragraph appropriately introduce what that paragraph is about? Would your paper work better if you moved some things around? For more information visit our handout on reorganizing drafts.
• Check your information: Are all your facts accurate? Are any of your statements misleading? Have you provided enough detail to satisfy readers’ curiosity? Have you cited all your information appropriately?
• Check your conclusion: Does the last paragraph tie the paper together smoothly and end on a stimulating note, or does the paper just die a slow, redundant, lame, or abrupt death?

Whoa! I thought I could just revise in a few minutes

Sorry. You may want to start working on your next paper early so that you have plenty of time for revising. That way you can give yourself some time to come back to look at what you’ve written with a fresh pair of eyes. It’s amazing how something that sounded brilliant the moment you wrote it can prove to be less-than-brilliant when you give it a chance to incubate.

But I don’t want to rewrite my whole paper!

Revision doesn’t necessarily mean rewriting the whole paper. Sometimes it means revising the thesis to match what you’ve discovered while writing. Sometimes it means coming up with stronger arguments to defend your position, or coming up with more vivid examples to illustrate your points. Sometimes it means shifting the order of your paper to help the reader follow your argument, or to change the emphasis of your points. Sometimes it means adding or deleting material for balance or emphasis. And then, sadly, sometimes revision does mean trashing your first draft and starting from scratch. Better that than having the teacher trash your final paper.

But I work so hard on what I write that I can’t afford to throw any of it away

If you want to be a polished writer, then you will eventually find out that you can’t afford NOT to throw stuff away. As writers, we often produce lots of material that needs to be tossed. The idea or metaphor or paragraph that I think is most wonderful and brilliant is often the very thing that confuses my reader or ruins the tone of my piece or interrupts the flow of my argument.Writers must be willing to sacrifice their favorite bits of writing for the good of the piece as a whole. In order to trim things down, though, you first have to have plenty of material on the page. One trick is not to hinder yourself while you are composing the first draft because the more you produce, the more you will have to work with when cutting time comes.

But sometimes I revise as I go

That’s OK. Since writing is a circular process, you don’t do everything in some specific order. Sometimes you write something and then tinker with it before moving on. But be warned: there are two potential problems with revising as you go. One is that if you revise only as you go along, you never get to think of the big picture. The key is still to give yourself enough time to look at the essay as a whole once you’ve finished. Another danger to revising as you go is that you may short-circuit your creativity. If you spend too much time tinkering with what is on the page, you may lose some of what hasn’t yet made it to the page. Here’s a tip: Don’t proofread as you go. You may waste time correcting the commas in a sentence that may end up being cut anyway.

How do I go about the process of revising? Any tips?

• Work from a printed copy; it’s easier on the eyes. Also, problems that seem invisible on the screen somehow tend to show up better on paper.
• Another tip is to read the paper out loud. That’s one way to see how well things flow.
• Remember all those questions listed above? Don’t try to tackle all of them in one draft. Pick a few “agendas” for each draft so that you won’t go mad trying to see, all at once, if you’ve done everything.
• Ask lots of questions and don’t flinch from answering them truthfully. For example, ask if there are opposing viewpoints that you haven’t considered yet.

Whenever I revise, I just make things worse. I do my best work without revising

That’s a common misconception that sometimes arises from fear, sometimes from laziness. The truth is, though, that except for those rare moments of inspiration or genius when the perfect ideas expressed in the perfect words in the perfect order flow gracefully and effortlessly from the mind, all experienced writers revise their work. I wrote six drafts of this handout. Hemingway rewrote the last page of A Farewell to Arms thirty-nine times. If you’re still not convinced, re-read some of your old papers. How do they sound now? What would you revise if you had a chance?

What can get in the way of good revision strategies?

Don’t fall in love with what you have written. If you do, you will be hesitant to change it even if you know it’s not great. Start out with a working thesis, and don’t act like you’re married to it. Instead, act like you’re dating it, seeing if you’re compatible, finding out what it’s like from day to day. If a better thesis comes along, let go of the old one. Also, don’t think of revision as just rewording. It is a chance to look at the entire paper, not just isolated words and sentences.

What happens if I find that I no longer agree with my own point?

If you take revision seriously, sometimes the process will lead you to questions you cannot answer, objections or exceptions to your thesis, cases that don’t fit, loose ends or contradictions that just won’t go away. If this happens (and it will if you think long enough), then you have several choices. You could choose to ignore the loose ends and hope your reader doesn’t notice them, but that’s risky. You could change your thesis completely to fit your new understanding of the issue, or you could adjust your thesis slightly to accommodate the new ideas. Or you could simply acknowledge the contradictions and show why your main point still holds up in spite of them. Most readers know there are no easy answers, so they may be annoyed if you give them a thesis and try to claim that it is always true with no exceptions no matter what.

How do I get really good at revising?

The same way you get really good at golf, piano, or a video game—do it often. Take revision seriously, be disciplined, and set high standards for yourself. Here are three more tips:

• The more you produce, the more you can cut.
• The more you can imagine yourself as a reader looking at this for the first time, the easier it will be to spot potential problems.
• The more you demand of yourself in terms of clarity and elegance, the more clear and elegant your writing will be.

How do I revise at the sentence level?

Read your paper out loud, sentence by sentence, and follow Peter Elbow’s advice: “Look for places where you stumble or get lost in the middle of a sentence. These are obvious awkwardness’s that need fixing. Look for places where you get distracted or even bored—where you cannot concentrate. These are places where you probably lost focus or concentration in your writing. Cut through the extra words or vagueness or digression; get back to the energy. Listen even for the tiniest jerk or stumble in your reading, the tiniest lessening of your energy or focus or concentration as you say the words . . . A sentence should be alive” (Writing with Power 135).

Practical advice for ensuring that your sentences are alive:

• Use forceful verbs—replace long verb phrases with a more specific verb. For example, replace “She argues for the importance of the idea” with “She defends the idea.”
• Look for places where you’ve used the same word or phrase twice or more in consecutive sentences and look for alternative ways to say the same thing OR for ways to combine the two sentences.
• Cut as many prepositional phrases as you can without losing your meaning. For instance, the following sentence, “There are several examples of the issue of integrity in Huck Finn,” would be much better this way, “Huck Finn repeatedly addresses the issue of integrity.”
• Check your sentence variety. If more than two sentences in a row start the same way (with a subject followed by a verb, for example), then try using a different sentence pattern.
• Aim for precision in word choice. Don’t settle for the best word you can think of at the moment—use a thesaurus (along with a dictionary) to search for the word that says exactly what you want to say.
• Look for sentences that start with “It is” or “There are” and see if you can revise them to be more active and engaging.
• For more information, please visit our handouts on word choice and style .

How can technology help?

Need some help revising? Take advantage of the revision and versioning features available in modern word processors.

Track your changes. Most word processors and writing tools include a feature that allows you to keep your changes visible until you’re ready to accept them. Using “Track Changes” mode in Word or “Suggesting” mode in Google Docs, for example, allows you to make changes without committing to them.

Compare drafts. Tools that allow you to compare multiple drafts give you the chance to visually track changes over time. Try “File History” or “Compare Documents” modes in Google Doc, Word, and Scrivener to retrieve old drafts, identify changes you’ve made over time, or help you keep a bigger picture in mind as you revise.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers , 6th ed. New York: Longman.

Elbow, Peter. 1998. Writing With Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process . New York: Oxford University Press.

Lanham, Richard A. 2006. Revising Prose , 5th ed. New York: Pearson Longman.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Ruszkiewicz, John J., Christy Friend, Daniel Seward, and Maxine Hairston. 2010. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers , 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

Zinsser, William. 2001. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction , 6th ed. New York: Quill.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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2024 NFL Draft: The decline of the second-round QB and what it could mean for Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix, more

Could a second-tier qb slip into the end of day 2 or day 3.

The concept of a "second-round" quarterback, based on how we discuss and talk through the position, is one of the most unique in "draft economics." If a team needs a quarterback and believes that quarterback can be their long-term starter, they should (and usually do) take that quarterback as early as possible in the first round.

And generally, if a team believes a quarterback is best suited to be a backup (and maybe has some traits/abilities to potentially develop into a starter), they should aim to draft them where they usually take "important" backups: Day 3 of the draft, or occasionally late in the third round.

So, based on how important the quarterback position is, the idea of a second- or third-round quarterback, conceptually, doesn't make a ton of sense. Over the last decade-plus, NFL teams have shifted their view on that very idea. And it could potentially have real ramifications for players like Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix, Spencer Rattler and more, much like it did for Desmond Ridder and Malik Willis just a few seasons ago. 

A change in team drafting habits

Since the NFL rookie wage scale was put into place in 2011, teams no longer had to factor a player's rookie contract in their decision-making, or at least as much as they used to. In 2010, the first overall pick ( Sam Bradford ) made more than 14 times as much as the first pick of the second round. In 2011, it was a little over four times.

And since that time, the financial risk of early first-round picks went substantially down, and the value of trying to find a starting quarterback in round two or later went down with it.

Below is a historical graph of the ratio of second-round picks to first-round picks since 2011:

In 2011, 0.50 means 50% as many second-round QBs were drafted compared to first-round QBs. In 2013, 1.00 means the number of first and second round quarterbacks drafted were equal.

For one, only 12 quarterbacks have been drafted in the second round (on average one per year) since 2011. Additionally, of those one, five were taken in the first five picks of the second round, meaning they very easily could've been first-round picks. As you can see by the trend line from the data, we've seen a substantial and consistent drop in teams taking quarterbacks in the second round.

And while a handful picked after the first few picks of the second round have been successful (most notably Jalen Hurts and Jimmy Garoppolo ), many were players who fit this conundrum well: If a quarterback has traits a team may like, but it doesn't feel convicted enough or trust him to be a franchise quarterback enough to take him in the first round, it's probably not wise to take that quarterback in the second round (i.e. Kyle Trask , Christian Hackenberg , DeShone Kizer  and Brock Osweiler ). And based on the data, teams appear to have collectively learned from those mistakes.

And in the third round, the average quarterback draft pick is pick 82, sliding somewhere in the back half of the round.

With the quarterback position, the draft valuation is different than a receiver or a lineman or a defensive back. It's a position that, if you draft in the top-100 picks, it can shape how your locker room views your team's outlook, both immediately and for the future. It's a position that, if it doesn't work out, you can't simply shift that player to more special teams or a different role. It's a position that, if you can't solve as a general manager, you won't hold that title very long.

And that's the biggest reason why, as teams continue to value analytic and new-age roster construction strategies, we've seen teams be more aggressive than ever to trade into the early first round for a quarterback, and shy away from the second- or third-round quarterback. Fortune favors the bold and, in the draft, the convicted, and teams no longer subscribe to the "we'll try to get one later" strategy at the most important position in sports.

For more draft coverage, you can hear in-depth analysis twice a week on  "With the First Pick"  -- our year-round  NFL Draft  podcast with  NFL Draft  analyst Ryan Wilson and former  Vikings  general manager Rick Spielman. You can find "With the First Pick" wherever you get your podcasts:  Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify ,  YouTube , etc. Listen below!

What does this mean for the 2024 NFL Draft class?

Most mock drafters feel confident four quarterbacks fit that mold of "potential franchise quarterback," and that all four should go between picks 4-7 of the NFL draft: Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy.

After that, there are questions abound about how teams value Washington's Michael Penix Jr., Oregon's Bo Nix, South Carolina's Spencer Rattler, and others. As of now, there are five teams whose roster construction very likely sets them up to draft a quarterback in the first few rounds: Chicago, Washington, New England, Minnesota and Denver.

There's also teams, such as Raiders , Rams , Giants , Jets  and  Falcons , who may consider one in the first three or four rounds. But each of those five teams have either two quarterbacks with a contract/credentials to be challenging for a starting job, and/or an unquestioned starter for this season and beyond.

Teams set up to select QB 

Teams who could consider picking qb.

Of the five teams likely to draft a quarterback early, four of them will likely snag them in the first few picks of the draft. Leaving just one team, most likely one of the Patriots, Broncos or Vikings, the only one left out of getting one of the expected top-four quarterbacks. These teams are far more likely to consider a quarterback in the late third or four round rather than use a premium pick on a player who will likely be their third-stringer as a rookie, barring they value the quarterback so highly they "can't believe" he's there in the second round.

That's not to say this next "tier" of quarterbacks don't have NFL starter traits. Penix's ball placement across the field is special. Nix's experience and perimeter accuracy is hard to ignore. Rattler's arm talent and fluidity gives him one of the more exciting upsides of any in this class. 

But based on this data and current NFL quarterback rooms, history says we maybe should expect, after the expected four early picked quarterbacks, maybe as few as one quarterback between picks 33 and 80, and then the rest following. That could mean, for example, Penix slides into the second or even early third round, and Nix and Rattler slip to the late third or even fourth round.

We talk about the quarterback position so much, and it's no surprise that these players, especially ones that show starter traits, tend to "rise" in the discussion around the draft. But in the end, they play a position that, unless teams feel you're a potential franchise quarterback, you're likely relegated to a backup role and, therefore, a position in the draft where backups get drafted.

And for a few of the favorites among those in the media covering the NFL Draft, that could lead to at least one surprising quarterback name slipping in the draft into Friday and/or Saturday of draft weekend.

The 2024  NFL Draft  will take place from April 25-27 in Detroit. More draft coverage can be found at CBSSports.com, including the weekly  updated draft order ,  mock drafts  and a regularly available  look at the eligible prospects . 

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Four Questions: Brandon Aiyuk and The Draft

This time the contract tug of war could be different, Brandon Aiyuk is in demand.

• Author: Tom Jensen

In this story:

Bradon Aiyuk has unfollowed the 49ers on Instagram , the usual contract negotiation drama in April.

• Does AIyuk unfollowing the Niners mean anything?

No. The Niners have the power, they can roll Aiyuk into his fifth-year option and then franchise tag him the following year.

Aiyuk does have a few cards of his own. First, he’s right, based on other signings his market value should be about $27.5 million per year. If Aiyuk were an unrestricted free agent he would have received at least that in the open market and been long gone. Aiyuk can point to that and say I’m not compromising. That you don’t use me enough to make me worth $27.5 million to you is not my concern.

Second, he can choose to hold out until he has to start playing to accrue the year. Aiyuk sits, the Niners stumble out of the gate, and the number one seed starts to fade away. There are costs to the Niners playing hardball and Aiyuk has said he’ll hold out if need be.

I would pay Aiyuk what he wants, and if the Niners are not willing to do that, then trade him. But the Niners will revert to process, they'll drag out the talks and hope to reach a deal in July or August. Maybe that can happen, but I don’t expect Aiyuk to compromise on money.

2.      If the 49ers decide to trade Aiyuk, what can they get?

The Washington Post reported recently that Pittsburgh is looking for a veteran WR1 to pair with Russell Wilson. Presumably Aiyuk would be at the top of their list. A trade with the Steelers would need to give them an early pick for a center, so Aiyuk and 31 to Pittsburgh for 20, 51 and a 2025 4th rounder could work.

Aiyuk started following Washington and is hoping for an Arizona State reunion with Jayden Daniels. In addition, Commanders GM Adam Peters is rumored to be interested in Jordan Morgan, who would be available at 31. The Niners send Aiyuk and 31 to Washington for 36, 40, 67, and a future late pick. The Niners would have four picks in the heart of this draft from 36 to 67.

3.      If the draft were held today, who would you predict the Niners take at 31?

Marshawn Kneeland, 6-3/267 edge from Western Michigan. I started projecting Kneeland as the pick early last week. Since then he’s visited five teams and has invites from 16, including the 49ers.

Yesterday the Athletic’s Dane Brugler, author of The Beast draft guide, named Kneeland as his sleeper pick for the first, tweeting that he has him ranked 32nd on his board.

Kneeland is the draft’s best edge setting defensive end against the run, has the quick burst off the line the Niners value, and has developed a very effective spin move. He can play outside on run downs and move inside on passing downs, a needed addition for quality depth upfront.

If the Niners select a defensive lineman at 31 it would mark the 4th time in eight years that Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch have used their first pick in the draft on the defensive line.

4.      The 49ers have a recent history of drafting many of the players they bring in for Top 30 visits, what’s the takeaway this year?

Breaking down the 49er visits by player and where they are projected to go in the draft: Late 1st-Early 2nd EDGE Marshawn Kneeland (W Mich)

Mid-to-Late 2nd (would likely require a big trade up from 63) WR Malachi Corley (WKU), DL Brandon Dorlus (Oregon)

Late 2nd-Early 3rd (could include a small trade up from 63) IDL Michael Hall Jr. (Ohio St), CB Andru Phillips (UK), LB Trevin Wallace (UK)

Late 3rd (hope they fall to 94) WR Javon Baker (UCF), WR Brenden Rice (USC)

4th S Sione Vaki (Utah), OT Caedan Wallace (Penn St) 5th CB Chau Smith-Wade (Washington St)

6th   IDL Evan Anderson (Florida Atlantic) 7th/UDFA LB Jamal Hill (Oregon)

13 visits have been scheduled so far, leaving another 17. Based on the distribution above, several of the remaining invites should be in the late 1st and 4th round windows.

Two receivers late 3rd can show intent. I have the Niners taking Baker in the 3rd in my current mock, though I think it’s the best round to target a corner based on the available talent.

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Writing the Essay Draft

Drafting from an outline.

While there are distinct differences between developing and organizing support, and between developing/organizing support and drafting the essay, differentiating these steps can sometimes be difficult – in many cases, they blend into one another. As you develop support, you may find that you are also organizing that support into categories, thus creating a draft in outline form.

If outlining seems logical to your way of thinking and approaching a writing project, know that there are  several different kinds of outlines:

• Roman or Arabic Numeral (highly structured, more formal)
• bullet point (less structured, more informal)
• mind map (less structured, more informal)
• other methods as appropriate, such as a timeline, powerpoint slides, or whatever method works for the topic and your own way of thinking about the topic

Roman Numeral Outline

Thesis statement : E-mail and internet monitoring, as currently practiced, is an invasion of employees’ rights in the workplace.

• To prevent fraudulent activities, theft, and other workplace related violations.
• To more efficiently monitor employee productivity.
• To prevent any legal liabilities due to harassing or offensive communications.
• There are no federal or State laws protecting employees.
• Employees may assert privacy protection for their own personal effects.
• Workplace communications should be about work; anything else is a misuse of company equipment and company time
• Employers have a right to prevent misuse by monitoring employee communications

Arabic Numeral Outline

Bullet Point Outline

Mind map outline.

Whichever type of outline you’ve started with, it can conveniently morph into an essay draft, simply by choosing a portion of the outline as a place to start writing. Start developing that portion with topic sentences, full sentences, complete thoughts, details, examples, facts, opinions, and all appropriate types of support.  Remember that an outline identifies the ideas you intend to use in the essay; you develop the actual essay draft by adding support to those ideas.

One of the many advantages to working from an outline is that you create an idea structure and can see visually how/whether those ideas relate, so you can see what needs to be added or edited. Because outlines capture ideas, they also allow you to begin your draft with whatever section or group of ideas you choose. Pick a section you feel strongly about, and start there. Move around your outline in whatever order you choose, in order to keep the momentum going to develop your essay draft.

• Drafting from an Outline. Revision and adaptation of the page From Outlining to Drafting at https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-englishcomposition1/chapter/text-from-outlining-to-drafting/. Authored by : Susan Oaks. Provided by : Empire State College, SUNY OER Services. Project : College Writing. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• From Outlining to Drafting. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-englishcomposition1/chapter/text-from-outlining-to-drafting/ . Project : English Composition I. License : CC BY: Attribution
• image of Roman Numeral outline. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_(list) . Project : Outline (list). License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Arabic Numeral Outline. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_(list) . Project : Outline (list). License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Bullet Point outline. Authored by : Glynis Jolly. Provided by : flickr. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/py6cwB . License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• Mind Map outline. Authored by : Frank Dai. Provided by : flickr. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/aG4fD . License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives

2024 NFL Draft: The decline of the second-round QB and what it could mean for Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix, more

T he concept of a "second-round" quarterback, based on how we discuss and talk through the position, is one of the most unique in "draft economics." If a team needs a quarterback and believes that quarterback can be their long-term starter, they should (and usually do) take that quarterback as early as possible in the first round.

And generally, if a team believes a quarterback is best suited to be a backup (and maybe has some traits/abilities to potentially develop into a starter), they should aim to draft them where they usually take "important" backups: Day 3 of the draft, or occasionally late in the third round.

So, based on how important the quarterback position is, the idea of a second- or third-round quarterback, conceptually, doesn't make a ton of sense. Over the last decade-plus, NFL teams have shifted their view on that very idea. And it could potentially have

real ramifications for players like Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix, Spencer Rattler and more, much like it did for Desmond Ridder and Malik Willis just a few seasons ago. 

A change in team drafting habits

Since the NFL rookie wage scale was put into place in 2011, teams no longer had to factor a player's rookie contract in their decision-making, or at least as much as they used to. In 2010, the first overall pick (Sam Bradford) made more than 14 times as much as the first pick of the second round. In 2011, it was a little over four times.

And since that time, the financial risk of early first-round picks went substantially down, and the value of trying to find a starting quarterback in round two or later went down with it.

Below is a historical graph of the ratio of second-round picks to first-round picks since 2011:

In 2011, 0.50 means 50% as many second-round QBs were drafted compared to first-round QBs. In 2013, 1.00 means the number of first and second round quarterbacks drafted were equal.

For one, only 12 quarterbacks have been drafted in the second round (on average one per year) since 2011. Additionally, of those one, five were taken in the first five picks of the second round, meaning they very easily could've been first-round picks. As you can see by the trend line from the data, we've seen a substantial and consistent drop in teams taking quarterbacks in the second round.

And while a handful picked after the first few picks of the second round have been successful (most notably Jalen Hurts and Jimmy Garoppolo), many were players who fit this conundrum well: If a quarterback has traits a team may like, but it doesn't feel convicted enough or trust him to be a franchise quarterback enough to take him in the first round, it's probably not wise to take that quarterback in the second round (i.e. Kyle Trask, Christian Hackenberg, DeShone Kizer and Brock Osweiler). And based on the data, teams appear to have collectively learned from those mistakes.

And in the third round, the average quarterback draft pick is pick 82, sliding somewhere in the back half of the round.

With the quarterback position, the draft valuation is different than a receiver or a lineman or a defensive back. It's a position that, if you draft in the top-100 picks, it can shape how your locker room views your team's outlook, both immediately and for the future. It's a position that, if it doesn't work out, you can't simply shift that player to more special teams or a different role. It's a position that, if you can't solve as a general manager, you won't hold that title very long.

And that's the biggest reason why, as teams continue to value analytic and new-age roster construction strategies, we've seen teams be more aggressive than ever to trade into the early first round for a quarterback, and shy away from the second- or third-round quarterback. Fortune favors the bold and, in the draft, the convicted, and teams no longer subscribe to the "we'll try to get one later" strategy at the most important position in sports.

For more draft coverage, you can hear in-depth analysis twice a week on  "With the First Pick"  -- our year-round  NFL Draft  podcast with  NFL Draft  analyst Ryan Wilson and former  Vikings  general manager Rick Spielman. You can find "With the First Pick" wherever you get your podcasts:  Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify ,  YouTube , etc. Listen below!

What does this mean for the 2024 NFL Draft class?

Most mock drafters feel confident four quarterbacks fit that mold of "potential franchise quarterback," and that all four should go between picks 4-7 of the NFL draft: Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy.

After that, there are questions abound about how teams value Washington's Michael Penix Jr., Oregon's Bo Nix, South Carolina's Spencer Rattler, and others. As of now, there are five teams whose roster construction very likely sets them up to draft a quarterback in the first few rounds: Chicago, Washington, New England, Minnesota and Denver.

There's also teams, such as Raiders , Rams , Giants , Jets  and  Falcons , who may consider one in the first three or four rounds. But each of those five teams have either two quarterbacks with a contract/credentials to be challenging for a starting job, and/or an unquestioned starter for this season and beyond.

Teams set up to select QB 

Teams who could consider picking qb.

Of the five teams likely to draft a quarterback early, four of them will likely snag them in the first few picks of the draft. Leaving just one team, most likely one of the Patriots, Broncos or Vikings, the only one left out of getting one of the expected top-four quarterbacks. These teams are far more likely to consider a quarterback in the late third or four round rather than use a premium pick on a player who will likely be their third-stringer as a rookie, barring they value the quarterback so highly they "can't believe" he's there in the second round.

That's not to say this next "tier" of quarterbacks don't have NFL starter traits. Penix's ball placement across the field is special. Nix's experience and perimeter accuracy is hard to ignore. Rattler's arm talent and fluidity gives him one of the more exciting upsides of any in this class. 

But based on this data and current NFL quarterback rooms, history says we maybe should expect, after the expected four early picked quarterbacks, maybe as few as one quarterback between picks 33 and 80, and then the rest following. That could mean, for example, Penix slides into the second or even early third round, and Nix and Rattler slip to the late third or even fourth round.

We talk about the quarterback position so much, and it's no surprise that these players, especially ones that show starter traits, tend to "rise" in the discussion around the draft. But in the end, they play a position that, unless teams feel you're a potential franchise quarterback, you're likely relegated to a backup role and, therefore, a position in the draft where backups get drafted.

And for a few of the favorites among those in the media covering the NFL Draft, that could lead to at least one surprising quarterback name slipping in the draft into Friday and/or Saturday of draft weekend.

The 2024  NFL Draft  will take place from April 25-27 in Detroit. More draft coverage can be found at CBSSports.com, including the weekly  updated draft order ,  mock drafts  and a regularly available  look at the eligible prospects . 

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Here are the 15 2024 wnba draft players invited to attend the green room in person, share this article.

The WNBA Draft is nearly here, and that means you could be seeing your favorite player on stage when their name is called.

If you’re a huge fan of women’s hoops, then you know just how special the 2024 WNBA Draft will be. Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and Rickea Jackson top the impressive list of prospects all looking for new homes. To celebrate one of the most anticipated drafts in recent memory, the WNBA invited 15 players to participate in the 2024 draft in person. Here is the complete list of all the players who will be on-site during Monday’s event:

1 Cameron Brink, Forward

(Troy Wayrynen/USA TODAY Sports)

College: Stanford

Height: 6-foot-4

2 Kamilla Cardoso, Center

(Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)

College: South Carolina

Height: 6-foot-7

3 Caitlin Clark, Guard

(Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports)

College: Iowa

Height: 6 feet

4 Marquesha Davis, Guard

(Jim Dedmon/USA TODAY Sports)

College: Ole Miss

5 Aaliyah Edwards, Forward

College: UConn

Height: 6-foot-3

6 Dyaisha Fair, Guard

(David Yeazell/USA TODAY Sports)

College: Syracuse

Height: 5-foot-5

7 Rickea Jackson, Forward

(Brianna Paciorka/USA TODAY NETWORK)

College: Tennessee

Height: 6-foot-2

8 Elizabeth Kitley, Center

College: Virginia Tech

Height: 6-foot-6

9 Nika Muhl, Guard

Height: 5-foot-10

10 Charisma Osbourne, Guard

(Gregory Fisher/USA TODAY Sports)

College: UCLA

Height: 5-foot-9

11 Alissa Pili, Forward

(Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

College: Utah

12 Nyadiew Puoch, Center

(Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)

College: Southside (AUS)

13 Angel Reese, Forward

College: LSU

14 Jacy Sheldon, Guard

(Adam Cairns/USA TODAY NETWORK

College: Ohio State

15 Celeste Taylor, Guard

(Adam Cairns/USA TODAY NETWORK)

Height: 5-foot-11

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Angel reese shared an epic selfie with caitlin clark and 4 other top wnba draft picks, can you spot (and id) the rattlesnake in tucson man's yard, the best 2024 wnba draft outfits, including angel reese's and caitlin clark's stunning looks, wnba draft tracker: grading every pick in the first round in 2024, jon rahm looked so unhappy to be at scottie scheffler's masters green jacket ceremony, caitlin clark's casual photobomb of an angel reese and cameron brink wnba draft tiktok was so funny, the all-trades 2024 nfl mock draft makes caleb williams a commander and marvin harrison jr. a giant.

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Iran Likely Will Strike Israel, Not U.S. Forces, U.S. and Iranian Officials Say

Retaliation by Iran is expected on Israeli soil in the next few days, but officials say Iran does not want to draw the United States deeper into the conflict.

• Share full article

By Eric Schmitt and Farnaz Fassihi

• April 12, 2024

Iran is expected to mount an attack soon on Israel, but not on the United States or its military forces, when Tehran retaliates for an Israeli bombing in Damascus, Syria, that killed several senior Iranian commanders, U.S. and Iranian officials said on Friday.

American intelligence analysts and officials think Iran will strike multiple targets inside Israel within the next few days, three U.S. officials said, speaking on anonymity to talk about sensitive matters they were not authorized to discuss publicly. Officials did not indicate what form the attack would take, what kinds of targets would be involved and the precise timing — information that is very closely guarded among senior Iranians.

The United States, Israel’s pre-eminent ally, has military forces in several places across the Middle East, but Iran likely will not target them to avoid inciting a direct conflict with the United States, according to Iranian officials, who similarly insisted on remaining anonymous, and the American officials.

In the first months of the war between Israel and Hamas, Iran-backed militias regularly attacked U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria and Jordan. But after a drone strike killed three Americans in Jordan in January, and the United States launched retaliatory strikes , Iran stopped the attacks by its proxies, fearing a more powerful U.S. response. Despite the clashes and hostile rhetoric, both Iranian and U.S. leaders have made it clear they want to avoid all-out war.

Iran has publicly and repeatedly vowed revenge for the April 1 strike on its embassy complex in Damascus that killed three generals and four other officers of its elite Quds Force, the foreign military and intelligence arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. But analysts say Iranian leaders want to calibrate their response so it is big enough to impress, at home and abroad, that Iran is not impotent in the face of conflict, but not so big that it spirals into a full-fledged war with Israel or draws an American attack.

How Israel would respond to an Iranian attack on its soil is unclear. The Israeli military “continues to monitor closely what is happening in Iran and different arenas,” Herzi Halevi, chief of the Israeli general staff, said in a statement on Friday. He added, “Our forces are prepared and ready at all times and for any scenario.”

A strategist for the Revolutionary Guards, one of the Iranian officials who spoke anonymously, said Iran wants to take advantage of the widening rift between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and President Biden over Israel’s conduct of the war against Hamas — and not unite them in hostility to Iran.

The Biden administration has not only criticized the level of death and destruction wrought by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, it has also voiced fears that increased clashes across Israel’s northern borders, primarily with Iranian proxies like Hezbollah, could escalate into a broader regional war.

Iran believes it can generate international support for a retaliatory strike by focusing attention on the attack against its embassy complex, a rare breach of the norms of war, and arguing that it was merely defending itself, the Iranian officials said.

International law generally treats embassies and consulates as being exempt from attack. But Israeli officials have argued that the building they destroyed was diplomatic only in name, and was used as a Revolutionary Guards base, as evidenced by the high-level commanders who were meeting there when they were killed.

Richard Pérez-Peña contributed reporting.

Eric Schmitt is a national security correspondent for The Times, focusing on U.S. military affairs and counterterrorism issues overseas, topics he has reported on for more than three decades. More about Eric Schmitt

Farnaz Fassihi is the United Nations bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the organization, and also covers Iran and the shadow war between Iran and Israel. She is based in New York. More about Farnaz Fassihi