Once you’ve done your full, speed-written first draft, take a few quick moments to look over what you’ve done. Write it down, note where more information is needed, and then keep on writing it down. The point is to not interrupt your flow, and to do the big first effort of getting the words on the page. The empty underlined sections make it easy for me to see where I need to add text, and I write all my “notes to self” in all capitals so I can be sure to find that information. …According to Professor Smith in his article _, my main point also applied in this other situation. When I draft my essays, I often remember what the text said, but don’t want to stop the writing process to search for a quote. If you have limited research to include, just write the argument and know you’ll go back and add quotes later. You want this to be as complete as possible, and the more evidence you include early on the more you’ll be able to make solid arguments while also spotting weak spots in the essay. Pull out your class notes and any research you’ve done. If you have good notes from the texts you’ve studied, include quotes and evidence in this draft. Just get the bones of the essay down on paper, and then flesh out your arguments and make it a full first draft. You will edit this later-no one will ever see this first draft. Do it in one sitting if you can, and let go of perfection while getting as much information on the page as possible. Do you know what’s important in your argument? Can you think of three pieces of supporting evidence? Step Three: Write it down Your outline is there to help you figure out what you need to write about. It works for most essays of most lengths, from a one-page high school essay to an eighty page Master’s thesis. This is the basic five-paragraph essay structure, which I’ve written about previously. Section three: Here’s a final reason my point is correct.Ĭonclusion: Based on those previous arguments, here’s why my point is correct and why it matters. Section two: Here’s another, related reason my point is correct. Section one: Here’s one reason my point is correct. Figure out your main ideas to be covered in the essay. The point of an outline is to get organized. It can be as complicated as a multi-page document with sections and sub-sections, bullet-points and supporting quotes. Specific sources/topics/ideas/events you need to includeĪn outline can be as simple as three ideas scribbled down that you know you need to address. If there are multiple parts to the question Even if the question doesn’t lay things out in this specific way, you need to read the question carefully to find out what you have to do. Read the question, and you might already have a clear idea of what you need to write. If you are asked to describe an idea and make an argument about it, then you know you need to start by giving a general overview of the concept before making several specific comments on the topic. There’s your essay outline, already laid out for you. If you are asked to draw a parallel between two books, or two historical events, or two concepts, then you know you’ll need to write an essay that briefly describes each, and then gives several examples comparing the two. Sometimes an essay question will provide the structure and outline for you, right there in the assignment (you should also check your original course syllabus for clues). Do you need to make an argument? Summarize facts? Draw parallels between two (or more) topics? The Four Steps to a Super-Fast Draft Step One: Read the question Note: this strategy assumes that you have a working knowledge of the topic you’ll be writing about. Sit down, take a deep breath, and here’s my four steps to writing a super-fast first draft. And even for longer projects, this process of writing a fast draft will help push the whole process along. But a fast draft means you have a starting place. A fast draft probably won’t have all the quotes I need for a strong essay, and will certainly need editing and revision. I try to write it in less than two hours. For a short paper, say 3-5 pages, I try to write my first draft in a single sitting.
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