how to write first draft for an essay

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How to Write a First Draft: 5 Tips for Writing a First Draft

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Aug 6, 2021 • 4 min read

The greatest works of literature all began as first drafts. Use these tips to streamline your writing process as you tackle your own first draft.

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.

Related Guides

Essay writing: everything you need to know and nothing you don’t—part 1: how to begin.

This guide will explain everything you need to know about how to organise, research and write an argumentative essay.

Essay Writing Part 2: How to Organise Your Research

Organising your research effectively is a crucial and often overlooked step to successful essay writing.

Essay Writing Part 3: How to Finalise Your Essay Plan

The key to successful essay writing is to finalise a detailed essay plan, carefully refined during the research stage, before beginning to write your essay.

Part 5: How to Finalise and Polish Your Essay

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.

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How to Write a First Draft: 10 Tips for Reaching “The End”

The first draft is the most important phase of your project. Here’s how to keep it fast and fun.

By Natasha Khullar Relph

Do you know why so many writers freeze up the moment they sit down to write? The reason that the fear, the anxiety, and the uncertainty bubbles up and causes an otherwise articulate person to resist putting a single word on the page?

It’s perfectionism.

It’s the idea that what you’re writing now will be what the reader will see later.

This is almost never the case. Which is why, when it comes to writing, it’s important to begin simply: by thinking of any piece of work you’re doing as a first draft.

JUMP TO SECTION

What qualifies as a first draft How to write a first draft

• Make time for your writing
• Know your story before you start writing
• Write out of order
• Allow for imperfection
• Keep yourself accountable with goals and deadlines
• Eliminate distractions
• Practice writing in sprints
• Use the TK placeholder
• Don’t go back and fix things you’re changing
• Know your next step

What qualifies as a first draft?

A first draft or rough draft is the initial version of a piece of writing, whether it’s an essay, article, short story, or chapter in a nonfiction book or novel. The first draft is the initial output you create, with no extensive editing, revision, or proofreading.

First drafts are essential because they serve as the foundation upon which you can build and refine your work. They allow you to get your ideas down on the page without getting bogged down by perfectionism or self-criticism. Once you’ve completed a rough draft , you can review, revise, or edit your work to improve clarity, coherence, style, and overall quality.

Generally, a piece of writing can be considered a first draft if:

• It captures the writer’s initial thoughts and ideas.
• It covers the main points or themes, but lacks completeness.
• It may be rough and unpolished, with errors in grammar and style.
• The organization and structure might be loose or imperfect.
• Annotations and comments for self-improvement may be present.
• It may contain inconsistencies, both in content and style.
• The primary focus is on getting ideas down rather than perfection.

How to write a first draft

“I believe the first draft of a book —even a long one—should take no more than three months,” says New York Times bestselling author Stephen King , and we tend to agree. A first draft is nothing but a way of taking the ideas in your head and putting them on the page. We’ll give them shape later. Right now, for the first draft, the goal is simply to have them exist as fast as possible .

Here are some strategies, techniques and writing tips that will make it easier to transform your ideas into words on the page.

1. Make time for your writing

No one—and I do mean no one—writes the first draft of anything without some serious arse in chair time . (Yes, that’s the technical term.)

Want to write more? Want to write faster? Put your arse in the chair as often as you can, for as long as you can.

Now, this might not always be possible. You might have a full-time job, kids, and other responsibilities that come in the way of your writing. Regardless, if you want to finish your first draft, you’re going to have to schedule writing time . Establish a routine that aligns with your goals and guard that time fiercely. Some ideas for how to do that:

• Set clear priorities: Recognize the importance of your writing and prioritize it in your daily life. Create a regular writing routine, whether it’s daily, weekly, or on specific days.
• Wake up early or stay up late: Consider waking up an hour earlier in the morning or, if you’re like me, staying up after everyone’s gone to bed, to get a few uninterrupted hours of writing time.
• Use your lunch breaks: If you have a full-time job, see if you can use part of your lunch break for writing. If you work from home , treat the time you may have spent commuting as “found time” and use it to put some words on the page.
• Weekend retreats: If time and budget allow, consider going on a weekend retreat for a solid block of writing time. If going away isn’t an option, perhaps you can have a makeshift retreat of your own at home.
• Plan ahead: Try to schedule writing time in advance to ensure it doesn’t get overshadowed by other commitments. If you have children , arrange childcare during your writing hours. The more you can delegate non-essential tasks or chores, the more writing time you can free up.

2. Know your story before you start writing

While it’s tempting to just open a blank page and start writing, this is the most difficult and inefficient way to write a first draft. That’s not to say that you can’t be a pantser—someone who writes without an outline and by the seat of their pants (hence the name)—but knowing what you want to say makes it infinitely easier for you to actually say it.

It’s crucial to have a clear understanding of your story , no matter whether you’re a novelist, a screenwriter, a short story writer, or journalist. And knowing your story, including your main characters, is essential for a successful drafting process , especially if this is your first book or first novel.

Here are some aspects of your work that are helpful to know before you begin writing:

• Purpose and message: Knowing your story’s purpose and central message provides you with a compass to navigate the writing process. Are you aiming to entertain, inform, persuade, or provoke thought? This clarity guides your decisions throughout the first draft stage.
• Characters: Understanding your characters’ backgrounds, motivations, and arcs allows you to breathe life into them on the page. It enables you to craft multidimensional characters with authentic reactions and growth.
• Plot structure: Knowing the overarching plot and its key events helps you maintain a cohesive and engaging narrative, whether you’re brainstorming or world building. You can create foreshadowing, build tension, and ensure that each scene contributes to the story’s progress when you know where you’re heading.
• Themes: Identifying the themes and vibes you want to explore allows you to weave them into your narrative seamlessly. Themes add depth to your story and provide readers with thought-provoking ideas.

3. Write out of order

The conventional approach to writing a first draft involves starting at the beginning and progressing sequentially to the end. While this method works well for many writers, it’s not the only path to a successful final product. In fact, you may find that it might work better for your writing process to write out of order.

Here’s why this unconventional approach works:

• Overcoming writer’s block: The frustration of staring at a blank page can be paralyzing. Writing out of order allows you to sidestep this roadblock. If you’re feeling stuck on an introduction or a particular chapter, don’t let it hinder your progress. Instead, jump to a body paragraph or different section of your work that excites you. By doing this, you keep your creative juices flowing and maintain momentum.
• Capturing ideas as they come: Inspiration often strikes at unpredictable moments. You might have a brilliant idea for the conclusion of your podcast episode, the climax of your novel, or the final argument in your thesis statement long before you reach that point in your rough draft. By writing out of order, you can capture these ideas while they’re fresh and vivid, ensuring you don’t forget them.
• Building the core of your work: Sometimes, you may have a clear vision of the central themes, arguments, or emotional arcs of your work before you have all the details in place. In such cases, writing these pivotal sections first can provide a strong foundation upon which you can build the rest of your narrative.
• Flexibility and experimentation: Writing out of order gives you the freedom to experiment with different writing styles, tones, or perspectives. Whether you’re a screenwriter exploring various character interactions or a novelist tackling non-linear storytelling, this approach allows you to explore diverse creative avenues without feeling confined by chronological constraints.
• Maintaining enthusiasm: The creative writing process can be a long and demanding journey. Writing out of order allows you to maintain enthusiasm by working on the parts of your work that excite you the most. This enthusiasm can get you through the messy middle when you’re in the thick of it and questions about why you’re even doing this begin to surface.

4. Allow for imperfection

Listen, you’re not going to get it right the first time. So stop expecting that of yourself.

The first draft, as I mentioned before, is the draft whose sole purpose is to take something out of your head and make it exist on the page. Typos are fine! Your word choices will change! There is no bad thing you can do in this draft that cannot be changed, revised, or edited out.

Your only goal when writing the first draft is to take those ideas from your head and turn them into words on the page. There will be other drafts—a second draft, a third draft, a final draft—that will start bringing order to this material and mould it into shape. But you can’t give shape to something that doesn’t exist.

So use this draft to get everything out of your head and on to the page. Then you can either self-edit or work with beta readers or professional editors to take it further.

5. Keep yourself accountable with goals and deadlines

I’m willing to bet my favorite writing pen that half the writing that exists in the world today wouldn’t have been committed to page if there wasn’t a frustrated editor breathing down a writer’s neck with a can’t-be-missed deadline. While it’s unlikely you’ll have an editor for your fiction writing, at least at first, you can keep yourself accountable by setting your own deadlines . Here’s what you need to keep in mind when doing so:

• Define clear goals: Set specific, measurable, and achievable writing goals . These could include word count targets, chapter outlines, research milestones, or deadlines for submitting work to editors or publishers.
• Break down larger goals: For larger projects, like novel writing or research papers, break them down into smaller chunks. Set deadlines for completing each section or chapter. This will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed and can help you make steady progress.
• Set and honor deadlines: Give yourself deadlines for completing specific writing tasks. These deadlines can be self-imposed or align with external submission requirements. However, it’s imperative that you treat these deadlines with the same seriousness that you would a deadline from an editor or publisher.
• Track progress: Regularly review your progress. Make sure to celebrate your achievements, even small ones, to stay motivated and keep writing.

6. Eliminate distractions

You can’t write if you can’t concentrate. And you can’t concentrate if you have notifications going off every two minutes, a child knocking on your door because they’re hungry and need a snack, or you can’t resist the urge to see what Taylor Swift’s been up to Instagram.

The very first thing you need to do once you’ve committed to finishing your first draft is to create space in your life for your writing to happen and minimize or eliminate any distractions. Here’s how:

• Turn off notifications: Silence your phone, mute social media notifications, and close irrelevant tabs or apps on your computer. These constant pings and alerts can pull you away from your writing flow.
• Set clear boundaries: If you share your writing space with others, communicate your need for uninterrupted time. Let family members, roommates, or colleagues know when you’ll be writing and request their cooperation.
• Use website blockers: If you find yourself succumbing to the temptation of browsing the Internet during writing sessions, consider using website blockers or productivity apps that restrict access to distracting websites for a set period.
• Declutter your workspace: A clutter-free environment can lead to a clutter-free mind. Organize your writing area and keep it tidy to minimize visual distractions.
• Use noise-cancelling headphones: If you’re in a noisy environment, invest in noise-cancelling headphones to block out external sounds and create a more serene writing atmosphere.

7. Practice writing in sprints

Writing sprints or word sprints are short, focused bursts of writing where you set a timer and write as much as you can during that specific timeframe. These sprints can vary in length, but common durations include 10, 15, or 20 minutes.

The key is to commit to uninterrupted writing during the sprint, without editing or revising as you go. Writing sprints are about getting words on the page, not perfecting them.

Writing sprints work for a few reasons:

• They create a sense of urgency, reducing the temptation to procrastinate or endlessly revise.
• The time constraint of a sprint encourages heightened concentration, leading to increased productivity.
• Sprints break writing tasks into manageable chunks, allowing for consistent and measurable progress.
• They make the process of writing more time-efficient by emphasizing output over perfection.
• Practicing writing in sprints provides a structured approach to improving writing skills and becoming a better writer.

8. Use the TK placeholder

Using the “TK” placeholder is a technique that English-language journalists often use to maintain their writing flow and avoid getting stuck when they can’t immediately recall a specific detail or need to insert additional information. TK, which stands for to come , is an acknowledgement that there’s a gap or missing content that requires attention.

Once your initial draft is complete, you can revisit these TK placeholders and add in all relevant or missing information.

9. Don’t go back and fix things you’re changing

Resist, I repeat, resist the temptation to go back and fix things as you write. This urge to rewrite is especially strong in new writers, who feel they must make what they’ve written perfect, or even legible, before they can move on to the next section.

Here’s the thing: What you’re writing will change. And if you’re making big changes, like renaming a character, changing the point of view, or expanding the time period, they will affect the parts of the book you’ve already written. However, by going back and making those changes now, you’re creating extra work for yourself for two reasons:

• You may implement the changes and write in a new point of view or a different period of time only to find that it doesn’t really work. If you decide to revert changes, you’ll have to go back and fix your entire novel again .
• There are still many decisions you’ll make as your story moves forward that will continue to impact the beginning. It’s far better to write the first draft all the way through and see how it ends before going back to implement any changes. There may be far more—or less—than what you expected.

That’s a job for the editing process. For the phase you’re in right now, the goal is simply to get to The End. So turn off track changes, focus on your own first draft, and keep writing and moving forward step by step until you get there.

10. Know your next step

You don’t—and can’t—know how the whole thing will end. The best you can do at any point during the writing of the first draft is to know the next step.

Much like a hiker navigating through dense woods, you can’t see the entire trail from the starting point, but you can identify the next marker or landmark. Similarly, in writing, you may not have the entire plot or structure of your story mapped out, but you can always figure out the next sentence, paragraph, or scene that needs to be written.

And when you’re writing the first draft? That’s all you need to know.

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Natasha Khullar Relph

Founder and Editor, The Wordling

Natasha Khullar Relph is an award-winning journalist and author with bylines in  The New York Times, TIME CNN, BBC, ABC News, Ms. Marie Claire, Vogue,  and more. She is the founder of  The Wordling , a weekly business newsletter for journalists, authors, and content creators. Natasha has  mentored over 1,000 writers , helping them break into dream publications and build six-figure careers. She is the author of  Shut Up and Write: The No-Nonsense, No B.S. Guide to Getting Words on the Page  and  several other books .

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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.

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• A step-by-step guide to the writing process

The Writing Process | 5 Steps with Examples & Tips

Published on April 24, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 8, 2023.

Good academic writing requires effective planning, drafting, and revision.

The writing process looks different for everyone, but there are five basic steps that will help you structure your time when writing any kind of text.

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Table of contents

Step 1: prewriting, step 2: planning and outlining, step 3: writing a first draft, step 4: redrafting and revising, step 5: editing and proofreading, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about the writing process.

Before you start writing, you need to decide exactly what you’ll write about and do the necessary research.

Coming up with a topic

If you have to come up with your own topic for an assignment, think of what you’ve covered in class— is there a particular area that intrigued, interested, or even confused you? Topics that left you with additional questions are perfect, as these are questions you can explore in your writing.

The scope depends on what type of text you’re writing—for example, an essay or a research paper will be less in-depth than a dissertation topic . Don’t pick anything too ambitious to cover within the word count, or too limited for you to find much to say.

Narrow down your idea to a specific argument or question. For example, an appropriate topic for an essay might be narrowed down like this:

Doing the research

Once you know your topic, it’s time to search for relevant sources and gather the information you need. This process varies according to your field of study and the scope of the assignment. It might involve:

• Searching for primary and secondary sources .
• Reading the relevant texts closely (e.g. for literary analysis ).
• Collecting data using relevant research methods (e.g. experiments , interviews or surveys )

From a writing perspective, the important thing is to take plenty of notes while you do the research. Keep track of the titles, authors, publication dates, and relevant quotations from your sources; the data you gathered; and your initial analysis or interpretation of the questions you’re addressing.

Especially in academic writing , it’s important to use a logical structure to convey information effectively. It’s far better to plan this out in advance than to try to work out your structure once you’ve already begun writing.

Creating an essay outline is a useful way to plan out your structure before you start writing. This should help you work out the main ideas you want to focus on and how you’ll organize them. The outline doesn’t have to be final—it’s okay if your structure changes throughout the writing process.

Use bullet points or numbering to make your structure clear at a glance. Even for a short text that won’t use headings, it’s useful to summarize what you’ll discuss in each paragraph.

An outline for a literary analysis essay might look something like this:

• 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

Once you have a clear idea of your structure, it’s time to produce a full first draft.

This process can be quite non-linear. For example, it’s reasonable to begin writing with the main body of the text, saving the introduction for later once you have a clearer idea of the text you’re introducing.

To give structure to your writing, use your outline as a framework. Make sure that each paragraph has a clear central focus that relates to your overall argument.

Hover over the parts of the example, from a literary analysis essay on Mansfield Park , to see how a paragraph is constructed.

The character of Mrs. Norris provides another example of the performance of morals in Mansfield Park . Early in the novel, she is described in scathing terms as one who knows “how to dictate liberality to others: but her love of money was equal to her love of directing” (p. 7). This hypocrisy does not interfere with her self-conceit as “the most liberal-minded sister and aunt in the world” (p. 7). Mrs. Norris is strongly concerned with appearing charitable, but unwilling to make any personal sacrifices to accomplish this. Instead, she stage-manages the charitable actions of others, never acknowledging that her schemes do not put her own time or money on the line. In this way, Austen again shows us a character whose morally upright behavior is fundamentally a performance—for whom the goal of doing good is less important than the goal of seeming good.

When you move onto a different topic, start a new paragraph. Use appropriate transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas.

The goal at this stage is to get a draft completed, not to make everything perfect as you go along. Once you have a full draft in front of you, you’ll have a clearer idea of where improvement is needed.

Give yourself a first draft deadline that leaves you a reasonable length of time to revise, edit, and proofread before the final deadline. For a longer text like a dissertation, you and your supervisor might agree on deadlines for individual chapters.

Now it’s time to look critically at your first draft and find potential areas for improvement. Redrafting means substantially adding or removing content, while revising involves making changes to structure and reformulating arguments.

Evaluating the first draft

It can be difficult to look objectively at your own writing. Your perspective might be positively or negatively biased—especially if you try to assess your work shortly after finishing it.

It’s best to leave your work alone for at least a day or two after completing the first draft. Come back after a break to evaluate it with fresh eyes; you’ll spot things you wouldn’t have otherwise.

When evaluating your writing at this stage, you’re mainly looking for larger issues such as changes to your arguments or structure. Starting with bigger concerns saves you time—there’s no point perfecting the grammar of something you end up cutting out anyway.

Right now, you’re looking for:

• Arguments that are unclear or illogical.
• Areas where information would be better presented in a different order.
• Passages where additional information or explanation is needed.
• Passages that are irrelevant to your overall argument.

For example, in our paper on Mansfield Park , we might realize the argument would be stronger with more direct consideration of the protagonist Fanny Price, and decide to try to find space for this in paragraph IV.

For some assignments, you’ll receive feedback on your first draft from a supervisor or peer. Be sure to pay close attention to what they tell you, as their advice will usually give you a clearer sense of which aspects of your text need improvement.

Redrafting and revising

Once you’ve decided where changes are needed, make the big changes first, as these are likely to have knock-on effects on the rest. Depending on what your text needs, this step might involve:

• Making changes to your overall argument.
• Reordering the text.
• Cutting parts of the text.
• Adding new text.

You can go back and forth between writing, redrafting and revising several times until you have a final draft that you’re happy with.

Think about what changes you can realistically accomplish in the time you have. If you are running low on time, you don’t want to leave your text in a messy state halfway through redrafting, so make sure to prioritize the most important changes.

Editing focuses on local concerns like clarity and sentence structure. Proofreading involves reading the text closely to remove typos and ensure stylistic consistency. You can check all your drafts and texts in minutes with an AI proofreader .

Editing for grammar and clarity

When editing, you want to ensure your text is clear, concise, and grammatically correct. You’re looking out for:

• Grammatical errors.
• Ambiguous phrasings.
• Redundancy and repetition .

In your initial draft, it’s common to end up with a lot of sentences that are poorly formulated. Look critically at where your meaning could be conveyed in a more effective way or in fewer words, and watch out for common sentence structure mistakes like run-on sentences and sentence fragments:

• Austen’s style is frequently humorous, her characters are often described as “witty.” Although this is less true of Mansfield Park .
• Austen’s style is frequently humorous. Her characters are often described as “witty,” although this is less true of Mansfield Park .

To make your sentences run smoothly, you can always use a paraphrasing tool to rewrite them in a clearer way.

Proofreading for small mistakes and typos

When proofreading, first look out for typos in your text:

• Spelling errors.
• Missing words.
• Confused word choices .
• Punctuation errors .
• Missing or excess spaces.

Use a grammar checker , but be sure to do another manual check after. Read through your text line by line, watching out for problem areas highlighted by the software but also for any other issues it might have missed.

For example, in the following phrase we notice several errors:

• Mary Crawfords character is a complicate one and her relationships with Fanny and Edmund undergoes several transformations through out the novel.
• Mary Crawford’s character is a complicated one, and her relationships with both Fanny and Edmund undergo several transformations throughout the novel.

Proofreading for stylistic consistency

There are several issues in academic writing where you can choose between multiple different standards. For example:

• Whether you use the serial comma .
• Whether you use American or British spellings and punctuation (you can use a punctuation checker for this).
• Where you use numerals vs. words for numbers.
• How you capitalize your titles and headings.

Unless you’re given specific guidance on these issues, it’s your choice which standards you follow. The important thing is to consistently follow one standard for each issue. For example, don’t use a mixture of American and British spellings in your paper.

Additionally, you will probably be provided with specific guidelines for issues related to format (how your text is presented on the page) and citations (how you acknowledge your sources). Always follow these instructions carefully.

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, 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
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Revising, proofreading, and editing are different stages of the writing process .

• Revising is making structural and logical changes to your text—reformulating arguments and reordering information.
• Editing refers to making more local changes to things like sentence structure and phrasing to make sure your meaning is conveyed clearly and concisely.
• Proofreading involves looking at the text closely, line by line, to spot any typos and issues with consistency and correct them.

Whether you’re publishing a blog, submitting a research paper , or even just writing an important email, there are a few techniques you can use to make sure it’s error-free:

• Take a break : Set your work aside for at least a few hours so that you can look at it with fresh eyes.
• Proofread a printout : Staring at a screen for too long can cause fatigue – sit down with a pen and paper to check the final version.
• Use digital shortcuts : Take note of any recurring mistakes (for example, misspelling a particular word, switching between US and UK English , or inconsistently capitalizing a term), and use Find and Replace to fix it throughout the document.

If you want to be confident that an important text is error-free, it might be worth choosing a professional proofreading service instead.

If you’ve gone over the word limit set for your assignment, shorten your sentences and cut repetition and redundancy during the editing process. If you use a lot of long quotes , consider shortening them to just the essentials.

If you need to remove a lot of words, you may have to cut certain passages. Remember that everything in the text should be there to support your argument; look for any information that’s not essential to your point and remove it.

To make this process easier and faster, you can use a paraphrasing tool . With this tool, you can rewrite your text to make it simpler and shorter. If that’s not enough, you can copy-paste your paraphrased text into the summarizer . This tool will distill your text to its core message.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, December 08). The Writing Process | 5 Steps with Examples & Tips. Scribbr. Retrieved August 21, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/writing-process/

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Steps for Writing a First Draft of an Essay

• Take a closer look at your assignment and the topic if it was given to you by your instructor. Revise your outline as well. This is needed for your clearer understanding of the tasks you must accomplish within the draft, and to make sure you meet the requirements of the assignment.
• Sketch out the introduction of your essay. At this point, don’t get stalled on form; introductory part should inform readers about what the topic is, and state your point of view according to this topic. The introduction should also be interesting to read to capture readers’ attention, but this task has more to do with thoughtful and scrupulous writing, and thus should be left for later.
• Based on your outline, start transferring your ideas to paper. The main task here is to give them the initial form and set a general direction for their further development, and not to write a full paper.
• Chalk out the summarizing paragraph of your essay. It should not contain any new ideas, but briefly reintroduce those from the main body, and restate your thesis statement.
• Read through the draft to see if you have included the information you wanted to, but without making any further corrections, since this is a task for the second and final drafts.
• If you are not sure that you checked everything, send it out for proofreading. Searching through the best essay service reviews, you can get some recommendations of where to look.

Key Points to Consider

• While an outline is needed to decide on what to write, the first draft is more about answering a question: “How to write?” In the first draft, you shape your ideas out, and not simply name and list them, as you did in an outline.
• When you start writing your thoughts down, it may happen that one idea or concept sparks new connections, memories, or associations. Be attentive to such sidetracks; choose those of them that might be useful for your writing, and don’t delve in those that are undesirable in terms of the purpose of your paper (academic, showing opinion). A successful piece of writing is focused on its topic, and doesn’t include everything you have to say on a subject.
• Making notes for yourself in the margins or even in the middle of the text is a useful practice. This can save you time and keep you focused on the essence of your essay without being distracted by secondary details. For example, such notes could look like this: “As documented, the Vietnam War cost the United States about … (search for the exact sum of money and interpret it in terms of modern exchange rates) U. S. dollars.”
• When you finish crafting your first draft, it is useful to put it aside and completely quit thinking about writing for a certain period of time. Time away will allow you to have a fresh look at your draft when you decide to revise it.

Do and Don’t

Common Mistakes When Writing a First Draft of an Essay

– Editing and revising a draft in process of writing. If you stop after each sentence to think it over, you will most likely lose your flow; besides, many people have an internal editor  or critic  who can’t stand it if the material is written imperfectly. Therefore, first you should deal with the whole draft, and only after that proofread and edit it.

– Paying too much attention to secondary arguments, factual material, and other minor peculiarities. The main goal of the first draft is to sketch out your main ideas; you can fill it with details later. If you think you will forget about an important fact or remark, make brief notes in margins.

– Ignoring the role of a first draft in the essay writing process. Though it may seem you are wasting time working on a draft, you are working on the essay itself. You need to understand how your outline works in full written form.

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How to Write a First Draft

by Pamela Fernuik | 39 comments

Start Your Story TODAY! We’re teaching a new LIVE workshop this week to help you start your next book. Learn more and sign up here.

Do you have a book inside of you?

No, I didn't mean, “Did you eat a book?” I meant, “Is there a book you have always wanted to write?”

Learning how to write a first draft is on the top of my list of things to do. The second item on my list is—clean the seven litter boxes.

How to Write a First Draft

I have several books inside of me. And they will stay inside of me until I can figure how to write a first draft.

When I want to learn something I go online and search. Just now, I searched on Google, “How to write a first draft.” There were eighty-eight million, four hundred thousand results in 0.58 seconds. Now there will be eighty-eight million, four hundred thousand and one.

With that many results, you can probably guess that there are lots of different techniques to write a first draft. Writers approach how they write their first draft in a variety of ways. Some writers plot the entire story before they start to write, while other writers start writing and let the muse write the story.

But, no matter how writers approach telling their story, they all have one thing in common. To write their stories they have to . . . sit down and write.

Two Steps to Write a First Draft

Perhaps you are the kind of person who likes to have a step-by-step list of things to follow. To help you, I have put together a list of steps for how to write a first draft.

*This step is optional.

Wait. That's too simple. There must be more to writing a first draft, you say.

No, that's it. Really, that's all you need to do.

What Writing is Not

Thinking about writing, buying books on writing, talking about writing, listening to podcasts about writing, attending writing conferences, dreaming about writing, getting a tattoo about writing, watching movies about writing, talking to your cat about writing—none of those activities will write your book.

Yes, I know I have to sit down and write. That part is obvious, but how do I actually write the first draft? Can you help me? you ask.

Yes, I can! I am learning how to write first drafts right along with you.

8 Tips for Writing Your First Draft

These techniques can help make writing your first draft easier. Just remember, the ONLY thing you absolutely must do in order to finish your first draft is . . . write.

1. Figure out your story first.

Matthew Quirk , the New York Times bestselling author of The 500 , figures out his story before he starts writing. He understands what conventions the thriller has, and he makes sure he has all of them in his book.

Having a solid arc from the beginning to end of your book doesn’t dumb it down or make it formulaic. It makes it an incredibly strong, compelling structure upon which you can build complex characters, or subplots, twists, or beautiful writing.

2. Write a logline for your book before you write the book.

Before you start writing your book, write the main idea of your story in a few sentences and share it with friends. Do their eyes glaze over as you describe how your cat saved the neighborhood from the rabid dog?

Having a clear idea of what you want to write will help you stay focused while you write your first draft. And having feedback from friends will save you from writing a story that is as interesting as a soggy piece of toast.

The logline is your story's code, its DNA, the one constant that has to be true. If it's good, if it has all the earmarks of a winning idea, then it should give you everything you need to guide you in writing the screenplay. —Blake Snyder, Save The Cat

3. Do not look at any reference books while you are writing.

Stephen King suggests that you never look at a reference book while you are writing, as it breaks the writer's train of thought.

When you sit down to write, write. Don’t do anything else except go to the bathroom, and only do that if it absolutely cannot be put off.

4. Write “TK” as a placeholder.

If you aren't sure of a fact while you are writing, instead of searching for what to call a group of kittens, write “TK” in your manuscript and keep writing. You can also write “TK” as a placeholder for a scene you want to write in more detail later.

After your document is written, a quick search of “TK” will show you all of the places in your first draft you need to check facts or where you need to write in more detail.

Don't give in and look up the length of the Brooklyn Bridge, the population of Rhode Island, or the distance to the Sun. That way lies distraction—an endless click-trance that will turn your 20 minutes of composing into a half-day's idyll through the web. Instead, do what journalists do: type “TK” where your fact should go, as in “The Brooklyn bridge, all TK feet of it, sailed into the air like a kite.” —Cory Doctorow,  Writing in the Age of Distraction

5. Don't stop—keep writing until you reach the end.

Steven Pressfield , who writes about fighting resistance in his book  The War of Art , says that momentum is everything in a first draft.

Strike fast. Strike hard. Stop for nothing till you reach the objective.

6. Do not rewrite, edit, or read your first draft until you have written the entire story.

Shawn Coyne, author of Story Grid , says rewriting or editing before you have completed the first draft will lead to despair. Editing sentences before the story is complete may make it harder to follow your train of thought with the story.

I cannot overemphasize how important it is NOT TO RE-WRITE your first draft. Until you reach its final two words . . . THE END.

7. Don’t get discouraged.

Your first draft will not be perfect, but don't let that discourage you. Keep writing.

Don't get discouraged because there’s a lot of mechanical work to writing. There is, and you can’t get out of it. I rewrote the first part of A Farewell to Arms at least fifty times. —Ernest Hemingway

8. Have deadlines, accountability, incentives, and community.

Joe Bunting has been “writing” his book about his time in Paris for the last two years. Or, avoiding writing his book. Which is funny really, the writing guru who couldn't write.

Writing a first draft is hard, and it is tempting to take the easy route and quit writing. This is why you need something that will hold you accountable to finish.

Joe realized that he would not actually sit down and write his book unless he created deadlines and consequences to motivate himself. In order to help him meet his deadlines, he has surrounded himself with community that will hold him accountable.

The best thing about Joe's writing about his process is that he is honest, he admits his struggles, and he shares what he learns. You can learn more about his struggle and the structure he designed to help him finish his rough draft here .

You Can Write a First Draft in 100 Days

You can set your own deadlines, have friends hold you accountable, create an incentive to motivate yourself, and share your writing with a friend.

Or, you can join a special community of writers who are committed to finishing their books in 100 days.

This fall, Joe Bunting and The Write Practice team will lead a group of writers through the process of writing their first drafts from start to finish in 100 days. They will provide the training, accountability, support, and community you need to persevere to the end. And by November 30th, the last day of NaNoWiMothingy (TK), these writers will have their first drafts finished.

Would you like to join this community and and finish your book in the next 100 days? You can learn more and sign up here . Early registration ends tomorrow, Wednesday, August 17th, at midnight Pacific time. On Thursday, the price will go up, so you'll want to sign up soon .

Write the Book Inside You

Now we have the tools to write our first draft. May the books inside of you be written. No one else can tell your story. It's up to you. Now, it's time to do two things:

Do you have tips to share about how to write a first  draft? Please tell me  in the comments section . I would love to know what you think.

How is your first draft going? Here are three things you can do to move it along:

Take  fifteen minutes  to . . .

• Write down what your book or story is about.
• Or, write on your work in progress.
• Or, write about how you feel about your first draft, and let us encourage you not to give up.

Whatever you choose to write, when you're finished, share it in the comments and leave feedback for other writers.

Pamela Fernuik

Pamela writes stories about art and creativity to help you become the artist you were meant to be. She would love to meet you at www.ipaintiwrite.com .

39 Comments

I used to think that cleaning our three litter boxes was more difficult than writing a first draft, but now I see that I don’t have things that bad – even if I have to clean the three litter boxes twice because said cats won’t use it until it’s clean 🙂 Alas, I digress.

I love these recommendations and can vouch that they all work (or don’t work) depending upon who you are and how you operate. That’s not a bad thing at all. I think it’s just important to be self-aware as to what works for you and what doesn’t. As you say, there are a gazillion different ways to go about writing a first draft. Finding the way that works best for you is probably a combination of all the great suggestions you’ve made in different times and places – along with some that aren’t here and are yet to be discovered. Ironically, sometimes talking to my cat does actually help 🙂

One thing that I have personally found extremely helpful is adapting the process – on a smaller level. Instead of aspiring to writing a 50,000+ word manuscript at first, how about working up to it using the same process and recommendations. Start with a piece of flash fiction, work up to a short story, then a novella, and eventually onward to the novel length material. Success breeds confidence, and confidence in turn breeds success. I’ve found that by focusing on small steps and patient perseverance, I have been able to work up to completing my first manuscript draft during NaNoWriMo 2015.

But, as you so aptly stated, you can give all the suggestions in the world. But, if you don’t actually write, you will have no book to edit. It’s called a rough draft for a reason, right? Give yourself permission to write gibberish at times and you may be surprised at the magic that evolves.

Now, about that writing tattoo …

Hi Dave, So nice to meet you. Now, what is your cat’s name? My cat’s are: Harper, Charlie, Nepeta, JR, Oscar and Cleo. I love your suggestion to start small. I still haven’t cleaned the litter boxes today. But, I have written. What do you write? xo Pamela

Three litter boxes for four cats – Jewels, Luna, Moo, and Muffin (a.k.a. Voldemort). Ironically, all four cats fit nicely into each of the four houses at Hogwarts. You might imagine where our little Muffin belongs 😉

I primarily write romantic fiction – not necessarily the Harlequin type, but more along a Nicholas Sparks or Jojo Moyes vein. I have my first manuscript in the hands of an editor now, but really enjoy writing short stories also and distributing them to members of my author community.

It’s ironic that this post came up today because I have been struggling with trying to get this whole “process” done at once with my short stories – conceiving an idea, writing a draft, and polishing it for publishing – in a single sitting. Yikes, talk about stress …

I’ve been trying to focus more on breaking the process up into smaller and more manageable steps – something that I think can probably be applied to all writing projects, especially when they get to be lengthier in nature!

Like you, I have yet to clean the litter, but I have completed my writing for the day – just don’t let the cats know about my priorities, lest they retaliate in ways yet unknown 😉

It’s great to know there are lots of cat lovers out there. We recently lost the last of four brother cats (The Marx Brothers). As was in real life, Groucho was last. After our hearts are repaired we will probably start up again. Cats are amazing creatures.

Hello Jonathan, I am so sorry to hear about the death of Groucho and your other cats. May you find comfort in your time of deep loss. I live with five other cats. We just adopted two from a litter of seven kittens we fostered. Wishing you all my best, xo Love Harper p.s. Now is kitten season if you want to foster a litter of cats. They are too small to be adopted and they need to be socialized and loved.

Thanks, it’s almost time to open up the house again to those pesky little pets that take over so quickly. Thanks Jon

Hi Dave, Love your cats names. Your writing sounds interesting. How exciting to have your first manuscript in the hands of an editor. A small break before draft 2. Hello to your cats. xo Pamela

Hi Pamela, I meant to ask you also … what type of writing do you enjoy? And, is it weird to say that when I was cleaning out the litter boxes last night, I smiled when I felt reminded to respect my writing process? Sometimes a little sarcasm and humor can be just the motivating trigger you need, right? 😉

Hi Dave, Interesting question. What do I “enjoy” writing, because I don’t always enjoy the writing I do. My favorite writing is to type for my cat Harper, on her blog. And I illustrated and designed a book my other cat, Pooh, wrote. “How to Be a Cat.”

Dave, You must have been reading my mind. I commented above before I got to your thoughts posted here but I too have found that I am going to be more comfortable starting slowly and working up to something larger. I have two chapters for a larger work, but I am setting that aside until a later date.

Thanks for the reply, Jonathan! I must admit that it’s easier said than done, having the discipline to put something aside for later. Sometimes, I feel the need to have a complete story written by the end of a writing session. It can be “disconcerting” to have an unfinished piece of writing hanging in the balance. But, it’s good practice (for me, at least) because it is extremely unlikely that you are going to complete an entire novel in a single sitting (hey, never say impossible, right?) 🙂 And, I’ve found that sometimes, stopping short right before a critical shifting point in a story is a good way to pick up right where you left off during your next session. Best wishes with your future work – what type of writing do you enjoy?

Great post! I love the TK thing. I always preach not to do any research while writing a first draft. I recommend waiting until draft 3 or 4. To many writers get sucked down the Blackhole of research and are never seen again.

I am trying to keep it to a minimum for a change, this time. Maybe Harper has the better idea. Me? Compulsive googler in the house.

Hi Cynthia, That’s a good idea to wait longer to do research. I am forever getting lost while I try and finish my first draft. xo Pamela

I need help to write my first draft because I don’t have any thumbs. xo Love Harper

It’s okay Harper, I will type for you. xo Pamela

I feel sorry for you, cat Harper; you can’t thumb (or retract your claws in time—touchscreens, remember?) to page through gobs and gobs of research. I did find in my research that my main character’s career is actually a source of some intrigue. When I get back to writing, that is. Actually, that could be something to envy about a cat that writes.

Hello Tina, Thank you for your compassion about my inability to type I hope your main character is having a nice day today, and that work is going well. All my best, xo Love Harper

I got 32,000 words into my first draft and then burned out. Literally hated it and started again. On 18,000 words of new draft now. I’m trying to complete it before the end of August so I’m about 7000 words behind.

What did you do with the first 32,000 word piece? Will it ever be resurrected?

बहुत ही काटछांट की गई. वाकई रचनाकार ने बहुत मेहनत की है. किसी रचना को एकचौथाई रखना बहुत मेहनत मांगता है.

Hi Melody, How is it going today? Do you set a daily word count? xo Pamela

Ha that’s happened to me this year, I am now calling my first draft complete at 80000 words knowing that my second draft will in effect be a whole new book. Yikes, but never mind, because I’ve learned a lot.

I appreciate this article because the things it suggests are not the things I am doing. I especially get distracted trying to make the first draft the perfect draft. That wears me down and discouragement settles in. Even with a logline, a synopsis and a rough outline I sometimes get lost in details or taking trips away from what I have planned because I think I have a better idea. I am also finding out that I’d prefer to concentrate on my blog and short stories rather than taking on a full blown story/novel. I have been at this for about a month and it feels good to finally have an idea of where I want to put my energy.

Hi Jonathan, Glad the article was helpful. I am horrible at finishing a first draft. There is a book project I have been working on for over three years, or should I say, “avoiding.” The research for this article will help me finish my book. Yippee! Glad to hear you have an idea where to focus your work now. xo Pamela

I’ve just dedicated quite some time to my first draft and think that the TK tip is excellent (and it must be a lot more efficient then reading through the draft a billion times and still overlooking something you had wanted to work more on). I am currently working on a short story and am writing a lot more words then I want to! I’m spending a lot of time trying to “set the scene” before writing the actual scene so to speak, and it’s leaving me quite apprehensive when I think about how I’m going to (try to) deal with it after I’ve finished with the draft. Also, with the tip about carrying on with the draft while you still have momentum – what do you think is the best time limit to keep the draft under? I don’t want to spend months on the first draft, but I don’t think only allowing yourself a day to finish a first draft is realistic either.

Hi Mawa, Steven King said he tries to write the first draft of a novel in three months. But, he writes every day. I have been “trying” to write my first draft for three years, which means I don’t write on it very often. That is why I did the research for this article, so I could learn how to finish. Other writers say to completely write the first draft of a short story in one sitting, to keep the momentum going. How do you approach a short story? xo Pamela

Thanks for the reply Pamela! I think that I’m considering how to write each scene of the short story at different sittings. Because my short story involves a lot of changes in perspective/setting/mood I don’t want to write it all in one setting because I feel that I’d get halfway through and collapse from how exhausting it will become. Currently I am approaching my short story by writing one scene per sitting. Thankfully since it is a short story I should be finished with it in a week’s time!

बहुत ही शानदार व उपयोगी जानकारी दी गई है. मैं अपने अनुभव से कह सकता हूँ कि यह जानकारी बहुत ही व्यवहारिक है.

आप इसे अपना कर अपनी पहली रचना आराम से लिख सकते है.

Instead of “TK”, I typed in “Scissors” whenever I had something I wanted to come back to. I just chose a random word that I knew was unlikely to show up in the rest of the text. Then I typed in “Scissor Mountains”, indicating that I wanted to think up a name for the mountain range later. Well, I actually liked that, so in my first book you can actually read about the Scissor Mountains! Christie V Powell, author of ‘The Spectra Unearthed’.

Hi Christie, How funny. Scissor Mountains. That is great. I couldn’t use the word cat instead of TK because I write about cats. Thank you for sharing your process. xo Pamela

This is an amazing blog! First drafts are the hardest, but when you get past this you will be just fine.

I have my own blog about creative writing and literature, do check it out. The link is, http://www.21stcenturycreativewriting.com/

I’m such a perfectionist, when I see that dotted red line under my words, I have to stop everything and fix it. It’s the worst habit ever. So when I started to write my first draft, I blindfolded myself so that I couldn’t see the screen. Helped so much!

lol..that seems helpful

I have this ideas that I struggle so much to put them in words. I have all these broken pieces that I don’t know how to put together. I worry so much about the background story and to have strong characters that I freeze and I can’t move forward. It’s becoming quite frustrating, honestly. Even when I set up a daily schedule I am distracted by things like “Oh wait, I should probably learn some new words to expand my vocabulary” or “But I don’t know the name of this character’s best friend!”

What if your first draft is only 5% right? I mean, what if the majority of the stuff written is wrong?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if there was no December in the year. It would be really hard to believe that because December is the month where everyone is supposed to be happy. Where no one should die, no broken hearts, or broken families. December is the month of christmas, the month of love, joy and peace. These bad and good things are in the world and there are some families that are lucky to only have experienced the happy side of the month of December. But for other families it is a dream. For my family this dream would have came true just another couple of months and everything would have been perfect. But I learned very quickly that nothing can be perfect.

To many people have good and bad things happen to them. Sometimes you expect it and then again sometimes you don’t. In my case a lot of bad things happened to me in December. Everything in my life was almost perfect, and all these terrible things piled on top of each other getting higher by the second. Even though I thought I had lost everything, I found people who cared about me even though they didn’t even know me. And by their kindness and great big loving hearts they changed me and helped get through the troubling December I had. These good people they had love, joy and peace in their lives they helped me realize that there is always someone out somewhere in the world that will love you. My name is Leah Snow and this is my story.

Well, that was … beautiful.

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