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7.3 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 7 "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.