ACAdEMIC wRITERS undERSTAnd THAT wRITIng IS A PRoCESS 13■ Draft, and Draft Again
The next stage in the writing process begins when you are ready to think
about your focus and how to arrange the ideas you have gathered in the
collecting stage. Writers often find that writing a first draft is an act of dis-
covery, that their ultimate focus emerges during this initial drafting pro-
cess. Sometimes it is only at the end of a four-page draft that a writer says,
“Aha! This is what I really want to talk about in this essay!” Later revisions
of an essay, then, are not simply editing or cleaning up the grammar of a
first draft. Instead, they truly involve revision, seeing the first draft again to
establish the clearest possible argument and the most persuasive evidence.
This means that you do not have to stick with the way a draft turns out
the first time. You can — and must! — be willing to rewrite a substantial
amount of a first draft if the focus of the argument changes, or if in the
process of writing new ideas emerge that enrich the essay. This is why it’s
important not to agonize over wording in a first draft: It’s difficult to toss
out a paragraph you’ve sweated over for hours. Use the first draft to get
your ideas down on paper so that you and your peers can discuss what you
see there, with the knowledge that you (like your peers) will need to stay
open to the possibility of changing an aspect of your focus or argument.Steps to Collecting Information and Material■^1 Mark your texts as you read. Note key terms; ask questions in the
margins; indicate connections to other texts.■^2 List quotations you find interesting and provocative. You might
even write short notes to yourself about what you find significant
about the quotes.■^3 List your own ideas in response to the reading or readings.
Include what you’ve observed about the way the author or authors
make their arguments.■^4 Sketch out the similarities and differences among the authors
whose work you plan to use in your essay. Where would they
agree or disagree? How would each respond to the others’ argu-
ments and evidence?Steps to Drafting■^1 Look through the materials you have collected to see what inter-
ests you most and what you have the most to say about.■^2 Identify what is at issue what is open to dispute.
01_GRE_5344_Ch1_001_028.indd 13 11/19/14 11:07 AM