Valuable Tips on How to Plan and Draft Your Essay

There are different steps involved in essay writing, and drafting is one of them. Before you write and submit the final copy of your essay, you will need to draft a few rough samples. Essay drafting has some purposes, including ensuring you write the best essay, one your instructor can give an A grade. However, more than that, essay drafts ensure you write your paper in the correct essay format.

What is an essay draft?

First, let’s discuss what an essay draft is and what should be in it. An essay draft, or rough draft, is a completed version of your paper but not published or submitted. It is a more complete version of your academic writing in paragraph form; it isn’t unfinished like many people think. The paper you submit finally is often called a final draft.

The drafting process is a sequence of practice exercises that lead up to and help you write your final draft. To write a draft, you first have to get your outline ready and then build on your points, expanding them into paragraphs.

Essay planning: Simple steps on how to draft an essay

The first step involved in writing an essay is creating an outline – that is, after you’ve done all the reading and research. To create the best essay format, you need to begin with your outline; you must have collected notes, ideas, and evidence. Below are simple steps on how to turn your outline into the first draft of your academic essay.

Step 1: Create headings

The first step is pinpointing your main points and creating headings for them. For example, if you’re writing an essay about your first day in college, your introduction can be a general outlook of the essay. Then the body paragraph(s), depending on how many points you have, will cover your experiences on your first day of college. Then create a conclusion, which is a convincing summary of your entire essay, helping your readers understand it better.

Step 2: Fill in supporting ideas

The next thing is to fill in the supporting ideas of your main ideas, providing necessary explanations, evidence, and descriptions. The supporting ideas convince your readers that you’re making a good point: keep them in a logical order. Remember to cite every external source you used based on your school’s required format to avoid plagiarism. When you finish adding the supporting ideas, read through the draft to look for holes in your argument that need fleshing out.

Step 3: Turn your headings and subheadings into sentences

If you’re writing a short or medium-length essay, each main idea or heading will usually take one paragraph. However, if you’re writing a longer paper, you will need to create several subheadings, which will eventually be your paragraphs. Then, decide how many sentences will fall under each heading for a rough idea of what will make the most sense for your paper.

Step 4: Turn your sentences into paragraphs

Starting at the beginning of your outline, go through your points one by one and start putting your sentences into paragraphs. We recommend using transition phrases or extra sentences so that your essay can flow naturally. At this point, you may find some irrelevant ideas; feel free to churn them out and change whatever you need to. Remember that this is only a draft meant to help you get organized; be flexible enough to remove and add necessary points.

Profitable tips on creating a rough draft for essay

Sometimes, drafting an essay can be daunting; that’s understandable. That’s why we’ve added these tips to help you create a rough draft for your essay easily;

  • Start your draft by choosing a topic you can talk about comfortably.
  • Identify the issues related to your chosen topic and look for resources to offer background information.
  • Come up with and state your thesis and then organize your thoughts and notes.
  • Create an outline for your paper that’ll guide you through the entire writing process.
  • Go back and research; this time, look for content directly related to, and that supports your points.
  • Start writing, beginning with your introduction, then body paragraphs, and finally, the conclusion.

Conclusion

Your draft is as important as the final essay work because you’re writing what you hope to produce in your final essay. Outlining your essay is best before starting your rough draft; it helps you organize your ideas and arguments. This article will guide you if you’re planning an essay but aren’t sure how to.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *