The Writing Process: Drafting

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The Writing ProcessDrafting

• by
• Tarasine A. Buck

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Warm-Up Writing

• Listen to the story from your teachers life.
• Each time your teacher stops, write down what you
  would do in this situation or what you think
  happened next.

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The Writing Process
Pre-Writing
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Finding the Main Idea

• Read the second paragraph in the essay Y2K and
  the New Millennium on the back of your Typed
  Draft Guidelines sheet.
• What is the main idea of this paragraph?

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Outlines

• An outline is like a skeleton of an essay.
• It shows the bare bones or main ideas of the
  essay structure.
• You can use an outline when you are reading or
  when you are writing.
• An outline helps you to organize ideas.

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Sample Outline

• Introduction What is Y2K?
• Why people were afraid
• What really happened on January 1st 2000
• Conclusion What people will do now.

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Practicing Outlines

• With your partner, read the essay Getting to
  Know the Other Side of the World.
• Write an outline of the main ideas of the essay.

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From Pre-Writing to First Draft
Pre-Writing Notes
Outline
First Draft
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Sample Pre-Writing

• I dont know what to write about. Maybe about my
  brothers boat accident. We were so scared. We
  thought he was going to drown. He was trapped
  under an overturned boat and didnt have any air
  to breathe. But it ended all right. He was
  rescued and only had a broken arm. What else can
  I write about? Oh! I know. A day I will always
  remember was the day I left my country to come to
  the U.S. That was a sad/happy day. I felt sad and
  happy at the same time. Maybe I should write
  about something happy. Our family vacation last
  summer was fun. We drove to the coast and camped
  for a week on the beach. Then there was the day
  the earthquake happened. Now that was definitely
  a memorable event. I will never forget it. I was
  at home with my older sister and little brother .
  . .

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Sample Outline

• I. Introduction Before the earthquake
• Body
• A. During the earthquake
• B. Right after the earthquake
• C. Two hours after the earthquake
• Conclusion

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Sample Essay

• Read the sample essay Earthquake! on the
  handout. Answer the following questions with
  your partner or group.
• How did the writer organize his ideas? (How did
  he decide what to write first, second, next,
  etc.?)
• What words and phrases does the writer use to
  explain what happened first, second, etc.?

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Practicing Outlines

• Now take your own pre-writing notes and organize
  them into an outline.
• From this outline, begin writing the paragraphs
  of your rough draft.
• Read the Rough Draft Guidelines handout for
  more information on rough drafts.