Drafting

Creating a Draft

There is a process to writing anything, whether it's an essay, story, or a report. First, you create an outline, as we just learned to do in the last lesson. Next, you write a first draft, also known as a rough draft. The purpose of a first draft is to get all your thoughts and information down on paper, in the order it will appear in your report. You shouldn't worry about writing perfect sentences or paragraphs, and you shouldn't worry about creating the version that you will share with your audience. The purpose of a first draft is to create a very rough version of the report that you will then improve.

The worst thing that you can do to yourself when creating your first draft is put pressure on yourself to make it perfect – or even close to perfect. You shouldn't worry about the way your writing will "sound" to others. You shouldn't worry about it being good, professional, or anything else. In fact, you shouldn't even worry about spelling. Just take a deep breath and relax, then write what needs to be said in each compartment.

Let's make it a little easier for you by giving you some steps to follow when you create your first draft.

Write one compartment at a time. Do not tackle the report as a whole. That's enough to intimidate the most efficient report writer. Just take it compartment by compartment. Simply write down what needs to appear in the compartment.

Use your outline. You should have already organized the topics into the order they will appear in the report. That said, start with the first topic. Write about it, making sure to include all subtopics. When you're finished, move on to the next topic.

Never start writing your report from the beginning. In other words, never write the summary statement first. In fact, it's easier if you write the summary statement last, sometimes. Instead, start with the compartments that seem the easiest to write. You'll start to get into a "groove," and it will make writing the rest of the report easier.

Do not try to edit what you write as you write it. You will drive yourself crazy. Editing comes after you finish your first draft.

Once you finish the first draft, save the file, then put it away. Do not try to read through it right after you finish it, and do not try to edit it right away. At least give yourself a few hours away from it, so you can come back to it with a fresh perspective. If at all possible, give yourself an entire day.

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