Whether you are writing a single paragraph or an essay, these guidelines can assist during the drafting stage.
Think back to the topic, purpose, and audience you planned on addressing in your essay. As you draft, ask yourself if your essay is staying on topic, whether it is serving your purpose, and whether it is meeting the needs of your audience. If it isn’t, consider whether to adjust your draft or to rethink your original plan.
As you draft, work from an outline that lists a series of points related to your thesis. Each point should be backed up with supporting details. The outline can be informal unless your instructor requests otherwise.
When drafting, have each body paragraph open with a topic sentence that clearly states the main point of the paragraph. You can revise this pattern later if you wish.
Support each topic sentence with details in the form of facts, examples, statistics, or other information. Adding details is one of the most important parts of the drafting stage. Aim to add too much detail rather than too little. Later, you can decide what to delete, if anything.
If you are trying to argument readers, you cannot just express yourself. You must convince them with evidence. Consider their possible objections and respond to them.
Be sure each paragraph focuses on a single idea. It’s very common for paragraphs to ramble a bit while the writer explores ideas. You can fix such problems later, but at least be aware that some paragraphs might need to be tightened or divided in order to keep the focus on one main idea per paragraph.
Include effective transitions between paragraphs to avoid an essay that feels choppy and lacks flow.
Make sure to include an introduction and conclusion for your essay. During the drafting stage, these sections are often far from complete, but you need to recognize these potential problems so you can address them later.
Make your draft as complete as possible, but be prepared to revise it later, considering any material that may need to be added, deleted, or reorganized. You will also want to edit your draft at the very end, checking for any spelling and grammatical errors.