Chapter 4 Introduction
Drafting and Revising Paragraphs and Essays
Putting Your Ideas Together
A draft is the first whole version of all your ideas put together in a piece of writing. Do the best job you can in drafting, but know that you can make changes later.
- It has a topic sentence (for a paragraph) and a thesis statement (for an essay) that makes a clear main point.
- It has a logical organization of ideas.
- It has primary and secondary support that shows, explains, or proves the main point.
- It has a conclusion that makes an observation about the main point.
- It follows standard paragraph form or standard essay form (see “Paragraph and Essay Form” in Chapter 2).