15c Drafting
Contents:
Creating a working title and introduction
Crafting a conclusion
For most college research projects, drafting should begin at least two weeks before the instructor’s deadline in case you need to gather more information or do more drafting. Set a deadline for having a complete draft, and structure your work with that date in mind. Gather your notes, outline, and sources, and read through them, getting involved in your topic. Most writers find that some sustained work (two or three hours at a time) pays off at this point. Begin drafting a section that you feel confident about. For example, if you are not sure how you want to introduce the draft but do know how you want to approach a particular point, begin with that, and return to the introduction later. The most important thing is to get started.
The drafting process varies considerably among researchers (3g), and no one else can determine what will work best for you. No matter what approach you take, remember to include sources (for quotations, paraphrases, summaries, and media) as you draft; doing so will save time later and help you produce your list of works cited.
Creating a working title and introduction
The title and introduction (4h) play special roles, for they set the context for what is to come. Ideally, the title announces your subject in an intriguing or memorable way. To accomplish these goals, Emily Lesk, the student writer whose work appears in Part 1, revised the title of her essay from “All-Powerful Coke” (3g) to “Red, White, and Everywhere” (4l). David Craig began with the title “Messaging and Texting,” but he later added the more specific and intriguing subtitle “The Language of Youth Literacy” (32e).
The introduction should draw readers in and provide any background they will need to understand the discussion. Here are some tips for drafting an introduction to a research project:
- You may want to open with a question, especially your research question, or with a strong or arresting statement of some kind. Next, you might explain what you will do to answer the question or to elaborate on the statement. For academic projects, instructors may expect you to end with your explicit thesis statement—in essence, the answer to the question or the response to the strong statement.
- Help readers get their bearings by forecasting your main points.
- Establish your own credibility by revealing how you have become knowledgeable about your topic.
- You may use a quotation to get attention, but singling out one source in this way can give that source too much emphasis.
David Craig’s introduction
David Craig begins his essay (32e) with a strong statement (The English language is under attack) that immediately gets readers’ attention. He then presents a brief overview of what the critics are saying about youth literacy and brings up messaging language—the general subject of his essay—before ending the introduction with his explicit thesis statement.
Crafting a conclusion
A good conclusion helps readers know what they have learned (4h and 5g). Its job is not to persuade—the body of the essay or project should already have done that—but to contribute to the overall effectiveness of your writing. The following strategies may be helpful:
- Refer to your thesis, and then expand to a more general conclusion that reminds readers of the significance of your discussion.
- If you have covered several main points, you may want to remind readers of them. Be careful, however, to provide more than a summary.
- Try to end with something that will have an impact—a provocative quotation or question, a vivid image, a call for action, or a warning. But guard against sounding preachy.
David Craig’s conclusion
In his conclusion, David Craig briefly recaps his thesis and then summarizes the main point of his argument (32e). He ends with a strong assertion: Although messaging may expose literacy problems, it does not create them.