Rough Draft Essay

First drafts suck; the end. But the process is a requirement for great writing, one that many writers would be helpless without. The first draft is an exercise in brainstorming ideas; with no ideas, you can’t realistically write a paper. And that is why Lamott has come to terms with the process, whether she actually wanted to or not—“…I would eventually let myself trust the process—sort of, more or less.”

I frequently find myself reminiscing about the past semester and what I have learned in just a few weeks. English 111 has introduced me to new strategies to further improve my papers such as strategies to produce ideas, planning, and methods to organize my work. One strategy I learned in English 111 was the writing process. The writing process includes four detailed steps that I used to help me write papers. The first step of the writing process would be to be prewriting, also known as the invention stage. The prewriting stage is where you produce an outline or when you write down idea that you want to talk about in your paper. I often start by making an outline, labeling my paragraphs. The next step of my prewriting process would be to write down important ideas onto note cards, especially if I am writing a research paper. After writing an outline or putting your ideas on paper the writing process suggest that you get started. The next operation of the writing process would be revision. The ins were many authors use the A.R.R.R strategy, this stands for add, rearrange, remove, and replace. This would be where you add in crucial details, rearrange the order to ensure the flow of

Marius says, “If possible, read your rough draft just before you go to sleep. Many psychological tests have shown that our minds organize and create while we sleep if we pack them full before bedtime.” (paragraph 5) I had never heard of these studies before reading this article, but it definitely makes sense and I plan to give it a try on my next writing assignment. On the subject of writing rough drafts though, my previous teachers have almost all drilled it into my head that you must write at least two to three rough drafts. If you do not write at least one rough draft and then rewrite it as a final draft, but you only write one draft period, then in a sense, you are just turning in what should be the rough draft. Then you end up with a grade on the paper that is just that, rough.

From the start of reading “Shitty first drafts” I have concluded that even the best writers, write horrible drafts first. In the passage it even says when you start off with a shitty first draft, this is how they end up with good second grafts, and terrific third drafts. This shows that a lot of effort goes into writing an essay. You have to start from somewhere, put what comes to your mind immediately on paper. It suprises me that even professional writers struggle with writing rough drafts. The author talks about when you write a rough draft, you have to take bits and pieces of the essay out.

Reading the two articles, Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” and Donald M. Murray’s “Write Before Writing” numerous times made me realize a connection with their writing process that I can relate to. Lamott believes that every good writer, or every writer should write shitty first drafts because the writer will produce better second drafts. In her article, she gives examples of her writing struggles and gives her point of view of the writing process. In order to have a good piece of writing, one must write all of their ideas onto paper. Murray’s article gives some instructions on how to create and start a better writing. He expressed that writers should give time to what they’re going to write about, so that they can understand and make it easy on themselves. After reading the articles, I realized some of the complications I suffer within my writing process, but one strategy that I found helpful is Lamott’s drafting development strategies.

Reading Lamott’s and Elbow’s articles, you find many similarities that can be used to support the other writer’s point of view. However, there are also differences that both authors seem to disagree on. Both articles explain the importance of a rough draft. The rough draft is the foundation for all writer’s creativity. It is like a toddler doing art for the first time. They get a piece of paper, splash a little paint here and there, glue some feathers down, toss an insane amount of glitter on it, and done! It’s chaotic as a whole and does not really make sense. But, if you look closely certain areas of the piece really look beautiful on it’s own. Creativity does not always have to be perfect the first attempt and that is what Lamott and Elbow are trying to tell us.

The process in which people think is different for everyone. Everyone has a different way of how they can focus or be creative. For writing, there are many different steps that each writer goes through in order to create good content. In the short story, “So, You Want to Be a Writer? Here’s How.” written by Allegra Goodman, she explains how to become a good writer. Also, in the short story she describes her writing process. Goodman’s writing process is similar to a lot of people's writing process. In a writing process, writers go to a certain location, brainstorms, and completes to write a satisfactory paper.

I use to enjoy reading and writing. The joy of going to the bookstore and picking out a great book excited me. I would curl up in my bed and image the world around me as if I was in the book myself. Everything changed during my four high school years.

In her essay "Shitty First Drafts", Anne Lamott attempts to explain that everyone writes really 'shitty first drafts'. She argues that even the best writers' first drafts are horrible, because no one can write perfectly. Her friend even told her that, “The first draft is the "down draft" since you are just trying to get everything down on paper, the second is the "up draft" since that is the one you fix up, and the third draft is the "dental draft" where you check every "tooth" to make sure it's healthy” (222). I enjoyed this essay because it was very easy to read, understand, and relate to. I especially liked how she described the struggle to write or not to write in her head. This reiterated the fact to me that everyone struggles with writing, and it's okay to do so.

What’s the first thing you do before getting started on writing a text? Is it turn on music, get yourself alone in a room, turn on the TV? Whatever it is, everyone has their own writing process. Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs state, “…it would seem that if you want to become a more versatile, capable, powerful writer, you need to be pretty aware of which activities, behaviors, habits, and approaches lead to your strongest writing-and which don’t”(170). The writing process has a major effect on the effectiveness of the paper it’s got to do with what it takes you to get the best on paper. My writing process consists of all paperwork, which is related to the writing and music that’ll help me focus.

Another day, another shitty draft. Anne Lamott was right when she said that the first draft of a paper is bad, but it leads to a better second draft and even better third draft or final paper. Lammot, an experienced writer, and novelist tells us that most feel as if we are pulling teeth to finish our first draft and it isn’t always pretty. It can be painful and sometimes ugly, but it is essential in creating a paper that is worthwhile. Lamott says, “ Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it. Nor do they go about their business feeling dewy and thrilled” (Lamott par. 2). As a high school English student, it is comforting to know that just because you are getting older and more experienced it does not mean writing

It was the bottom of the sixth inning of a USSA sponsored tournament and I was hitting fourth that inning, cleanup. Jake, our second baseman and the literalist on my team, was hitting first, Jake tries to bunt and misses. “C’mon Jake, get the barrel on the ball,” Said my first base coach Matt Fitzmorris, who played in the majors, “Let’s go!”

In “Shitty Rough Drafts,” the author had said that what was most important was to just let your fingers fly and write down whatever you needed to in order to have a base. This would then be reworded and changed multiple times before it saw the light of day but this ideology really helped me truly get started on my rough draft. Before, I would try to write the actual paper in my rough draft and then change and fix some of the grammatical errors. With this thought process though I know that I plan on reworking the majority of the essay so I don’t have to have the added pressure as I had

In "What is 'Academic' Writing?", by L. Lennie Irvin, we are introduced to seven myths about writing. However, the writing myth I most closely relate to would be #3, there's no such as a perfect first draft. In my early years of writing, I would often impression a rough draft as pointless, so I would jump right into my final copy. I continued this method until I started taking high school English and noticed my writing standards began to depreciate. I then realized the best solution was to put in the time and effort and organize a rough draft that allowed the revisal of any mistakes in my writing that would effect my score. A draft is called a draft because it does not need to be perfect, it just needs to be efficient enough for someone to

(Technique 1: transitions) The process of writing is not so simple. It takes a lot of effort to bring thoughts from one’s mind to the physical plane that is a piece of paper. One of the more difficult parts to writing is being able to transition from one idea to another. Without proper transitions, writing is just bits and pieces being forced together instead of many thoughts flowing seamlessly from one to another into one conglomerate piece.