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Drafting and Revising

• Drafting • Revising • Assignment • Internet Resources

Drafting could be described as giving yourself the freedom to write poorly.

This approach worked for Larry Gelbart. In an interview with the New York Times, he explained how he wrote episodes of M*A*S*H:

''First, you get the idea. It may germinate for a long time or it just pops into your head. And then you work out a structure. And when you feel confident enough, you start to write. And you have to allow yourself the liberty of writing poorly."

What does Gelbart mean by "writing poorly"? He had to write a TV sitcom every week, so why didn't he try for perfection the first time?

" You have to get the bulk of it done, and then you start to refine it," he believes. "You have to put down less than marvelous material just to keep going to whatever you think the end is going to be—which may be something else altogether by the time you get there."

Drafting is the process of "put(ting) down less than marvelous material." In the process, you may get new ideas. Just go with the flow. You can always polish after you've discovered what you want to say.

Internet Resources for Developing a Thesis Statement

Drafting

	Getting Ideas (Webster CC)
	Developing a Research Question (Empire State)
	The Question Is the Answer (McKenzie)
	How to Create a Concept Map (Utah State)
	Why Can't I Write? Some Advice on Drafting (RLC)

Revising

	Questions for Revision (Purdue OWL)
	Revising (UNC)
	Global and Local Perspectives (POWA)
	Revision Strategies (OhioLINK)
	Revising the Draft (Harvard)
	Online Technical Writing: Planning Reports—Outlining (advanced topics such as eliminating one-line entries and comparing the outline to the draft; McMurrey)
	Power-Revision Techniques (McMurrey)

Class Materials

Rubrics are on the k: drive, which you can access when you are on the Des Moines campus.

	Sample Pages for APA-Style Informative Essay (k:\CM102\Unit7_sample_pages.doc)
	Rubric for Informative Essay Draft (k:\CM102\Unit7_info_draft_rubric.doc)
	Proofing Checklist (k:\CM102\Unit9_checklist.doc)