Drafting

Students,

By now you all should have chosen a topic and conducted research. If you have not decided on your topic, check out Brainstorming-Tricks to Help You Start A Paper page to discover creative ways to come up with a possible argument. **You must have a topic before moving on to the drafting stage!**

As we know, drafting is the second step in the writing process__. A word of caution__: from noticing students in the past I have noticed that many of you think this stage is to write a perfect argumentative essay. This is not the case! Drafting is step which focuses on getting your ideas from your mind on to paper. Therefore, feel free to write without filters; the goal is to try and write as much as you know about your argument. You will have time to reread your draft and select the points you think are most important and what things you mentioned that should be eliminated from the next draft. When drafting….
 * Use bullets
 * Forget about spelling and proper mechanics
 * Focus on ideas (especially for the argumentative paper—What are the pros and cons of your argument?)
 * Create a **Mind Map** before writing out your draft. Watch [|How to Mind Map] video to learn how to create one.
 * Write down what you know...
 * Facts / Statistics
 * Quotes
 * Studies or experiments
 * Significant people, dates, and locations—Why are these important?
 * How does the general public feel about your argument? Why?
 * How do certain populations feel about your argument? Why?
 * Why is your argument important? Give evidence about why people should care.