Writing

The writing stage is often called drafting. When you draft, you should focus on ideas, rather than worrying about grammar. Use an outline as you draft so that you don't lose focus. 

Tip: Get it on Paper

As a writer, you must overcome the belief that everything you write has to be perfect. The first draft is exactly that, a draft. It should be improved upon and revised multiple times. Every time you come back to the essay to work on it, it will improve. 

Watch this video clip of artists creating marble sculptures. Writing is a similar creative process. You need an outline and a clear idea of what you want your essay to be at the end. Keep in mind that the first steps of the creation process are very general. It isn't until later in the process that fine details are added. 

When you are writing, think of your early drafts as the big cuts of marble. You don't need to worry about word choice or getting the grammar just right. Your focus should be getting the shape of the essay, the general ideas, and the organization.

Using Quotations

When you are writing, you should not cut and paste several quotes into one body paragraph. Consider which pieces of your quotes are necessary to support and develop the topic sentence. This means that some pieces of quotes may be unnecessary because they don’t support the topic sentence. 

Use your own words to

  • connect quotes together
  • introduce some of your research
  • explain how a quote supports your topic sentence
  • explain what a quote means
  • show how quotes are connected together. 

After you use a quote, don’t simply summarize it; remember to justify or clarify the reason for using the quote.


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