Write First, Revise Later

There are two rules that guide my writing, and I utilize these rules whether I am writing a paragraph or writing a twenty page research paper. My first rule is to open a Word document and make a listing of all the major points that I want to touch on throughout my writing. As I am drafting my paper and touch on one of these points I erase that point from my list. I do this until my entire list of bullet points is gone and I am left with nothing but paragraphs. Depending on the length of the paper, oftentimes I try to complete my first draft in one sitting. This way I don’t have to come back to a half-completed paper and refresh my mind on the bullet points that I have already written about and the bullet points that I have yet to write about. Of course, as students we have other classes that demand our time, and it is not always possible to complete a piece of writing during one sitting. When this is the case it is very helpful to have that listing of the bullet points that you wanted to touch on. You will still need to refresh yourself on where you left off at with your paper, but it will be easier to jump back into your paper if you have that list of “to dos” or “to writes.”
My second rule is to always write first and revise second. When I start out, my goal is to get all of my ideas down on the paper, keeping in mind that I will go back and revise it later. This can lead to a bit of mess. Oftentimes I find myself repeating my main points and writing run on sentences. Once I get all of my ideas down on paper I usually end up with a product that is twice as long as I would desire. But, I believe that it is easier to cut things out of a paper than to add things to a paper. When I go back to revise I make sure that everything is written in a logical order and that I have transitions between ideas. The corrections that I make most often include deleting entire sentences, splitting run-ons into multiple sentences, and correcting basic grammatical errors. I cut out all of the extra wording that I don’t need in order to effectively make the point that I am trying to make. There are many people that use this strategy and others who insist upon correcting as they go. I have always had trouble with writer’s block and have found that this is the best way to combat my writer’s block. Part of writer’s block is constantly being unhappy with the words that you are putting on the page. When this happens it makes it very difficult to get past the first sentence if you don’t feel like it is perfect. Once you get past the first sentence you will usually have the same problems with the second sentence, and so on throughout your paper.
I have found that it is easier to implement this second strategy when I am typing on the computer instead of writing it on paper with a pen or pencil. My brain moves much more quickly than my hand is able to write. It is much easier to keep up with my thoughts while I type on the computer. Also, as a busy student, this cuts out one step in the drafting process. Instead of writing by hand and then having to transfer the paper to a word processor, it starts out on the word processor.
However, there is one thing that I like to see on paper. When I have the paper corrected and almost ready to turn in, I print it out for one last correction. Oftentimes I am able to pick up on formatting errors or other simple errors when I see it on paper. The last thing that I do before handing in an assignment is to read it out loud to myself. Sometimes I skip this step if I am drafting in the library because there are several other students around. However, if I am by myself I consider this a must do.

-Jaclyn E.