The 39A syllabus refers to three kinds of drafts: the exploratory draft, the working draft, and the final draft. Each draft emphasizes a different aspect of the creative process needed to produce a finished paper.

The exploratory draft emphasizes the generation of ideas. It is your chance to find out what you think about the assigned topic and the readings or other material on which that topic is based. Since this draft primarily involves writing for yourself, you don't have to worry too much about organization or grammar. This draft is for getting ideas on paper so that you can examine them more closely later on. There are at least two techniques that can help you to further explore your ideas on paper. Once you've gotten something down, ask yourself questions about what you've written. Questions such as what do you mean? how so? how do you know? why? why not? and so what? These questions, when answered, will help you generate more copy. This technique also puts you in your reader's place, helping you get ready for later steps in the overall drafting process. Another techique you might try is spreading your sentences out on a piece of paper or a computer screen and then forcing yourself to write an additional sentence after each one that is already there. This activity trains you in two important aspects of writing, thorough development and coherence. Both of the above techniques can bring additional ideas to the surface.

The working draft represents the next stage of the creative process. Read over what you've written and select the ideas you consider most important, group related ideas together, and arrange them in logical order. It is during this stage that paragraphs emerge and that claims begin to be supported by sufficient evidence. As you can see, you are now beginning to think about your paper from the audience's point of view. Have you responded to the assignment? Is your argument understandable? What will your audience need to know to be persuaded? How will you guide your reader through your argument? At this point you should have a thesis statement that summarizes your overall argument, topic sentences that point to the focus of each paragraph and that paragraph's relevance to the thesis, and transitional language that relates parts of the argument to each other. This draft is the first public draft, and it is often read by your peers or your instructor, who will provide feedback.

The final draft is the one in which you begin to think most seriously about sentence level issues. Does each one of your sentences work? Is each one clear, concise, and grammatical. This draft is also your last chance to revisit anything that you've left undone in previous drafts. The writing process is often recursive, meaning that the above process may be repeated multiple times before each section of the paper, or the paper as a whole, is finished.

Over the years, one of the most important factors in my own development as a writer has been my ability to take advantage of the process described above. Writing
doesn't have to be perfect the first time around. Its perfection can build as you save the best from each draft. People who examine the rough drafts of accomplished writers are often amazed by how many changes there are from draft to draft. The more comfortable you are with writing as a process and not just as a product, the better writer you will be.

For help with any part of the writing process and to qualify for a valuable individual conference, attend a LARC 39A workshop.