Organizing involves narrowing your focus to fit your purpose and audience and then making a rough outline of the ideas you have generated. Take ONE of the topics you worked with above and decide on a purpose and an audience for your writing. Possible purposes could be to describe a person or scene, to narrate a life experience, to describe a process, or to compare and contrast two things. Possible audiences could be your instructor, your fellow students, your co-workers, or someone you know well. Now select what details fit your purpose and audience and create a rough outline for your topic.
The goal of writing a first draft is to get your ideas down on paper in an organized form so you have something to work with during the revision process. Using the “tips” for drafting and revising on the computer found in chapter 2 of the book, create a draft from the outline you wrote above.
Revising your draft should be done after spending some time away from your writing. So after spending some time away from your draft, review it for organization, word choice, and detail. Read it aloud to see how it sounds, and try to predict what your readers will hear and understand. Try to create at least a second draft that can be revised again.
Producing the final copy should only be done after you have revised your draft carefully and you are satisfied that you have made all the possible changes and improvements. If you follow this process, you SHOULD have a paragraph that you would be proud to show your instructor or your audience.
