III.A. THE ROUGH DRAFT AND REVISION PROCESS

     It is necessary to write a rough draft because it is your first attempt to convert your outline into logically organized statements that introduce and support your thesis.  You should check your efforts by answering the following questions:

 1. Is my organization logical?
 2. Is my support adequate?
 3. Have I expressed my ideas clearly?
 4. Does all my information relate back to the thesis?
 5. Are my ideas parallel?
 6. Do I have adequate transitions?
 7. Have I given credit to all my sources?

     Your answers to these questions will help you revise your paper.  Normally, formal research papers are written in the third person (this means that your paper should not contain "I" or "you" unless in direct quotes).   Non-literary formal research papers are generally written in the past tense, unless your teacher indicates differently.  Literary research papers are written in the present tense.
     After completing the rough draft, you should let it sit for a day or two.  Then read it out loud for the purpose of listening to content and flow.  Stop periodically as you read.  Is your information accurate?  Complete?  Presented logically?
     Make any needed changes.  You might want to add information, remove information, or move information.  This is the time to consider any major changes.
     Next, have a friend or parent read the paper, concentrating on content, organization, and structure only.  Do not worry about spelling, punctuation, and mechanics at the rough draft stage.  Content, fluency, and form come first.  Your teacher may have you join a peer response group to help with revision of content.
     Below is an explanation of the three sections of the research paper: the introduction and thesis, the body and cited information, and the conclusion.