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The Writing Process
Plan - Organize Your Thoughts
Organize your thoughts. After you have completed the majority of your research and before you start writing your first draft, organize your thoughts so that you stay on track when writing your first draft.
Decide upon one central point you wish to make. Summarize your most important contribution in a succinct statement that will keep you focused. Then, create an outline of the supporting points you need to cover.
Whether you’re organizing a book, an article, or a single paragraph, think in terms of three main sections: an introduction, a middle, and a conclusion.
Introduction
- Introduce your topic and main point.
- Establish relevance for your audience
- Grab readers’ attention with a compelling quotation, lesser-known facts, or striking statistics.
Middle
- Organize supporting points in a logical progression.
- Starting with your least convincing point and building to your most convincing point can sometimes be effective. However, if you choose this route, make sure that you are not burying your most original points late in the manuscript. Give readers good cause to keep reading until they reach your best material.
- If you choose to start with your strongest points and work your way down to afterthoughts and tangentially related material, make sure to give extra attention to your conclusion.
- Divide the manuscript into subsections to make it easier for the audience to see the progression of ideas.
- Make your outline as detailed as possible, even to the point of listing specific examples you will develop, references you will cite, and other details that will help make your manuscript convincing.
- Gather figures, illustrations, charts, and other visual material that will help you make your point.
Conclusion
- Restate or briefly summarize your main point, but make sure you go one step further: What are the implications of your contribution?
- Suggest actions that readers can or should take based on your content.
- What are the next steps for other writers who may wish to continue the discussion?
More planning tips:
