Summary of Writing Drafts by Richard Marius
ENC 1101: Written Communications
September 23, 2012
My own summarization of, “Writing Drafts”, By Richard Marius This article is about Richard Marius and the processes he uses in his own writings. He expresses the importance of starting with just a list, committing yourself completely to the project at hand, writing numerous rough drafts, and many other guidelines that can contribute to the process of effective writing. A simple list is the first step to writing the first draft of anything. In the past, I was always told that writing a completely specific and organized outline was the correct way of starting a writing assignment. My last English teacher even made us turn our outlines in with our essays. According to the article, a list is just as good if not better than an outline because it allows for the flow of creativity without causing all the stress of writing a structured outline. The list does not have to be in any specific order, just notes that are of significance to the topic. The list can be organized later after all the facts have been gathered because as Marius states, “writers often start an essay with one topic in mind only to discover that another pushes the first one aside as they work.” (paragraph 3) He also says that if this happens, “be grateful and accept it”. I took it to mean that some writers have a hard time coming up with anything to write at all, so if I am lucky enough to be coming up with ideas for one topic and I suddenly start thinking about a whole new and even better topic, I should take the opportunity and run with it. This is also one of the reasons for writing several rough drafts of the composition. Marius stresses the importance of rough drafts. He pointed out that it is possible to print the first draft, if done on a computer, and cut up into pieces so they can be pasted into different sections, where they work better, or thrown away completely. Although, if I am on a computer, then I can just use the cut and paste
September 23, 2012
My own summarization of, “Writing Drafts”, By Richard Marius This article is about Richard Marius and the processes he uses in his own writings. He expresses the importance of starting with just a list, committing yourself completely to the project at hand, writing numerous rough drafts, and many other guidelines that can contribute to the process of effective writing. A simple list is the first step to writing the first draft of anything. In the past, I was always told that writing a completely specific and organized outline was the correct way of starting a writing assignment. My last English teacher even made us turn our outlines in with our essays. According to the article, a list is just as good if not better than an outline because it allows for the flow of creativity without causing all the stress of writing a structured outline. The list does not have to be in any specific order, just notes that are of significance to the topic. The list can be organized later after all the facts have been gathered because as Marius states, “writers often start an essay with one topic in mind only to discover that another pushes the first one aside as they work.” (paragraph 3) He also says that if this happens, “be grateful and accept it”. I took it to mean that some writers have a hard time coming up with anything to write at all, so if I am lucky enough to be coming up with ideas for one topic and I suddenly start thinking about a whole new and even better topic, I should take the opportunity and run with it. This is also one of the reasons for writing several rough drafts of the composition. Marius stresses the importance of rough drafts. He pointed out that it is possible to print the first draft, if done on a computer, and cut up into pieces so they can be pasted into different sections, where they work better, or thrown away completely. Although, if I am on a computer, then I can just use the cut and paste