Q&A for How to Write a Rough Draft

A rough draft is not included in the final version of the paper. It is a first draft. You use it to organize your thoughts and work off of.

Rough drafts don't need to be perfect. That's why they are called rough drafts and they do not have rules or boundaries. Don't worry about whether the words are spelled correctly or if the grammar is as it should be. You can always come back and edit that later. Write an outline before you begin writing, it can help you to stay organized and can help you get unstuck from some dead ends that you are almost guaranteed to encounter.

A rough draft isn't supposed to be perfect. It's just supposed to be a first draft of the final copy.

Writing a rough draft gives you a chance to decide if you need to take information out or add information in for your final draft. You can also have someone else look it over for grammar or spelling errors before you complete your final copy.

The purpose of a rough draft is to get all your information and thoughts onto paper. Don't worry about making it look good.

There is no specific length. Once you're happy with your work, you can market it as a short story, novella, novel, or series, if your work is long enough.

Yes, you can start your draft by posing the question your paper will go on to answer.

It is fine to have spelling and grammatical errors in your rough draft. You can edit them out for your final draft.

Yes, but you want to ensure that the person reading through your rough draft is an experienced editor so they can provide worthwhile feedback.

Start out with a paragraph in the beginning.

Remind yourself that your first draft -- even your second -- doesn't have to be even close to perfect. Save that for later drafts. What's initially important is to develop characters and plot points enough that they begin to make sense and create interest.

It depends on how "rough" your draft is. Some writers create a first draft that is not very different from the final version. Other writers create several drafts, each significantly different from or longer than the previous ones. So it's hard to say how your rough draft might compare with your final creation.

No. A bibliography is typically one of the last pages an author creates.

Yes, it really should. A rough draft is your opportunity for a first attempt at expressing your thoughts. Most people will think of improvements to their writing after re-reading their first (and subsequent) drafts.

By all means, if you are so well organized and linguistically adept that you can create a writing that is perfect in all respects in its first form, don't bother with drafts. Just write that final copy as your initial offering!

Mothers do occasionally inspire anger in their children.

It can certainly be messy, but a clean draft is easier to read.