The first scientific drafts

Write the body of an article or scientific paper has to go through several science drafts. The first scientific drafts can follow a certain methodology to save time and avoid blank page syndrome or procrastination.

science drafts

These drafts or drafts can be chained as follows:

You can work through the body in three main steps:

  • Create an outline of what you want to say and in what order.
  • Write a first draft to put your main ideas on paper.
  • Write a second draft to clarify your points and make sure everything fits.

Outline scientific paper

Before you begin, make an outline that outlines the main points you want to make and the order in which you will make them. This can help you remember how each part of the essay should relate to the other parts.

However, remember that the plan is not set in stone – don't be afraid to change the organization if necessary. The work on an essay's structure starts before you start writing, but it continues as you write and continues even after you've finished writing the first draft.

As you write a certain section, if you have an idea for something elsewhere in the essay, take a few moments to add to your outline or make notes on your organization plans.

First draft / draft, describe the pieces of the puzzle

Your goals in the first draft are to turn your rough ideas into workable arguments, add detail to those arguments, and get an idea of what the final product will actually look like.

Start where you want

Many authors do not start writing from the introduction, or even the first paragraphs from the body. Start writing your essay where it feels most natural to you.

Some writers may prefer to start with the easiest section to write, while others prefer to eliminate the most difficult section first. Think about what material you need to clarify on your own and consider starting there.

Tackle one idea at a time

Each paragraph should aim to focus on one central idea, giving evidence, explanations, and arguments related to that idea.

At the beginning of each paragraph, write a topic sentence that expresses the main point. Then expand and expand the topic sentence into the rest of the paragraph.

When you've said everything you need to say about the idea, move on to a new paragraph.

Keep your argument flexible

You may find as you write that some of your ideas don't work as well as you thought. Don't give them up too easily, but be prepared to change or drop sections if you realize they don't make sense.

You will also likely come up with new ideas that you hadn't thought of when writing the plan. Write down these ideas and incorporate them into the essay if there is a logical place for them.

If you get stuck on a section, skip to another part of the essay and come back to it later.

Do not delete content

If you start to dislike a certain section or even the entire essay, don't delete it in a fit of rage!

If something really doesn't work, you can paste it into a separate document, but keep what you have, even if you don't plan to use it. You may find that it contains or inspires new ideas that you can use later.

Note your sources

Students often do work for themselves by forgetting to keep track of sources when writing drafts.

You can save a lot of time later and ensure you avoid plagiarism by noting down the name, year, and page number whenever you cite or paraphrase a source.

You can also use a generator quotes to save a list of your sources and copy and paste citations when you need them.

Avoid perfectionism

When writing a first draft, it's important not to let small details slow you down. Put your ideas on paper now and perfect them later. If you're unhappy with a word, phrase, or argument, point it out in the draft and come back to it later.

When you finish the first draft, you will know which sections and paragraphs work and which might need to be changed. It doesn't make sense to spend time tweaking something that you might later cut or revise.

Second draft / draft, putting the pieces of the puzzle in place

Working on the second draft means evaluating what you have and rewriting it if necessary. You'll probably end up cutting parts of the essay and adding new ones.

Check your ideas against your thesis

Everything you write should be guided by your thesis. As you look at each piece of information or argument, ask yourself:

  • Does the reader need to know this to understand or accept my thesis?
  • Does this justify my thesis?
  • Does this explain the reasoning behind my thesis?
  • Does this show anything about the consequences or the importance of my thesis?

If you can't answer yes to any of these questions, ask yourself if it's relevant enough to include.

If your essay went in a different direction than you originally planned, you may need to rework your thesis statement to more accurately reflect the argument you've made.

Pay attention to weak points

Be critical of your arguments, and identify any weak points:

  • Unwarranted assumptions : can you be sure that your reader agrees or will accept your hypotheses, or do they need to be clarified?
  • Lack of evidence : do you make statements without substantiating them?
  • Logical inconsistencies : Do any of your points contradict each other?
  • Uncertainty : Are there points where you are unsure of your own statements or where you don't seem confident in what you are saying?

Addressing these issues may require additional research to clarify your position and provide compelling evidence.

Check organization

When you are satisfied with all the main parts of your essay, look again at the general form of it. You want to make sure everything happens in a logical order without unnecessary repetition.

Try to list only the topic sentence of each paragraph and read them in order. Are any of the topic sentences too similar? Each paragraph should discuss something different; if two paragraphs deal with the same subject, they should approach it in different ways, and these differences should be clearly indicated in the subject sentences.

Does the order of the information make sense? Looking only at topical phrases allows you to see at a glance the journey of your article from start to finish, making it easier to spot organizational errors.

Make clear connections between your ideas

Finally, you need to assess how your ideas fit together both within and between paragraphs. The connections may be clear to you, but you need to make sure they will be clear to your reader as well.

In each paragraph, does each sentence flow logically from the one before it? Otherwise, you may need to add new sentences to clarify the links. Try using transition words to clarify what you want to say.

Between one paragraph and the next, do you clearly see how your points relate to each other? If you're moving on to an entirely new topic, consider starting the paragraph with a transition sentence that starts from the previous topic and shows how it relates to the new one.

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