Engage with your seminar professor and colleagues on the topic of preparing the draft of your research paper using the following prompt to begin the discussion:
My First Draft Status
As you know, the first draft of your research paper is due for submission at the end of week 8. In The Craft of Research on page 188, the “Quick Tip” provides some helpful information related to getting started and successfully completing your first draft. Also, Turabian’s A Manual for Writers contains two excellent chapters on “Preparing a First Draft” (chap. 6; pp. 66-74) and “Drafting Your Paper” (chap. 7; pp. 75-85).
1. Review the “Quick Tip” in TCR on p. 188 and read TRB chaps. 6 and 7.
2. Post your answers to the questions below regarding your status of and plans for completing your first draft.
a. Briefly share the current status of your first draft. Do you have a detailed outline or storyboard? How many pages have you written so far?
b. Have you experienced writer’s block or a desire to procrastinate the start of writing your first draft? How have you been able to overcome these problems in the past and in the present assignment?
c. Do you draft your pages rapidly or do you work each sentence to perfection before moving to the next one? Why do you think/feel this approach is most effective for you?
d. What are your writing goals to move your first draft from where you are now to completion at the end of week 8? Specifically, what are your writing goals (e.g., pages/day, pages/week)? How are you tracking your progress (e.g., chart, accountability partner)?
e. Do you plan to have someone read your first draft for grammar/style and clarity before submission?
NOTE: Having a friend or peer review your first draft is acceptable as long as they do not re-write it for you or make the corrections themselves. They can point out issues of grammar/style and overall errors in your argument, such as evidence that may be incomplete or missing, issues that need acknowledgement and response, warrants that may be required, or conclusions/claims that do not logically follow from the reasons and evidence presented. This person may be a family member, colleague at work, or even a peer in your DMin cohort.
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1. Briefly share the current status of your first draft. Do you have a detailed outline or storyboard? How many pages have you written so far?
I have compiled over 70 sources that will either be added on to my bibliography or used in future papers. I have a ten section outline, but I will probably have to adjust the outline once I start writing. I feel ready to start adding information to each section of my outline. Once I input information in each section of the outline, I will be ready to create subsections. I have not written any pages thus far.
2. Have you experienced writer’s block or a desire to procrastinate the start of writing your first draft? How have you been able to overcome these problems in the past and in the present assignment?
I have not developed writers block. If anything, I am more excited about writing now that I have collected most of the data. In the past, writer’s block seems to dissipate the more organized I become.
3. Do you draft your pages rapidly or do you work each sentence to perfection before moving to the next one? Why do you think/feel this approach is most effective for you?
I draft rapidly so I can capture the thought, and then I go back to work on coherence. This approach helps me keep order and logic flowing for the overall work. This approach allows me to paint broad strokes and see where the work is headed.
4. What are your writing goals to move your first draft from where you are now to completion at the end of week 8? Specifically, what are your writing goals (e.g., pages/day, pages/week)? How are you tracking your progress (e.g., chart, accountability partner)?
My goal is to finish the draft by October 8th, to be read by friends and family and submitted by October 10th. I plan to put in at least 2 hours a day for the next 19 days to finish the draft. I plan to finish inputting all information in each section by September 23rd and write 3 pages the first week, 9 pages the second week (I have a guest speaker on October 4th.), and 3 pages the third week. The goal is to finish the broad strokes of writing by Tuesday, and that way I will have two days to edit grammar, footnotes, and bibliography (Finish by October 8th). This will give me two days to edit using friends and families’ advice (Submit October 10th). I heavily use Microsoft task list to stay on task. This task list will be used for this paper.
5. Do you plan to have someone read your first draft for grammar/style and clarity before submission?
Yes, I have editors. I have an international student living at our home that will read my paper (He is an English major going for his masters). I will also have my wife and one of kids read the paper.
Hey Johnny! That’s a lot of sources, brother! I bet it has led you to some neat research. Is that something you sought out to compile, or is that what the excitement for your topic led you to?
70 sources- you are a research machine! I am hoping that once I am able to devote some time to writing I will get as excited as you. Currently, I still looking for a few more resources for one of my main points. I am definitely looking forward to seeing where your work leads you.
1. Briefly share the current status of your first draft. Do you have a detailed outline or storyboard? How many pages have you written so far?
As I compiled resources for my annotated bibliography, I created an extensive outline/storyboard with those resources working as puzzle pieces. Each resource has a page of notes attached to reference later. I don’t have any pages of the rough draft written so far since my current focus has been on the comparative analysis paper, but I plan to begin the rough draft this Thursday.
2. Have you experienced writer’s block or a desire to procrastinate the start of writing your first draft? How have you been able to overcome these problems in the past and in the present assignment?
I feel a small desire to procrastinate, but I always stick to my time-blocking schedule unless there’s a family/work emergency. The anxiety that grows when I ignore my pre-determined schedule is far greater than my desire to procrastinate! I use a Pomodoro timer at intervals of 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest, and that keeps me on task during long sessions.
c. Do you draft your pages rapidly or do you work each sentence to perfection before moving to the next one? Why do you think/feel this approach is most effective for you?
My outlines are usually where I spend the majority of my mental energy in writing. When I am confident in my outline, I can draft the paper rapidly. The hardest part is keeping my papers under the word count.
d. What are your writing goals to move your first draft from where you are now to completion at the end of week 8? Specifically, what are your writing goals (e.g., pages/day, pages/week)? How are you tracking your progress (e.g., chart, accountability partner)?
My goal is to complete the rough draft by next Tuesday so that editing can take place. I have 16 hours spread over 4 work days dedicated to the writing process, so it should be ready for editing in time. I have a Notion page that charts my progress, and my wife has set aside some time on Tuesday evening to make her revision comments. Her involvement is great accountability.
e. Do you plan to have someone read your first draft for grammar/style and clarity before submission?
My wife was an English major and worked in Washington D.C. as an editor before she started her financial career here in Marshall. She has been a great asset this semester. Her process has been to highlight and comment on my papers so that I know what needs to be revised.
Skylar! Thank you for the tips you placed in your process. I had never heard of notion. I am going to experiment with it. I also feel the same way about procrastination. It is too stressful to let it be present in my work. With ministry and our program, I try to hit it hard on Tuesday through Wednesday.
The 25 minutes of work, five minutes of rest timer is interesting to me. I have never heard of such a thing. I am interested in hearing more about when you started using that, how it has helped you, and what kind of changes you have noticed since you have started using it. Thanks for sharing!
Mark,
I got a really good paying job at the college (ETBU) where I taught football players time management skills. I implemented these practices myself, and it’s been a blessing on keeping me productive. If you want to Zoom or FaceTime, I’d love to show you the process. My email is skylar_hollis@etbu.edu. Just send me your contact info.
Hi Skylar. Thank you for sharing about Pomodoro timer. I have never heard of it before. Did you find an outline guide that you like? Or do you just come up with one on your own? Thank you also for the idea of making a notes page for each reference. Do you prefer a storyboard over a basic outline? I pray your writing goes well these next few days and I am so glad you have your wife to help you.
1. I have many helpful sources that have helped me outline the flow of the paper. I know where I’m headed and feel good about it. It’s just a matter of sitting down and writing, which has not begun yet due to business.
2. I’m not certain procrastination is the right word for me on this paper, although it is something I dealt with in undergrad. I will have time later this week to begin writing the first draft, and look forward to diving in then.
3. I draft rapidly, filling out the outline to help the paper flow from one idea to another. I will then go back a few times to clean up grammar, add more to portions that feel thin or not fleshed out, and reread for overall cohesion.
4. I will knock out large sections at a time when I write. I’m hoping to sit down on Thursday and Friday of this week to knock out a large chunk of the paper. I don’t use anything formal to track my progress. I’m looking forward to reading what others have found helpful to see if that’s something I can incorporate. I will block off a section on my calendar for working on the draft.
5. I have not done this before. I typically just reread it and edit it myself before submitting. This is something I can incorporate fairly easily, however.
Mark,
I have never had anyone read my work before turning it in either. In my post I mentioned some writing deficiencies I have found, one of which is I tend to be too wordy. If not for any other reason than that, I am going to seek help from people to proof my paper. It is a strange thing to do because I know most people in my life are not that interested in the subject matter, but that may be a true test of the final product.
Rob,
While those you ask to read your work may not be interested in your topic, they are interested in you. I have some people who read my work for grammar and style, some who read it for content, and some who read it for both. Grammar and style are for the most part independent of the topic. Those who read your work do it mostly for you.
Dr. Bryan
I have a good list of sources but have not been able to start my rough draft yet. That is my plan for Thursday night and this weekend. I took a vacation day off next week as well to have more time. I have an outline and ideas, but I must admit I am nervous. I have never drafted a research paper like this before. The required readings for the course have been extremely helpful in preparing us though. Also, the coaching from Dr. Bryan.
A bit of writer’s block but more work, school, and life balance. I have done children’s ministry training out of town for the last two weekends and had to turn in my handouts for another training in early October. I haven’t had much extra time with work, school, and extras. I am not procrastinating but concerned about time. Things should be much slower for me this week.
I often draft pages a page at a time. Then edit and update. I have found I do better by giving myself a day before the due date to re-read and edit one more time. Or at least a couple of hours apart. I also try to take breaks after a couple of hours. That helps me to think and process in between.
I know a page typically takes an hour at least. We have activities on Wednesday nights and so it is about a 12-hour day for me. I have been trying to give myself Wednesday’s off. For the next two weeks, writing 2 pages per day and then one day to re-read and edit. I am putting reminders on my phone and calendar. I am blocking out time on my calendar. I am taking October 1 off work. I plan to do more pages that day.
I do plan to have someone read over my draft. Johnny had a great idea of sending out our papers to each other to look over if we have time. I plan to do that and reach out to a friend that just finished her program a few months ago. She had to write in Turabian format as well. She is a friend from church. I am going to see if my local library will offer writing help coaching. My mom is particularly good with grammar, and I will ask her to look it over for any grammar errors. I would like to have several people look it over.
This whole program has definitely increased my intimate prayer time with the Lord. As I surrender to his strength and wisdom it is beautiful to experience the Lord’s words of encouragement and direction. Not only am I building knowledge, my faith is growing.
A. I have an outline but have not started my first draft. I will be working on that this weekend. The outline I have is much more detailed than anything I have done before. This semester’s reading, and the few papers that we have had to turn in, have shown deficiencies I have in writing, so I am trying to be very intentional in my preparation.
B. Unfortunately, I do tend to procrastinate when it comes to larger tasks. I hate the excuse that “I work better under pressure” but that has been a truth. More than anything, with a busy ministry and family schedule, feel guilty being unavailable to my wife and kids in the evening. I find it easier to budget larger amounts of time at once when deadlines are approaching instead of doing smaller chunks in the evenings throughout the weeks.
C. I enjoy writing sizable portions at once. I then read and proof those sections before my next writing session. I believe this works best for me to not overthink or over analyze where I am at in the paper.
D. I would like to write 3-5 pages a day, using Thursday nights, Friday’s (my day off), Saturdays, and Sunday evenings. I do not have an accountability partner for this project. I am a self starter and do pretty good at staying on track.
E. Yes, I will have my daughter, who is a senior in college, and my wife, who is teacher, read my first draft for grammatical/style issues and a friend who is in ministry read it for context.
Hi Rob. I also have some deficiencies in writing. I plan to also start my draft this weekend. It has been a struggle for me too wanting to spend time with loved ones but not wanting to get behind. I am going to write larger blocks for a couple hours this weekend. I am planning on tomorrow night, Saturday, and Sunday night. I do best with writing large blocks than smaller blocks too. Then giving myself another day or so to revise and re-read. I pray your writing goes well.
Lezah,
I saw a couple pictures of you leading at the Discipleship Collective trainings and wondered how you were staying on top of everything. If anything, this semester has taught me the importance of saying no to things I enjoy doing but are not a priority (mainly civic and social things that don’t relate directly to ministry or family). Thanks for the encouragement.
Class,
Thank you for your on-time and on-target answers to these questions. To show you that writing to a deadline is something you will continue to face moving forward, here are my answers to these questions based on a recent writing assignment that I had to write four 6-page Bible study lessons for publication.
a. Briefly share the current status of your first draft. Do you have a detailed outline or storyboard? How many pages have you written so far?
I develop a detailed outline before fleshing out my papers. I ensure that I am clearly addressing each item in my research argument or writing prompt in a logical manner that leads my reader from the problem to its analysis and finally to meaningful conclusions.
b. Have you experienced writer’s block or a desire to procrastinate the start of writing your first draft? How have you been able to overcome these problems in the past and in the present assignment?
Like many of you, I don’t face writer’s block as much as writer’s lack-of-time. Balancing family, work, teaching, writing, and personal time is something that I continue to address. Sometimes I do well and sometimes not so well. I have seasons where each of those items in the balance require more of my time. Planning your time is a key. Unfortunately, one cannot always plan everything, and interruptions often require rescheduling and rebalancing. Starting early, having a plan, and staying accountable to God, self, and someone else are keys to success that I continue to use.
c. Do you draft your pages rapidly or do you work each sentence to perfection before moving to the next one? Why do you think/feel this approach is most effective for you?
Once I have done my research and built my outline, I tend to draft rapidly. I focus on one section of the paper at a time. I generally draft the heart of the paper first and draw my conclusions. I find it easier to write the introduction last. Once I have synthesized my research and drawn conclusions, the introduction often writes itself.
After an intense drafting session, I typically set the paper aside at least overnight. I then go back and rapidly edit the paper. I may go through several rounds of editing and reorganizing the paper before I consider it a “first draft.”
d. What are your writing goals to move your first draft from where you are now to completion at the end of week 8? Specifically, what are your writing goals (e.g., pages/day, pages/week)? How are you tracking your progress (e.g., chart, accountability partner)?
In my case, I set aside six weeks to complete my writing task. I also set my goal so that I would turn in my work to my editor one week before his stated deadline. My goal was to write one 6-page lesson each week for four weeks and to have two weeks for editorial review. I was able to meet these goals.
e. Do you plan to have someone read your first draft for grammar/style and clarity before submission?
This was the first writing project that I had done with this particular editor. So, I sent the first 6-page lesson to him early on for review and comment. This gave me confidence that I was on track with what he needed. He gave me some helpful feedback that I was on track. Having confidence as a writer is critical.
As I completed the four lessons, three weeks before the due date, I gave copies to a colleague (Dr. Strawn) to read for content. Dr. Strawn has written for this editor numerous times. So, he gave me input not only on content but also on the style that this editor likes. I gave copies to a retired High School English teacher in my church. He loves words and editing. So, he was excited to read my work. I also gave copies to my wife who is always on my “editorial board.” I folded in the feedback from these sources along with my own continuing editing. I estimate that I had about twenty versions of each lesson from first draft to final draft.
I find that having a printed copy that I can read and mark is often better than editing solely online. This may be a sign of my age, but I think seeing it in print on paper sometimes allows one to see things that are missed on the limited view of a computer screen. I’m always amazed at the things that I catch that I didn’t see before.
Also, letting the writing cool for a day or so before returning to it is most helpful for me. If I am writing right up to a deadline, there will be things that I miss. It may look good in the moment, but a few days later issues that were missed will be clearly seen.
So, as you see, learning to write is a life-long process. We never fully cross the finish line, but with each writing assignment, we hopefully get a bit closer.
Blessings,
Dr. Bryan
P.S. I edited this post about six times. LOL
Thank you Dr. Bryan for your transparency (“writing is a life-long process”). I remember when I started playing basketball as a kid. I thought I had to be perfect in making shots, so I got discouraged every time I missed a shot. Later on learned misses are common even with the best players. Perfection is stressful. I am learning that it is okay that I don’t have it all figured out. I am learning to be patient with my work. And most importantly, I am learning to trust God to help me with my work.
This was helpful to read through. It’s a good reminder that reading and writing is something we constantly do in ministry, in several facets. I can’t help but think about writing sermons, or creating lesson plans for different ministries within the church. This was a helpful forum to reflect through this week.
Thanks for sharing, Dr. Bryan. One of my sources wasn’t as helpful as I thought. Is it okay to switch it to a different source? Also, I am having lunch with a friend on Saturday who is a hospital chaplain. Is it okay to ask her some questions about childhood grief? Then include her as a source?
Lezah,
While I expect that a large percentage of the sources identified in your Annotated Bibliography should be footnoted as part of your research paper, I understand that all of them may not be. Also, you will most likely find other resources that you want to reference and add to your bibliography in the research paper. This is part of the sorting and editing process of actually writing the paper.
As far as doing a personal interview for your research paper, that exceeds the scope of what is needed for a 12-15 page paper. This is an initial exploration of your topic not your final DMin project. Personal interviews and group interactions will most likely be part of your final project. However, you may want to discuss your topic with your friend, ask for her guidance on exploring the topic and for any key resources that she might suggest. You may even want to ask her to read the draft of your paper in a couple of weeks.
Blessings,
Dr. Bryan