from "shitty first draft" to un-shitty first draft

I hope you found the process of writing a "shitty first draft" helpful as you approach this first essay. Whether or not you incorporate it faithfully into your writing process in the future, the SFD offers an opportunity to approach the topic unencumbered by the pressures of grammar, clarity, and structure that so often contribute to writer's block.

With deadlines looming, the present task is to move from your shitty first draft to something that looks more like a real essay. Your impulse is perhaps to scrap the SFD entirely and return to what you consider your "regular" essay process. I'd discourage you from doing so, at least for the short term. Instead, follow the steps below:

1. Review the assignment requirements for this essay.
2. Review your SFD and circle/highlight/mark anything that has promise. This can be a simple as a word or phrase that you think is compelling, but it could also be the kernel of a good idea. As you review, ask yourself what you're interested in writing about, based on the discussions of literacy narratives and personal essays in Johnson-Sheehan and Deans.  
3. Frame your central idea as a working thesis statement, one that will change as you move through the various stages of the writing process but that gives you enough momentum to start drafting.
4. Once you arrive at a central idea you're interested in writing about, think about how you will support that idea. For some of you, this might mean making an outline or creating a diagram to help you understand your thoughts more clearly. Others might need additional help on refining that focus. Even if your focus is clear, review these two digital handouts from the UNC Writing Center and the Purdue OWL on thesis statements. Remember that the thesis statement articulates the central argument of your essay; as such it must do more than simply identify that something exists. Instead, it should reframe the way we think about that element or idea. It must satisfy that classic "so what?" question. The central idea and supporting ideas form the framework of your essay, translating directly to your thesis and topic sentences.
5. Since this assignment requires you to write about two works, think critically about structure as you build your body paragraphs. There are two primary models for this type of assignment. One model formulates paragraphs that talk about only one work at a time, then leaves the comparison to a catch-all paragraph toward the end, sometimes the conclusion. A second, preferred model offers paragraphs with topic sentences that address ideas, not one work or the other. These ideas or techniques are shared between the two works. This model allows for more sophisticated comparison.
6. Write or revise introductory and concluding paragraphs to make sure they fit with the overall aims of your essay. For many, it's easier to write these paragraphs (even the introduction) after the body paragraphs and working thesis are in place.

Keep in mind that you should also keep your SFD for the revision portfolio we'll work on later in the semester. If your SFD or any part of the drafting process is hand-written, take a photo of it and upload that to the google drive, essay 1 folder as well. The more pieces you have for this portfolio, the easier it will be to compile and process.

Targets for the first draft, due Tuesday:

• six paragraphs: yes, this means breaking away from the 5-paragraph essay model
• a clear sense of structure, including an argumentative thesis statement, a clear set of topic sentences, and paragraphs that support those topic sentences
• at least 1000 words, but closer to 1250
• MLA formatting as described on the PurdueOWL (including a very good, three-minute YouTube Video)
• complete Works Cited page including details about the image or photograph you will use. If you do not have an image selected yet, create an entry for a photograph anyway, one that you can fill in later. The Purdue OWL will again be helpful here.