Remember to carefully follow your instructor's directions for writing you final draft. Introduction Essay Overview Step 1: Mark Up the Prompt Step 2: Prewrite for Ideas Step 3: List & Develop Major Points Step 4: Write a Thesis Statement Step 5: Plan the Essay Step 6: Write the Introduction Step 7: Write the Conclusion Step 8: Revise and Proofread Step 9: Write the Final Draft Step 10: Reread the Final Draft

Step 9: Write the Final Draft WRITING THE FINAL DRAFT If you've followed the steps up to this point, you've done the following: created a topic web, which you used to make a sentence outline for the body paragraphs of your essay written an introductory paragraph that includes a grabber and a thesis statement put together a concluding paragraph with a summary statement and a clincher revised your writing for unity, clarity and coherence proofread for correctness in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar Now it's time to put everything together. If you're rushed for time, you may go straight from your working drafts to your final copy. If you've spent sufficient time planning, revising, and proofreading the various pieces of your essay, that may be enough. The best next step is to write the entire essay out at least once before writing the final draft. Most authors do several revisions before they feel satisfied. You may not have this option. You have to make this decision based on when your essay is due, how much time you have allowed yourself to complete the process, and how satisfied you feel with what you've written. If you've done your composing on the computer, polishing a first draft becomes a bit easier. Place your introductory paragraph first, then the three body paragraphs, and finally the concluding paragraph. read the entire essay over to make sure the paragraphs flow smoothly from one to the other and that the ideas connect in a logical way. Every time you read your essay, ask yourself if you've expressed your ideas as clearly as possible based on your subject, audience, and purpose. THE FINAL DRAFT It's important to be clear about your teacher's requirements for a final draft. Here are some general guidelines that will help: Handwritten heading in the upper right hand corner dark blue or black ink lines skipped writing on one side of paper only margins on both sides of paper title on top line (without quotation marks or underlining) legible cursive or printing Typed/Word Processed heading in upper right hand corner black ink double or triple line spacing writing on one side of paper only 1" margins a simple size 14 font title on top line (without quotation marks or underlining) dark and readable printing   Step 10: Read Your Essay One More Time