discovery draft

This exercise is adapted from one in Bruce Ballenger’s The Curious Researcher. Allow yourself about 45 minutes uninterrupted time. It also helps to have a timer for the freewrites. It’s meant to help you move into the draft. It can be very helpful if you feel overwhelmed by your sources.
1. Look briefly (for about 10 minutes) at the notes you’ve taken on your research resources, the things you’ve written about them in the Dropbox Assignments, etc. Then put them away and don’t look at them again for the rest of this exercise. You will remember what you need to remember.
2. Set your timer for 10 minutes and write about your topic. Start with your research question. Don’t worry if it’s not the perfect wording. Tell the story of how your thinking about the research question has evolved. What did you think when you started working on this project? Then what happened? How have your ideas changed? Keep writing the whole 10 minutes. If you get stuck, write the words “I can’t remember” until something comes to you. Don’t try to shape this writing beyond using it to express your thoughts. Use the whole 10 minutes.
3. Set your timer for 10 minutes. Write these words: “Moments, Stories, People, Scenes” and write about specific facts, case studies, situations, anecdotes, and people you’ve encountered in the research process — both in your sources and in your own experience. Keep writing the whole 10 minutes. Don’t stop to look at your notes — you can fill in details later.
4. Set your timer for 10 minutes. Think of a specific point you want to make related to your research question and write it as if it were a statement of fact. Explain why you think it’s an important point. Refer to something you know (either from a resource or from personal experience) that backs up your point. Don’t worry about the specific wording. Explain why your source or experience are convincing backup for your point. Explain how this point relates to your research question. Keep writing the whole 10 minutes.
5. Set your timer for 5 minutes. Write the words “SO WHAT?” and then boil it down to the most important thing you want your reader to know about your research question, based on what you know so far.
That’s it. Now if you have anything left, it might be fruitful to write a little list or outline of the points or questions you want to be sure to cover in your draft. Then give yourself a big pat on the back and turn it in. 🙂 Please be sure to post a copy in the Dropbox AND a copy in the Essay Drafts and Peer Reviews forum on the Discussion Board.

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