A rough draft or first draft (or, according to my second-grade teacher, a “sloppy copy”) is an initial, incomplete piece of writing that is the first attempt at getting all your ideas on paper. It acts as the framework for the final version
A rough draft is simply a version of your paper that is unfinished and not yet complete. It is meant to give you a general idea of what your paper will look like and what you will be discussing. This can be helpful when you are starting to plan out your paper and want to get a general sense of what direction you will be going in.
Of course, a rough draft is not meant to be perfect. There will be grammar mistakes and your argument may not be fully fleshed out yet. That’s okay! The purpose of a rough draft is simply to get your ideas down on paper.
Once you have a general idea of what you want to say, you can start to fill in the details and make your argument more complete.
So if you’re feeling stuck or unsure of where to start with your paper, consider writing a rough draft. It can be a helpful first step in getting your thoughts down and figuring out where you want to go with your paper.
