Research and Writing

Writing Drafts: MLA Handbook for writers of Research Papers 7th Edition 

Hello everyone! This blog is given by Vaidehi Ma'am department of english,mkbu and it  focuses on creating drafts for research papers. The content is derived from the 'MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers,' specifically the chapter on writing drafts. I'll be discussing the key points of writing drafts outlined in this chapter to help you navigate the process of drafting effectively.

Research papers undergo a developmental journey, evolving from a rough first draft to refined iterations. The use of a word processor, despite its limitations, proves valuable in this writing process. The culmination of this journey is marked by the submission of the final draft or a comprehensive research project portfolio. Let's explore various perspectives to unravel its functionality and understand how it operates.

1. The First Draft 
2. Subsequent Drafts 
3. Writing with a Word Processor 

         a. Techniques 

• Global revision.
• Special pasting
• Stored phrases.
• Comparing documents.
• Comparing documents.

        b. Limitations 

  4.The Final Draft and the Research Project Portfolio

  5.Summing Up

1. The First Draft :-

Creating a successful research paper involves recognizing that the initial draft is far from the finished product. Writers vary in their approach—some may produce a near-final draft on the first attempt, while others prefer multiple iterations. Regardless, constant review and rewriting are essential. To enhance your writing process, plan for revision by allowing ample time. Begin by organizing ideas in your desired order, unconcerned with initial haste and roughness. Stay focused with an outline, revising it as new ideas emerge. After completing a rough draft, refine it through careful reading and additional revisions.

   2.Subsequent Drafts :-

During the revision process, you have the liberty to enhance your research paper by adding, eliminating, or rearranging content. To address unclear or sketchy sections, consider expanding with additional sentences or paragraphs. Improve overall fluency and coherence by incorporating transitions and clarifying connections or contrasts. Remove irrelevant or repetitive material for conciseness. In later drafts, focus on refining language precision, varying sentence structures, and rectifying technical errors using writing guides and dictionaries. The meticulously proofread and corrected final draft represents the polished text of your research paper.

  3.Writing with a Word Processor:-

      a.Techniques 

If you lack a personal computer, check if your school or public library offers computer access for students. Utilizing a word processor is advantageous for storing, retrieving, and revising your research paper drafts. Creating separate files for each draft allows easy navigation and reference. Word processing streamlines transitions between tasks, such as outlining and writing. Copying notes from individual topic files into the text file enhances organization. For shorter papers, consider transferring entire note files, scrolling as needed. Longer papers benefit from selectively transferring material from various source files. Printing notes beforehand helps plan which ones to incorporate, ensuring efficient retrieval. Using split or multiple windows facilitates reading notes while writing, allowing seamless integration of outline, notes, and bibliography files. Most word processors have the following features, which you can use profitably in your writing:

• Global revision. This feature of word processing permits you to search for and automatically change text. Thus, if you realize you misspelled the same word several times in your draft, you can correct all the misspellings with a single command.
• Special pasting. If in a word-processing document you paste text that you copied from another document, the pasted text may keep its original formatting. Most word processors provide the option of special pasting, in which the pasted text takes on the formatting of the new document.
• Stored phrases. If you will need to type a complicated phrase repeatedly, store the phrase and assign a shortcut to it. Whenever you type the shortcut, the phrase will be entered.
• Comparing documents. Compare two versions of the document and see how they differ.
• Paragraph formatting. In each entry in the works-cited list, the first line is flush left, and subsequent lines are indented. The easiest way to achieve this formatting is to highlight the paragraphs that are (or will be) entries and then choose hanging indention in the options for formatting paragraphs.

   b. Limitations

While word processing offers many advantages, it comes with limitations. The confined visibility of a fixed number of lines on a computer screen may hinder a comprehensive understanding of the entire project. Some writers prefer regularly printing out text to assess the development of their writing across paragraphs and pages. Exercise caution with spelling and usage checkers, recognizing their effectiveness is dependent on the dictionaries they contain. They may overlook correctly spelled words not in their dictionary or fail to catch misspellings that match dictionary words. Working on a computer file poses the risk of potential loss due to technical errors, equipment failures, or power outages. To mitigate this risk, save your work frequently, maintain a paper copy, and create backup files. Allocate ample time to address any technical issues that may arise.

4. The Final Draft and the Research Project Portfolio :-

Instructors commonly demand the submission of the final draft for research papers, but some may also require a research project portfolio. This portfolio serves to document the paper's evolution and may include elements such as the approved thesis statement, the final outline, an early draft, and the ultimate final draft.

5. SUMMING UP:-

Typically, research papers undergo multiple drafts, with the initial version being rough and subsequent iterations becoming progressively refined. While a word processor aids in the writing process, it comes with limitations. The culmination of the assignment is the submission of either the final draft or a research project portfolio.

Citation:-

• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. United States, Modern Language Association of America, 2009.