Thoughts on Drafting

In this blog post, I will be talking about drafting techniques for my QRG and whether or not the book's advice is helpful for me. I will be answering some discussion questions about drafting techniques and what works best for me as a writer.


1. What part of the book's advice was helpful for writing in this genre?

The paragraph development was most helpful for me. PIE, or Point/Illustration/Explanation, the book's method for paragraph development, was helpful, but somewhat redundant. I think what helped most was the book's emphasis on keeping phrases focused but still descriptive.

"Pumpkin Pie Whole Slice," Public Domain

I also found the advice on organization techniques to be helpful. For a large chunk of my writing career, I have been told to make sure that my organization is "effective" or "purposeful," without much explanation about what that actually means. The book's description of exactly how a text can be organized in a purposeful way was very helpful.


2. What part of the book's advice was not as helpful for writing in this genre?

I found the advice about thesis statements to be the least helpful. Quick reference guides have a specific type of thesis statement that is not in any way similar to academic prose. The thesis statement should be much less formal and can be structured more loosely than the book suggests.

That being said, it is still necessary to have a main idea and a sentence towards the beginning of the QRG that will support this main idea. In essence, a thesis statement is still necessary.