Sitting down and trying to write a paper is probably one of the most difficult things for students to do. We feel that the first go at it must be perfect without a single grammar or spelling mistake. By saving it until the last minute and procrastinating (like we always do) we end up making our first draft the paper we hand in. Anne Lamott’s article, Shitty First Drafts, shows the importance in writing a first draft and working through your writing. She explains how writers don’t wake up in the morning with ideas and flowing sentences rushing to their heads but are actually more like us. They all have a difficult time getting started and thinking of how they should word certain sentences. Lamott tells us that what we should be doing is sit down, and just write whatever we want about our topic. It can be as long as we want and we can say anything. This will allow for us to get all of our thoughts out then pick and choose what we liked from our shitty first draft. The scenario I described in the beginning of this post is very relatable to me because I would always put off my writing due to the lack of ideas I had for my paper. This would lead me to sit in front of the computer for hours at a time trying to figure out the words to say. So this new method of Shitty First Drafts will not only be helpful to me, but to students everywhere trying their best to write an "A" worthy paper.
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