Why students should take drafting more seriously

Drafting is an important part of the writing process, however, I often hear students say “Well, it’s only the draft … that’ll do”. This is a dangerous mindset for students to possess.

Rarely does the first plan for anything end up being the best plan moving forward. Consequently, this may be the reason why some students feel like the draft of an assignment is of little value to the end product – how wrong hey are! Taking the drafting process seriously allows students to put their ideas on paper so they can rethink and rewrite them. By doing this they will be able to ask themselves whether the ideas they are presenting seem logical, whether their argument is clear, and where additional information and evidence is required.

Drafting is critical in terms of thinking the topic through; in fact, there are all sorts of questions students can ask themselves once they have written an initial draft. A draft also gives them something to show their teachers and to get vital feedback on.

Writing is a process that is made up of many steps. This process has been summarised in the diagram below. For some tasks, students will need to re-visit each step serval times as they refine their ideas and enhance the quality of their written work.

Before students start their work
The first step in writing is to get some ideas down without attempting to structure or order them. This process is often called free-writing. At this point students should not attempt to edit but rather keep the ideas flowing. Brainstorming and creating concept maps are examples of simply getting some ideas out of the brain and down onto paper.

Organising Ideas
Once the ideas are down, now it is time to evaluate those ideas and to decide which ones would be best to use moving forward. Students should always double check the assessment at this point to remain aligned with the task at hand. Box plans are one structured way of organising ideas that are commonly used in the Middle Years. I encourage students to continue this process until it becomes second nature.

The First Draft
At this point, students need to follow their plan and write the first edition of their work. It is important to focus on the main idea and ensure that these are highlighted to the reader in a clear and succinct way. This step should focus on ensuring that the writing flows and that the necessary evidence is supplied to support the student’s argument. The editing does not happen at this stage.

Reviewing
Feedback is vital. It is great to have another person’s perspective on your work … especially if that person is the one who will eventually mark the assessment item. Student’s should not fear feedback form their teachers. It’s gold!

Editing
All too often, students re-submit their draft without taking on-board any of the feedback from the teacher. There is no logic in that decision. Instead, it is one of sheer laziness. Just imagine if inventers never considered feedback or modified/edited their inventions. Remember the first version of the motor car, aeroplane and mobile phone?

How can parents help?
Parents have an important role to play in the development of their child’s work. Encourage them to see the draft as a vital step on the journey to success. Do not accept that an incomplete draft is satisfactory. Do not let them think that “near enough is good enough” and ask them to read their work out load. If you cannot understand it, or they cannot even read it smoothly, then there is a great chance that it needs to be adjusted. Due dates are also deadlines.

As controversial as this next point may seem, if you want more evidence that an edited version of a written piece of work is better than the original, then consider Jimi Hendrix’s version of All Along the Watchtower and Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah. They were both superior to that of the originals composed by Bob Dylan and the great Lenny Cohen respectively.  

Winter Uniform   
As of the start of Term 2, the College’s expectation is that boys wear ties with their formal uniform. For the younger students in the sector this may be for the first time and often their can be some anxiety around this.

Please review the image below with your son and being the process of practicing wearing a tie appropriately in preparation for Term 2.

Alternatively, there are a number of videos that can be watched which will allow students to follow the steps until they have mastered the art of tieing their tie.

One such video (see below) has been shared with the students via their student email.

Tackle football

The College takes great pride in our football teams. We have representative teams in multiple year levels for both Rugby League and Rugby 7s. I encourage any student who wished to be involved to sign up to a team and to regularly attend training. Please see Mr Lincoln for further information. It is important to note that tackle football is reserved for these activities and training sessions. It is never acceptable to be undertaken by students during lunch times or between classes. A number of Middle Years boys have been deliberately turning lunch time games of touch football into tackle football. This practice must cease immediately. Our main priority is student safety.

Craig Cullen

Assistant Principal Middle Years