Loading...

It's time to write the first draft of your research report. Where should you begin?

When people read your research report, they will, of course, start at the beginning--the top of the first page. As the writer, though, you can begin anywhere you want, and most experienced writers prefer to start in the middle. After all, the purpose of the report's first paragraph is to introduce your main point--if you write the body paragraphs first, you may have a clearer idea of what that point is.

Woman on Computer Person typing on computer

After creating an outline, start the drafting process by writing a paragraph that includes the ideas in section A of your outline's body. (In the outline, the entire body should be labeled section II.) As an example, note how Marisa used her outline to begin her report on women in the military.

  1. Women in the Revolutionary War
    1. Women served in conventional roles, such as launderers, nurses, cooks, and clerks.
    2. Some women served in the army during the war.
In the Revolutionary War, women mostly contributed to the war effort in conventional roles, acting as launderers, nurses, cooks, and clerks. The pension application records of Sarah Osbourne, for example, state that she washed laundry, sewed, and baked for a regiment. Like many female "camp followers," she was provided rations. And beginning in 1775, Congress passed resolutions allowing one nurse per every ten patients in Continental hospitals; most of these nurses were women.

There were also women who fought in battle, often disguised as men. Recruiters asked few questions and did not require extensive physicals, so some women passed scrutiny. Women often blended in by cutting their hair, padding their pants' waists, and binding their chests. No doubt some women went to war to earn rations and pay, but some are known to history for their desire to fight. Deborah Sampson, who gave speeches after the war, told of her desire to avenge the deaths of colonists at the hands of British soldiers. Sampson was tall for a woman of the era and was able to pass as a man. She served more than a year and a half in the Continental army, using her deceased brother's name, and was honorably discharged under her male identity.

Question

How did Marisa structure her draft as she moved from the outline?

She turned one section of the outline into two paragraphs in the draft of her report.