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Writing Draft Planning

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Writing Draft Planning

A volcano observatory is preparing a public briefing after a week of unusual tremors. Plan a clear, engaging piece for a chosen audience. You may write to inform, persuade, explain or entertain. Use the scenario as a starting point, or adapt it to your own topic. Complete the planning tasks before drafting.

Set your direction

Use these planning prompts to make deliberate choices before you draft.

1.Choose a form for your piece (for example, opinion article, speech, short story or formal report). State your topic and explain in one sentence why this form suits it.

2.Identify your intended audience and purpose. What does this audience already know, and what response do you want from them?

3.Which opening strategy best fits a public briefing designed to build trust? Select one and explain why: a dramatic but unverified claim; a calm, specific fact; a joke about danger; or a list of technical terms.

A dramatic but unverified claim
A calm, specific fact
A joke about danger
A list of technical terms

Shape your ideas

Sort the details into a purposeful sequence, then decide what still needs checking.

4.Brainstorm at least four useful ideas or details for your piece. Include a fact, an example, and a question a reader might ask.

5.Group your ideas into three possible sections or paragraphs. Give each a main point and one supporting detail. Put them in the order that will make the most sense to your audience.

6.Aisha proposes this claim: “The volcano will erupt tomorrow.” The only evidence available is that tremors increased this week. Rewrite the claim so it is cautious, accurate and still informative.

7.Choose the strongest supporting detail for a paragraph explaining how the observatory monitors activity: “The team checks seismic instruments and compares readings over time”; “Volcanoes are fascinating”; or “Everyone feels nervous.” Explain why your choice supports the main point.

The team checks seismic instruments and compares readings over time
Volcanoes are fascinating
Everyone feels nervous

Build a coherent draft

Plan how your paragraphs will connect and how your choices will shape the reader's experience.

8.Write a working thesis, controlling idea or story premise for your piece. It should match your purpose and give the draft a clear direction.

9.Plan your opening and ending. Note one opening move that will engage your audience and one final idea or image that will leave them with a meaningful impression.

10.Write a transition between two planned paragraphs. It must show the relationship between their ideas, not merely announce the next paragraph.

11.Before drafting, name one detail that needs verification or development, one writing goal you can check in your draft, and one question you would ask a peer reviewer.