Frequently Asked Question No.1: How Many Drafts of my Work Should I Do?

While the associated video for this post might seem to be dismissive of the question, the answer it gives is very true simply because there is no single, magical, number of drafts which will guarantee a high mark. No one will ever be able to say to you "after you have written and rewritten it five times, it will be word perfect". (I wish there was such a number, really, it would make things so much easier for students and for tutors like me) but there are just too many variables which affect how many drafts you may need to do: the length of the piece of work (longer work requires far more development), the subject (I guarantee that there is one part of your degree that you just do not like, there always is and writing for that one part is an absolute chore to get

right!), the question (you may not like the question, may not agree with the statement it makes or what it asks you to do, or you may just be unfamiliar with its requirements), the amount of weight that it carries in your degree (percentages matter!), even your mood and the day that you are having (strangely enough, that draft you write in the early hours after a night out, or after an emotional phonecall or videochat with your friend, partner or family, is unlikely to be your best!)

SImply because there is no magical number then, brings me back to the comment made in this video, don't focus on trying to get something right the first time, don't focus on the number of times you write it or see every rewrite after the first as a commentary that you are getting it wrong. See it as a chance to develop, to create not only your work and argument, but yourself as an academic and the voice that you will be known by. Here's an anecdote to illustrate this: when I was doing my Masters thesis, my supervisor told me repeatedly that they did not like it. Every single time I made a submission, they did not like the idea, what I was saying, how it was written and it was like being slapped repeatedly, but I went away and I wrote and wrote and wrote (kind of like I am doing here!) and kept resubmitting to get only more verbal and mental slapdowns and with each new draft I felt more and more a burning desire to prove this person wrong because I knew my idea worked, but clearly it was not convincing on paper...yet. To paraphrase one of my favourite lines from a series, this was "the knowledge in my head that lit a fire in my heart, that you cannot extinguish!" and FINALLY when the whole thing was written, I got a begrudging "it works, I like it." and the pride I felt that my voice was recognised as valid and convincing is something that I have never lost, cannot be taken from me and which I think every student should feel and more importantly, CAN FEEL.

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