Be open to surprises and changes - Drafting your paper - Writing your paper

Student's guide to writing college papers, Fourth edition - Kate L. Turabian 2010

Be open to surprises and changes
Drafting your paper
Writing your paper

If you write as you go and plan your argument before you draft, you're unlikely to be utterly surprised by what you write. Even so, be open to new directions from beginning to end:

✵ When your drafting heads off on a tangent, go with it for a bit to see whether you're on to something better than you planned.

✵ When your evidence leads you to think that a reason may not hold up, don't ignore that feeling. Follow it up.

✵ When you get a feeling that your reasons may be in the wrong order, experiment with new ones, even if you thought you were almost done.

✵ Even when you reach your final conclusion, you may see how to restate your claim more clearly and pointedly.

If you get better ideas early enough, invest the time to change your plan. It is a cheap price for a big improvement.