Coursework: Planning, Drafting and Redrafting: Question 2
Syllabus W1, W2
A student planning a discursive coursework assignment arguing that "the school day should start later" has jotted down five planning-to-redrafting stages, but in the wrong order:
A. Sequence the three chosen strands of argument into a logical paragraph order, from most straightforward to most complex. B. Reread the completed draft critically and revise it for structure, cohesion and expression before final submission. C. Note down initial ideas and evidence on both sides of the debate. D. Write a full first draft of the assignment, following the planned paragraph order. E. Decide the overall thesis and the three main strands of argument that will support it.
(a) Write the letters A–E in the most effective order, from first stage to last. [4]
(b) In one sentence, explain why stage C should happen before stage E. [1]
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Worked solution
Assessment focus
This question tests understanding of the coursework process as a whole. That planning, drafting and redrafting are not interchangeable steps but a sequence in which each stage depends on the one before it, and that the untimed nature of coursework exists precisely to let a candidate move through all five properly.
Correct order and reasoning
- C. Note down initial ideas and evidence on both sides. Nothing else can happen sensibly until the writer knows what material is actually available.
- E. Decide the overall thesis and its three main strands. A committed position and its supporting strands can only be chosen once the writer has seen what the initial ideas actually support.
- A (Sequence the three strands into a logical paragraph order. Once the strands are fixed, they need an order) for instance building from the most straightforward point to the most complex, before any writing begins.
- D. Write a full first draft, following the planned paragraph order. The plan is put into continuous prose for the first time.
- B. Reread the completed draft critically and revise it. Only once a full draft exists is there anything to reread and improve for structure, cohesion and expression.
Why this works
Each stage supplies something the next stage needs: ideas feed the thesis, the thesis and strands feed the paragraph sequence, the sequence feeds the draft, and only a finished draft can be reread and revised. Reversing any adjacent pair breaks that chain, for example, choosing a thesis before gathering ideas risks committing to a position the writer cannot actually evidence.
Common pitfalls specific to this task
- Placing D (writing the draft) before A (sequencing the strands), so the writer is drafting without having decided which order the paragraphs should appear in.
- Believing stage B can happen alongside stage D “to save time”, rather than recognising that meaningful revision needs a complete draft to work with.
- In part (b), simply restating “C is about ideas and E is about the thesis” without explaining the dependency between them.