Post-drafting refers to whatever a writer does after a readable draft has been produced. This is the stage where you check whether your draft is actually good and if it meets the assignment requirements. By definition, your draft doesn’t have to be “good” up until this point—a fact that can make pre-drafting and drafting less stressful!

In the revising stage, writers often need to revisit pre-drafting or drafting, but it’s generally most useful to complete the post-drafting steps in order. In other words, revise, then edit, then polish. Doing these steps in reverse order tends to get messy.

Probably the most important suggestion to remember is to start writing early enough that you have time to post-draft before your deadline. Plan for post-drafting time; it has a way of not happening otherwise.

We hope the suggestions in the post-drafting pages help you post-draft more effectively.

• Revising – proofreading for logic, readability and tailoring to your audience
• Editing – making your writing technically correct
• Polishing – final formatting and preparation for handing it in