Before you begin writing the first draft of the paper, take some time to reflect on where you started, and where you are now. Return to your research question and your preliminary thesis statement. Is it still the most pressing question for you? Does the preliminary thesis still hold up after you've done the research? Have you developed new understandings of your work and author and problem since you began?

As you take stock of your findings and your changed understandings, you'll likely want to sharpen your research question. And it's time to transform your preliminary thesis into the solid thesis statement that will guide and focus your work. So before you actually begin drafting the paper, spend some time revising these important preliminary elements of your paper.

You can make the process of writing the first draft easier if you provide yourself with several things:

• A large workspace, where you can spread out and rearrange your materials
• A long block of uninterrupted time
• Several enticing rewards—good things to eat or drink, or the promise of a walk with a friend or a workout or a phone call home when you've finished—to motivate and sustain yourself as you write. If possible, disable your email connection while you write so you won't be tempted to check it every half hour.
• An outline or roadmap of the paper, so you have a good sense of where you are and where you're going.

Plan to spend several multi-hour blocks composing the paper. Take a five minute break every hour to get up and stretch, and give yourself a treat every now and then. This is hard work.

Once you complete a full draft of the paper, take an extended break. The Roman writer Cicero thought that the ideal span of time between a first draft and a revision is nine years. You don't have that much time, but be sure to give yourself a day—or at least a couple of hours—before you turn to the work of revising the paper

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