The contents of my freshman writing class’s Blackboard page surprised me. I had to complete a 5-to-6 page draft of a personal essay by September 18, and my final draft the following week. The problem? I didn’t know where to start. I had a topic in mind, but could not think of a specific event to think about, let alone examine in depth. It was at that point that I turned to the Baruch Writing Center. As luck would have it, they were hosting a workshop on writing drafts on September 12.

Not deterred by the counterintuitive numbering system of Baruch’s rooms, I eventually found the room where the workshop was to be held. There were ten students, tops, sitting around a square table in a classroom-sized space. The fairly young professor who was hosting the workshop soon began talking about seven main tips to keep in mind while writing. Got no clear idea about what to write about? No problem, just freewrite about the easiest part of the assignment. Finding it difficult to write in complete sentences? Simply write bullet points! Don’t worry about if you write garbage at first – no one gets it perfectly the first time.

With these bits of advice in mind, we picked up our pencils and began jotting down our respective main points. I, personally, rambled about my trip to Italy, because that was what I was writing about for English class. I didn’t need to rack my brain for more than two minutes before I settled on a specific topic: rowing a gondola in Venice. By the time the 35-minute writing period had lapsed, I had filled two pages about getting into the gondola. We reconvened to talk about the strategies used to draft our respective pieces. The professor, listening to us while emphasizing the seven drafting strategies, gave detailed feedback and noted the efficacy of the different ways in which we approached our drafts. I walked away from the workshop with a clearer idea of how to write my essay.