Drafting (writing) requires a number of skills:

a. Meaning, that is, writers decide how much information they must state explicitly in the text, how much readers will understand from previous information in the text, and how much they can assume the audience already knows.

b. Syntax -- being able to form understandable sentences according to the grammar of English.

c. Word choice -- involving:

• how well the word chosen carries the intended meaning;
• what the audience associates with the word;
• how the word functions in the discourse of the text, that is, is it a key term such as "therefore";
• how the word appeals to the writer's sense of beauty.

d. Physical layout -- i.e. the use of headings, paragraphs, lists, graphs, space, etc.

e. Spelling and punctuation -- must follow the conventions the audience expects.

f. Motor skills -- the actual skills of forming the letters that make up the words.

1. Model of Process Writing | 2. Planning/Generating Ideas | 3. Focusing | 4. Structuring | 6. Evaluating | 7. Reviewing/Revision | Printer friendly version of these seven pages