make a draft

Meaning

This phrase means to write a preliminary, unfinished version of a piece of writing, such as an essay, report, or email. It is used in school, university, and professional settings to describe the initial writing phase before editing. The tone is neutral and practical.

Examples

• Before you write the final essay, you need to make a draft and get feedback.

  Before you write the final essay, you need to make a draft and get feedback.

• I usually make a draft on my computer before writing anything by hand.

  I usually make a draft on my computer before writing anything by hand.

• Our professor asked us to make a draft of the research proposal by next Tuesday.

  Our professor asked us to make a draft of the research proposal by next Tuesday.

• It's much easier to organize your thoughts when you make a draft first.

  It's much easier to organize your thoughts when you make a draft first.

• She sat down to make a draft of the email to her academic advisor.

  She sat down to make a draft of the email to her academic advisor.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I need to do a draft of my essay tonight.

  ✓ I need to make a draft of my essay tonight.

  In English, we use the verb 'make' or 'write' with 'draft,' not 'do.'

• ✗ He made a draft paper for the conference.

  ✓ He made a draft of the paper for the conference.

  'Draft' is a noun here, so it should be linked to the topic using the preposition 'of.'

Related Expressions

Practice

• The professor advised us to ___ of our research paper before the weekend.

  💡 Write an early, unfinished version of your paper.

  Show answer

  make a draft

• I always ___ on my laptop because it is easier to edit later.

  💡 Create an initial written version.

  Show answer

  make a draft