What are the steps in writing a successful report, according to Booth, Colomb, and Williams (1995)?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. (Lamott, 1994)
We often hear lamentations from students such as “It is impossible to know where to begin” or “I have a hard time getting started.” To this we say only, “Begin wherever you are most comfortable, but begin early!” You do not have to start with the introduction; start in the method section if you prefer. The main point is to begin somewhere and then keep typing, keep typing, and keep typing! It is always easier to rewrite a paper than it is to write the first draft. The fine art of writing is really in the rewriting!
Those of you who began with a research proposal have a head start; you will find that the final report is much easier to write. It is very disappointing to discover that something important was left out when it is too late to do anything about it. We do not need to point out that students (and professional researchers) often leave final papers (and reports) until the last possible minute (often for understandable reasons, including other course work and job or family responsibilities). But be forewarned: The last-minute approach does not work for research reports.
A successful report must be well organized and clearly written. Getting to such a product is a difficult but not impossible goal. Consider the following principles formulated by experienced writers (Booth, Colomb, & Williams, 1995):
• Start with an outline.
• Respect the complexity of the task, and do not expect to write a polished draft in a linear fashion. Your thinking will develop as you write, causing you to reorganize and rewrite.
• Leave enough time for dead ends, restarts, revisions, and so on, and accept the fact that you will discard much of what you write.
• Write as fast as you comfortably can. Do not worry about spelling, grammar, and so on until you are polishing things up.
• Ask all the people whom you trust for their reactions to what you have written.
• Write as you go along, so you have notes and report segments drafted even before you focus on writing the report.
It is important to remember that no version of a manuscript is ever final. As you write, you will get new ideas about how to organize the report. Try them out. As you review the first draft, you will see many ways to improve your writing. Focus particularly on how to shorten and clarify your statements. Make sure each paragraph concerns only one topic. Remember the golden rule of good writing: Writing is revising!