What should you change between a first draft and a second draft?

Here is what to change, and in what order.

Between a first and second draft, change the big things first: the focus, the structure, what to cut and what to develop. Polish comes last. The most useful changes are often the bravest, such as cutting a weak opening or moving the real point to the front.

Is redrafting the same as proofreading?

No. Proofreading fixes spelling, punctuation and small slips. Redrafting changes what the piece is doing. Polishing a paragraph you later delete is wasted effort, so redraft first and proofread last.

Our guide to proofreading for accuracy covers the polish. This guide covers what comes before it.

Step 1: Find the real focus

First drafts often find their true subject partway through. The strongest idea may appear in the third paragraph, after two paragraphs of warming up.

Ask yourself where the draft comes alive. Then cut the warm-up and build the piece around that idea from the first line. This single change improves more second drafts than any other.

Step 2: Fix the structure

First drafts follow the order your thoughts arrived in, which rarely suits the reader. Check that setup comes before payoff and weaker points come before stronger ones. In an argument, the strongest point usually goes last.

Do not be afraid to move whole paragraphs. Clear paragraphing makes each block easy to move. This is central to a strong discursive essay.

Step 3: Cut what does not earn its place

First drafts carry passengers: repeated points, tangents, and three examples where one would do. Ask of each paragraph: “If I deleted this, would the piece be worse?” If the honest answer is no, cut it.

Step 4: Grow what is thin

First drafts often state a good idea and rush on. Look for claims with no example, or key moments that are skated over. Use the space you freed by cutting to develop them.

The second draft may end up a similar length, but much better balanced.

Step 5: Only then, polish

Now the piece is ready for sentence-level editing and proofreading. Read it aloud, check your usual errors, and fix spelling. Your care now goes into material that will stay.

Does redrafting help in a timed exam?

There is no time for a second draft in the exam. But months of redrafting practice teach you to get focus and structure right the first time. That is why planning before you write matters so much on the day.

How our teachers help

If your child’s writing stays at the same level, they may be fixing the surface instead of the substance. In writing-paper focus tuition, our experienced English teachers redraft alongside the student, finding the buried focus and deciding what to cut and grow. The writing always stays in the student’s hands, especially for coursework, which must be their own work.

Want to see how a teacher would guide your child’s next draft? Book a paid one-hour trial lesson and bring a recent piece of their writing.

Next, visit our skills guides to turn the idea into a habit. Our IGCSE English tuition page explains how lessons run. When you are ready, the paid one-hour trial is the first step.