Using Essay Writing to Practice Essay Crafting Over Completing

Have you ever found yourself rushing to finish an essay just to meet a deadline, only to receive feedback highlighting numerous issues you could have fixed with more time? For most students and professionals, essay writing often becomes a race to completion rather than an opportunity for growth. This article explores how shifting your approach from simply completing essays to deliberately practicing essay crafting can transform your writing skills, academic performance, and professional communication abilities.

Understanding the Crafting Mindset

What Is Essay Crafting?

Essay crafting is the deliberate practice of treating essay writing as a developmental process rather than merely a task to complete. It involves consciously working on specific aspects of writing with the intention to improve over time, rather than just producing finished documents.

According to education researcher Dr. John Bean in his work on engaging ideas, “Writing is both a process of doing critical thinking and a product communicating the results of critical thinking.” When we focus on crafting, we acknowledge this dual nature of writing.

The Distinction Between Crafting and Completing

Completion-Focused Approach	Crafting-Focused Approach
Goal is finished product	Goal is skill development
One-time effort	Iterative process
Limited revision	Multiple meaningful revisions
Generic feedback application	Targeted skill improvement
Avoids challenges	Embraces difficulties as learning

Harvard Writing Center’s research indicates that students who approach writing as craft rather than task show significantly higher rates of improvement over an academic year.

Why Prioritize Crafting Over Completion?

The shift from completion to crafting brings numerous benefits that extend far beyond a single assignment:

• Sustainable skill development: Each essay becomes practice for future writing
• Transferable writing abilities: Skills developed through crafting transfer across disciplines
• Deeper intellectual engagement: The crafting process encourages deeper thinking about content
• Increased writing confidence: Mastery of specific skills builds overall confidence

The Problem with Completion-Focused Writing

When writing becomes merely a checkbox to tick, several problems emerge:

1. Surface-level engagement: Students engage minimally with course content
2. Limited skill development: The same writing weaknesses persist across assignments
3. Poor revision habits: Changes focus on superficial corrections rather than substantive improvements
4. Lower retention: Content knowledge fades quickly after submission

Dr. Nancy Sommers from Harvard University found that completion-focused writers make primarily surface-level revisions (spelling, grammar, word choice) while craft-focused writers make more substantial changes to structure, argument, and evidence.

Practical Approaches to Essay Crafting

Developing a Process-Oriented Mindset

To embrace the crafting approach, start by changing how you think about essay assignments:

• Set process goals: Instead of “I need to finish this essay,” try “I want to improve my thesis development in this essay”
• Track progress across drafts: Keep all versions of your work to see improvement
• Celebrate specific improvements: Acknowledge growth in particular aspects of writing

Bold Move: Create a writing journal where you reflect on your process and set specific crafting goals for each assignment.

Essential Crafting Techniques

Pre-writing Practices

Effective essay crafting begins long before typing the first sentence:

• Mind mapping: Create visual representations of ideas and connections
• Freewriting: Write continuously for 10-15 minutes without stopping to generate ideas
• Outlining: Develop structured plans with varying levels of detail
• Research journaling: Document thoughts and questions while conducting research

Structured Drafting Approaches

Drafting Technique	Best Used For	Key Benefit
Fast Draft	Getting started	Overcomes perfectionism
Skeleton Draft	Complex arguments	Ensures logical structure
Section-by-Section	Longer essays	Manageable chunks
Reverse Outline	Revision	Reveals structural issues

Effective Revision Strategies

The University of Michigan Writing Center recommends treating revision as “re-seeing” rather than editing:

1. Global revision: Address larger issues of structure, argument, and evidence first
2. Paragraph-level revision: Ensure each paragraph serves a clear purpose
3. Sentence-level revision: Improve clarity, concision, and flow
4. Surface-level editing: Address grammar, spelling, and formatting last

Implementing Crafting in Academic Settings

Even with tight deadlines, the crafting approach can be implemented:

• Deconstruct assignments: Break larger essays into craft-focused components
• Use rubrics as craft guides: Identify specific skills each assignment targets
• Schedule multiple drafts: Plan time for at least two substantive revisions
• Seek targeted feedback: Ask readers to focus on specific aspects of your writing

Professor Peter Elbow, writing specialist at University of Massachusetts Amherst, suggests “embracing the contraries” of writing—balancing generative freedom with critical analysis throughout the process.

Assessment and Growth in Essay Crafting

To monitor your development as a writer:

• Create a writing portfolio: Collect examples showing growth over time
• Use self-assessment rubrics: Evaluate your own work before submission
• Track specific skill development: Monitor progress in targeted areas
• Utilize instructor feedback strategically: Organize comments by type to identify patterns

Institutional Support for Essay Crafting

Many universities have recognized the value of the crafting approach. Stanford University’s Program in Writing and Rhetoric emphasizes “writing as thinking” and provides resources specifically designed to support the crafting process.

Similarly, writing centers at universities like Princeton offer specialized consultations focused on specific aspects of the writing process rather than just proofreading completed drafts.

The Role of Technology in Essay Crafting

Modern writing tools can support the crafting approach:

• Revision history tools: Track changes across multiple drafts
• Collaborative platforms: Gather feedback from peers at different stages
• Text analysis software: Identify patterns in your writing
• Portfolio platforms: Organize and reflect on writing progress

Writing specialist Dr. Rebecca Moore Howard notes that technology works best when it supports, rather than replaces, the thoughtful crafting process.

Transferring Essay Crafting Skills to Professional Settings

The crafting mindset extends beyond academic essays:

• Workplace writing: Apply iterative processes to reports and proposals
• Professional development: Continuously refine communication skills
• Leadership communication: Craft messages with intention and purpose
• Cross-functional collaboration: Adapt writing approaches for different audiences

Frequently Asked Questions