Draft vs. Write — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on April 26, 2024
Drafting involves creating a preliminary version of a document, focusing on getting ideas down, while writing is the process of refining and finalizing the text.
Difference Between Draft and Write
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Drafting is typically the initial step in the creation of any written content, emphasizing the rough structuring of ideas and information without concern for perfection. On the other hand, writing entails a deeper engagement with the text to enhance clarity, style, and coherence.
In drafting, the primary goal is to outline major points and organize thoughts, while writing focuses on developing these ideas into a coherent narrative.
Drafting often requires multiple revisions and adjustments, whereas writing involves editing and polishing the draft into a final product.
While drafting, a writer may leave placeholders for research or further thought, but during the writing phase, these gaps are filled with precise and detailed information.
Drafting is usually less time-consuming and more spontaneous, allowing for creativity and exploration; writing, however, is more deliberate, requiring attention to detail and adherence to language standards.
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Comparison Chart
Purpose
To organize and outline initial ideas
To refine and finalize the text
Focus
Content generation and structure
Language use, style, and coherence
Level of detail
Generally broad and undefined
Specific and detailed
Revisions
Expected and necessary
Fewer, as it builds on the draft
Time consumption
Less time-consuming
More time-consuming due to editing needs
Compare with Definitions
Draft
The process of preparing the initial form of a document.
Drafting her thesis took two months.
Write
To compose or work on articles, books, etc.
He writes for a major newspaper.
Draft
A drawing up of plans or sketches.
The architect presented the draft of the new building.
Write
To fill in or complete forms or documents.
He wrote his name at the top of the sheet.
Draft
A rough outline used to capture initial thoughts.
She sketched a draft of her essay before starting.
Write
To form letters, words, or symbols on a surface in order to communicate.
She loves to write poetry.
Draft
A written order for a bank to pay money.
He issued a draft for the invoice amount.
Write
To compose text or a work that can be published.
She writes blog posts about travel.
Draft
A preliminary version of a piece of writing.
He completed the first draft of his novel.
Write
To record data in a specified manner.
Write your answers in ink.
Draft
A current of air in an enclosed area.
Write
Mark (letters, words, or other symbols) on a surface, typically paper, with a pen, pencil, or similar implement
Alice wrote down the address
He wrote his name on the paper
He wrote very neatly in blue ink
Draft
A device that regulates the flow or circulation of air.
Write
Compose, write, and send (a letter) to someone
I wrote him a short letter
Eleanor wrote to her sister Laura in Paris
I wrote a letter to Alison
He wrote almost every day
Draft
The act of pulling loads; traction.
Write
Compose (a text or work) for written or printed reproduction or publication; put into literary form and set down in writing
She wrote a bestselling novel
He wrote under a pseudonym
I didn't know you wrote poetry
He had written about the beauty of Andalusia
Draft
Something that is pulled or drawn; a load.
Write
Enter (data) into a specified storage medium or location in store
Files can be read and written directly into the file system
Draft
A team of animals used to pull loads.
Write
Underwrite (an insurance policy).
Draft
(Nautical)The depth of a vessel's keel below the water line, especially when loaded
A river vessel of shallow draft.
Write
To form (letters, words, or symbols) on a surface such as paper with an instrument such as a pen.
Draft
A heavy demand on resources.
Write
To form (letters or words) in cursive style, especially in contrast to printing by hand.
Draft
A written order directing the payment of money from an account or fund.
Write
To spell
How do you write your name?.
Draft
A gulp, swallow, or inhalation.
Write
To fill (an amount of space) with words or information
Wrote five pages in an hour.
Draft
The amount taken in by a single act of drinking or inhaling.
Write
To put written information in the blank spaces of (a check, form, or similar document).
Draft
A measured portion; a dose.
Write
To produce or compose (text) in a recorded form that can be read
Write a poem.
Write a letter.
Draft
The drawing of a liquid, as from a cask or keg.
Write
To express in writing; set down
Write one's thoughts.
Draft
An amount drawn
Ordered two drafts of ale.
Write
To communicate by writing, especially by written letter
She wrote that she was planning to visit.
Draft
The process or method of selecting one or more individuals from a group, as for a service or duty
A candidate who did not pursue the nomination, but accepted a draft by the party convention.
Write
To communicate with (someone) by writing, especially by letter
Wrote me to tell me she had moved again.
Draft
Compulsory enrollment in the armed forces; conscription.
Write
To compose (a musical work).
Draft
A body of people selected or conscripted.
Write
To underwrite, as an insurance policy.
Draft
(Sports)A system in which the exclusive rights to new players are distributed among professional teams.
Write
To compose in legal form; draft
Write a will.
Draft
The act of drawing in a fishing net.
Write
To indicate; mark
"Utter dejection was written on every face" (Winston S. Churchill).
Draft
The quantity of fish caught.
Write
To ordain or prophesy
It was written that the empire would fall.
Draft
Any of various stages in the development of a plan, document, or picture
A preliminary draft of a report.
The final draft of a paper.
Write
(Computers) To transfer or copy (information) from memory to a storage device or output device.
Draft
A representation of something to be constructed.
Write
To trace or form letters, words, or symbols on paper or another surface
People who cannot read or write.
Draft
A narrow line chiseled on a stone to guide a stonecutter in leveling its surface.
Write
To produce written material, such as articles or books
She wrote for most of her adult life.
Draft
A slight taper given a die to facilitate the removal of a casting.
Write
To compose a letter, email, or other written communication
Please write while you are away.
Draft
An allowance made for loss in weight of merchandise.
Write
(ambitransitive) To form letters, words or symbols on a surface in order to communicate.
The pupil wrote his name on the paper.
Your son has been writing on the wall.
Draft
To select from a group for some usually compulsory service
Drafted into the army.
Write
(transitive) To be the author of (a book, article, poem, etc.).
My uncle writes newspaper articles for The Herald.
Draft
To select from a group for placement on a sports team.
Write
(transitive) To send written information to.
(UK) Please write to me when you get there.
(US) Please write me when you get there.
Draft
To draw up a preliminary version of or plan for.
Write
(transitive) To show (information, etc) in written form.
The due day of the homework is written in the syllabus.
Draft
To create by thinking and writing; compose
Draft a speech.
Write
To convey a fact to someone via writing.
Jimmy wrote me that he needs more money.
Draft
To work as a drafter.
Write
(intransitive) To be an author.
I write for a living.
Draft
To move, ride, or drive close behind a fast-moving object so as to take advantage of the slipstream, especially in a race.
Write
To record data mechanically or electronically.
The computer writes to the disk faster than it reads from it.
Draft
Suited for or used for drawing heavy loads
Oxen and other draft animals.
Write
To fill in, to complete using words.
I was very anxious to know my score after I wrote the test.
Draft
Drawn from a cask or tap
Draft beer.
Write
To impress durably; to imprint; to engrave.
Truth written on the heart
Draft
(US spelling) A current of air, usually coming into a room or vehicle.
Write
To make known by writing; to record; to prove by one's own written testimony; often used reflexively.
Draft
(US spelling) The draw through a flue of gasses (smoke) resulting from a combustion process.
Write
(finance) To sell (an option or other derivative).
Draft
(US spelling) An act of drinking.
Write
To paint a religious icon.
Draft
(US spelling) The quantity of liquid (such as water, alcohol, or medicine) drunk in one swallow.
To drink at a draft
She took a deep draft from the bottle of water.
Write
The act or style of writing.
Draft
(US spelling) A dose (of medicine, alcohol, etc.).
Write
(computing) The operation of storing data, as in memory or onto disk.
How many writes per second can this hard disk handle?
Draft
(US spelling) Liquid, especially beer or other alcohol, drawn from a cask or keg rather than a bottle or can.
Write
To set down, as legible characters; to form the conveyance of meaning; to inscribe on any material by a suitable instrument; as, to write the characters called letters; to write figures.
Draft
The depth of water needed to float a particular ship; the depth from the waterline to the bottom of a vessel's hull; the depth of water drawn by a vessel.
Write
To set down for reading; to express in legible or intelligible characters; to inscribe; as, to write a deed; to write a bill of divorcement; hence, specifically, to set down in an epistle; to communicate by letter.
Last night she enjoined me to write some lines to one she loves.
I chose to write the thing I durst not speakTo her I loved.
Draft
An early version of a written work (such as a book or e-mail) or drawing.
I have to revise the first draft of my term paper.
His first drafts were better than most authors' final products.
Write
Hence, to compose or produce, as an author.
I purpose to write the history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to a time within the memory of men still living.
Draft
A preliminary sketch or outline for a plan.
Write
To impress durably; to imprint; to engrave; as, truth written on the heart.
Draft
A cheque, an order for money to be paid.
Write
To make known by writing; to record; to prove by one's own written testimony; - often used reflexively.
He who writes himself by his own inscription is like an ill painter, who, by writing on a shapeless picture which he hath drawn, is fain to tell passengers what shape it is, which else no man could imagine.
Draft
Conscription, the system of forcing people to serve in the military.
He left the country to avoid the draft.
Write
To form characters, letters, or figures, as representative of sounds or ideas; to express words and sentences by written signs.
So it stead you, I will write,Please you command.
Draft
A system of forcing or convincing people to take an elected position.
Write
To be regularly employed or occupied in writing, copying, or accounting; to act as clerk or amanuensis; as, he writes in one of the public offices.
Draft
A system of assigning rookie players to professional sports teams.
Write
To frame or combine ideas, and express them in written words; to play the author; to recite or relate in books; to compose.
They can write up to the dignity and character of the authors.
Draft
The pulling force (tension) on couplers and draft gear during a slack stretched condition.
Write
To compose or send letters.
He wrote for all the Jews that went out of his realm up into Jewry concerning their freedom.
Draft
The bevel given to the pattern for a casting, so that it can be drawn from the sand without damaging the mould.
Write
Produce a literary work;
She composed a poem
He wrote four novels
Draft
The action or an act (especially of a beast of burden or vehicle) of pulling something along or back.
Using oxen for draft
Shot forth an arrow with a mighty draft
Write
Communicate or express by writing;
Please write to me every week
Draft
The act of drawing in a net for fish.
Write
Have (one's written work) issued for publication;
How many books did Georges Simenon write?
She published 25 books during her long career
Draft
That which is drawn in; a catch, a haul.
He cast his net, which brought him a very great draft.
Write
Communicate (with) in writing;
Write her soon, please!
Draft
A quantity that is requisitioned or drawn out from a larger population.
Write
Communicate by letter;
He wrote that he would be coming soon
Draft
(transitive) To write a first version, make a preliminary sketch.
Write
Write music;
Beethoven composed nine symphonies
Draft
To draw in outline; to make a draught, sketch, or plan of, as in architectural and mechanical drawing.
Write
Mark or trace on a surface;
The artist wrote Chinese characters on a big piece of white paper
Draft
To write a law.
Write
Record data on a computer;
Boot-up instructions are written on the hard disk
Draft
To conscript a person, force a person to serve in some capacity, especially in the military.
He was drafted during the Vietnam War.
Write
Write or name the letters that comprise the conventionally accepted form of (a word or part of a word);
He spelled the word wrong in this letter
Draft
To select someone (or something) for a particular role or purpose.
There was a campaign to draft Smith to run for President.
They drafted me to be the chairperson of the new committee.
Draft
To select and separate an animal or animals from a group.
The calves were drafted from the cows.
Draft
To select a rookie player onto a professional sports team.
After his last year of college football, he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins.
Draft
(ambitransitive) To follow very closely (behind another vehicle), thereby providing an aerodynamic advantage to both lead and follower and conserving energy or increasing speed.
Draft
To draw out; to call forth.
Draft
To draw fibers out of a clump, for spinning in the production of yarn.
Draft
(not comparable) Referring to drinks on tap, in contrast to bottled.
I'd rather have a fresh, cheap draft beer.
Draft
Referring to animals used for pulling heavy loads.
A Clydesdale is a draft horse.
Draft
The act of drawing; also, the thing drawn. Same as Draught.
Everything available for draft burden.
Draft
A selecting or detaching of soldiers from an army, or from any part of it, or from a military post; also from any district, or any company or collection of persons, or from the people at large; also, the body of men thus drafted.
Several of the States had supplied the deficiency by drafts to serve for the year.
Draft
An order from one person or party to another, directing the payment of money; a bill of exchange.
I thought it most prudent to defer the drafts till advice was received of the progress of the loan.
Draft
An allowance or deduction made from the gross weight of goods.
Draft
A drawing of lines for a plan; a plan delineated, or drawn in outline; a delineation. See Draught.
Draft
The form of any writing as first drawn up; the first rough sketch of written composition, to be filled in, or completed. See Draught.
Draft
A narrow border left on a finished stone, worked differently from the rest of its face.
Draft
The slant given to the furrows in the dress of a millstone.
Draft
Depth of water necessary to float a ship. See Draught.
Draft
A current of air. Same as Draught.
Draft
A quantity of liquid poured out for drinking; a dose.
Draft
The act of drawing a quantity of liquid from a large container; also, the quantity of liquid so drawn.
Draft
A device for regulating the flow of gases in a chimney, stovepipe, fireplace, etc.; as, to close the chimney draft. It is usually a flat plate of the same internal dimensions as the flue, which can be rotated to be parallel to or perpendicular to the current of gases.
Draft
Pertaining to, or used for, drawing or pulling (as vehicles, loads, etc.). Same as Draught; as, a draft horse.
Draft
Relating to, or characterized by, a draft, or current of air. Same as Draught.
Draft
To draw the outline of; to delineate.
Draft
To compose and write; as, to draft a memorial.
Draft
To draw from a military band or post, or from any district, company, or society; to detach; to select; especially, to compulsorily select and induct members of a population to serve in the armed forces.
HotLips Houlihan: How did a degenerate person like him achieve such a position of responsibility in the army?Radar: He was drafted.
Some royal seminary in Upper Egypt, from whence they drafted novices to supply their colleges and temples.
Draft
To transfer by draft.
All her rents been drafted to London.
Draft
A document ordering the payment of money; drawn by one person or bank on another
Draft
A current of air (usually coming into a room or vehicle)
Draft
A preliminary sketch of a design or picture
Draft
A serving of drink (usually alcoholic) drawn from a keg;
They served beer on draft
Draft
Preliminary version of a written work
Draft
The depth of a vessel's keel below the surface (especially when loaded)
Draft
A regulator for controlling the flow of air in a fireplace
Draft
A dose of liquid medicine;
He took a sleeping draft
Draft
Compulsory military service
Draft
A large and hurried swallow;
He finished it at a single gulp
Draft
The act of moving a load by drawing or pulling
Draft
Draw up an outline or sketch for something;
Draft a speech
Draft
Engage somebody to enter the army
Draft
Make a blueprint of
Common Curiosities
What is the main purpose of drafting?
To capture and organize initial ideas.
Can a draft be considered a final document?
No, a draft is meant for further development.
What tools are used in writing?
Editing tools and detailed research are crucial.
How many drafts should one write before the final text?
This varies, but typically multiple drafts are needed.
Is it necessary to draft before writing?
Usually, yes, to structure thoughts effectively.
What tools are helpful for drafting?
Outlines and brainstorming tools can be helpful.
How is writing different from drafting?
Writing involves refining and finalizing the text.
What is the biggest challenge in drafting?
Organizing thoughts coherently.
What is the biggest challenge in writing?
Perfecting the style and coherence.
Is editing part of the drafting or writing process?
It's part of the writing process.
Are drafts shared with others?
Typically, drafts are for personal use or close review.
How do writers transition from drafting to writing?
By reviewing and refining their initial drafts.
Can drafting be done digitally?
Yes, many use digital tools for drafting.
What is the benefit of multiple drafts?
They allow for refining ideas and improving clarity.
Can writing be done without a computer?
Yes, traditional methods like pen and paper are still used.
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Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
