Writing and Editing - Drafting Coursera

Overview

This third course Writing and Editing - Drafting in the “Good with Words: Writing and Editing” series offered by Coursera in partnership with University of Michigan will give you a number of strategies to help with what is often the most intimidating, even paralyzing part of the writing process: getting started.

Key facts

You’ll learn about the “planning fallacy” and “temptation bundling.” You’ll get a chance to experiment with “freewriting” and “writing before you are ready.” And you’ll continue to benefit, through our ongoing “Good Sentences” and “Takeaways” segments, from the models and advice of a diverse set of writers. 

As with the other three courses in this series, you will also get access to a wide range of books and other resources you can use even after you finish the course. These include:

• the readings and exercises provided to the students who have taken the in-person version of this course at the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago

• two digital libraries of excellent writing from a diverse collection of journalists, scientists, novelists, poets, historians, and entrepreneurs. 

• a monthly “Good Sentences” email

What you'll learn

• Understand and reflect on the cost of perfectionism in writing  

• Conduct a “pre-mortem” before starting a writing draft  

• Identify summaries and scenes  

• Apply the “nothing else” and “need to know” principles