rough draft

noun

: a first version of something (such as a document) that needs a lot of editing and rewriting

I just completed a rough draft of my speech.

Examples of rough draft in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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This contradiction is one of many that makes Megalopolis feel, for all the money and time and clear passion that went into it, like a rough draft of a film that needed several more revisions to find a coherent thesis. —

Aja Romano, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 In the notes, Jefferson details his private papers collected upon a bookshelf, including a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence. —

Tori Latham, Robb Report, 1 July 2024 The series is half-formed, a rough draft for something better down the line. —

Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024 Barton will present the upcoming fiscal year's rough draft budget to the City Council on March 19. —

Taylor Seely, The Arizona Republic, 29 Feb. 2024 Like several other pocket-size displays, this one could serve as a rough draft for bigger, deeper shows to come. —

Holland Cotter, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2024 Enlarge / Initial rough draft transcription of text deciphered on the scroll. —

Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 5 Feb. 2024 This, in other words, was a very rough draft of an antibiotic drug. —

Popular Science, 1 Nov. 2023 It was taught as a tool to overcome writer’s block and to quickly knock out a rough draft. —

Ernesto Londoño David Guttenfelder, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2023