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

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