TUFD. Or, to be more precise, The Ugly First Draft. It’s an acronym coined by Ann Handley, author of Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content (Wiley, 2014). TUFD is the act of taking an idea, sitting down at your desk, and expelling word vomit onto the page Exorcist-style.
It is the rare occasion when you can lower the bar and feel good about it. Write fast! Write badly! TUFD is about “getting the mess out of your head,” Handley explains. There is no need to agonize over syntax, smooth transitions, or complete sentences. Refinement comes later.
What makes TUFD so effective is that it leans into the messiness of writing—and all but eliminates paralysis by analysis. Momentum replaces self-critique. As you write with fervor, you’re not stopping to reread your words or cast judgment. You go until there’s nothing left to say.
For me, TUFD is a confidence-builder. It quiets my inner critic and validates my capacity to create. It gives me something to work with. Like a colleague once said, “You can’t edit what’s not on the page.”
I wish every learner had a strategy like TUFD in their back pocket. Unsurprisingly, research shows that student writing achievement is tied to self-efficacy and motivation; writers who perceive themselves as competent are far more inclined to engage and improve (Ingram, 2021)
Throughout this issue of Educational Leadership, our contributors tackle this imperfect process head-on—offering plenty of strategies like TUFD to use in the classroom. Missy Springsteen-Haupt urges educators to normalize chaotic first drafts, insisting that writing is fundamentally a tool for thinking. Mike Miller takes aim at perfectionism, suggesting that when teachers share their own rough drafts, students realize that polished prose doesn’t materialize out of thin air. We also hear from Troy Hicks on preserving student agency when co-writing with AI, and Latrise P. Johnson on centering authentic student voice and critical thought over mechanical correctness.
Even as a professional writer and editor, I get stuck without structured routines. Writing is demanding. It’s uncomfortable. But embracing the mess of that first draft is often the only way through.
