Prewriting strategies

You usually explore ideas when you are getting started on a project, but exploration also helps when you are feeling stuck and are searching for something new to say. The following strategies will help you brainstorm and come up with ideas at any stage.

1. List. One way to brainstorm is to start with a topic and list the words, phrases, images, and ideas that come to mind. The key to brainstorming is to turn off your internal editor and just jot things down. Later, you can review this list, underline one or more key terms, and add or delete items. Here is a list a student produced on the topic of work.

Work

Work--what is it?

Skilled/unskilled

Most jobs today in service industries

Work and retirement

my dad's retired, but has he stopped working?

If you never want to retire, is your job still considered work?

Jobs I have had: babysitter,

camp counselor, salesclerk, office worker--I'd be happy to retire from those, especially the salesclerk job

Standing all day.

Do this, do that.

Punch the clock.

Do it over again and again

Difference between work and career

I want a career, not a job

Dress for success

High powered lunches, late dinner.

Travel

Making presentations

Pressure

Making decisions

Big house

Fast car

2. Cluster. Having something down in writing enables you to look for categories and connections. Clustering, sometimes called mapping, is a brainstorming technique that generates categories and connections from the beginning. To make an idea cluster, do the following:

3. Freewrite. When you feel blocked or unsure about what you think, try freewriting. Just write whatever comes into your mind about a topic. If nothing comes to mind, then write "nothing comes to mind" until something else occurs to you. The trick is to keep pushing forward without stopping. Usually, you will discover some implicit point in your seemingly random writing. The following is a student's freewriting on the topic of work.

I want to talk about the difference between a job and work--between a job and a career. If you don't get paid, is it work? If it is, what's the difference between work and play? There are some things I would only do for money--like work as a waiter. But there are other things I would do even if I weren't paid--garden or ride my bike or play with kids. The trick is to find a career that would allow me to get paid for doing those things.

4. Question. Asking questions is a good way to explore a topic further. The journalist's five w's and an h (who? what? where? when? why? and how?) can help you find specific ideas and details. For example, a student group assigned to research and write a paper about some aspect of work came up with the following questions:

Other questioning techniques include the following:

For other useful examples of what and how to question, take note of the problems or questions your professor poses to get class discussion going. If you are using a textbook in your course, check out the study questions.

5. Review Annotated Texts and Journal Entries. As a critical reader, you have probably written notes in the margins of the texts you own. You have also made journal entries. Read your notes. These immediate comments and reactions are your best sources for ideas. Look for patterns.

6. Browse in the Library. Your college library is filled with ideas--and it can be a great inspiration when you need to come up with your own. Sometimes it helps to take a break; leave your study carrel; stretch your legs; and browse among bookshelves containing texts that relate to a topic of interest.

7. Surf the Net. Exploring a subject on the World Wide Web is the electronic equivalent of browsing in the library. Type keywords related to your topic into a search engine such as Google, and visit several sites on the list that results.

8. Exchange Ideas. If you read the acknowledgments in the books on your shelves, you will see that writing is a social activity. Most authors thank family members, editors, librarians, and colleagues for help on work-in-progress. Likewise, you should find every opportunity to talk about your writing with your classmates, friends, and family.