Some practical considerations for prewriting
Once you have established your purpose and main message, you can begin to generate the ideas that will form the content of your document. The following techniques explore methods you can use to help you identify your ideas quickly, avoid writer’s block and clarify your thoughts. Try some or all of these early on in the writing.
Random list |
List everything that comes to mind and then sort it into groups. Look for connections: sequential, spatial, chronological, topical, etc. |
Journalistic approach |
Useful if your task is to convey information. Ask and answer six questions: |
Question and answer chain |
Look at the subject from your readers' perspective. Put yourself in your readers' position by asking:
Examine your answers to these questions. What additional questions emerge? Follow the question and answer chain until you have exhausted all questions. |
Free writing |
Set yourself a limited time for free writing: say five minutes for a task like a letter. Just write without worrying about grammar, spelling, sentences, structure or anything else. If you get stuck, repeat the last words you have written until new thoughts start to come. |
Whichever brainstorming approach you take, the end result will be similar. Instead of a blank piece of paper, you will now have a list or several paragraphs containing many of the ideas you want to include in the document you are writing. Once you have this, the next steps are to organize the ideas and create a first draft of the document.