Brainstorming is one of the most important parts of the writing process. This is where all the great ideas come out. Many students short-change this part because it seems like a waste of time. Usually, though, the best ideas come after getting the easiest ideas down on paper.
Before I start brainstorming, I make sure I know what my job is. I'll look at the prompt and figure out what I have to do to make sure I answer the prompt correctly. I usually even write it down to keep myself focused during my brainstorm. Anything that doesn't focus on that job either gets left off or crossed out so I don't go off topic.
For this essay, I brainstormed for 50 minutes without writing more than a few complete sentence. The ideas I wrote down are just fragments and phrases that might help me steer my thinking.
Before I start brainstorming, I make sure I know what my job is. I'll look at the prompt and figure out what I have to do to make sure I answer the prompt correctly. I usually even write it down to keep myself focused during my brainstorm. Anything that doesn't focus on that job either gets left off or crossed out so I don't go off topic.
For this essay, I brainstormed for 50 minutes without writing more than a few complete sentence. The ideas I wrote down are just fragments and phrases that might help me steer my thinking.
For a writing prompt that's based on a general topic, I like to do two brainstorming steps.
The first is a general brainstorm where I think of all the possible things I could write about. Sometimes, during this step, sentences I might use in my essay come to me. I write those down, too, just to make sure I can find them later. Sometimes I use a web, sometimes lists, sometimes just chunks of words with lots of lines connecting ideas. In cases like this, more is better.
In the pictures of the brainstorm below, you can see I was working on all sorts of things I could think of as ugly. I tried to think of why someone might connect to them or feel that they are important, so that's what this brainstorm is about.
Time: 30 minutes
The first is a general brainstorm where I think of all the possible things I could write about. Sometimes, during this step, sentences I might use in my essay come to me. I write those down, too, just to make sure I can find them later. Sometimes I use a web, sometimes lists, sometimes just chunks of words with lots of lines connecting ideas. In cases like this, more is better.
In the pictures of the brainstorm below, you can see I was working on all sorts of things I could think of as ugly. I tried to think of why someone might connect to them or feel that they are important, so that's what this brainstorm is about.
Time: 30 minutes
Once I'd gotten a few ideas, I decided to figure out which one I wanted to write about. The prompt wasn't asking about a lot of different ugly items, but just one, so even though I've got a few good ideas, I had to narrow it down to one item. I focused on my favorite book, so my second brainstorm focused on why it was ugly and why it was important to me even though it isn't pretty.
I also came up with my thesis statement (Th. St.) during this time, so I knew what I was going to focus on as I wrote. Remember, a thesis statement is one sentence that tells the reader the focus of your particular paper, not the general topic.
Time: 20 minutes
I also came up with my thesis statement (Th. St.) during this time, so I knew what I was going to focus on as I wrote. Remember, a thesis statement is one sentence that tells the reader the focus of your particular paper, not the general topic.
Time: 20 minutes