Scenarios
Students benefit from a multitude of prewriting
activities. Just as variety is the spice of life in the "real"
world, so it is the case in the classroom. By exposing our students
to a variety of generative techniques, we offer them options.
Once they have practiced various prewriting activities in the
classroom, they can choose which techniques work best for them
when confronting writing assignments outside the classroom.
The following explanations are excerpts replicated
from links provided by Gyrus:
Freewriting
Freewriting is writing without stopping to
edit or judge the product. Freewriting helps you discover what
you already know and think about a subject and warms the brain
up so that it is ready to work. Write freely, as fast as you can,
about whatever comes to mind. Don't stop. You are gathering thoughts
and recording as many ideas, leads and connections as you can
without worrying about how well they are expressed at this point.
Some writers who experience a block when beginning a new piece
engage in "spring boarding," which is freewriting, but
they add the word "and" after each sentence to develop
greater fluency.
Listing
To generate many ideas quickly, you may wish to
try a simple and straightforward listing technique. List as many
ideas as possible to get started on an assignment. Just to experiment,
try listing as many different uses for a familiar object as you
can, such as a high heeled shoe. Some individuals feel more motivated
if they time themselves and see how many ideas they come up with
within a specified period.
Clustering
On a blank sheet of paper, write the main topic
of your assignment in the middle of the page and draw a circle
or oval around it. As further ideas come to mind, record them
around the central nexus. You can draw a circle around each of
the ideas and connect the circles to the center with lines. As
you progress, some main ideas may naturally trigger more thoughts
or supporting details. If so, connect them to the idea that catalyzed
further thought so that they branch into a network.
You might begin by clustering around keywords or
concepts from lecture or your textbook. Try to think of all the
vocabulary words that could relate to your topic.
One of the advantages to using the clustering technique
is that it draws forth your background knowledge.
Mind
mapping
A mind map is a refined cluster. It can take any form, but the
requirements are that the theme is shown as central with main
ideas branching off of it. Specific details branch off of the
main ideas. The main ideas will usually be written out as individual
paragraphs with the more specific details providing the support
for the main idea from which they branch out.
The example [access link] shows how the author started
with clustering and reviewed it by asking the question, what relates
to what? Are any connections implied? Categories of related information
were organized together, and where an overall concept name was
not present, the author devised one.... Further, spatial proximity
implies a relationship of topics, but each may need its own paragraph.
Interviewing
Develop a set of questions about a topic for an
assignment and interview your roommates or classmates to hear
their points of view as they respond to your questions. You will
do your own thinking in relation to your chosen topic, but sometimes
it helps simply to interview others to overcome writer's block.
As you listen or record your interviewees' responses, important
connections may be discovered. You may even think of a new angle
to explore that was obscure before the interviews. A tape recorder
may be helpful if interviewing in person. Another option is to
post questions you would like answered on a bulletin board or
in threaded discussions in the chat room.
Visuals
Visual thinkers often use graphics to get started
writing. This could include drawing a picture or collecting illustrations,
photos, pictures, diagrams and charts that evoke thoughts and
feelings. Try to find the words to express what is in your imagination
and use these notes as the basis for an essay or report.
Self-Questioning
What questions are important to answer regarding
your topic? You may generate questions from the lecture, textbook,
journals, library resources, online discussions, and your own
creative and critical thinking. Every essay or book may be seen
as answers to fundamental questions. Generating as many questions
as you can is a way of developing a line of thought as a basis
for your essay. One question may catalyze a further question.
Sifting and sequencing your questions will follow at a later stage.
You might begin by asking the who, what, where, why, when and
how questions. Then you might refer to the Elements of Reasoning
and Bloom's Taxonomy as models of different types of questions
to ask as your thought develops.
Self-Reflection
Stage One: Allow
time for reflection everyday.
- 20 minutes per day deepens the thought
process. A daily discipline will strengthen your cognitive abilities
and enhance your feeling nature. A result of such practice is
flexibility in applying your inner resources more readily to
any chosen task or situation.
- Choose a quiet, private place to reflect.
It is best to reflect at about the same time everyday.
- Take an inventory of your state of being.
Note any issues that need to be dealt with and decide when you
will do so, if not now.
- Begin with a seed idea of relevance to
you. Or begin by considering a topic for an assignment.
- If you are like most people, you will notice
your mind wandering off. Gently but firmly bring your attention
back to the core idea. Just as a horse tethered to a fixed pole
within a field wanders off but is brought back to the center
by the rope, so too can the focus of concentration be brought
back to the intended theme. Reflection develops a very concentrated
form of energy if practiced with continuity. Try to record creative,
significant and relevant thoughts and questions as they arise.
- At the end of the day, try the Pythagorean
Review. Review your actions throughout the day. Ask yourself
questions such as, "What have I learned from my experiences?
What duty did I leave undone? What should I plan on doing?"
Stage Two:
Develop different types of thought.
- Fluency of thought is the ability to generate
a large quantity of ideas. Options:
- Spring boarding is freewriting about an
idea and adding to it to create a flow. Write "and"
after each thought to keep going. Or use a tape recorder to
generate ideas. Cluster or list ideas. Ask yourself questions
and record your answers. Try not to judge ideas at the brainstorming
stage; sifting uses a different part of the brain and should
follow.
- Concentration is the ability to focus on
an idea and sustain attention on the subject for an extended
period of time. Choose a particular idea, issue, problem or
theme and keep your mind on that subject. When it strays, bring
it back to that topic, like a horse tethered to a post. As your
concentration improves, your understanding will deepen.
- Fluidity of thought is the ability to move
easily between ideas, and to see connections. As you reflect
on ideas, take notice of relationships between concepts. What
ideas are the most fundamental and seem worthy of elaboration?
Record relationships between concepts on a diagram. These may
form the basis of an argument, theme or presentation.
- Options for reflection include but are
not limited to the following: engaging in an inner dialogue,
taking alternative points of view, tracing cause-effect relationships,
drawing out implications of possible decisions, imagining various
scenarios, considering how one will use these ideas, pursuing
the essential core idea underlying information gathered or related
cases, visualizing a symbol representing main concepts, etc.
Stage Three:
Be ready to add to your important ideas at any time.
- Carry around some means of recording ideas
as they come to you throughout the day.
- Examples include keeping a pad and pen,
a compact tape recorder or electronic device in your backpack,
purse, pocket or car.
- Gathered thoughts, ideas, impressions,
feelings and perspectives may then be sifted, selected and organized
at the next stage of the composing process. Reflection also
helps produce extended lines of thought that may enrich your
essay.
