English Composition

English Composition Study Guide

Brainstorming/Listing/Notetaki While there are many different ways to label this type of prewriting, the main idea is that the writer is producing a list of possible ideas to discuss in the upcoming writing assignment. Writers jot down a succession of words to jog their memories, brainstorming new ways to approach the topic. This can be done in a variety of formats. For example, the prewriting may take the form of a simple list, or writers can make a T-chart with larger ideas and concepts on one side, and more specific details and a narrower look at the topic on the opposite side. The list is written in no particular order. After the list or notes have been created, the writer then goes back and tries to link common ideas together. Arrows or lines can help the writer connect ideas that complement each other, or can be grouped into body paragraphs in a writing. If a teacher assigned an essay on the subject moving to a new home , the list might look like this: • Moving van • Realtor • Storage • Changing utilities • Finding new neighborhood • Redecorating • Shopping for new stuff • Moving to grams when I was 4 • Packing • Boxes • Cleaning • Unpacking • Taking stuff to Goodwill • New furniture • Cat adjusting to new home Some of these topics might not make an interesting essay. Some ideas may need to be combined with other ideas before they can be turned into an essay. The writer in the above example could go back and group ideas into more specific topics that could be turned in to body paragraphs. For example, the work that goes in to preparing for a move and selling a home, the supplies that are needed for the actual move, and the challenges and work that goes into turning the new space into a home. Brainstorming can be useful when writing an argumentative response, as it can help a writer develop ideas on a debatable topic. This not only helps the writer finds items that can later become arguments to support a thesis, but it can also help find counter-arguments that the writer can refute to make a claim stronger. Brainstorming can also be used when responding to a text, and can help writers come up with topics to cover in an analytical writing. Idea Clustering or Mapping Clustering is similar to brainstorming. It is a visual representation of ideas. In clustering, a narrow topic is written in the center of the paper. Often times this is information from the writing prompt. Then, lines are drawn to extend to smaller topics, arranged in clusters. This continues as ideas get more specific. The clusters in this prewriting often become body paragraphs, and the lines that continue to extend

©2018

Achieve

Page 32

of 84