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Got Brains? Try Brainstorming to Bolster Your College Level Writing

Prewriting Techniques

Brainstorming, webbing, free writing, outlining – these are the most common forms of pre-writing, yet so few college students use them before writing their papers. We are taught various techniques of pre-writing when we are in high school, but we’re typically so anxious to finish our work that we hate the idea of “wasting time” with preparation. If we didn’t force ourselves to use pre-writing skills before, the chances that we start using them later on are pretty low. Since most skills are forgotten when they are not in use, I thought some people might like a little refresher on how those old pre-writing techniques work.

Brainstorming

This is one of the most simplistic forms of pre-writing and some people do it without realizing it. Writing down every idea that is related to your topic in a list form is one of the best ways to jot down your wonderful thoughts without forgetting them. The great thing about brainstorming is that you can put anything in the list that pops into your head. For example, if your topic is on the benefits of exercising, you can list:

-getting healthy

-looking sexier

-gaining confidence

-increase stamina

Of course, some of us have more complex ideas at times that require more effort than just writing down things in a list.

Mapping, Clustering, Bubbling, Webbing

It doesn’t matter what you call it; it’s one of the quickest ways to organize ideas in a fun manner. Circling ideas and linking the related ones that surround your main idea is a messy way to be organized, which ends up feeling a lot more enjoyable than most homework does. When your related ideas are clustered together, your separate body paragraphs are already prepared for you. What’s better than a pre-writing technique that fun? Check out this example on the topic of career expectations.

The contradiction of appearing messy while remaining organized is what makes this, by far, my favorite form of prewriting. However, I haven’t finished mentioning them all, yet.

Free Writing

The joy of free writing – you are free to make mistakes and write whatever you want without worrying about grammar, spelling, or coherence. The trick is to force yourself to continually keep your pen on the paper or your fingers on the keyboard, and write whatever thoughts comes to mind. Even going off topic at times is okay. Just don’t go back and correct yourself. Backtracking is how you can forget whatever new ideas may come to mind. I have found that it is best to just keep going until you feel you’ve run dry of ideas. It is a good tool to use for those who never know what to write for their essays. I look at it as a form of a warm-up and a great way to come up with ideas, particularly for creative writing. Not everything in the free writing will be worthy of your essay, but no-one is going to grade your prewriting anyway.

Outlining

Although most of us avoid outlining unless our teachers instruct us to do so, it can be a very useful  to use in order to organize your essay. Outlines also help your essay stay on topic. I have seen it happen numerous times with other students, including myself, when the topic in an essay is suddenly lost, or the material for the paper becomes too bogged down with irrelevant information. By outlining your body paragraphs with their specific points, it is much easier to stay on track and just follow the guidelines you have set up for yourself.

Asking Questions

Giving yourself questions to answer is a way to make yourself feel forced into writing down ideas, and some students need to feel pressured in order to work. Asking, “Who?” “What?” “Where?” “When?” “Why?” “How?” are pretty standard and most familiar within the journalistic circle. Although I have never been a fan of this technique, I’m sure anyone who is studying journalism or has an inquisitive mind would benefit from this method. You just ask yourself questions about your topic and provide your own answers to those questions. If you are writing a composition about birds, ask yourself, “Who likes birds?” or “What kinds of birds are there?” or “Where do birds live?” Obviously, you can bend these questions to your own needs; these are just ways to force yourself into coming up with answers that will inevitably lead to ideas for your essay.

Most of us hate the idea of doing extra work before we actually start our homework. But, writing an impressive essay actually requires putting in a little extra effort prior to putting together a final draft. Prewriting techniques involve warming up your brain, organizing ideas, and setting up a plan before diving straight into writing a composition. Besides, with all of the different techniques you can use to prewrite, there really is no excuse not to use at least one of them.