Prewriting
From Jacobson Symposium Wiki
Contents |
Overview
A definition of prewriting is "write down everything that comes to your mind about a topic." Prewriting can involve various activities such as brainstorming, clustering/mapping, outlining, and thesis statement.
Prewriting is perhaps the most important step in composition, but is the one that least interests today's students. This guide will serve to help guide students' inquiry and idea development before the first paragraph is written.
Teaching
There are five essential steps to the prewriting process:
Step 1: Brainstorming. In this step, students will write down everything on the proposed topic that comes to mind. No idea is a bad idea at this point, which allows for an uninterrupted flow of thoughts.
Step 2: Identifying a topic. Students will critically evaluate the list they made during the brainstorming phase and narrow down their specific area of inquiry.
Step 3: Creating a thesis. At this point, students will compose the guiding question or idea they will pursue for the entirety of their papers.
Step 4: Outlining. Students will organize the main idea of their paper in a clear, concise manner.
Step 5: Drafting. Students will compose their first draft, paying more attention to the construction of solid ideas than creating a perfect masterpiece of organization and conventions.
Activities
Suggested in-class or homework activities; instructions to give to students.
Have students select a topic and give them five minutes to freewrite about that topic. If a student cannot think of a minimum of five or six ideas, he/she will need to consider a new topic. To demonstrate the importance of topic selection, begin with an extremely abstract or unknown topic such as "nemotoids." Then begin. Obviously, most students will have little, if anything, to say about this topic. Then say, "Let's try another topic: College Life. Now watch the energy change as they begin to write. One cannot write about what one know. And now pat yourself on the back for being an exemplary teacher.
P.S. Nemotoids are small invisible organisms that live in the soil.
For Further Reading
Good books, articles, or websites with useful material for teachers that concern the topic.
Books
Ruff's Prewriting Flip and Draw Book - a cartoon dog with an oversized pencil always helps generate lots of ideas
Prewriting: Strategies for Exploration and Discovery - buy 32-cent book from Amazon that's currently unavailable but will let you explore and discover the paucity of your ideas.
Websites
KU Writing Center - Prewriting strategies/exercises
Gallaudet University Prewriting - Prewriting strategies/exercises
Writing for Home Schoolers - Teach your child how to write poems.
