PREWRITING METHODS

Prewriting, or informal planning done before starting an assignment, is an important

part of the writing process. When you prewrite, you gather ideas, think about
organization, experiment with different ways of approaching your topic, and even
discover sometimes that your ideas are not ready to write about.

Even if you prewrite for only a small amount of time – 10 minutes – it can make a big
difference in the quality of your writing. You will start off better prepared, and you will
have less revising and rewriting to do later. So it will actually save you time.

The first part of this course, 2.1x, has some prewriting activities that you can explore,
such as idea maps, outlines, and freewriting. This week, we will look at three more.

Cubing

"Cubing" means looking at a topic from six different perspectives, like the six sides of
a cube. First, choose your topic and write it at the top of your page to help you
remember it. Next, take 5 minutes to write about your topic from six different
perspectives (again, think of the sides of the cube). You may not be able to do all six,
but do the best you can.

1. Describe your topic. What is its shape, size, color, texture? Does it make any
sounds? Does it taste like something? Use all your sense to describe it.

2. Compare your topic to other related topics. How is it similar or different?

3. Associate your topic with another topic. In other words, what does your topic make
you think about? It might be something unexpected. Be creative.

4. Analyze the parts of your topic. How do they fit together? What do the parts say
about the topic? Are all the parts equally important?
 5. Apply your topic--what can you do with it? How is it useful? Who might use it? Who
wouldn't use it?

6. Argue for and against your topic. What are its benefits? How might someone
disagree with your topic?

THE MATRIX APPROACH

What's a matrix? (No, not the movie. ) A matrix is a table of information. Along one
side, you can have different main points of your topic, and across the top, perhaps
some questions or points relevant to your topic. Then, in each cell, fill out the
relevant information.

Travel to geographically interesting places

Mountains Waterways Rock formations

Iceland idea / example idea / example idea / example

Australia idea / example idea / example idea / example

Bolivia idea / example idea / example idea / example

One way to look at a matrix is that it is a multi-point comparison. It gives you specific
ways to compare a number of different areas of interest within your topic.

20 QUESTIONS
It may seem odd to interview a topic, but imagine that your topic is a person. Pretend
to be that person, and answer these interview questions. You may not be able to
answer all of them, but do as many as you can.

1. What is your full name? Do some people know you by a different name?

2. How does the dictionary or encyclopedia define you?

3. When were you born? What were the circumstances?

4. Are you still alive? If not, how did you come to an end?

5. What group do you belong to? How are you like others in your group?

6. Can you be divided into parts? How?

7. Were you different in the past? How?

8. Will you be different in the future? How?

9. Do you ever feel misunderstood?

10. What is your purpose?

11. What are you similar to? Why do you say that?

12. What are you different from? Why do you say that?

13. What or whom are you better than? In what ways?

14. What or whom are you inferior to? In what ways?

15. When people talk about you, what do they say?

16. Should I know any facts or statistics about you?

17. Is there someone I should talk to about you--an expert, for example?

18. Are there any famous sayings or quotes about you?

19. Have there been any stories about you in the news?

20. Should I do more research about you?

Example : Train travel

1. What is your full name? Do some people know you by a different name?
I am known as train travel, rail travel, riding the train, or railroad travel.

2. How does the dictionary or encyclopedia define you?

I am a type of movement from one place to another--usually different cities or
countries--using a self-propelled machine and a set of connected cars called a train.
The train travels on metal tracks.

3. When were you born? What were the circumstances?

The machine powered version of me was born in the 1800s, around the time of the
Industrial Revolution. People were looking for faster ways of traveling.

BRAINSTORMING YOUR TOPIC

It's time to develop your topic for your final essay. You will write a draft of your essay
this week, and next week, you will correct and improve it to submit as your final
essay.

For your homework, think of something you want to write about. For example, it could
be the advantages of a certain job, an environmental problem that concerns you, or
the damaging effects of eating junk food. You decide what to write about.

Then, choose one of the methods describe here, or found in part 2.1x (if you haven't
used it before), and experiment with your topic.

In the discussion area, share your topic idea with your colleagues. Also discuss what
method(s) you experimented with, and how they worked for you.

DRAFT YOUR ESSAY

draft (click for pronunciation) - an early version of a piece of writing, one
that will be edited and rewritten

After you have determined your topic and gotten feedback, it's time to write a draft.
Here are five steps to follow as you develop your essay.

1. Write your thesis: If you don't know how to write a thesis, review the section in
2.1x on thesis writing. You can also review the information on the Purdue OWL
([Link] or use the "Thesis Generator"
web page at [Link] Consider
your topic, and write a clear argument that you can develop your essay around. Your
thesis is your main point, stated in one concise sentence. Your thesis lets your readers
know what your paper will argue.

2. Create an outline: There are different ways to write outlines, both formal and
informal. However you write your outline, it's good to create a plan for your essay.
What will the order of ideas be? Why are they in that order?

3. Write your introduction: Begin writing. Your introduction should draw your
reader in, make your topic clear, and lead to your thesis. Make it interesting!

4. Craft your paragraphs: Each paragraph should focus on a main idea that
supports your thesis. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that is linked to
your thesis. Develop your paragraphs by including arguments, examples, or opinions.
5. End with your conclusion: Start your conclusion by writing a summary sentence,
reinforcing the main point of your paper. Then end your essay with a memorable idea,
or a quotation, or some other way to get your reader to think more deeply about what
you have said.

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the taking of others' words or

ideas without giving them credit. Plagiarism is
unethical in any field, including (and
especially) academic writing.

When you want to include the ideas or words of

others, it's easy: just put quotation marks ("like
this") around their exact words, or if you are
summarizing their ideas, just say where those
ideas come from by saying something
like: According to Wang, etc. etc. etc.

When you plagiarize, you steal from two

people: the original author and yourself. You take that author's ideas or words, and
you steal your own opportunity to become a writer, and instead settle for just being
an idea and word thief.

You probably joined this class to improve your writing, not to learn to copy and paste.
Remember your original goal, and use your own words when writing. Plagiarism will
result in a score of 'zero' on your work. If you plagiarize more than once, you will be
removed from the course.

Don't be a plagiarist. If you can find a text on the Internet, so can your reader.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING YOUR DRAFT

When you are sure you have written a good, complete essay, it’s time to submit your
draft version. We will be using a peer-assessment technique as well as self-
assessment.

1. Type or copy your essay into the space below. If you type your essay directly in the
box, click 'save' frequently in order to be sure you don't lose your work. When you are
confident that your essay is ready, click 'submit.'
2. After you click 'submit', you will need to review and comment on 3 other draft
essays.

3. You should also complete a self-assessment of your essay. There is extra time this
week for completing the peer and self-assessment, in ensure that everyone's writing
is assessed.

After you submit your work and responses, your score will be recorded for the week.
Your draft essay is worth 10% of your final grade, so work hard, good luck, and have
fun!