Optional Writing Prompt – 10 minutes.

Set up a short argument. Tell your audience “Do this” or “Don’t do this” and explain why. Use your own experience to back up your argument.

Example: “Don’t take Everclear-infused Jello shots” and then explain how bad those consequences were for you.

Example: “Book your vacations through Travelocity” and then explain the great experience you had when you booked through Travelocity.

Project One

Go over the assignment sheet.

Exploring Ideas

Write what you know!

We write best about topics we know well.

Choose a topic that will engage your interest, and explore that topic by surveying what you know about it, and determine what you need to find out.

The next few slides will help you think of strategies to explore topics.

Try Brainstorming!

Talk about it with others.

Brainstorming means tossing out ideas--often with other people.

Share some possible ideas for this paper with someone you know. If you can't think of anything, start by sharing the idea from your prompt!

Freewriting

Freewriting is writing without stopping for a designated time period. It’s kind of like what you did for your writing prompt, but with true freewriting, you just keeping writing whatever comes to your mind, whether it seems related or not.

Try drawing or creating word pictures!

You could try to create a drawing about the topic or use figurative language—such as similes and metaphors—to describe what the topic resembles.

-If you tried to sketch your topic, what images come to mind?

Let’s experiment for 5 minutes: try sketching your topic.

Another idea: clustering

• Clustering is a way of generating ideas using a visual scheme or chart.

It helps with understanding relationships between topics/ideas.

1. Write down your topic in the middle of a blank sheet of paper and circle it.

2. Branch off with the main points.

3. Continue to branch off with ideas, examples, facts, or other details.

Another idea: ask questionsSimply ask and answer questions. Here are two options (Aristole’s questions:

to describe a topic vs. reporter questions: to explain a topic):

•What is it?•What caused it?•What is it like or unlike?•What larger system is your topic a part of?•What do people say about it?

•Who is doing it?•What is at issue?•When does it take place?•Where is it happening?•Why does it occur?•How is it done?

Another idea: browse resources

Search the Internet for a topic you’re interested in that you want to learn more about.

Start by reading the Wikipedia page about a topic.

Open brainstormTake an additional 5 minutes to try new methods or use ones you already like to come up with ideas for Project 1.