PRE-WRITING AND OUTLINING ICS 139w 08/08/2011

Syllabus now available

What is prewriting? First stage of the writing process 1. prewriting 2. drafting 3. revising 4. editing 5. publishing Prewriting is about figuring out what to write

Why prewrite?

Methods for prewriting 1. Brainstorming 2. Looping (freewriting) 3. Mind-mapping 4. Outlining

Brainstorming Goal: get as many ideas on paper as possible generate first, filter later Start with a blank page and write down anything Don’t worry if it’s a good idea or not, just get it down Once finished, review for good ideas

Brainstorming Exercise Individually, brainstorm as many ideas for technological “systems” as you can Topics for Assignment 2 Can be familiar or unfamiliar Software an application, a website, a game, etc Hardware the newest gadget or device, etc More abstract "system” a network protocol, a socio-technical system, etc Share with a neighbor!

Pitfalls of Brainstorming Group vs. individual brainstorming sessions Nominal groups > collocated groups Fear of evaluation Limited communication channels (blocking) Free riding

Looping (freewriting) Write down all your thoughts on a subject generate first, filter later Good for coming up with interesting ideas This is prewriting – do not turn in something like this! stream-of-consciousness not very effective for technical writing

Mind-mapping A way of generating ideas and beginning to organize them 1. Start with a topic / important word 2. Write other important words around it 3. Connect related items 4. Repeat Group mind-mapping: Facebook

Outlines A sequential summary of the document Can be formal or informal Can outline at multiple levels of detail section-level, paragraph-level, sentence-level I.Topic 1 A.Item 1 i.detail ii.detail B.Item 2 II.Topic 2 A.Item 1 … Topic 1 1) idea 1 2) idea 2 -- question ? potential answer - other idea Topic 2 …

Structure and Organization Intro – Body – Conclusion 5-paragraph essay Others? Structure recurses! Can have intro, body, conclusion at all levels Jump to locations in expository writing Table of Contents Make point first in persuasive writing Or build to a conclusion No one correct structure

Example Outlines: Expository writing Automatically-generated outline What does this outline tell us about the structure? commons-images-and-you.ars commons-images-and-you.ars

Example Outlines: Technical Documentation Documentation Tutorials APIs

Example Outlines: Research Papers Standard Format: 1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Related Work 4. Method 5. Results 6. Discussion 7. Future Work 8. Conclusion 9. References

Example Outlines: Computer Code!

Headings and Titles Outlines  Section Headings allows for quick navigation helps the reader stay situated breaks up the paper Titles Not always necessary in papers Required for some cases e.g., web site titles Informative and engaging: it’s what people judge your paper by! full-sentence titles

Stress-free Outlining Be comfortable Doesn’t have to be perfect initially Can outline and change things around without committing Not a required formal step, but is very helpful Can outline almost anything ( s, etc) Solution for being understood even while nervous Outline can be understood without having to “write” (without worrying about the grammar or style elements) If understandable, then you’ve already solved half the problem

Homework for Wednesday Decide on a system for Assignment 2 (can use an example from our in-class brainstorming) non-specific Facebook is off limits Bring in a clean outline (hard copy) for peer editing should outline at least to the paragraph level does not need to be formal, but should be readable Remember to check the assignment instructions!

BREAK!

Peer Editing Practice editing papers and responding to others’ writing Multiple eyes catch multiple problems Get comfortable sharing work with others

Giving Good Feedback First rule: be honest and kind “looks okay” doesn’t help anyone If you react to a paper or something feels wrong, point it out Mutual Respect Constructive criticism about the text, not the author Be pleasant, helpful, and professional Also give feedback on writing strengths!

Giving Good Feedback Pretend you are the target reader e.g.: you are the hiring manager; you are a new system user; etc. Don’t rely on your own knowledge or context! Give suggestions for fixes and improvements Try and figure out WHY something this wrong Don’t just look for grammar – editing != proofreading Also check organization, argument effectiveness, etc. Editing tips apply read aloud, look things up, etc

Using Peer Editing Pay attention to the feedback from others! No one (not even Joel or Dmitri) will catch everything edit and edit again; iterate and iterate again

Peer-Editing: Resumes and Cover Letters Exchange and edit Resumes/Cover Letters Use worksheet as a guide Exchange with at least two (2) classmates Can also ask Joel or Dmitri to edit, but need two others You will need to turn your edit sheets on Wednesday (you can use the comments for editing before then)

Closing Resumes due Tuesday Midnight to EEE Dropbox (EEE so you can read my comments!) Bring your editing sheets to class on Wednesday to turn in Wednesday: bring complete outline for Assignment 2 for peer-editing hard copy so we can see what edits have been made to it.