Strategies to help you get started! Prewriting Strategies to help you get started!

What is Prewriting? First step of the writing process Helps get ideas onto paper so you can organize them A chance to explore ALL your ideas on a topic, even if you don’t use them all

Why should I prewrite? How do you get somewhere you’ve never been before if you don’t have any directions? You’ll get lost! Prewriting is your map!

Types of Prewriting Strategies Brainstorming Listing Freewriting Clustering Mapping Drawing

Brainstorming A way to capture all your ideas, idea fragments, and thoughts on a piece of paper Often looks like a list Get as many ideas down on your paper as you can

Brainstorming Example Winter Break Snowball fights Sleeping in! no homework Visiting friends Presents? Relaxing! Seeing family A week and a half off school New Year’s Eve Shoveling snow? Sledding Go to the mall FUN!

Listing Looks a lot like Brainstorming Write as many ideas as you can, even if you think you might not use them Look at your list for similarities or opposites or ideas you like Write a new list, adding details this time

Example of Listing Breakfast (List 1) Eggs and toast Bacon Orange juice Oatmeal Cereal Most imp. meal of the day Details (List 2) Crispy bacon, not limp, that’s gross Imp. b/c gets your brain going Imp. b/c helps burn calories all day Imp. b/c helps you wake up Best cereal is Rice Chex! Not too sweet

Freewriting Often looks like a paragraph Write everything that comes into your head about your topic, even if it doesn’t seem to make sense Write for a set amount of time (5-10 minutes) Don’t worry about spelling, grammar or punctuation

Example of Freewriting I have to write about the common cold. I hate having a cold! Your nose runs, you get a fever and a cough, you ache all over. Sometimes you throw up. That’s the worst part, throwing up. It tastes bad and feels worse! No one wants to be around you because they don’t want to get sick. It’s lonely and not fun.

Clustering Like a Web Start with your topic in a circle in the middle of your paper Draw lines to other circles with sub topics and ideas on your main idea Group like information together to keep yourself organized

Example of Clustering Different teams Don’t always do it New friends Don’t like It Mordica Cool Teachers 7-3! Cole Too much Lots of notes Need to do it grades Helps to study Tests and projects Hard work Good exercise Homework Sports Practice Priority AFTER schoolwork Hard to get through the line Too short My choice Fun Can’t finish the food Friends LOUD! Snack bar

Mapping A lot like a Cluster or Web Way to organize ideas by importance or order Shows Main topic, sub topics, and support

Example of Mapping

Drawing A visual image Can show spatial relationships Visual description of a place like a floor plan

Example of Drawing

Recap… Don’t worry about spelling or grammar or punctuation while prewriting, just get your ideas down! Write as much as you can think of initially. Choose what you use AFTER your prewrite. ALWAYS PREWRITE!!!