Inventing Ideas
The Second-Level Writing Handbook // Creating and Implementing Effective Writing Assignments // Responding to Student Writing // In-Class Writing Activities // Peer Response // Preventing Plagiarism // OSU Resources.
Download Inventing Ideas as a Microsoft Word file.
For many students, generating ideas and getting started are the hardest parts of the writing process (and thus they procrastinate). To help students get ready to write, you can have them do a variety of "invention" exercises in class or outside of class. These exercises ensure that students start thinking of paper topics early, leaving them time to gather the resources (and seek the help) they may need.
1) Free-writing and Cluster Diagramming
When you first give out a writing prompt, have students complete an in-class writing activity to help them generate ideas. This way, you can ensure that students have at least begun thinking about the paper well in advance of the due date. Give students a choice of free-writing or cluster diagramming. For students who have no firm idea for a paper yet, free-writing is a good way to start. When free-writing, students write down whatever comes into their mind about a topic for 10 minutes (without stopping). They don't worry about grammar or style. If students have trouble getting started, tell them that it is okay to begin writing statements such as "I have no ideas, this is boring, I wish I were at the beach." After 2-3 minutes of this kind of "whining," students almost always will start coming up with ideas. For students who have some idea of what they want to write, cluster diagramming can be a good way to start organizing and expanding the paper topic. In cluster diagramming, students put their paper topic in a bubble at the center of the page. They then draw lines to other bubbles with subtopics. From the subtopic "bubbles," students then draw lines to additional bubbles containing specific examples or details. When the activity is completed, ask students share their paper ideas orally with a partner. This way, students will have to reflect on what they learned from the brainstorming activity and begin to articulate their plans for their papers. Time allotment: 10-20 minutes.2) Brainstorming Paper Ideas in Groups
After handing out an assignment prompt, tell students to bring ideas for paper topics and/or research questions to the next class. In small groups, have students discuss their paper topics with each other. Encourage students to give each other feedback both as sympathetic fellow writers of the same assignment and potential readers of the written product. Is the topic/research question too broad or too narrow? What are the potential opportunities and challenges of such an approach to the assignment? What kinds of research/sources will the writer need to conduct/consult? Who is the audience of this paper? What will readers expect? Time allotment: 30-45 minutes.
3) Pre-Writing Conferences with Students
Before students begin drafting, consider requiring (or strongly encouraging) them to conference individually with you to discuss their ideas. In conferences (about 10-15 minutes each), you can answer students' questions about the assignment, ask them probing questions to get them thinking of ideas, encourage them to narrow their focus, and help them begin outlining. To ensure that students "take away" valuable help, keep notes on the conversation and give them to the student at the end of the meeting. While this activity does take quite a bit of time up front, it can save time later by increasing the likelihood that your students' papers meet the goals of your assignment. You also could save time by canceling class on the day that conferences are scheduled. Time allotment: Variable.4) Writing Paper Abstracts
Ask students to submit abstracts of their papers before they begin drafting. In this way, you can ensure that they start thinking about their papers in advance and you can give them valuable feedback before drafting. Here is a sample of one teacher's abstract assignment:The abstract must do the following:
- Frame your topic: tell me what you plan to discuss in your final paper as well as what you will not discuss (when necessary). Sufficiently narrow and focused subject matter is a top priority.
- Address the context: tell me why you will be talking about your particular topic, why it will be worthwhile, productive, informative, and relevant and supply a plan for the supporting materials you anticipate using.
- Lay out the basic argument: tell me how you will be handling your topic, what your particular orientation to it is, and how you might effectively argue whatever it is you have chosen to argue. A working thesis is imperative-that means you need not only have a topic delineated but a start at understanding the significance of that subject to the surrounding material (course content, your outside research, the world in general, etc.).
