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Faigley, The Brief Penguin Handbook Listing
Ideas |
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Prewriting is important because it helps you generate ideas for writing.
One popular technique is listing. One reason that this technique is popular with writers is that we use list-making skills often in our everyday lives. Many people make lists of grocery items before going to the supermarket, and others make lists of "things to do," like homework assignments and chores.
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also make lists throughout the writing process, especially during
prewriting. Lists not only help writers generate topics, but lists can be useful to help create main points and key details. As with other prewriting strategies discussed in The Writer's Warehouse, you should experiment with listing throughout your writing to find when this strategy works best for you. When listing, don't be too concerned about detail and development; simply jot down your thoughts one after the other until you run out of ideas. The simplest way to list is to write one thought down after another, separating your thoughts with line breaks. Feel free to number your list or double-space between items to allow more room to develop your list. |
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Reviewing what you have listed will often prompt one or two more ideas you can add to the list. Like other prewriting exercises, listing has no formal rules, and you should feel free to modify your list in whatever way you like to help you attain your purpose.
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Writers have been prewriting for a long time. While teachers have been using the writing process to teach writing only for a few decades, writers have been aware of their writing processes for centuries. For example, journalists have been prewriting since the birth of their profession.
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The prewriting technique used by many journalists and many other writers is questioning. Sometimes called the "5 Ws," these questions include the following:
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One of the most unique prewriting strategies is freewriting. Like other prewriting techniques, freewriting asks students to focus on ideas, not grammatical or mechanical correctness (spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, etc.).
When freewriting, however, the focus on ideas is heightened.
As its name implies, freewriting demands that students "write freely" on a topic for an essay assignment.
During freewriting, writers keep their fingers on the keys (or their pen on the paper) and keep typing (writing) for an adequate period of time, at least 10-15 minutes.
Many students who freewrite surprise themselves by how much content they generate in a short period of time when they focus on the topic and not on other issues or steps involved in the writing process.
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