Seminar for Pre-Service English

TeachersUniversidad Técnica de Machala

2015

BrainstormingThe Key to Successful Writing

Presented by Kate Barba

Objective

• The objective is to understand the different types of brainstorming and apply those ideas to essay writing.

What is writing?

• A way of getting your ideas into another’s head, across space and time

• A tool for learning & discovery

• A way to clarify ideas

• A cultural activity

• A measure of your skills/intellect

• • • • a process!

Kinds of Writing

• Describe the objective(s) of the exercise• New product or service ideas?• New feature ideas?• Feature/product naming?• Promotion ideas?• New process for doing something?

• Define top requirements or restrictions

Writing Process: 4 Steps

1. Prewriting (what you do before you start writing)

2. Planning (outlining)

3. Writing

4. Polishing (editing and revising)

Our focus today is prewriting…

Prewriting tips

1. Choose a topic that interests you.

2. Choose a topic that fits the assignment.

3. Collect information.

4. Develop ideas – brainstorm

Brainstorming

• A gathering of ideas for your brain to paper

• The variety of ideas and use of your imagination to assist you in producing material with which to work

• It’s the best way to collect your thoughts.

• It’s helpful for organization.

• It ensures that only quality ideas are used in the essay.

What is it?

Why do we need it?

Three Ways to Get Ideas

FreewritingJust start writing! Don’t worry about spelling, grammar, punctuation, or anything else.

ListingMake a list of all the ideas connected with your topic.

Mind-mappingMake a “picture” of your ideas on a mind map.

Freewriting

Let’s look at an example of FREEWRITING. Imagine you are going to write about PETS. On a piece of paper, or on the computer, start writing and don’t stop for 10 minutes.

I don’t have a pet now but when I was a child I had many. I had a dog when I was 3 years old. I had a goldfish when I was 10. When I graduated from college, I bought a dog. It was a poodle and I called it “Chippy”. Chippy was a happy dog, but didn’t like to go outside. She was afraid of everything! Some people keep very strange pets, like snakes or spiders…

Listing

LISTING is basically making a list of all the ideas you can think of connected to this topic. If you are writing about PETS, maybe your list would look like this:

Chippy – my dog after collegeSnakes, spidersLooking afterNoiseCleaning and feedingStrange petsPets I lovePets I hate

Remember

When you are FREEWRITING or LISTING, you:

Try not to stop writing— just write for 5-10 minutes

Write as much as you can!

Don’t worry about grammar, vocabulary, spelling

Don’t try to organize the ideas yet.

Write anything that comes into your head, even if it is very silly!

Mind-Mapping

A MIND-MAP is like a list, but it shows your ideas in a picture. It also shows the connections between the ideas.

Some people say that a MIND-MAP is like the way our brains work, so it is also a good way to remember information.

It is very easy to add ideas and details to a mind-map, and you can draw pictures to help you think.

LOVING

MAIN IDEA:PETS

PETS I LOVE/HATE

CARING FOR PETS

STRANGE PETS

MY PETS

GOLDFISH

CHIPPY

DOG

FOOD, WATER, EXERCISE

WASHING, CLEANING

SPIDERS

SNAKES

SPIDERS

PARROTSDOGS, CATS

OCTOPUS

Example

Mind-Map

When you are MIND-MAPPING, you:

Don’t try to organize the mind-map yet.

Draw pictures if you want, especially if you don’t know the word in English.

Don’t worry about grammar, vocabulary, spelling.

Put details and examples around the outside of each group.

Add as many groups as you can, even if they are silly!

Put your ideas into groups (like “My pets”, “Caring for pets”)

Example

What are the qualities of a good teacher?

Example

good teacher

creativepatient

fair

great lesson plans

uses multimediaclass trips

repeats instructionsoffice hours

tutors available

clear project rubrics

extra credit workno favorites

Moving from the map to your essay

Your topic becomes part of the topic sentence in your introduction

Each point becomes a body paragraph (make your strongest point your first paragraph).

The examples then support the related point in the appropriate body paragraph.

Now it’s your turn…

You have 20 minutes to plan for 2 essays for the following topic (be

sure to include examples to support your ideas)

1. In your opinion, what is the most important characteristic (for example, honesty, intelligence, a sense of humor) that a person can have to be successful in life? Use specific reasons and examples from your experience to explain your answer. When you write your answer, you are not limited to the examples listed in the question.

2. People attend college or university for many different reasons (for example: new experiences, career preparation, increased knowledge). Why do you think people attend college or university? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Recap

Prewriting is necessary for getting your ideas organized.

Don’t worry about punctuation, grammar, or spelling!

Take 5-10 minutes to plan and don’t stop writing!