The Pre-Writing Process:

by
Tarasine A. Buck
 The Writing Process
g
ct in Pre-Writing
f le
Re

Polishing Drafting

Revising Editing
 Prewriting - Definition
Prewriting is the thinking and planning
the writer does before drafting and
throughout the writing process, including
considering the topic, audience, and
purpose; gathering information; choosing
a form; and making a plan for organizing
and elaborating ideas.
 Reasons for Prewriting
Students who use prewriting strategies
are more effective writers because
they are able to more successfully
choose and narrow a topic.

Prewriting also helps writers develop

4
 Rules for Prewriting
Written by hand in pencil or black or
blue pen
Effort noted (An abundance of ideas)
Must be done before writing begins,
not as an afterthought
Project will not be peer/teacher edited
without a developed prewrite
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 Pre-Writing Techniques
How do you organize your ideas when
you are preparing to write?
Brainstorming Listing
Discussing Outlining
Free Writing Mapping
Looping Asking questions
 Brainstorming
“Brainstorming” means thinking of as many
ideas as possible in a short amount of time.
Write down your ideas so that you don’t
forget them.
Write down everything that comes to your
mind; don’t worry about sorting out “good”
and “bad” ideas.
Don’t worry about spelling or grammar.
 Example of Brainstorming
Topic: What would I do with one million
dollars?
Travel--Europe, Asia, S. America
Pay off our house
Share--give a scholarship, donate to charities
Buy a lot of books!
Invest/save and let the interest grow
 Topics for Practice
Take 5 minutes to brainstorm
ideas about the following
question:
What are some of the most
memorable experiences of your
life?
 Discussing
“Discussing” is similar to brainstorming, but
you do it with a partner or group.
Assign one person to write down the ideas.
Write down everything that group
members say related to the topic; don’t
worry about sorting out “good” and “bad”
ideas.
Don’t worry about spelling or grammar.
 Topics for Practice
Take 5 minutes to discuss the
following question with a partner or
group:
What do you think are the most
important events in a person’s life?
(starting school, getting married,
etc.) Why are they important?
 Free Writing
“Free Writing” is like pouring all of your
thoughts onto paper.
Don’t take your pen off the page; keep
writing for the entire time.
If you don’t know what to write, write “I
don’t know what to write” until you do.
Don’t try to sort “good” and “bad” ideas.
Don’t worry about spelling and grammar.
 Example of Free Writing
Topic: Describe the most beautiful place you’ve seen.
I remember climbing to the top of Smolenskii
cathedral in autumn, the leaves of St. Petersburg
on fire, like an ocean of gold red leaving me
breathless with its depth. Stretching out for
miles and miles it was all I could see and suddenly
the grime and sorrow of the city was drowned with
beauty, God’s beauty, God’s love for everyone, his
artistic touch meant just for me at this moment.
 Topics for Practice
Free write for 5 minutes on the
following topic:
What is the most frightening
experience you have ever had?
 Looping
“Looping” begins with “free writing.” It can
help you narrow a topic.
Choose the best idea, word, or phrase from
what you wrote; underline or circle it.
Take that idea and begin free writing again.
Repeat the process at least one more time.
Follow all the rules for free writing.
 Example of Looping
Topic: Describe the most beautiful place you’ve seen.
I remember climbing to the top of Smolenskii
cathedral in autumn, the leaves of St. Petersburg
on fire, like an ocean of gold red leaving me
breathless with its depth. Stretching out for
miles and miles it was all I could see and suddenly
the grime and sorrow of the city was drowned with
beauty, God’s beauty, God’s love for everyone, his
artistic touch meant just for me at this moment.
 Example of Looping
(from circled part on previous slide)
We had seen hate rejection and fear in that city,
dirt and grime and sorrow where people didn’t know
how clean a place could be, never seen a different
world. On top of the cathedral I saw the city as it
could be, should be, as God sees its potential,
baptized in gold-red fire of autumn leaves, burning
away the outer shell of hardness, burning through
to the hearts of people with truth and happiness
which they did not know, had never seen a
different world. I cried, beauty and
overwhelmingness and I must come down again.
 Topics for Practice
Look at what you wrote during the
freewriting exercise. Choose the
best idea, word, or phrase from what
you wrote. Write about this for 5
more minutes.
Repeat this step one more time.
 Listing
“Listing” is similar to “brainstorming.” The
idea is to write down as many things as
possible.
Use single words or phrases, not sentences.
Listing works well for descriptive-type
writing.
Don’t worry about spelling or sorting out
“good” and “bad” ideas.
 Example List
Topic: Describe your favorite room in the
house/apartment where you live.
Kitchen/Dining Area
White tile, walls, countertops
Flood of sunlight
Healthy plants
Sturdy pine furniture
Glass door--view of lawn and trees
 Topics for Practice
Take 5 minutes to practice listing in
response to the following topic:
Describe your bedroom in the house you
grew up in.
 Outlining
“Outlining” is a more organized form of pre-
writing than the others we discussed.
It can be used after you have generated
ideas through brainstorming, free writing,
or other pre-writing techniques.
It works well for structured types of
writing such as essays.
You can use complete sentences, but you
don’t have to.
 Example Outline
I. Introduction: Internet “dating” has advantages
and disadvantages.
II. Advantages
a) meet people around the world
b) not based on appearance
III. Disadvantages
a) can you trust them?
b) may be too far away to meet in person
IV. Conclusion: Some success stories, but too risky
 Topics for Practice
Spend about 5 minutes creating an
outline based on the following topic:
Do you agree with the English Only policy
at the ELC? What are the advantages
and disadvantages of this policy?
 Mapping
“Mapping,” sometimes called “semantic/
idea mapping” or “webbing,” is another way
to organize your ideas.
Start with your topic in the center, and
branch out from there with related ideas.
Use words and phrases, not complete
sentences.
 Example Map
Never stop Instill a love
learning of education
education in my children
Eventually
get a PhD
Learn to love My future
whatever work Make them
I am doing a priority
Stay at home family
work while raising
Use the skills I children
have learned in Stay close to
as many ways as Raise healthy,
my husband
possible happy children
 Topics for Practice
Draw a map to organize your ideas
about the following topic:
What are some things that you have
learned in your life so far?
The Journalists' Questions
Journalists traditionally ask six
questions when they are writing
assignments,
Who?, What?, Where?,When?, Why?, H
ow? You can use these questions to
explore the topic you are writing about
for an assignment. A key to using the
journalists' questions is to make them
flexible enough to account for the
specific details of your topic.
 Who?:
Who are the participants? Who is
affected? Who are the primary actors?
Who are the secondary actors?

What?:
What is the topic? What is the
significance of the topic? What is the
basic problem? What are the issues?
Where?:
Where does the activity take place? Where does
the problem or issue have its source? At what
place is the cause or effect of the problem most
visible?
When?:
When is the issue most apparent? (past? present?
future?) When did the issue or problem develop?
What historical forces helped shape the problem
or issue and at what point in time will the problem
or issue culminate in a crisis? When is action
needed to address the issue or problem?
 Why?:
Why did the issue or problem arise?
Why is it (your topic) an issue or
problem at all? Why did the issue or
problem develop in the way that it did?
How?:
How is the issue or problem
significant? How can it be addressed?
How does it affect the participants?
How can the issue or problem be
resolved?
The Journalists' Questions
The journalists' questions are a powerful
way to develop a great deal of
information about a topic very quickly.
Learning to ask the appropriate
questions about a topic takes practice,
however. At times during writing an
assignment, you may wish to go back and
ask the journalists' questions again to
clarify important points that may be
getting lost in your planning and drafting.
 Bibliography
"Prewriting Strategies." KU Writing Center. The
University of Kansas, 7/11. Web. 2 Jan 2012.
<http://www.writing.ku.edu/>.
"Prewriting." WizIQ Education Online. WizIQ Inc.,
2011. Web. 2 Jan 2012. <http://www.wiziq.com/>.
Schuman, Nikki. "Prewriting for Expository Writing
Module (Grades 3–8)." Writing. State of Washington,
OSPI, n.d. Web. 4 Jan
2012.http://www.k12.wa.us/writing/Assessm
ent/Module-Prewriting.asp&xgt;.