Mind-mapping

Pre-writing, as its name suggests, happens before you start writing your first draft. This phase of the PWR method involves thinking about what you want to or have to write about. It’s also been called planning or inventing.

Below is a list of strategies to help you think about what you’re going to write. Some are literary while others are more visual. They can use traditional methods or the latest technology. It doesn’t matter which one you choose. The most important thing is to identify what works best for you and how you write or think about writing.

Brainstorming is an umbrella term to describe many techniques designed to help you start thinking about a topic or project. It can be useful when you know nothing and are feeling anxious, or when you have too much information and don’t know where to start.

• Free writing involves giving yourself a set time (5-10 minutes) to write anything that comes to mind about your topic without stopping to read or edit. This approach provides you with raw material to draw from. It doesn’t matter if you don’t use all, some or any of it later on. The goal is to get you thinking about the topic, identify what you already know about it, and help you take that first step. For samples and a step-by-step process, see How to Freewrite.

• Listing is a very common way of thinking about everything from groceries all the way to planning a wedding. Use your computer or a piece of paper to write down 15-20 thoughts you may have about your topic. Once you’re done, look at the list, cross out what you don’t like and keep the rest as the basis for your outline.

• Mind mapping is a way of presenting your ideas in clusters that you’ll use later as the basis for your arguments or paragraphs. The idea is to place your question or topic in the middle on a blank page and create branches representing sub-topics or arguments to support your topic, which then have their own branches, etc. If you prefer using a digital device, you’ll find many mind-mapping tools out there. Some are free, others offer 30-day trials and some you’ll have to buy.

• Drawing doodles is another great way to collect your ideas, especially if you’re a visual thinker. Start with a general depiction of your topic and slowly refine or add other elements. At the end, you’ll be able to see your ideas at a glance.

• Journals are a great way to collect ideas about a wide variety of topics and are a favourite of many writers. They allow you to keep track of thoughts and observations, and they also force you to reflect on them. Journals are also a stress-free way to get used to writing.

• Reading notes can also be very useful. Get into the habit of recording the key points of anything you read. This is especially important in an academic setting.

Outlining: Once you’ve done some thinking around your topic using one the many techniques just mentioned, the last step before you start writing is to create an outline (if you’ve created a mind map or a list, you can use it as a starting point). This is where you get to look at all the raw material you’ve collected and you organise it in a way that makes sense. It’s a road map for your writing.

Read Section 5.4 from the Handbook for writers (2012), to learn more about how to create an outline.