Generate Ideas and Collect Information
Ideas and information lie at the heart of good prose. Ideas grow from information; information (facts and details) supports ideas. To inform and intellectually stimulate your readers, gather as many ideas and as much specific information as you can about your topic. If you try to write before doing so, you run the risk of producing a shallow, boring draft. Good strategies for generating ideas and collecting information-and for beginning to make connections within the body of information you accumulate-include asking questions, brainstorming, clustering, keeping a journal, researching, rehearsing ideas, visualizing your topic, and always trying to think creatively.
Asking Questions
Ask questions about your topic to discover areas for exploration and development. The newspaper reporter’s 5Ws and an H - Who?, What?, Where?, When?, Why?, and How? - are excellent questions to start with. Usually, too, questions give rise to yet more questions. Every set of questions will vary with the topic and with the person formulating them. Here is one sample set.
- Who discovered it?
- What does it look like?
- Where was it discovered?
- When was it discovered?
- Why did it take so long to be discovered?
- How can I get some of it?
- How much does it cost?
- Are there limitations on how much I can buy?
- Who sells it?
- Where can I buy it?
- Can I resell it?
WPTips
Saving Key Questions
Develop a master file of key questions that you ask yourself at various stages of the writing process: questions about your subject, your topic, various drafts you write, and so forth. Leave several lines between the questions. This way you can copy (and rename) the file each time you begin an assignment, typing in answers and notes as you work and keeping the original for use again. Over time, you will find yourself revising your master file questions as you discover more about your personal writing style.
