Brainstorming & Outlining PDF

University of the Philippines Diliman 1st Sem 24-25 BRAINSTORMING & OUTLINING At the end of this lesson, you should have been able to: define the pre-writing process;...

University of the Philippines Diliman 1st Sem 24-25 BRAINSTORMING & OUTLINING At the end of this lesson, you should have been able to: define the pre-writing process; apply any of the 3 different brainstorming strategies; and prepare a formal outline for an essay. For this sub-unit, you will watch a video, read, and review each section, and complete all the exercises. Type your answers using the Word document then print for submission on September 05, 2024, in our face-to-face class. BRAINSTORMING Brainstorming is a part of the Pre-writing process—a step taken before actually beginning to write an essay. Brainstorming helps a writer lay out their ideas: things they already know, things they may have discussed in class, or even questions they might have regarding the topic chosen. There are 3 main brainstorming strategies writers use when preparing for their paper. 1. Freewriting Freewriting entails setting a time limit (5-7 minutes, but it can be longer if you’d like) and writing out any thoughts or questions the writer may have about their topic. The goal is to write for the entire time period and not worry about grammar or perfection. Instead, focus on writing down any and all thoughts you have about the topic. Below is an example of what Freewriting can look like: “This paper is supposed to be on the politics of tobacco production but even though I went to all the lectures and read the book I can’t think of what to say and I’ve felt this way for four minutes now and I have 11 minutes left and I wonder if I’ll keep thinking nothing during every minute but I’m not sure if it matters that I am babbling and I don’t know what else to say about this topic and it is rainy today and I never noticed the number of cracks in that wall before and those cracks remind me of the walls in my grandfather’s study and he smoked and he farmed and I wonder why he didn’t farm tobacco…” From UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center, “Brainstorming”: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips- and-tools/brainstorming/ Notice how the free-write reads more like a stream of consciousness rather than a perfect intro or body paragraph. The key is to go back to what you wrote and find any key ideas, insights, or discoveries that could be useful for the paper. Even if you don’t find anything, at least you started writing. 2. Free listing This technique involves setting a time limit (5-7 minutes or longer if you’d like) and creating bullet points consisting of thoughts, ideas, questions, things you already know, and things you want to 1  University of the Philippines Diliman 1st Sem 24-25 BRAINSTORMING & OUTLINING know. You can base your list on the general topic, one or more words from your thesis claim, or an idea opposite your original viewpoint. Remember it doesn’t have to be one list; you can create multiple lists to explore different perspectives. Below is an example of a free listing based on the topic from the Freewriting example: Politics of tobacco production When did people first farm tobacco? Is it farmable all over the world? Is it ethical to continue now that there are so many health issues that come from tobacco? Revenue brought in by tobacco—is it still profitable? This list primarily consists of questions one might use to guide the research. It also could have included some points discussed in class. 3. Clustering/Webbing Clustering (also known as webbing) is a brainstorming technique that allows you to write down thoughts and ideas and make connections between those ideas. You start by writing down the main topic/idea/question in the center; from there, branch off into the space by writing down any related concepts or terms you associate with the central topic. You can also write down opposites. Again, the goal is to get down as many ideas as possible, so perfection and complete relevance is not important because you can always cross things out. Once all your points are written, begin to draw lines between concepts to show their connection. Below is an example of what a cluster web can look like. From The Write at Home Blog, “3 Prewriting Strategies for any Writing Project:” http://blog.writeathome.com/index.php/2011/08/3-prewriting-strategies-for-any-writing-project/ 2  University of the Philippines Diliman 1st Sem 24-25 BRAINSTORMING & OUTLINING Activity: BRAINSTORM Select ONLY ONE of the three brainstorming strategies above and brainstorm for ONE of the topics below. 1. A city you would like to visit for a short time 2. A risk you took that had a positive result 3. A sport you have only watched but would like to try OUTLINING Once you finish brainstorming, take some time to read over what you have written down. Take a look at the questions you have—are those guiding questions you can use for your paragraphs and research? Are there any points or ideas that you made that go together? Noticing those patterns is the beginning of the next stage in the Pre-writing process called outlining. Begin by Viewing: “Outlines—UNC Writing Center” Find this video on YouTube.com. Search for “Outlines-UNC Writing Center” or click this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZUrlFY84Kw Activity: Video Recap 1. According to the video, what are some questions to ask yourself when beginning to outline? 2. How should you order your outline? 3. What are some other types of outlines? There are two main styles of outlining - informal and formal. Both require the same information but are presented in different ways. An informal outline contains words and phrases about the topic and subtopics in the essay and works best when time is limited, such as an in-class essay. The formal outline contains complete sentences or phrases and is the style usually requested by professors. Below are examples of what they look like. Informal Outline Thesis (what is your topic, and why is it important?) Support for the Thesis The Details Support for the Thesis The Details Support for the Thesis The Details Conclusion 3  University of the Philippines Diliman 1st Sem 24-25 BRAINSTORMING & OUTLINING Formal Outline I. Introduction Thesis: Write your thesis statement in complete sentence II. First Main Idea (Support for the Thesis) A. First subordinate idea a. First supporting detail or point b. Second supporting detail or point B. Second subordinate idea C. Third subordinate idea II. Second Main Idea (Support for the Thesis) A. First subordinate idea B. Second subordinate idea a. First supporting detail or point b. Second supporting detail or point C. Third Main Idea (Support for the Thesis) a. First supporting detail or point b. Second supporting detail or point III. Third Main Idea (Support for the Thesis) A. First subordinate idea B. Second subordinate idea C. Third subordinate idea IV. Conclusion/Closing When writing the formal outline, remember the following: a) use Roman numerals to indicate the main divisions of your essay and capital letters and numbers for subdivisions; b) headings and subheadings must be phrases or sentences; c) a division or subdivision cannot be divided into only one part; therefore, if there is “A” there must be a “B,” and if there is a “1” there must be a “2.”; and d) write appropriate transitions from one point to the next. Activity: Create a formal outline Refer to the brainstorming activity you did and use your brainstorm to create a FORMAL outline. Plan for a minimum of 5 paragraphs (at least three main points to support your thesis). Type on a Word document with the following format: Paper: A4 Font: Calibri/Arial Font Size: 11 Spacing: Single 4