Before beginning to write, it's helpful to prepare to write. Different strategies for doing so include:
- freewriting
- writing lists of ideas
- making cluster maps or tree diagrams
- answering the journalist's questions of how, who, when, where, why, why not, and what
- teasing out details by listing specific examples or characteristics or your more general ideas
- outlining
For more ideas with more details on preparing to write, see the following sites:
- The Common Topics and Other Aids to Invention (Daniel Kies, Composition English 1101)
- Prewriting (Purdue OWL)
- Writing a research paper (Purdue OWL)
- Invention techniques (Texas A&M Writing Center)