Essay Brainstorming

Try to keep the approach simple so your focus is on the ideas versus how you’re recording them.If you watch the “Introduction to Academic Writing” video, and in particular, the “Creating a document plan” section of that video (both available via Academic Writing), you’ll see an example of a brainstorming exercise presented as a mind map.While some preliminary research may be necessary to develop a general understanding, it’s a daunting task to narrow a topic based on general searches that can result in hundreds of thousands of resources.

Try to keep the approach simple so your focus is on the ideas versus how you’re recording them.

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For example, identifying life experiences that are related to the topic will give you a personal connection to the subject matter, and typically that kind of connection makes writing easier.

The goal of brainstorming at an early stage of the writing process is to help you identify what you already know without judging the ideas as they emerge.

Read on to find out how to brainstorm ideas for writing great essays. The simplest and most affordable exercise is to choose a topic and to write at least 10 ideas, related to it, every day.

However, if trained and developed on a regular basis, it will help you a lot not only in essay writing but also in a business context where decision-making techniques and the art of coming up with the most unusual, creative, key ideas are of primary importance.

Once you’ve identified your existing knowledge, that information can provide both a starting direction for a preliminary thesis statement as well as point to what information you need to locate when you’re researching the topic.

There’s great information available online about brainstorming strategies (e.g., “Brainstorming” by the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), and the best approach for you will be decided by what feels comfortable.You are, however, the expert on your own ideas, so taking time to sort out preliminary ideas before starting your research puts you in a stronger position to determine the direction of your work.A good way to identify what you already know is to build in some time for brainstorming between reading the assignment description and immersing yourself in researching your topic.When an author feels stuck at the start of their writing process, the problem can often be traced back to a struggle with identifying the focus of the work.For example, when a student gets stuck in starting to write an essay, an overly broad focus or claim is often the culprit (e.g., Royal Roads University is unique).Brainstorming is a technique that can be used throughout the writing process to explore and refine ideas.If you have any questions about how to approach brainstorming or would like some help with brainstorming topics, please contact the Writing Centre as we’d be pleased to help!It’s likely that you know more than you think you do, based on your course-related activities (e.g., readings or discussions) and/or your personal and professional experiences.Taking time to think through what you already know gives you the opportunity to identify what interests you about your topic, which may help to identify a focus for the writing.As a result, it is the most popular brainstorming method with students.Below is an example of the clustering style of brainstorming.