The Writing Process (preparing part two ... and Step Two: Planning)

Last time, we talked about the first step of the writing process, focusing on determining your purpose and your audience. I ended with determining your subject and mentioned that it's often necessary to do some brainstorming to get started (this is still part of the preparing process).

There are three brainstorming activities I often recommend: freewriting, clustering, and mind-mapping.

The theory with freewriting is that you start with an idea or a thought and expand on it through just writing whatever comes to mind. This is a great exercise for kinesthetic learners because it gives them a hands-on approach. The theory with clustering is that you start with an idea or a thought and expand on it through logical hierarchy. This is a great exercise for visual learners because it gives them a linear view. Mind-mapping is a combination of the two and works well with most learners.

Okay. You've completed step one! You've determined your purpose, audience, and subject.

FINALLY!

Let's move on to Step Two: Planning.

This step is often skipped, but I learned the hard way how important it is. I used to skip planning. I'd go directly from preparing to drafting, and usually did okay in high school and as an undergrad. However, when I started grad school and began writing longer papers, I realized how important a good outline can be (my first few papers weren't as well-structured as they could have been, and once I began outlining, my drafts flowed much more smoothly!). I encourage you to incorporate this step with all your writing assignments!

When you begin planning, follow these four steps:



You will have determined your topic during your preparing, so now you're delving more deeply into that topic. A couple of blogs ago, I talked about developing a good thesis, so review that blog as a refresher. As a quick reminder:



Next, put together an outline (the same blog mentioned above deals with outlines as well, so take a look at it again). Outlines help to structure your essay and help you determine if you have enough support.


A sample outline:





See how a good outline can help structure your essay? If you have solid main and supporting points, you already have your paragraph topics!

Once you've written your thesis and have a well-developed outline, you're ready to move on to Step Three: Drafting. We'll talk about this next time.

Keep pen to paper!

Prof. Rinehart

Thesis Statements and Outlines

Well ... if you're following this blog, you may have thought I'd disappeared. No, it just turned into an incredibly hectic season.

I'm hoping to get back to an every week or two week schedule, so please come back periodically!

One thing I hear often from my students is how difficult it is to get started. The next two blogs will cover the writing process, but as a starting point, today, I'm going to offer some advice regarding how to write a solid thesis statement and outline. These are the foundations of a solid academic essay.

Writing a solid, easy-to-support thesis statement may seem difficult, but it's really not as difficult as it seems. In addition, outlines help you organize your thoughts and make certain you have support for your thesis.

So, the first question is obvious: What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement:

• States the theme or gives the point of your paper in one sentence.
• Is essentially your paper in a sentence.
• States what you plan to say, describe, or prove in your paper.
• Tells your reader what you want him or her to know about your paper.

For academic essays, most of the time, you'll be given a prompt or a topic about which you're to write. So, if your prompt is to write an essay that compares and contrasts two things, you need to ask yourself, What areas will I compare and what areas will I contrast?

To keep it simple, let's compare and contrast domesticated dogs and cats.

How are they the same?

• They can both be great pets.
• They both offer companionship.
• They both need to be fed and cared for.

How are they different?

• Dogs tend to be more dependent while cats tend to be more independent.
• Dogs learn tricks while cats don't seem to care to be trained.
• Dogs can be more empathetic while cats don't seem to care about their humans.

Once you've determined your areas of comparison and contrast, you can write your thesis statement:

While both dogs and cats can be great pets, dogs are usually more dependent, trainable, and empathetic whereas cats tend to be more independent, stubborn, and apathetic.

You can revise with your thesis as you go through the writing process (again, come back in the next few weeks for more on that topic).

Once you've determine a working thesis statement, the next step is writing an outline. You can start by using some of the bullets you used in determining your thesis. Keeping in mind that most academic essays require a minimum of three major points, a template for outlines could be something like this:

I. Introductory paragraph including thesis statement

II.  Major point #1

1. Supporting point
2. Supporting point
3. Supporting point

III. Major point #2

1. Supporting point
2. Supporting point
3. Supporting point

IV. Major point #3

1. Supporting point
2. Supporting point
3. Supporting point

V. Concluding paragraph

So, going back to our dog versus cat example, your outline might look something like this:

I. Introductory paragraph

II.  Similarities between dogs and cats

1. They're both popular pets.
2. They both offer companionship.
3. They both require care and responsibility.

III. Distinctions of dogs

1. Dogs are eager to please and dependent.
2. Dogs are easy to train.
3. Dogs are empathetic to their owners' emotions.

IV. Distinctions of cats

1. Cats are independent.
2. Cats are more stubborn and difficult to train.
3. Cats are apathetic and indifferent to their owners' emotions.

V. Concluding paragraph

If you can master writing thesis statements and outlines, you'll find your essays will be easier to write as well. As I always say, practice these concepts. Only by practicing and perfecting your writing can you be as effective as you want to be.

Keep pen to paper!

Professor Rinehart