Third Lecture
Chapter SIX: DEVELOPING IDEAS (page 75)
Process of Writing:
- First you have to find a topic, normally something that you are interested in.
- If you have a topic provided for you:
- First step is to read the topic very carefully, and think about every detail or word that is mentioned.
- You have to think about verbs like: discuss (where you have to present your opinion about something), argue (you give an opinion with or against), describe (you describe something from your point of view)
- If you have a general topic like the following:
Bad eating habits
You have to try and make it more specific: bad eating habits and their effects on children
The topic is more specific now, notice how you have in the topic clear division: bad eating habits, their effects, children
Basically, whenever you get a topic, you have to find two or three things to discuss (you can write an essay with four paragraphs). You can do that by yourself on the draft.
so now we know the topic, we know the ideas we have to talk about, we know the shape, we need to develop then organize the ideas.
DEVELOPING
There are many good techniques:
1- Ask questions:
Remember the 5 Ws and H? who?what?when?where?why?how?
e.g. something that made you angry
who was involved?
When and where did it happen?
Why did it make you angry?
What was the issue or the problem?
How did you deal with your anger?
Use the answers as details to support your ideas.
2- Read and take notes:
This will work more on homework essay. When you get a topic do not just sit there and keep squeezing your brain to get ideas that you are not sure about.
e.g if you have a topic like: subliminal advertising in movies
Try to read. Find the meaning of the words, read about the topic in magazines, journals, the internet, or any other source you like. When you read, take notes, and use them in your essay.
3- Brainstorm:
The object is to come up with as many thoughts as possible on a topic (like free association).
a- With others: if you need to write about something and you do not have ideas, ask other people, and discuss the topic with them. They could have more interesting ideas than yours, and things you overlooked could be taken from their own ideas. Do not judge or evaluate the ideas. (e.g. page 77-78)
b- By yourself: on a piece of paper, write whatever ides come to your mind about your topic, even if they seem not so great at the beginning. What you have to do first, is write, then you can select and evaluate. (e.g. page 78)
4- Try focused free-writing:
Focused free writing, is the same thing as free writing essentially, but the difference is that you are writing about a specific topic, that means you are keeping your ideas focused on one thing. It is a great way to find ideas when you feel you are stuck.
Example page 81: read that at home, and see how this strategy works, and try practicing it on the topics I have given you in the previous homework.
5- Idea Cluster or Word Web:
It helps generate ideas by showing how one idea leads to another. Write your topic in the center, and draw a circle around it. Write related words or phrases, circle them, and use lines to connect to the general topic, keep doing that till you think you have everything to say.
e.g. Pollution: types, effect, cause, treatment
Types: visual, sonic, environmental, medical
Effect: on humans, animals, trees, water, air, life forms
Cause: human, non-human
Treatment: lectures, posters, voluntary work, etc.
After you do that, you can choose which part you want to talk about, group your ideas, eliminate things that are not necessary etc. this could help you find more ideas and details for your essay. Some details can remind you of others.
CHAPTER SEVEN: NARROWING YOUR TOPIC
This is very important, because sometimes you get asked to write an essay of about 25 lines, or 250 words (about one page), and you feel that you have many things to say, but not enough space, so what you should do here, is follow some strategies to narrow your topic to more manageable pieces (or specific topic).
And there is always the dangerous mistake that many people commit which is that they face a very general topic, and they try to insert as many ideas as possible without developing any of them. Keep in mind when you have a general topic you have the freedom to divide it, make is narrower, and then develop a specific idea.
1- Being Brief: two essay patterns:
Let us take one topic like:
A memory that pops into your head
Pattern one:
First paragraph: what is the memory (describe it briefly)
Two or three paragraphs about how the memory affected you: feelings, images, sounds, etc.
Last paragraph: state what exactly you felt about the memory and whether it was something important to you or not
Pattern two:
First paragraph: what made this memory come to your head
One paragraph to describe the environment in the memory: dates, times, etc
Two or three paragraphs: describe how this memory made you change, inspired you to do something for instance. If you are talking about a person, you can say what he was doing, how they affected your way of thinking about stuff
Last paragraphs: how you changed after that happened to you, and what would you feel about yourself having been in that situation, etc
e.g. page83
Subdivide your topic:
If you have a very broad topic, divide it into smaller pieces:
Globalization: effect on individuals, effects on nations, effects on media, effects on education
Start narrowing your topic: the best way is to ask a series of questions. Start by the general, go to the more specific.
Each question will narrow the idea before it. Keep doing that till you think that your topic is narrow enough to fill the space you have.
Examine topic from different perspectives:
Try finding different angles to look at your topic, each will be narrower than the general, and you can use it as a sub-topic.
e.g. Japan : history, art, culture, war, etc.