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Have It Done!
You can try the textbook
formula:
I. State your thesis.
II. Write an outline.
III. Write the first draft.
IV. Revise and polish.
. . . but that often doesn't work!
Instead, you can try one or
more of these strategies:
Ask yourself what your purpose is
for writing about the subject.
There are many "correct"
things to write about for any subject, but you need to narrow down your
choices. For example, your topic might be "dorm food." At this point,
you and your potential reader are asking the same question, "So
what?" Why should you write about this, and why should anyone read it?
Do you want the reader to pity you
because of the intolerable food you have to eat there?
Do you want to analyze large-scale
institutional cooking?
Do you want to compare Purdue's
dorm food to that served at Indiana University?
Ask yourself how you are going to
achieve this purpose.
How, for example, would you
achieve your purpose if you wanted to describe some movie as the best you've
ever seen? Would you define for yourself a specific means of doing so? Would
your comments on the movie go beyond merely telling the reader that you really
liked it?
Start the ideas flowing
Brainstorm. Gather as many good
and bad ideas, suggestions, examples, sentences, false starts, etc. as you can.
Perhaps some friends can join in. Jot down everything that comes to mind,
including material you are sure you will throw out. Be ready to keep adding to
the list at odd moments as ideas continue to come to mind.
Talk to your audience, or pretend
that you are being interviewed by someone -- or by several people, if possible
(to give yourself the opportunity of considering a subject from several
different points of view). What questions would the other person ask? You might
also try to teach the subject to a group or class.
See if you can find a fresh
analogy that opens up a new set of ideas. Build your analogy by using the word like.
For example, if you are writing about violence on television, is that violence
like clowns fighting in a carnival act (that is, we know that no one is really
getting hurt)?
Take a rest and let it all
percolate.
Nutshell your whole idea.
Tell it to someone in three or
four sentences.
Diagram your major points
somehow.
Make a tree, outline, or whatever
helps you to see a schematic representation of what you have. You may discover
the need for more material in some places.
Write a first draft.
Then, if possible, put it away.
Later, read it aloud or to yourself as if you were someone else. Watch especially
for the need to clarify or add more information.
You may find yourself jumping back
and forth among these various strategies.
You may find that one works better
than another. You may find yourself trying several strategies at once. If so,
then you are probably doing something right!
(based
on: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_plan2.html
)
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