Step 1: Choosing and Narrowing a Topic

General Topic

Specific

Very
Specific

Elvis Presleys
Influence on Rock and
Roll
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Step 2: Brainstorming
There are three useful
brainstorming techniques:
listing
clustering
freewriting

I. Brainstorming by Listing
Make a list of every word or phrase that comes into
your mind about the topic.

Practice 1:
Work with a partner. Choose one of these
topics. List as many ideas as you can in five
minutes.

teenage fashion
things to do at the beach
driving a motorbike

II. Brainstorming by Freewriting

Write the topic a the top of your paper.
Write as much as you can about the topic until
you run out of ideas.
When you freewrite, do not worry about
grammar, spelling or punctuation.

III.Brainstorming by Clustering
In the center of your paper, write your topic
and draw a balloon around it. This is the
center or core balloon.
Then, write whatever ideas come to you in
balloons around the core.
Think about each of these ideas and make
more balloons around them.
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Exercises
daily

Works 6
days a week

athletic

Boring
life

Workaholic

My
Father

Sports
fan

Very
religious

Gives
money to
the poor

attends weekly
prayer meetings
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Step 3: Organize your Ideas

Decide which of the ideas you have
brainstormed, you want to use.
Choose which idea to talk
about first, which to talk
about next and which to talk
about last.

Step Four: Write

Write your paragraph from start to finish.
Use your notes about your ideas and organization.

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FinallyRevise:
When you revise your writing you
can:
add new ideas

cross out irrelevant sentences

rearrange ideas to improve the
organization.

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