PREWRITING

TECHNIQUES

Free Powerpoint Templates

Page 1
EXPLORING IDEAS
THROUGH PREWRITING

• The most creative stage of

writing is prewriting.
• This is where you explore your
ideas and the connections among
them.
• As one writer puts it, this is the
stage where you write in “white
heat” (composing) and then
revise in “cold blood” (editing).
Free Powerpoint Templates
Page 2
EXPLORING IDEAS
THROUGH PREWRITING
• Even experienced writers do prewriting
before they get to the final draft or
version of their work.

• They put in as many ideas as they

could, reread the piece, and then decide
to retain a number of ideas or to modify
them to make their written piece more
powerful.

• They also make use of a number of

specific techniques to make their writing
more exact and cogent.
Free Powerpoint Templates
Page 3
EXPLORING IDEAS
THROUGH PREWRITING
• Among these are freewriting,
brainstorming, clustering, branching,
idea mapping, and keeping a journal.

1) Freewriting is a prewriting
technique where you write all the
ideas that come to your mind
within a given time, even if they
may not be properly sequenced.

• Free Powerpoint Templates

Page 4
EXPLORING IDEAS
THROUGH PREWRITING

• Initially, they might look like

scribbles or doodles. But don’t
lose heart, you will eventually
discover that what you have
written will allow you to connect
with other ideas that will
contribute to the final written
output.

Free Powerpoint Templates

Page 5
EXPLORING IDEAS
THROUGH PREWRITING
Freewriting on the subject love may
come out like this.

• Love comes in the most unexpected

places
• like being hit by a thunderbolt
• unthinkable
• I was acting in a weird way.
• But love can make people act
differently from who they really are.

Free Powerpoint Templates

Page 6
EXPLORING IDEAS
THROUGH PREWRITING
• The parts of the paragraph show
some promise that you as a writer
may pursue later when you review
what you have written down for the
final draft.

• Rewriting involves highlighting,

underlining, or circling your most
important ideas so that you can pick
them up later if you want to pursue
those topics.
Free Powerpoint Templates
Page 7
BRAINSTORMING

* This is best done working with

a group who give individual ideas
about the subject matter.

* The ideas that the group

contribute may spark your own
creativity so that you can write
about the topic in a more cogent
manner.
Free Powerpoint Templates
Page 8
BRAINSTORMING

* If you don’t want to work

with a group, you can do this
alone by just listing all ideas
that come to mind. You can
decide later whether an idea
is of use or not to what you
intend to write.

Free Powerpoint Templates

Page 9
Ideas of a brainstorming done on teen-age
rebellion

Teenage rebellion – causes of

parental absence
money problems
misunderstanding with family members
confusion at physical changes taking place
no one to turn to

Approaches – to address teenage rebellion

availability of parents
teaching survival tips
family counseling
sex education
Free Powerpoint Templates
Page 10
CLUSTERING
Another prewriting technique that works to
generate ideas for a paper is clustering.
To connect the ideas that you would like to write
about a topic, begin by writing a general idea in
the middle of the page and circling it.
As you think of related ideas or details, write
them down and circle each one. Next, draw lines
to connect the new ideas to the ones from which
they came from.
Repeat the process, until you are satisfied that
you have covered the subject. The clusters will
also give you the time to analyze which ideas
have the most promise for use in the actual
writing Free
later.Powerpoint Templates
Page 11
 camaraderie

school
colors allowance

basketball
perks

scholarships
Campus
heroes

scrimmage
CLUSTERING EXAMPLE
Free Powerpoint Templates
Page 12
BRANCHING
• Branching also connects related ideas.
• You do this by listing the main topic on
the left side of your paper and then
enumerating the ideas to the right of it.

• Next, you connect them with lines.

The ideas that you have written may
branch out into other ideas that you can
underline later when they show promise
for inclusion in the final paper that you
wish to write about.
Free Powerpoint Templates
Page 13
 on real time
message length
speedy delivery
accuracy

send photos
requires internet cafes
EMAIL equipment home PC
laptop
mobile phone

budget
inexpensive
accessible
cost-efficient
BRANCHING sample
Free Powerpoint Templates
Page 14
IDEA MAPPING
• Another prewriting technique that you
might want to use is idea mapping.
• In this technique, you use both your
writing and your creative abilities when
you draw or sketch icons, symbols, or
scribbles to prewrite on a topic.
• Next, you connect them with lines.
The ideas that you have written may
branch out into other ideas that you can
underline later when they show promise
for inclusion in the final paper that you
wish toFree
write about.
Powerpoint Templates
Page 15
 Look at the example of an idea map on the
topic of emotions.
Emotions – we all have
them; yet most of us
can’t explain them, why
they have them; when
they have them, how to
control them.
Emotions accompanied by increase in heart rate, blood
pressure, breathing, pupil dilation, etc.
Emotions communicated without words: smiling,
frowning. Holding hands, clenching fists, turning backs,
and other body language.
Free Powerpoint Templates
Page 16
JOURNAL KEEPING
• Explorers, naturalists, scientists, and
those who need to make a record of
their observations often keep a journal.
• The journal may deal about familiar
things or explore new thinking and new
ideas.
• When you keep a journal, you hone
your skills in writing because you write
as if you are just talking and thinking the
way you do every day on your way to
school or somewhere else.
Free Powerpoint Templates
Page 17
JOURNAL KEEPING
• When you travel to a new place, you may
want to make a daily record of the sights,
smells, and sounds that you are seeing for the
first time.

• There is nothing like describing a experience

in a new place at a time when you can still
savor every moment of it.

• You will find that when you reread your

journal later that you would not have
described a particular incident in that manner
had you written the journal a few weeks or
months later.
Free Powerpoint Templates
Page 18
RECAP
Exploring Ideas through Prewriting
There are a number of useful
prewriting techniques to generate ideas.
1) Freewriting
2) Brainstorming
3) Clustering
4) Branching
5) Idea mapping
6) Journal keeping

Free Powerpoint Templates

Page 19
WRITING ACTIVITY
ASSIGNMENT
• Write a journal of an
unforgettable experience you have
had.

Free Powerpoint Templates

Page 20