Prewriting

Strategies to help you get started!

What is Prewriting?

• First step of the writing process• Helps get ideas onto paper so you

can organize them• A chance to explore ALL your ideas

on a topic, even if you don’t use them all

Why should I prewrite?

• How do you get somewhere you’ve never been before if you don’t have any directions? You’ll get lost!Prewriting is your map!

Types of Prewriting Strategies

• Brainstorming• Listing• Freewriting• Clustering• Mapping• Drawing

Brainstorming

• A way to capture all your ideas, idea fragments, and thoughts on a piece of paper

• Often looks like a list• Get as many ideas down on your

paper as you can

Brainstorming Example

Winter Break• Snowball fights• Sleeping in!• no homework• Visiting friends• Presents?• Relaxing!• Seeing family

• A week and a half off school

• New Year’s Eve• Shoveling snow?• Sledding• Go to the mall• FUN!

Listing

• Looks a lot like Brainstorming• Write as many ideas as you can,

even if you think you might not use them

• Look at your list for similarities or opposites or ideas you like

• Write a new list, adding details this time

Example of Listing

Breakfast (List 1)• Eggs and toast• Bacon• Orange juice• Oatmeal• Cereal• Most imp. meal of

the day

Details (List 2)• Crispy bacon, not

limp, that’s gross• Imp. b/c gets your

brain going• Imp. b/c helps burn

calories all day• Imp. b/c helps you

wake up• Best cereal is Rice

Chex! Not too sweet

Freewriting

• Often looks like a paragraph• Write everything that comes into your

head about your topic, even if it doesn’t seem to make sense

• Write for a set amount of time (5-10 minutes)

• Don’t worry about spelling, grammar or punctuation

Example of Freewriting

I have to write about the common cold. I hate having a cold! Your nose runs, you get a fever and a cough, you ache all over. Sometimes you throw up. That’s the worst part, throwing up. It tastes bad and feels worse! No one wants to be around you because they don’t want to get sick. It’s lonely and not fun.

Clustering

• Like a Web• Start with your topic in a circle in

the middle of your paper• Draw lines to other circles with sub

topics and ideas on your main idea• Group like information together to

keep yourself organized

Example of Clustering

Friends

Classes

Lunch!Extracurricular

Activities

Homework

School

Too much

Helps to study

Don’t likeIt

Don’talways

do it

Different teams New friends

Lots of notes

Tests and projects

Homework

Cool Teachers7-3!

Mordica

Cole

grades

Hard work

Friends Snack barLOUD!

Too short

Hard to getthrough the

line

Can’t finishthe food

SportsPractice

Priority AFTER

schoolwork

Need todo it

My choice

Fun

Goodexercise

Mapping

• A lot like a Cluster or Web• Way to organize ideas by

importance or order• Shows Main topic, sub topics, and

support

Example of Mapping

No School Uniforms

Too ExpensiveNo individuality

for studentsUgly

Not allowed to

show Creativity

Have to have 2 wardrobes –

School and non-school

Clothing pricesare up

These are out of style

Not attractive on

some bodieswould make

studentsfeel ugly

Have to be like

everyoneelse insteadof like ME

Drawing

• A visual image• Can show spatial relationships• Visual description of a place like a

floor plan

Example of Drawing

Recap…

• Don’t worry about spelling or grammar or punctuation while prewriting, just get your ideas down!

• Write as much as you can think of initially. Choose what you use AFTER your prewrite.

• ALWAYS PREWRITE!!!