Prologomena (n.)

(Def.) A little prologue, done before the “real” research, which combines personal and creative writing with factual information. It includes historical, scientific and psychological components, as well as poetry, process and reflective writing.

What are you really, really really passionate about?

What do you really, really, really want to learn more about?

What topic are you really, really, really curious about?

What are you really, really, really interested in?

Ms. Alaimo’s Top Ten Topics

(AKA The Bucket List)

Remember: “It doesn’t matter what your intention is when you go to bed at night, it matters what you do after the alarm clock rings.”

Max Strom

Elephant orphanages

yoga

Improvising chords on the piano

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Why the economy tanked

How to set up a Wikispace

Retirement

Becoming a better writer; more active in National Writing Project

Beautiful, cheap, “off the beaten track” places to ride a bike to

Birdwatching, where and how?

The inner workings (thoughts) of a serial killer…and how it got that way.

Hoola-hooping

Possible topics to explore Cars Careers (College? Military? Job?) What makes a good pet An addiction (drinking, smoking, drugging) A product you want to buy (iPad, stereo, truck) Getting a driver’s license The Dream Act Family stress The economy Becoming a cop, nurse, engineer, social worker,

cosmetician An invention A historical event (Holocaust, revolution, a movement in

history) A religious cult

More topics to explore What I want my parents to understand about me What I want my teachers to understand about me A biography (Oprah, Nelson Mandela, Sigmund Freud, President

Obama) Is organic better? Gun control How to start a small business Saving for a car Depression How to become a millionaire How to make money by investing The biggest problem in society today Depression Gun control How to start a small business Do animals cry?

Here’s what you need to DO NOW

1. List 10 topics you are really, really want to learn more about.

2. Prioritize them numbers 1-101=most important 10=least important

Part 1

1. Choose one topic you are really, really interested in learning about for the next few weeks.

2. Write 10 questions about your topic

Freewrite about your topic. Do not take your pen off the paper. Write the first thing that comes to your mind and

don’t stop writing. This is a good thing. Your writing will take you places you never knew.

If you get stuck write your last sentence over again. Keep writing even if you don’t know what to say for 15

minutes. Fill both sides of a sheet of paper Do not worry about spelling. No matter what happens, just keep writing…

Freewrite (continued)

“Ms. I don’t know how to start…”

Start like you would start any other writing assignment

A question A quote A definition A story What most people thing

Freewrite (continued)

Still confused??? Try finishing these sentences. I am interested in (topic) because….. I first became interested in (topic) when….

(tell a story) I am really curious about (topic) and want

to explore ___________. This (topic) affects me in several ways:

(Describe how this topic affects you.) A question I want answered about (topic) is_____________________________. I want to learn more about (topic)

because______________________.