Writing: Get everything involved

     When you write anything, the time you spend on pre-writing will pay off in much better writing. Once you've decided on your topic and focus (thesis statement), spend time thinking and writing down what you already know about the topic, read about your topic, draw some pictures about your topic, talk to people about your topic and tell them what you're going to write about, ask their opinions about your topic, watch any YouTube videos you can find related to the topic, and watch a movie or listen to a presentation on TED.com about your topic. Then let all of this percolate in your mind (think "brainstorm") for a while. Sleep on it and let your unconscious mind do its job. Then you will be ready to write down all your ideas in a well-organized outline to begin writing.

Basic Writing: Prewriting and brainstorming

Thinking is the first step of writing.  Before you start writing an assignment, spend some time thinking about what you are going to write about.  Here are some tips for prewriting and brainstorming activities that will help you write a better essay.

1. Do a "brain dump." Think about what you are going to write about and then write down on a piece of paper all the ideas and words that come to your mind about the topic.  Don't worry about spelling at this point. Just write down as many of your thoughts as possible.

2. Talk about your topic.  Talk to as many people as you can about what you are going to write about and ask them what they think about your ideas.  This will help you have it clear in your mind what you want to write about.  Take some notes on what people tell you.

3. Sleep on it. As you are getting ready to go to bed, read the notes you have written down from steps 1 and 2 and put them on your bed stand next to a pencil or pen. When you go to sleep, your subconscious mind will think about your topic and "work" on it during the night.  If you wake up in the middle of the night with a thought, get up and write it down with your notes.  Go back to sleep.  When you wake up in the morning, look at your list and you will find that your subconscious mind has generated some new ideas while you slept. Write those new ideas down.

4. Review your notes and organize them into an outline for your essay.

Now you are ready to write your essay.

Writing Basics: Thinking and writing

Thinking is the first step of the writing process. Everything (including writing) begins with a thought. This stage of writing is sometimes referred to as pre-writing or brainstorming. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself before you start writing, and have clear answers in your mind. This will make the writing go much better. Don't hurry or skip this step.

What is my topic?
What am I going to write about that topic?
What do I already know about the topic and what research do I need to do?
Who are my readers? Who is my audience?
What do my readers already know about the topic and what might they be interested in learning from me?
How can I grab my readers' attention from the very beginning, whether I am writing a paragraph, essay, article, or book?
What unique perspective can I bring to the topic based on my own knowledge and experience?

After you have answered all these pre-writing questions and jotted down some notes to capture your thoughts, you are ready to start organizing your thoughts in the form of an outline.