The Writing Process:
PLANNING
(these are links
to the sections below)
-
Choose a
SUBJECT
of interest.
-
Focus that general
Subject to a specific TOPIC.
-
Formulate a clear
THESIS for that Topic.
-
Create TOPIC
SENTENCES to support your Thesis.
-
(Next Stop:
OUTLINING)
- If you are not assigned a subject
for writing, the ideal situation is for you to select your own
subject with the following considerations:
- The subject should involve an
idea that is comfortable because you have knowledge of it
without the necessity of research.
- The subject should be
substantial because it is an idea worthy of being shared with a
receptor.
- The subject should be one that
will yield deductively to a specific statement of thesis.
- For example, you are a sports
enthusiast. You have participated in various sports and continue to
have an interest in sports. In other words, this subject is not only
comfortable, but you also have considerable knowledge of it. After
thinking about this potential subject, you can deductively arrive at
a substantial thesis worthy of the reader's consideration. This
process can be illustrated as follows:
- Sports
- What about Sports ?
- Now that you have selected an
appropriate subject, you should question it to deduce a more
specific area of sports about which to write. It is very important
to create a specific subject area because "Sports" is too general
and cumbersome to be developed in a composition. Provide yourself
with a number of potential specific subject areas pertaining to
sports. Notice the following suggestions:
- Sports (What about sports?)
1. Salaries of professional
baseball players.
2. Injuries suffered by football players.
3. The increase of drug-related incidents in basketball.
4. The impact of sports personalities on youth.
5. The training necessary to succeed in professional golf.
- After "brainstorming," you can now
decide on a specific subject area. Suppose that you decide on #3,
"The increase in drug-related incidents in basketball," as the
specific subject area for your paper .
- Now, you must question this
subject area so that you can develop a number of potential "points
of view. " The point of view is the particular angle from which you
will approach the subject.
- The increase in drug-related
incidents in basketball + POINT OF VIEW.
- After much thought, you might
generate the following potential points of view.
1. It is affecting the
performance of players.
2. It is setting a poor example for young people.
3. It has affected the public's opinion of professional
basketball.
4. It has produced conflict between owners and players.
- Once you have developed a list of
potential points of view, you can select the one that best relates
to your specific subject. Suppose you decided on #2, "It is setting
a poor example for young people." You have now created the two
important ingredients for framing your thesis statement for the
composition --a sentence housing the main idea for the composition.
In this case, your thesis would be as follows:
- The increase of drug-related
incidents in professional basketball is setting a poor example for
our young people.
- After creating the thesis
statement, you have successfully completed steps #1 and #2 in the
pre-writing cycle.
- The pre-thinking cycle evolves as
a result of your ability to consistently question the nature of your
ideas. This approach has led you from the development of a subject
for the composition, to the creation of the essential parts of a
thesis, and to the formation of an adequate thesis statement. The
final step in the pre-writing cycle involves the creation of topic
sentences for the paragraphs which will form the body of the
composition. The following graphic illustrates the questioning
approach used in the creation of topic sentences:
- THESIS STATEMENT (What about it? )
- The thesis statement serves as the
basis for the creation of topic sentences. Potential ideas can be
generated as a result of your ability to question the main idea
stated in the thesis. By questioning the thesis, you can generate a
number of ideas which can be developed into potential topic
sentences.
- The increase of drug related
incidents in professional basketball is setting a poor example for
our youth.
- In assessing this thesis, you
might decide to answer the question: HOW? As a result, you should be
able to "brainstorm" so as to generate as many potential topic
sentences as possible. It would be to your advantage to list these
ideas in sentence form because, eventually, you must choose which
ideas will become the actual topic sentences for the body of the
composition. To ensure unity when you eventually write the
composition, make sure all topic sentences are directly related to
and support the main idea situated in the thesis statement. So,
after concluding your "brainstorming," you should eliminate any
ideas which do not relate to your thesis. The following topic
sentences are directly related to and support the main idea situated
in the sample thesis statement:
1. Young athletes might
experiment with drugs.
2. They might feel that drugs can help them succeed in a sport.
3. "If the pro can do it, why can't I?" might become a popular
slogan.
4. The presence of drugs in schools will escalate.
5. The family will have to contend with anew aspect of the drug
problem.
- By completing Step #3 in the
pre-writing cycle, you have determined what the topic sentences are
for the paragraphs which make up the body of the composition. The
next step is to outline the body of each individual paragraph so as
to provide the necessary support for each topic sentence. This
pre-writing cycle has allowed you to complete the important
preparation essential for writing a substantial composition. You
have gained insight and established control over the thesis and
those ideas making up the topic sentences which support that thesis.
NEXT STOP: OUTLINING
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