Student Writing Handbook Fifth+Edition

Prewriting / 7

joyful, remorseful, even furious—a feeling that may be worthy of a description, a
comparison-and-contrast, a classification, or a persuasion paper. Television viewing
may evoke a similar kind of reaction. You may react to news commentators and their
methods of reporting the nightly news. You may react to a special report on a world
crisis that evokes empathy and helps you write an opinion paper, or you may react
to a variety show that stimulates your sense of humor and helps you write effective
dialogue.

Daily Experiences: What You Do. Likewise, sometimes you may be stimulated to
write as a result of something you have done: visiting a city dump, watching a track
meet, sitting in the rain, falling out of a boat, suffering from loneliness, facing trag-
edy, enjoying success, completing a task, dieting, building a hang glider, catching a
big fish, finding a lost wallet, helping a stranger, having an accident, or being friends
with someone special. For instance, sometimes having a conversation with someone
particularly motivating may help you sort through your own feelings enough to react
in written form.

In summary, day-to-day activities, given attention, help you collect thoughts, gather
information, and promote ideas for writing. Doing something as simple as taking an
afternoon walk may suggest a dozen topics about which you can write. For exam-
ple, children playing in the street invite danger by their behavior. You wonder why
they have nowhere else to play. A driver coasts through a stop sign, neglecting the
clear response that the traffic sign demands. His behavior makes you wonder about
accident causes in your neighborhood. The neighbor’s dog bounces out to wag his
greeting. You wonder how dogs have become the domesticated “man’s best friend.”
Within a few minutes’ walk, you discover three possible topics to explore.

STEP 2: Finding a Topic

After exploring possible subjects by reading, talking, listening, observing, and think-
ing, choose a topic that is right for you. Perhaps you must tackle an assigned topic;
perhaps you have the freedom to choose anything of interest. Name the topic.

STEP 3: Narrowing the Subject

After choosing a general topic, narrow a subject to suit the length of the paper you
plan to write. Most writers have trouble narrowing a subject sufficiently for full

Best Novels

setting

character

plot

author

reputation

recommendations

reviews

FIGURE 1. 1
Organizing your
ideas graphically
may help you
generate more
ideas.