Student Writing Handbook Fifth+Edition

60 / Methods of Development

STEP 4: Prewriting—Narrowing the Topic

When you have listed all the answers you can think of, decide which three or four
are most important. Set them aside before going on to Step 5.

For instance, the writer working with the preceding list chose to narrow his topic to
deal only with early groups of people who came to Isle Royale. As a result, he limited
his answers to these three:

harvest lumber

fish commercially

mine copper

STEP 5: Prewriting—Adding Supporting Details

Using the list of answers as topics, add three or four supporting details to each item.
The supporting details may be examples, illustrations, definitions, analogies, com-
parisons, contrasts, or other explanations. Use the following sample list as a guide
for developing your own:

To mine copper

Prehistoric people

First settlers

Last miners

To fish commercially

Early success

Declining success

Present success

To harvest lumber

In the 1890s

In the 1920s

This list is, in fact, a scratch outline. [See Chapter 31, Outlines.]

STEP 6: Prewriting—Organizing the Details

Choose a pattern of organization appropriate for your subject. For instance:

-^ A paper analyzing the economic results of slowed production may take a
chronological approach (What happens first? What happens next?) or an order-
of-importance approach (What is the most important effect? The next most
important? The least important?).