Academic Writing for International Students of Business

4 Brainstorming

It is often helpful to start thinking about a topic by writing down the ideas you have, in any
order. Taking the example from 2(a) opposite, you might collect the following points:

Growth of e-commerce – likely results

Main reasons

• businesses can offer a wider range of products via internet


• more convenient for customers than travelling to shops


• businesses can reduce overheads by centralising distribution centres


• prices can often be lower.

Likely results

• decline in conventional shops


• growth in delivery businesses


• shopping centres become entertainment areas.

 Working with a partner, brainstorm ideas for the title below:

1.4:From Understanding Titles to Planning 31

How and why has the market for international tourism segmented since the middle

of the twentieth century? What are the economic forces that have driven this

process?