Prewriting: What It Is and How to Do It

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prewriting blog post image

When we read other people’s books, it’s easy to marvel at how everything seems to tie in together. We imagine that the author is just a skillful writer who can expertly present ideas in a well-organized fashion, and we wish we could do the same. 

The good news is that anyone can use prewriting techniques to strengthen the content of the final output, whether you write fiction or nonfiction. In this post, we’ll show you how to make the most of your prewriting activities so you can plan a more organized essay or story.

6 Most Helpful Prewriting Activities 

Prewriting refers to all the steps involved before you write what will become the final contents of your book. Typically, it includes the following activities: 

1. Brainstorm

During brainstorming, you start to list down all the topics you would like to write about. When we say list down, we mean just to write them all down without qualifying them. Set a timer for about five to ten minutes, and write down all your ideas. After you do this, go over your list and pick one topic. 

Then, think of all the ideas that come to mind related to the topic you chose. Again, you can choose to set a timer for only about five to ten minutes. The key is to give yourself a time limit and invite a barrage of ideas. From your new list, circle those that you want to focus on for your essay or report. 

Here’s an example of brainstorming a list of essay topics for an ecology class:

  • natural environment
  • benefits for children
  • benefits for mental health
  • natural habitat
  • protecting natural habitat
  • endemic flora and fauna
  • climate change
  • human intervention
  • human damage 
  • trees
  • forests
  • woods
  • homesteading
  • farming
  • gardening

2. Make a mind map

Another prewriting activity you can do is called clustering or mind mapping. You start with the topic you already chose during your brainstorming session. But in clustering or mind mapping, you list down ideas as they relate to each other. 

How do you do this? First, you write your main idea inside a circle in the middle of your page. Then, as you think of an idea that relates to that first main idea, you draw a line and write that idea inside another circle. You add more ideas by adding lines and circles, and each “sub-idea” can be a major category or heading in your paper or essay. 

Here is an example of mind-mapping or clustering ideas around a main theme, the pros and cons of smart phones:

example of mind map image

3. Freewrite

Freewriting and looping are similar to brainstorming and mind mapping, with one exception: freewriting involves writing nonstop, perhaps conversationally, kind of like writing in a diary or journal, about just about anything you can think of.

Looping is also similar in that you write nonstop, except that it’s around a given topic. For both of these prewriting activities, you shouldn’t edit as you go. Instead, devote about ten minutes just to spout off everything you can think of! The goal is to find ideas that we can then develop into a formal, organized piece. 

With that said, freewriting and looping are great tools for those who love writing or processing things in writing, such as those who already journal or keep a diary. But for others who struggle to form complete sentences, brainstorming and mind mapping may be easier options, especially with the self-imposed time limit. 

4. Ask a journalist’s questions

Every journalist needs answers to the 5 Ws and 1 H we all learned as kids: What, Who, When, Where, Why, and How. Using these questions can help you zone in on the important things about your chosen topic, and ensure that you include all the needed information. 

Of course, when using this system for prewriting, you don’t have to stop at these six questions. Instead, use them as starting points.

Start by answering each question for your main topic. (You may not have answers to all of the questions, and that’s OK.) Answer them in detail, and as you write down your answers, note any additional questions that come to mind. Keep answering the questions and writing down more follow-up questions as they come up. 

This prewriting activity is especially helpful for research-heavy writing, because it helps you think up more areas that you can dig into. 

5. Create an outline

Some novel-writers are plotters, and can only start writing once an outline is in place; others are pantsers, which means they write by the seat of their pants. Stephen King is one of the best examples of a pantser; in fact, when fans demand, “Why did you kill this or that character?” he likes to quip, “I didn’t kill him, I found him dead!” 

And while we all love the twists and turns in King’s novels, they are not easy to emulate. Most writers, no matter how talented, will require some tweaking to put things in a logical order. 

This also applies to nonfiction books and academic writing: a list of chapter titles or themes, at the bare minimum, can help you arrange your ideas in a logical sequence. 

Take a look at this first-draft outline for a thesis on parenting, with summary notes of what the writer wants to include: 

  • Thesis Statement: Couples who prioritize their marriage become better parents.
  • Body Paragraph 1: A child’s psychological growth is dependent on their sense of security.
  • Body Paragraph 2: Parents’ relational skills are affected by their relationship with their spouse.
  • Body Paragraph #3: Effects of divorce on children’s growth and development
  • Concluding Paragraph

6. Keep a journal 

Journaling is not a prewriting activity that’s directly related to a topic you will be writing on. Rather, it’s considered a helpful prewriting activity for generating a supply of ideas for future use. 

You can journal the things you’ve learned, or those you are curious about, or just about anything you’ve realized from your courses.

Include you own observations, opinions, or what areas you agree or disagree with. The practice of writing down your thoughts and analyzing things on paper will go a long way in helping you write well on other topics that may come up in the future. 

What Is the Purpose of Prewriting? 

Even though prewriting may seem like an unnecessary step if you already know what you want to write, you shouldn’t dismiss its importance! This part of the writing process serves several important purposes: 

It helps you recognize more ideas. 

When you do prewriting actvities, such as brainstorming or mind-mapping, it helps you list down everything you can think of about a certain topic. This helps ensure that you don’t overlook important aspects of the idea you’ve chosen. 

It prevents bias by giving you a well-rounded perspective. 

This is especially true for nonfiction. If you just go ahead and start writing, chances are, it will be rife with your personal opinions and not as well-rounded as it should be. 

When you prewrite, it helps you think through the topic from all perspectives, making it a more objectively-written piece that can benefit anyone who reads it. 

Prewriting helps you arrange your thoughts in a logical flow.

Readers don’t buy a book to read a huge jumble of ideas that somebody just rambled off; they buy a book that has been logically arranged and from which they can learn things. 

Similarly, when writing an academic paper, you don’t just compile all the things you’ve researched in a heap. Instead, you need to give them some form of coherence and order, and prewriting, particularly creating an outline, helps you do this. 

Prewriting Helps You Write Better 

The process of prewriting is well worth the time invested. In fact, it will save you time later through fewer revisions, since your ideas will be well organized and thoroughly developed.

Remember, nobody is born a great writer, but with practice and dedication, you can improve your skills and get your ideas across in clearer and more concise ways. 

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

 

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