Instructors’ directions always override the advice in this handout.

Read and Reflect on the Assignment

First of all, no matter what: Read the assignment.

Then, read it again, this time highlighting or underlining or taking a few notes. If you get any ideas at all as you read the assignment, write them down as soon as possible. If you have any questions as you read the assignment, make it a goal to get those questions answered as soon as possible.

Evaluate or Learn from Models

It can be a challenge to write in a new genre or format. You may feel more comfortable starting if you can study helpful models of the type of writing within a specific discipline. Your professor may be able to provide a few samples of what they recommend. Theses and dissertations written by North Carolina college and graduate students can be viewed at this link: http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/

You might also chat with one of our librarians to ask about a readable journal in your discipline that might serve as a good example for how to write well on a particular topic or for a specific audience. You can access the chat portal from the library home page at https://library.appstate.edu/

Post-it Note or Index Cards

Some writers benefit from focusing on one idea at a time before attempting to write the whole paper. You might try writing one idea or thought at a time on a post-it note or index card. You can also create a post-it note or card for each quote from a relevant text or piece of research. Then, you have the chance to sort and reorder your notes to think about how they fit together.

Creating a Mind Map or Web of Ideas

Another way to generate and connect ideas is to develop a web, map, or flow chart of ideas, words, images, notes, and evidence. You can create this kind of web on a scrap of paper or using a digital app. Some of the digital apps allow you to then transfer your notes into a full outline that you can then expand into your paper. Try searching various app stores online or just google mind map to see what options might be useful to you.

A List

Some writers find it easier to just list out their ideas. Rather than try to compose your paper, just start writing a few words or sentences in a list to gather your thoughts. You can then keep adding to that list (or deleting!) You can also rearrange your ideas once you have them jotted down.

Questions to Answer

It can be hard to jot down ideas if you aren’t yet sure what to say. Another starting point might be to reflect on the assignment and create a list of questions. You can be creative in generating questions. Try to come up with both broad and specific questions. Then use those questions as a starting point for research and/or reflection to aid you in composing your paper.

Free writing

Sometimes you know what you want to write, but it is daunting to translate your ideas into something that sounds academic or suitable for the format. Try freewriting. Just write in your own style with your own voice.

Sometimes instead of writing the actual paper, I will write something along these lines: I have to write a paper about the coral reef, and I’m going to talk about .... I talk myself through what I need to say, and sometimes I start writing the actual paper without realizing it.

Timed Writing

Sometimes, it is daunting to try to write a full paper. The thought of the task ahead is tiring, and you find yourself wanting to get a fresh cup of coffee. Or really, do anything other than write the paper. Some students find it helps to set a timer for ten or twenty minutes. During that time, you have to keep writing, or thinking about writing. No coffee. No phone calls. No Xbox. Just write. Then, when the timer goes off, you can stop if you want.

Caution: you will probably need to do this several times to complete the entire paper, but many people swear by some version of this, which is sometimes known as the pomodoro technique.

Conversation

Write your paper as if it were a conversation with a friend, then revise it later to make it more academic in tone. You can also literally use conversation as a pre-writing strategy, discussing your ideas with a friend or writing consultant as a way to prepare to capture your words on paper.

Links to More Ideas for Invention

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab is useful for more than citation models. Here’s a link to their ideas for invention: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/prewriting/index.html

The Kansas University Writing Center offers similar tips but with more information at this site: http://writing.ku.edu/prewriting-strategies

You can find more links and examples from UC Berkeley’s site: https://slc.berkeley.edu/writing-worksheets-and-other-writing-resources/you-start-writing-paper