Focus your explanation of the concept.

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You cannot realistically explain every aspect of your concept thoroughly in a short writing project. Instead, focus on an aspect of the concept that interests you and will interest your readers. The following activities will help you choose a tentative focus, which you will likely refine as you do further research and writing.

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If you find that you don’t have enough to write about, return to the previous section (pp. 151–52) to conduct additional research, broaden your concept by adding cultural or historical contexts, or check sources or class readings to look for broader concepts of which your concept is a part.

Ways In

What Makes the Concept Interesting to Me and My Readers?

  • List two or three aspects of your concept that interest you, and then answer these questions:
    • Why does it interest you?
    • How is it relevant to your life, family, community, work, or studies?
    • What do you already know about this aspect of the concept? What would you like to learn about it?
  • Ask yourself questions about your concept:
    • What is it similar to?
    • How is it different from related concepts?
    • What parts or features distinguish it from other concepts?
    • What are its cultural or historical contexts?
  • Write for five minutes about your concept, focusing on what you already know.
  • Analyze your audience by brainstorming answers to the following questions:
    • Who are your readers, and what is the context in which they will be reading your explanation? What aspects of the concept do you think they would want to know about?
    • How would you answer your readers’ “So what?” question? Think of at least one aspect of the concept that is relevant to their life, family, community, work, or studies.
    • What are your readers likely to know about the concept, about related concepts, or about the subject in general? How can you build on what they already know?
    • If you suspect your readers are likely to have faulty assumptions, misunderstandings, or outdated ideas about the concept (or about the subject in general), how can you clarify the concept for them?
  • After completing the activities above, choose an aspect of your concept on which to focus, and write a sentence explaining why it interests you and why it will interest your audience.

TEST YOUR CHOICE

Get together with two or three other students to test your choice:

Presenters Briefly describe your intended audience, identify the aspect of the concept that you will focus on, and explain what you find interesting or relevant about it and what you think your readers will find interesting or relevant. (If your listeners do not find your focus appropriate or interesting, consider returning to your list of possible concepts and repeating the activities above.)

Listeners Briefly tell the presenter whether the focus sounds appropriate and interesting for the intended audience. Share what you think readers are likely to know about the concept and what information might be especially interesting to them.