Thinking about Your Topic

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Before you can start to do research, develop a thesis statement, or plan the structure of your argument, you need to think a bit about the topic you have chosen. You can use invention strategies, such as freewriting (writing without stopping for a predetermined time), brainstorming (making quick notes on your topic), or clustering (creating a diagram to map out your thoughts) to help you discover ideas you might write about. You can also explore ideas in a writing journal or in conversations with friends, classmates, family members, or instructors.

Freewriting

People say green is good, but I’m not sure why. Do we really need a separate, smelly container for composting? Won’t the food decompose just as fast in a landfill? In middle school, we learned about the “three Rs” to save the environment—one was Recycle, but I forget the other two. Renew? Reuse? Remember? Whatever. OK, I know not to throw trash on the ground, and I know we’re supposed to separate trash and recycling, etc. I get that. But does all this time and effort really do any good?

Brainstorming

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Clustering

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When you finish exploring ideas, you should be able to construct a quick informal outline that lists the ideas you plan to discuss.

Informal Outline

  • Topic: The Green Movement on College Campuses

    • History/background

      • National

      • Our campus

    • Positive aspects

      • Helps environment

      • Attracts new students

    • Negative aspects

      • Cost

      • Enforcement

    • Future

By grouping your ideas and arranging them in a logical order, an informal outline like the one above can help lead you to a thesis statement that expresses the position you will take on the issue.

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EXERCISE 7.2

Focusing on the topic you chose in Exercise 7.1, freewrite to explore ideas you might write about in your essay.

EXERCISE 7.3

Continuing to work with the topic you chose in Exercise 7.1, brainstorm to discover ideas to write about.

EXERCISE 7.4

Still working with the topic you chose in Exercise 7.1, draw a cluster diagram to help you explore possible ideas to write about.

EXERCISE 7.5

Construct an informal outline for an essay on the topic you chose in Exercise 7.1.