For more idea-generating strategies, see Chapter 11.
The following activities will help you find plausible reasons and evidence for your position. Begin by writing down what you already know. You can do some focused research later to fill in the details, or skip ahead to conduct research now.
Ways In
How Can I Come Up With Reasons That Support My Position?
One way to generate ideas is to write steadily for at least five minutes exploring your reasons. Ask yourself questions like these:
At this point, don’t worry about the exact language you will use in your final draft. Instead, just write the reasons you hold your position and the evidence (such as anecdotes, examples, statistics, expert testimony) that supports it. Keep your readers in mind—what would they find most convincing?
If you prefer to brainstorm a list of reasons, try this: