TABLE 3.1 Techniques for Generating Ideas About Your Topic

TABLE 3.1 Techniques for Generating Ideas About Your Topic
TECHNIQUE	EXPLANATION	EXAMPLE
Asking the six journalistic questions	Asking who, what, when, where, why, and how can help you figure out how much more research you need to do. Note that you can generate several questions from each of these six words.	Who would be able to participate? Who would administer it? What would the program consist of?
Brainstorming	Spending 15 minutes listing short phrases and questions about your subject helps you think of related ideas. Later, when you construct an outline, you will rearrange your list, add new ideas, and toss out some old ones.	Why we need a program Lower insurance rates On-site or at a club? Who pays for it? What is our liability? Increase our productivity
Freewriting	Writing without plans or restrictions, without stopping, can help you determine what you do and do not understand. And one phrase or sentence might spark an important idea.	A big trend today in business is sponsored health-promotion programs. Why should we do it? Many reasons, including boosting productivity and lowering our insurance premiums. But it’s complicated. One problem is that we can actually increase our risk if a person gets hurt. Another is the need to decide whether to have the program—what exactly is the program? . . .
Talking with someone	Discussing your topic can help you find out what you already know about it and generate new ideas. Simply have someone ask you questions as you speak. Soon you will find yourself in a conversation that will help you make new connections from one idea to another.	You: One reason we might want to do this is to boost productivity. Bob: What exactly are the statistics on increased productivity? And who has done the studies? Are they reputable? You: Good point. I’m going to have to show that putting money into a program is going to pay off. I need to see whether there are unbiased recent sources that present hard data.
Clustering	One way to expand on your topic is to write your main idea or main question in the middle of the page and then write second-level and third-level ideas around it.
Branching	Another way to help you expand on your topic is to write your main idea or question at the top of the page and then write second-level and third-level ideas below it.