Writing is a process of discovery for students. The pre-writing phase engages students in the writing process and helps them find what is important or true for them about any subject at a particular time. There is no perfect system for teaching the writing process since each student is unique in their approach to learning about their subject. Giving students several ways to do a pre-draft process helps student develop skills needed to become capable writers. Experienced writers have their own methods, but inexperienced writers need motivation to write and assistance in uncovering concepts, experiences, and ideas about which to write.
During the pre-writing phase, students need direction–a topic or something to discuss in writing. Topics can come from teachers but students also need to develop the skill of using their own insights and experiences (and those of others) as writing material. There are many ways to find possible topics through pre-writing experiences such as:
- talking with and interviewing people who know something about a topic
- brainstorming
- focused free writing (i.e., nonstop writing on an intended subject to crystallize ideas and feelings)
- mapping and webbing (i.e., drawing thought webs or graphic representations of the topic)
- writing “leads” (i.e., creating three or more opening sentences as a way of determining the shape and scope of the topic)
- listing
- using reporters’ questions (i.e., Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?)
- making similes and metaphors (i.e., asking “What is it like?”)
- finding similarities and differences by comparing and contrasting concepts, pictures, and objects
- reading and examining written models to gather information about the topic or to notice genre, style, or tone
- viewing pictures, paintings, television, films, or slides
- using visualization and guided imagery
- listening to audio
- debating, role playing, and improvising
- exploring ideas in a journal.
