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=First Things First=

Where can I get some ideas to write about? **Keep it Simple**. Most of the time you will be given a topic so just expand on this idea. Unfortunately, you may be given a vague topic, such as, "write about something you like to do". This is where ideas need to be generated.


 * Brainstorming** is a good place to start. Just start writing and keep **your standards low at first**, this takes pressure off of you allowing you to write more freely. List all of the things you like to do. The list can be long or short. Just be honest with yourself and make the list as complete as you can make it.


 * Clustering ideas** is a very useful tool once you have found, in this case, your favorite thing to do. Take the idea and write it into the center of the page, draw a circle around the idea. Now draw 3 or 4 more circles around the outside of this circle and connect these new circles to the original circle with lines. Look at the center idea in the circle and write something related to this idea in one of the connected circles. Depending on the assignment, you may only need 3 or 4 connected circles. This gives you more ideas on what or how to write about the central idea.


 * Freewriting** is similar to brainstorming but more like a narrative than a list of ideas. Here you can take the central idea from **clustering,** write about it, then write about one of the connected circles until you are finished writing about each circle. Now you begin to see some possible structure for a paper.


 * Organizing** the essay requires some patience. The first paragraph would be the central idea or central circle. Give the outlying clusters a sequence of numbers, starting with the number 1, based on how closely related or important each cluster is to the main idea. The second paragraph, in this case, would be the number 1 cluster. The third paragraph would be the number 2 cluster and the fourth paragraph the number 3 cluster. Now we have 4 paragraphs. Based on the traditional 5 paragraph essay, we will need a conclusion to the essay. A good conclusion ties the essay together, reminding us of why the main idea is so special and why this essay is necessary. I think of it as a popcorn chain. The needle goes through the first piece of popcorn (main idea/first paragraph), then through the second piece of popcorn (subordinate idea/second paragraph), all the way through to the fifth piece (conclusion/final paragraph). Then, we pass the needle and thread (conclusion) back into the first piece of popcorn (main idea) to tie the piece together like a well constructed wreath.