“The more time you spend PRE-writing, the less time you will spend RE-writing.” Investing time in the pre-writing process allows you to create a road-map for yourself when you begin writing your paper. The time and thought that you put into the pre-writing process is a wise investment because it will make the writing-process much easier; your ideas will flow more smoothly and you will have a sense of where you want to begin, go, and end.

Pre-writing usually involves creating an outline, but it can involve several other processes as well. No matter what process(es) you use, try and formulate a concrete and coherent plan for how you will support your working thesis. The two most important questions for you to consider (and answer) during the pre-writing process are: (1) what ideas will you use to support your argument, and (2) how will you structure your paper?

The most basic structure:

Intro. – the paragraph or section that introduces the topic and presents your thesis to the reader.

Body – the paragraphs/sections that present the necessary supporting details, information, and analysis to prove your thesis.

Conclusion – a short summation or recapitulation.

Like a story, a paper has a beginning, a middle, and an ending: the beginning should capture the reader’s attention and introduce the central purpose of the essay; the middle should move the argument forward and add details and development; the conclusion should bring the piece to a logical ending.

This model gives you a general sense of how a paper is set up, but it does not provide much in the way of concrete guidance regarding the sequence of your ideas, the ways in which to organize your supporting points, etc. Keeping in mind the basic structure of an academic argument, it is helpful to employ several different techniques and strategies that will allow you to create a more detailed and coherent outline.

Structuring the Argument

Pre-Writing Techniques Brainstorming – generating a list of ideas, examples, points, and

details.

Free-writing – writing informally about a subject for a specified amount of time as a way of documenting your thoughts and ideas.

Clustering – creating a diagram in which ideas and details branch off of one another.

Linear Outlines – creating a rigid and formal outline that arranges your supporting ideas in a specific order.

Pre-Writing Technique 1: Brainstorming

For ten or fifteen minutes, think about your thesis, and write down every idea, example, or detail that comes into your head regarding the thesis. Do not worry about structuring the ideas or arranging them in a specific pattern. The point of brainstorming is to get as many examples and ideas down on paper as possible. As you are listing these ideas, you will begin to notice patterns emerging, and you can then use these patterns of thought as a way of arranging your examples. You will also probably notice certain keywords or details that keep popping up; again, keep an eye out for these patterns.

◦ Advantage of Brainstorming: You will come up with a significant number of ideas and supporting points, and you will have invested a significant amount of thought in your thesis before proceeding to the supporting paragraphs.

◦ Disadvantage of Brainstorming: It can be a messy process, and if you do not limit yourself to ten or fifteen minutes, you will probably come up with too many ideas to manage or organize afterwards.

Pre-Writing Technique 2: Freewriting

For ten or fifteen minutes, write about your thesis in complete sentences. Do not worry if these sentences are not well-structured, or if they seem awkward. Like brainstorming, freewriting can be a messy process, but it allows you to collect your thoughts and to think about how you will use the practice of writing to support your thesis. As you are writing your sentences, think about how they are building upon one another: why does one sentence lead you toward a subsequent sentence? You may be able to note patterns of development or sequences of ideas that you can later use in your paper.

◦ Advantage of Freewriting: Freewriting prompts you to reflect on your topic and your thesis in detail, and to consider how your thesis will develop in the supporting paragraphs. By writing complete sentences, you will get a sense for what it “feels like” to write about this particular topic/thesis, and you will also come up with supporting ideas and details.

◦ Disadvantage of Freewriting: Freewriting, like brainstorming, requires a strict time limit, otherwise it is possible to lose control of the process. Also, some students allow free-writing to turn into the actual writing process, which is not the purpose of the exercise: free-writing is meant to help you gather your thoughts and identify key ideas and points in anticipation of your writing the supporting paragraphs. It should not be used to produce the supporting paragraphs.

Pre-Writing Technique 3: Clustering

Clustering allows you to group certain ideas together based on patterns; it usually involves creating a web diagram or cluster map that places key ideas in circles or squares, and then, creates branches and boxes/circles to indicate supporting ideas or subtopics. Typically, these diagrams are set up in order of increased specificity. They also show interconnections between various points.

◦ Advantage of Clustering: Clustering is a great way for visual learners to “map out” their ideas. It is also useful for creating a hierarchy of ideas, as the tree-diagram structure allows for a natural flow from big, broad ideas, to more specific, focused details/examples. Finally, clustering allows for students to look for connections between supporting points.

◦ Disadvantage of Freewriting: Clustering is difficult to do on the computer without a specific concept-mapping program, and doing it by hand can be tedious. For non-visual learners, clustering is sometimes less helpful than other pre-writing methods.

Hamlet’s Isolation

Disconnect from his mother

Disconnect from the court of Denmark

Disconnect from Ophelia,

his love

Contempt over their love of

Claudius

Contempt due to his distrust

of women

Pre-Writing Technique 4: Linear Outline A linear outline creates a much more formal and structured arrangement of ideas. These ideas are typically broken down into

categories and subcategories, and very detailed linear outlines sometimes leave room for supporting details as well. Linear outlines account for how certain ideas relate to one another and build upon each other.

I = First Main Topic A. Subordinate idea

1. Supporting ideaa. supporting detailb. supporting detail

2. Supporting ideaa. supporting detailb. supporting detail

B. Subordinate idea1. Supporting idea

a. supporting detailb. supporting detail

2. Supporting ideaa. supporting detailb. supporting detail

II = Second Main Topic (etc.)

◦ Advantage of Formal Outlines: Formal outlines provide a very detailed map for the writer to follow when writing the essay. Sometimes, these outlines are so detailed that the writer is simply “filling in the gaps” between the different points. In other words, the writer has already determined how all of the different ideas, points, and details connect, and he or she has established a clear order for the ideas. Now, it is simply a matter of fleshing out these connections.

◦ Disadvantage of Formal Outline: For a short (2-3) page paper, a very detailed linear outline is probably not necessary. Also, formal outlines can be “constrictive” in the sense that they leave little room for improvisation as the writer is writing the paper.

So Which Method Works Best? There is no one way to create an outline, and you have to find

a technique that will work best for you.

The best way to approach outlining is to combine several of the techniques listed on the previous slides.

When writing, it is helpful to begin with general ideas and then transition to more specific ideas; when outlining, it is helpful to begin with the more general strategies (brainstorming, freewriting) and then transition to the more specific strategies (clustering, linear outlining).

Let’s Try Combining the Techniques

Thesis: In A Christmas Carol, Dickens condemns the pursuit of wealth for the sake of being wealthy, but he also suggests that money can produce beneficial results within society, especially when it is spent on other people.

Step 1: BrainstormingStart listing ideas related to your thesis.

Don’t worry about where/how they fit; just get as many as possible on paper.

*Scrooge’s profession is unstated.

*Scrooge accumulates and hoards wealth.

*Charity collectors specify that they need cash for their charitable endeavors.

*Money spent by the Cratchits and everyday Londoners on Christmas produces happiness.

*Scrooge is more interested in stockpiling cash than investing in people or products.

*Fezziwig is a successful businessman who puts money to good use.

*Money can be used to save Tiny Tim.

*Marley and the ghosts are bound to cashboxes (implies punishment for hoarding money).

*Scrooge spreads money around on Christmas day.

*Prize turkey for the Cratchits.

*Cratchits may be happy despite being poor, but their poverty will take its toll (Tim’s potentialdeath).

*Money = Status: this empowers Scrooge to make a significant change in society.

*Scrooge’s money is left to his company following his death in Yet to Come (does not benefit anyone).

*Generous tip for the errand boy.

*Donations to the charity collectors.

*Possible counterargument: Christmas Past points out that money does not buy happiness.

Step 1: FreewritingIf you prefer free-writing to

brainstorming, you can begin with this step instead…

In A Christmas Carol, Dickens condemns the pursuit of wealth for the sake of being wealthy, but he also suggests that money can produce beneficial results within society, especially when it is spent on other people. Scrooge’s central problem in A Christmas Carol is that he focuses entirely on his own wealth, and that he hoards his money instead of spending it in ways that will benefit other people. Scrooge barely spends any money on himself either, which means he is not investing in the economy or in goods and services provided by others. This means that Scrooge is not contributing anything to society. Marley’s ghost demonstrates why this is destructive because it means that you inevitably become chained down by your wealth and your money. Marley and the ghosts also demonstrate the necessity of showing charity. They are tormented in the afterlife because they could have used their money to do good but now it is too late. Money can produce many beneficial results in society when it is spent properly. The charity collectors are in need of money for their charity. The Cratchits can benefit from money because it can be used to provide care for Tiny Time. Money can also be used to fight back against “Ignorance” and “Want.” At the end of the story, Scrooge’s redemption is achieved mainly through his spending money on others, whether he is buying things for the Cratchits or giving money to the charity collectors. Money does not necessarily buy happiness but it allows one to make positive contributions to society and to thus create happiness for other people and for oneself. Though money initially keeps Scrooge isolated from other people, it is ultimately used to connect him to other people.

Step 2: Concept Mapping Group ideas together and organize them based on logical

relationships.

Scrooge’s Initial View of Money

Mon

ey is

w

orth

less

*Hoards his wealth.

*Places himself above others (disconnect).

*Makes no contribution to society.

*His job involves turning money into more money.

Scrooge’s Revised View of MoneyMoney is valuable

*Empowers him to make a change.

*Saves the Cratchits/urban poor.

*Allows him to connect w/others.

Charitable acts

*Bob’s salary

*donations

*tips for boy

Other Characters

Money is

worthless

*Marley and ghosts = bound to their hordes and unable to use them for good.

Money is valuable*Fezziwig = spread joy

*Cratchits = necessary to survive

Step 3: Linear OutlineThesis: In A Christmas Carol, Dickens condemns the pursuit of wealth for the sake of being wealthy, but he also suggests that money can produce beneficial results within society, especially when it is spent on other people.

I = Dickens’s Negative View of Money Is For Those Who Hoard It A. Scrooge’s Misuse of Money

1. Scrooge’s money makes no contribution to society.a. Scrooge’s profession is never specified; he generates money for the sake of making more money.b. Fred’s speech during Christmas party.c. In death, his money is left to his company, not to his family.

2. Scrooge’s money separates him from others.a. Money = power over those who are beneath him.b. Scrooge keeps the poor and destitute at a distance.

B. Marley and the Human Ghosts’ Misuse of Money1. Marley and the other cursed humans were misers.

a. Chained to symbols of their hording (cashboxes, safes, etc.)b. Did not do good with money in life; unable to do so after

death.

A note on the Five Paragraph Essay In most high schools, you learn to write a 5 ¶ essay:

¶ 1 = intro/thesis¶ 2 = supporting idea A¶ 3 = supporting idea B¶ 4 = supporting idea C

¶ 5 = conclusion/recapitulation The central problem with the five-paragraph model is that it is prescriptive: it tells you exactly how many supporting

ideas you should have (in fact, it tells you exactly how many paragraphs you should have). However, An argument should be based on relationships between sequences of ideas, and not on pre-prescribed numbers or formulas.

Moreover, the five paragraph model treats the three supporting paragraphs as though they are interchangeable. A paragraph is not simply a “box” that you fill up with information. A paragraph must have a clear focal point in relation to the overarching argument, and it must be placed deliberately within the middle part of the paper where it can build effectively on its predecessors and set up its successors. The five paragraph model does not account for the order of the paragraphs, or for transitions between the paragraphs; it implies that the paragraphs exist independently of one another.

While the five paragraph model could be a useful starting point for your outline, it is not nearly as effective as the strategies that were established in the previous slides. The five paragraph essay does not require you to invest much time or thought into planning out your paper, but the previous models do, and the more time/thought you invest, the better.