Brainstorming Strategies for Student Writing

Summary

This presentation introduces five brainstorming techniques to alleviate writing anxiety: cubing, free writing, listing, mind mapping, and researching. Cubing involves examining topics from multiple perspectives, while free writing is an unedited warm-up exercise. Listing focuses on communication goals and key elements, mind mapping visually connects ideas, and researching expands on brainstormed concepts. The presentation encourages experimenting with these methods to find the most effective strategy for each individual.

Takeaways

• 📚 The presentation introduces five brainstorming methods: cubing, free writing, listing, mind mapping, and researching.
• 🔍 Cubing involves looking at a topic from different perspectives, like examining all sides of a cube.
• ✍️ Free writing is an unedited, uninterrupted warm-up exercise to get the creative juices flowing.
• 📝 Listing involves creating a list of ideas and elements to communicate, focusing on what's essential for the topic.
• 🌐 Mind mapping is a visual brainstorming technique that helps to see connections and emphasize certain aspects.
• 🔎 Researching is about expanding on brainstormed ideas and flushing them out with more information.
• 🤝 Partnerships are used as an example to demonstrate how to brainstorm, emphasizing the importance of relationships and shared goals.
• 🤔 Cubing helps in analyzing a topic by comparing and contrasting it with other concepts, such as teamwork versus dictatorship.
• 📈 The process of brainstorming should lead to the formation of questions that drive further research and writing.
• 🎯 The goal of brainstorming is to determine the strategy that works best for the individual to overcome the blank page and start writing.
• 🧐 Being genuinely curious about the topic is crucial for engaging in research and writing with enthusiasm.

Q & A

What are the five brainstorming methods discussed in the presentation?

The five brainstorming methods discussed are cubing, free writing, listing, mind mapping, and researching.

How does cubing help in brainstorming?

Cubing helps by looking at the same topic from different vantage points, allowing you to view an issue from all different sides of the matter.

Can you give an example of how cubing is applied to the topic of partnerships?

Applying cubing to partnerships involves considering different aspects such as what a partnership is, types of partnerships, what partnerships are like or not like, and how they can be applied.

What is the main idea behind free writing as a brainstorming technique?

Free writing is a warm-up exercise where you write for 15 or 30 minutes without editing yourself, focusing on getting your ideas flowing without worrying about punctuation, spelling, or grammar.

What are the two key questions to consider when using listing as a brainstorming method?

The two key questions are: 'What do you want to communicate?' and 'Which ideas and elements do you want to highlight or convey in particular?'

How does mind mapping differ from other brainstorming methods?

Mind mapping is a visual approach where you see how things are connected and what you might want to emphasize more or less, using a central topic and branching out with related ideas.

What role does researching play in the brainstorming process?

Researching helps to expand on the ideas brainstormed and flushes out concepts by using resources like libraries, interviews, and visuals.

Why is asking questions important in the researching phase of brainstorming?

Asking questions drives curiosity and makes the research process more interesting. It motivates you to look into different resources and talk to different people to find answers.

How does the presenter suggest measuring the results of a partnership?

The presenter suggests assessing the relationship, creating mutually completed goals, and considering accountability within the partnership as ways to measure results.

What are some of the arguments for and against partnerships mentioned in the script?

Arguments for partnerships include the value of shared meaning and accomplishing great things together. Arguments against include the inefficiency of building partnerships and the complexity that can lead to outcomes not aligning with expectations.

What is the presenter's advice on how to approach writing about a topic you're genuinely curious about?

The presenter advises thinking about questions you want to hear the answers to, going out and asking them, and then using the responses and information found to start writing.