Good topics are everywhere waiting to be selected and shaped into interesting papers – even in a grocery store.
Look at the possibilities. Suppose you were a grocery store manager. There are numerous topics you could write about.
Not only are there topic ideas here; there are esay title ideas as well--a multitude of them. Let's see.
Now that you're in tune to the idea of inventing, do this “getting started” exercise.
Choose two activities and three occupations; then, under each, write as many possible essay topics as you can think of.
Occupations
Pizza deliverer
Restaurant Server
Bartender
Sales associate
Returning student
Veterinarian's assistant
Hospital volunteer
Recent high school graduate
Read through this entire list of prewriting activities and choose one to practice now. Take the results to the Lab Assistant.
Writing every day helps you to become a better writer. Some student-writers find that writing down their observations of happenings every day in a journal helps them to generate ideas for further writing. They can read over their informal entries and underline an idea (or an evolution of an idea in several entries) in this “scrapbook of ideas,” as authors Kirszner and Mandell call it.
Write without lifting your pen for 10 minutes. Try it! When you get stuck, keep writing – the same words over and over. Soon, you’ll be generating sentences which might help with a more formal writing assignment.
Think about a topic you’ve chosen or been assigned. Then write without stopping for 10 minutes. Don’t stop to consider whether you can use the new ideas you’re generating.
Write your topic or a key word in the center of your page. Then begin writing related ideas, moving outward from the center with more “clusters” of related ideas or examples or details, as illustrated on the attached page.
Most students are familiar with this strategy. The key to producing a list of possible ideas for a writing assignment is to write quickly and don’t slow down to evaluate the ideas.
As you consider your topic, ask Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
Try completing open-ended sentences in several ways. Try these:
Too many students _____________________________________________.
When I’m writing a paper for a grade, _______________________________ is like ________________________________________________. (analogy)
What is your essential “baggage” in life? If you were taking an extended trip, what three or four objects would you absolutely need in your suitcase? What important aspects of your life do these objects represent?
List your three or four objects and write at least two sentences about each