Understanding Prewriting Techniques in Writing - Essay Example

Understanding Prewriting Techniques in Essay Writing There are various styles of writing. It can be a short story, a novel, a script for a news program or an essay; and, for each of these styles are different techniques on how to effectively do it. It can be noted that the first among the techniques in writing is almost always the planning or the prewriting stage. In essay writing, the prewriting stage includes brainstorming or deciding on the specific subject to be tackled and doing a draft of the piece to be written. Aoki, et al. (1996) wrote that through brainstorming, the purpose of the essay and the target audience is determined. The purpose or the essay's focus should be "important events that readers react with feelings that could include amusement, excitement, or delight" (Aoki, et al. 1996). But the writing techniques stated in the book do not exactly work all the time. I believe that the planning stage differs for a particular subject. For example, in writing on "The Best Way to Learn about Life," the author has to be equipped with knowledge and experience on various circumstances about life. The first question that the writer should ask is "What is the best way to learn about life" Usually, the answer is the lessons learned from the mistakes and shortcomings committed. From here, the writer can explore on the specific experience to be cited in the essay. The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University suggests that among the questions that need to be considered in exploring the problem or the thesis of the essay are the target readers, the purpose, and the writer (Online Writing Lab at Purdue University [OWL at Purdue], 2004). For the essay on learning about life, I believe that as a writer the first thing to be determined is the character that I will project in this literary composition. Will I be a young and free-spirited writer that learned about life through adventures and misadventures Will I be a career person that learned about life through the hard works made in going up the corporate ladder Or will I be a family person who was taught the lessons of life by raising the kids and dealing with in-laws Determining the writer's image goes hand-in-hand with the personality of the target audience. Before I begin writing, I need to talk to some of the would-be readers so I can fully understand their situation. This constitutes brainstorming that will help me with the contents of the essay and decide on the right writing style that will enable me to truly relate to the readers. The ideas gathered in brainstorming have to be "put in a nutshell" (OWL at Purdue, 2004). Then, I can start my first draft on the essay that tackles "The Best Way to Learn about Life." However, a different approach is needed in writing about the violence on television and video games. Although this topic primarily deals with the children, its target audience is the parents. Research is one of the major prerequisites for this subject. The statistics and surveys made on the effects of violent TV programs and video games will add substance to the essay. When done with the research or the exploration stage, writing experts suggest that the writer should make the purpose of writing on a particular subject clear from the very start. Experts say there are many "correct" things to write about for any subject, but the writer needs to narrow down the choices (OWL at Purdue, 2004). To be able to do it, the writer should ask "Why would my readers care about it" As a writer, I would contemplate whether I want the audience to simply know the effects of violence on TV and video games on children particularly the toddlers, or take the reader to the confessions of a man who has been addicted to action-packed TV programs and video games, or let the audience in to the dilemma of parents who were earlier remiss with their child's interest in TV programs that shows violence only to find out that that kid has become a "monster" to others Perhaps, I would dedicate a day just to let these questions and ideas pour in, jot it down, and examine it later. A diagram could be useful when there a lot of ideas coming. Make a tree, outline, or whatever it is that can assist the writer see a schematic representation of the available facts (OWL at Purdue, 2004). This might help the writer discover the need for more material. Once complete, the writer can start with the first draft of the essay on violence on TV and video games. Another example that will show how prewriting techniques differ for every topic is writing on an essay about the best pet. Pets are usually appealing to people of all ages. Hence, writing on this topic requires higher level of writing skills because the essay has to be an interesting read to various types of audience that includes the career persons, students, children, and the elderly. In this topic, I believe that an outline would be helpful to guide the writer in the sequence of the essay since it will deal with a variety of opinions. As a writer, I have to discern on the purpose and focus I want to achieve in writing about the best pet. It can be told from the viewpoint of a child in describing "The Best Pet" and how that pet affects the entire family. There are also questions that need to be asked. How does the child describe the dog, for example, as the pet Why is it considered as the best pet Did the dog's presence in the household change something Then brainstorming will follow. The writer can talk to a few friends who own a pet. This will be added to the writer's knowledge on pet-ownership gained through personal experience. Analogy will help to liven up the essay as it opens up new set of ideas (OWL at Purdue, 2004). After brainstorming, list down all the ideas gathered, then contemplate on it to set the mood for writing. In doing the first draft, writing the topic or the focus sentence is one of the crucial parts. A topic sentence encapsulates or organizes an entire paragraph and the writer should be careful to include one in most of the paragraphs of an essay (University of Ottawa, 2006). The books can teach about the techniques in prewriting and writing, but experience taught me, as a writer, that books are only there to be a guide. The Prewriting stage about the best way to learn about life, the effects of violence on TV and video games, or the best pet constitute different techniques on how to effectively convey the message to its respective target audience. As Purdue University puts it, the writer may jump back and forth among the various writing strategies. The writer may find that one works better than another and may try several strategies at once; if so, the writer is probably doing something right (OWL at Purdue, 2004). Reference Aoki, E.M., Flood, J., Hoffman, J., Lapp, D., Macias, A.H., Martinez, M., McCallum, A., Priestley, M., Roser, N., Smith, C., Strong, W., Teale, W., Tenaple, C., Tinajero, J., Webb, A. (1996). Write Idea! Integrated Writing Grammar. New York: McGraw-Hill School Publishing Co. Online Writing Lab at Purdue University. (2004). Planning (Invention) [On-line]. Available: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_plan1.html Online Writing Lab at Purdue University. (2004). Planning (Invention): When You Start to Write [On-line]. Available: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_plan2.html University of Ottawa. (2006). Writing Topic Sentences [On-line]. Available: http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/partopic.html#topic%20sentence Read More