Planning and Brainstorming
It can be challenging to come up with ideas, especially, if the topic or theme of the task at hand is unfamiliar to the writer. Once a clear understanding of the task question has been established, ideas and plans start forming. A good way to generate individual ideas and sort out what is relevant from the background reading is to brainstorm.
Most people find that if they attempt to write without a clear direction, they end up losing sight of the task or have a tendency to write off the topic. Therefore, it is worth spending some extra time at the beginning of the writing process and dedicate some time to background reading as a part of the pre-writing/planning stage. This background reading will give you an informed perspective when brainstorming.
There are various ways of brainstorming. Some of the more common techniques are free writing, listing and /or clustering, with some variations in the form of mind mapping and webbing. Click on the following headings for more information: