A brainstorm can help you get organized, generate ideas, or combat writers block. Depending on how familiar you are with the material, you may want to do some research before you start brainstorming. Check out our research guide for tips on how to approach research, then come back and try a brainstorm with new information you've gathered!
Whether you need help generating ideas when you have none, or creating order when you have too many thoughts, brainstorming is a useful part of the writing process. Try different types of brainstorming. You might find that one type of brainstorming works better for certain types of essays than others. Check out the tabs above for some common brainstorming ideas, or watch the video below from the Texas A & M University Writing Center (2016) for a brief overview of brainstorming.
Mind maps can be a great place to start to sort out your ideas. To make a mind map, start by placing the main idea in the middle of the page. Then, branch off linked ideas in all directions. Write down keywords and/or images and/or questions that represent the supporting ideas. The result is a structure composed of keywords, lines, arrows, circles, squares, etc. that show the relationships among ideas.
Identify and recognize key ideas and their relationships to each other
Reduces the amount of notes you need to take
Organizes the material you are learning and improves your recall of key components
Words and ideas that are closely associated are grouped together
Images/things that stand out visually can be easier to recall than words. For instance, try enhancing the visual appeal of your mind map by using color, different printing styles, shading, and shapes
Example
Mind Map Example Graphic by Teevin Fournier, 2023.
A free-write (also know as a brain dump) can be useful if you already have some ideas about the topic or experience writer's -block. The goal of a free write is to get ideas out of your head and onto a page.
A free write can help you identify what you currently know, what questions you have an need to research, and can help you begin to figure out how your ideas might be organized.
Prompt: Discuss the history of the table of contents, and its possible future
Set timer for 5 min.
Early books did not use a table of contents. They were expected to be read cover to cover and the reader fully immersed themselves in the text. Early Bibles were the first known texts to have a table kind of table of contents directing seaders to specific chapters/sections [check]. some table of contetns were done as a diagram and this is a an interesting possibility to bring back wit the use of digital technology. Table of contents like the university of Saskatchewan tutrltel icon on IPortal is one example. Early modern period saw table of contenst that spanned half of the book, with every I subtitle and subsection indicated and sometimes also summaried. The table of contents is found at the front of books, both fiction and non fiction, and indicate to the reader where to find specific sections. They resemble an index. Hover features in the digigtal era allows new ways to show summaries in TCs, and hyperlink features make fro quick access to specific parts of a text website this can also be a use for the tc in the digital era.
Timer goes off. Note that there are multiple grammar errors in the example above. That’s okay! The goal is to put ideas onto the page, not to make it look "nice."
From the example shown above, we might then highlight ideas into groups:
Early books did not use a table of contents. They were expected to be read cover to cover and the reader fully immersed themselves in the text. Early Bibles were the first known texts to have a table kind of table of contents directing seaders to specific chapters/sections [check]. some table of contetns were done as a diagram and this is a an interesting possibility to bring back wit the use of digital technology. Table of contents like the university of Saskatchewan tutrltel icon on IPortal is one example. Early modern period saw table of contenst that spanned half of the book, with every I subtitle and subsection indicated and sometimes also summaried. The table of contents is found at the front of books, both fiction and non fiction, and indicate to the reader where to find specific sections. They resemble an index. Hover features in the digigtal era allows new ways to show summaries in TCs, and hyperlink features make fro quick access to specific parts of a text website this can also be a use for the tc in the digital era.
We might then fix spelling errors, note where more research could be done, and rearrange the ideas highlighted above into an outline. The outline might look like the following (note: TC = Table of Contents):
What is a TC?
Pre-TC
Early Table of contents
Future of the TC
If you're more of a linear thinker, you may find a list-type brainstorm more useful than an abstract mind map. You might make a list of information and ideas as you conduct your research. After you've gathered a good amount of information, use highlighters, colored pens, or symbols to group ideas together. Grouping ideas will help you see patterns, and ways you can begin to organize your information.
You might also consider making two or more lists to compare competing ideas. This can better help you take up a position on a topic and formulate your thesis statement.
If your general assignment is to write about the changes in inventions over time, and your specific thesis claims that “the 20th century presented a large number of inventions to advance US society by improving upon the status of 19th-century society,” you could brainstorm two different lists to ensure you are covering the topic thoroughly and that your thesis will be easy to prove.
The first list might be based on your thesis; you would jot down as many 20th-century inventions as you could, as long as you know of their positive effects on society. The second list might be based on the opposite claim, and you would instead jot down inventions that you associate with a decline in that society’s quality. You could do the same two lists for 19th-century inventions and then compare the evidence from all four lists.
Using multiple lists will help you to gather more perspective on the topic and ensure that, sure enough, your thesis is solid as a rock, or, …uh oh, your thesis is full of holes and you’d better alter your claim to one you can prove.
Example from: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center Brainstorming Handout
Use this tip sheet to improve your brainstorming
If you're experiencing writer's block, check out these tips provided by University College Writing Centre, Toronto
This list contains a variety of approaches to brainstorming you might try, and is provided by the the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center