0 Some students have a knack for effortlessly coming up
with good idea on the fly. Brainstorming is nothing more
than the act of thinking about something - or maybe
nothing at all - until fully formed idea pops into your
brain. Most people, though, coming up with an idea is a
daunting challenge. If you're someone who has a difficult
time coming up with ideas, for school your school
assignment you should try implementing some
brainstorming techniques to ease the process along.
0 Freewriting is your most basic brainstorming technique.
0 After reading the course assignment;
0 Take out a note book size piece of paper, and pencil. Set a
timer for 2 - 3 minutes.
0 Just start writing what comes to your mind without
stopping, or critiquing what you are writing.
0 Then after the time limit, go back through what you have
written and choose the topics that you want to write
about.
0 Take out a notebook piece of paper, and draw a large
circle in the middle. Post your main thought in this circle.
0 Place straight lines going from this circle out to several
smaller circles all the way around the edges of the paper.
0 Begin to think of every word that comes to mind about
your main topic.
0 Take out a note book piece of paper.
0 Write the letter of the alphabet on each line.
0 Then write a word that associates to that letter.
0 Ex, A = Apple,
C = Computer, College
M = Motherboard, Magazine
0 Take out a notebook piece of paper and place it
lengthwise.
0 In the middle of the paper draw a line, similar to a fishes
backbone. This is the topic
0 Then draw diagonal lines from the main line, these are
the main points, from these lines draw more like the fins.
This are the
supporting material
0 Take out a piece of note book paper and hold it
lengthways.
0 Draw 7 columns,
Label each column: People, Processes, Problems,
Phenomena, Procedures, Possessions, Products,
Programs.
Now under each column write the specific main point,
they do not have to start with a P,
Example: People, Gandhi
Problem: World Peace
Phenomena: Northern Lights
0 Scan the Media (Newspaper, Magazines,
Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Pintrust, blogs)
0 Develop a personal inventory of subjects that
interest you. (experienced personally or want to
explore)
0 Either way of individually brainstorming will prove
productive if you follow your thoughts through. Freewriting,
Bubble, Alphabet, Bonefish, and 7 –P’S and allows you to
capture your thoughts on paper without the interruption of
editing, correcting, or catching grammatical or spelling errors
while in mid thought. Continuing your flow of words onto the
paper is a goal of brainstorming. As you develop a method that
works for you, penning your words onto the paper will turn
sheer letters into countless ideas which will become
masterpieces suitable for editing and eventual assignment
submission.
0 NEXT: Review how to write an effective academic paper.