Prof. Jessica Denzer
BMCC English 101: Composition Unit 1
Getting Started: Prewriting
Every kind of writing involves a thesis (a central idea) about a subject that the writer
wishes to convey to an audience of readers for a particular purpose. However, often
when we sit down to write, the main idea and purpose of your writing may not be clear,
even when you know the subject you wish to write about and the audience you are
writing for. Your job in the beginning is to simply get started, keep and open mind, and to
explore all your ideas. By doing this, you will eventually reach your thesis and will
understand why you are writing this essay.
Subject and Purpose
A subject is the specific object/concept that you are writing about. A subject may arise
from any number of sources, including but not limited to academic theories, personal
experience, art, literature, and cultural concepts. Whatever the source, the subject that
you choose to write about should be something that you are deeply interested in or care
enough about to pull out your own specific perspective. Your perspective is the key to
creating a unique voice that conveys an original idea.
Your purpose for writing is your reason for writing.
A purpose may be one or more of the following:
• To explain the subject so that readers may understand it in a new light
• To persuade readers to accept or reject an opinion or to take certain action
• To entertain readers with a humorous or exciting story
• To express the thoughts and emotions triggered by a revealing or instructive
experience
The purpose for writing your essay is extremely important. You need to know why the
subject is important to you and what you wish to gain by writing whatever it is you
choose to write about. Without purpose, the subject falls flat. It remains simply a specific
object or concept without the unique life only you as the writer can give to it. However,
sometimes that purpose is not clear to you. If it is not clear to you, than it won’t be clear
to the reader.
If you are unsure about your purpose for writing about your subject, that’s okay! In the
beginning, purpose and objective sometimes can be unclear. That is why we try to
explore all ideas and concepts in the initial writing process so that we can confidently nail
down what it is we as writers are trying to say.
Audience
It is important to think about your audience in order to answer a few important questions:
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What is the impression you want to make on your readers?
What do the readers already know about the subject and what do they need to
know?
What are the expectations and assumptions the readers are likely to have about the
subject?
How can you use your readers’ knowledge, assumptions, expectations, and prior
views to push your thesis and bring them around to your perspective?
Pre-Writing: The Art of Invention and Exploration
Journal Writing: Many writers keep a journal to collect thoughts, observations, and
notes about their ideas and the world around them. Whether you are keeping a journal in
a notebook, or on your computer, writing in your journal is a good way to explore your
ideas and thoughts without fear of judgment of the reader. Regular journal entries help
you to put ideas on the page, write out initially first thoughts, and to meditate on readings
or experiences that you want to write on. When you write for yourself, you feel free to
explore your own mind without worrying about “correctness”.
Freewriting: Free writing is exploratory writing in which you write without stopping for
a set amount of time. This can be anywhere from 10-20 minutes, following your ideas
wherever they lead and not stopping to cross things out or correct any misspellings or
grammar. Like journal writing, the writing is rough and the tone is informal. Often
sentences or ideas may be left incomplete, words might be misspelled, and your structure
might be formless, but none of this matters. The point of the freewrite is to let go of any
judgment and to explore wherever your unconscious mind might take you.