Developing Ideas Workshop Amy Loper

Choosing a Topic Choose a topic that interests you Choose a topic that you already know something about Choose a topic that is specific enough to cover in the length of your assignment  For example, “Earthquakes” is much too broad of a topic. We would have to write books to fully explore this topic. “The San Andreas Fault” is better, but it could still take many hundreds of pages to cover. “The Northridge Earthquake” is specific enough that we could discuss it in a short essay.

Prewriting The first step in developing ideas is prewriting  Brainstorming  Freewriting  Listing  Clustering  Outlining

Brainstorming The Northridge Quake Large earthquake in California Lots of damage Injuries? Fatalities? 1994 Things to discuss: What caused the quake-the San Andreas Fault Who did it affect? What were the effects? How much money was the cleanup? How many people hurt/killed? What can people do to be better prepared? Are we, as Californians, prepared if this were to happen again??? 6.7!

Clustering Northridge Earthquake

Outlining 1. Idea or point 1 a)Support of point 1 2. Idea or point 2 a)Support of point 2 3. Idea of point 3 a)Support of point 3

What can we use as support? The support is the heart of the essay. This is the body of the paper where we use our evidence, analysis, interpretation, and explanations to inform or convince our readers. The important thing to remember is that you are the writer. It is your responsibility to give your reader everything he/she needs to understand your topic.  Don’t assume your reader will know what you are talking about or will understand your position on your topic. It is your job as a writer to explain.  Don’t let others speak for you; research and expert testimony can add to an essay, but it is still your job to analyze and interpret any data that you choose to include.

What can we use as support? Exemplification/ Illustration – explains a general statement by means of one or more specific examples. Narration – tells the story of what happened, the specific events that happened, and the people who were involved. It uses organized facts and details in a clear chronological or time order. Description – describes something – a person, a place, or an object – and captures it in words so others can imagine it or see it in the mind's eye. It uses descriptive examples that make use of the senses (sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch) to convey an image or represent an idea. Process Analysis – uses logical order or chronology to describe how to do something, how a particular event occurs, or how something works. Definition – explains clearly what a word, term, or topic means. Comparison/ Contrast – Comparison examines the ways in which two persons, places, or things are similar while Contrast examines the ways in which they are different. Comparison/Contrast, then, helps the reader understand one person, place, or thing in relation to another. Also, another method of Comparison/Contrast that helps the reader understand one person, place, or thing in relation to another is Analogy which compares/contrast something familiar with something unfamiliar. Cause and Effect – examines why something happened or what its consequences were or will be. Cause and Effect analysis answers the question "Why did something happen, and/or what results did it have?" Classification – gathers items, ideas, or information into types, kinds, or categories according to a single basis of division. For example, an essay could be classified as a narrative, process, or compare/contrast, etc.

Some Final Tips Develop each point in its own separate paragraph. In general, each paragraph should have its own topic sentence or main idea. Some longer paragraphs may be broken into separate paragraphs for ease in reading while some paragraphs may be short transitional paragraphs. Each paragraph needs unity; it must be about one idea. For coherence, the ideas and sentences must flow smoothly. Make sure each paragraph is developed using concrete, specific, detailed examples.

A Sample Paragraph It is important to make preparations before the event of a disaster. All residents of California should have an emergency evacuation plan, a first aid kit, and a supply of food and water in case of an earthquake. It is suggested that there should be enough supplies to last each person in the home at least three days (“Before an Earthquake”). Some other items to have on hand would be a fire extinguisher and any critical medications. Along with an evacuation plan, your family should have a good communication plan. How will you contact one another if you are not together when a disaster strikes? Ready.gov, an emergency preparation website sponsored by FEMA, suggests having a contact card for each member of the family including children, and always carrying that card on you (in your wallet, backpack, pocket, etc.). That way, you will always have contact information available even if you are incapable of contacting your loved ones yourself. Earthquakes are terrifying, but with some planning, we can be prepared and keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.

A Sample Paragraph It is important to make preparations before the event of a disaster. All residents of California should have an emergency evacuation plan, a first aid kit, and a supply of food and water in case of an earthquake. It is suggested that there should be enough supplies to last each person in the home at least three days (“Before an Earthquake”). Some other items to have on hand would be a fire extinguisher and any critical medications. Along with an evacuation plan, your family should have a good communication plan. How will you contact one another if you are not together when a disaster strikes? Ready.gov, an emergency preparation website sponsored by FEMA, suggests having a contact card for each member of the family including children, and always carrying that card on you (in your wallet, backpack, pocket, etc.). That way, you will always have contact information available even if you are incapable of contacting your loved ones yourself. Earthquakes are terrifying, but with some planning, we can be prepared and keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. Topic sentence List of examples Information from research More detailed examples Information from research with added details Follow up details Closing statement signals we are done discussing this point

For More Information Grossmont College Writing Center: The Purdue OWL: The Guide to Grammar and Writing: