Prewriting

 

Prewriting is the initial  stage of the writing process. It allows students to think critically in order to develop points which are associated with their subject/topic. It has been described as the key element in a good essay and the development and growth of good writing skills. Within the classroom, pre writing serves an efficient purpose and can be implemented in more ways than one.

Prewriting is a strategy which helps students arrive at the main idea of a topic and the details that they would like to include in essay. It also helps make the organization of the essay simpler and a bit more structured. Generating ideas for writing can be achieved through the use of any one or more of these strategies; freewritng, brainstorming and the questioning strategy.

During free writing students write in order to put onto paper the thoughts associated with a specific topic. Peter Elbov posits that, the idea for free writing is not to create a polished or even good piece of writing, but to get into the practice of  writing without censoring or deleting. Students should write continuously for a preset amount of time without reading back. There should be absolutely no focus on the conventions of writing

A great way to free write is to engage in what is termed blind writing. This form of writing is said to be most effective on a computer. A student does not see what he types but continues to do so until the allotted time has expired. In order to engage in this process, the individual opens up a blank page document on the computer and shut the monitor off. He then begins to type. I think this is a very effective means of free writing because it ensures that the individual does not re read what has been written before he is supposed to and also, it ensures that he does not see what is being typed, therefore, all errors are ignored.

Further information on Pre writing strategies, click on the link: http://faculty.ncwc.edu/lakirby/English%20090/prewriting_strategies.htm