Freewriting is a session, often timed, of writing through stream of consciousness. You can choose to freewrite about a larger topic/question or specific topic/question related to your project. When freewriting, don’t stop to think about what you have written until after the time is up. If you can’t think about what to write next, write whatever comes to mind, even if it seemingly has no correlation to your topic.

Step 1: Choose an amount of time to set your freewriting session. We recommend 3,5, or 7 minutes.

Example: I’m setting my freewriting time to 3 minutes!

Step 2: Choose a topic or question to base your freewrite on.

Example: I will freewrite about the topic for my paper: “A History of Florida Oranges”

Step 3: For your chosen time, write about whatever comes to your mind when thinking about the topic. Don’t Stop! Don’t worry about proper punctuation, spelling, or grammar, just keep writing!

Example: A History of Florida Oranges, I live in Florida I love oranges I wonder how many oranges florida produces where are the orange plantations in florida right now have they always been there in the past? Did they start growing in florida I don’t know what else to talk about I wonder if other countries like how floridas oranges taste how did florida become well known for their oranges and what sets it apart from other oranges in different states is it the climate it is always hot in florida but it makes orange juice taste so much better I am writing about oranges what can oranges be used for has there ever been no oranges in florida like a drought that would suck I hope it doesn’t happen while im around how many oranges does florida make in a year…

Step 4: Now look at what you’ve written. It may look weird right now, but take some time to pick apart key details that relate to your topic, and put them together.

Example: Florida orange production (How much? To where?), plantation history (How long have they been there? How much have they produced?), Have oranges always grown in Florida?, What sets Florida oranges apart from others?, How did oranges become a Florida staple?

In this freewriting example, specific questions about the topic can be picked apart and used as a basis for beginning research or expanding on the topic.

Listing is a brainstorming technique that can help a writer get a better understanding of their topic, expand on certain parts of their thesis, or even aid in choosing a topic to begin with.

Step 1: Listing can start whether you already have a topic in mind, or no topic at all when it comes to the main idea.

Example: I need to write a paper on one of the major conflicts of literature found in Homer’s The Odyssey, but I don’t know what to choose!

Step 2: Start by listing out 4-5 topics under the main idea (or if you have a topic in mind already, write about aspects of that topic).

Example:

• Person vs Person
• Person vs Nature
• Person vs Self
• Person vs Society

Step 3: Of those, select 3 that you like the most, and write about them using bullet points or paragraphs. Get detailed and do some research if you can. 

Example of one of the topics: Person vs Self:

• Odysseus’ pride and ego
• Odysseus’ struggle with temptation
• Odysseus’ perseverance and determination

At the end of the writing session, you’ll be able to see which topic or aspect had the most ideas, and from there you can formulate what your research could be about.

Mind Mapping is a type of brainstorming activity that can help with picking out a general topic or argument or expand on the details for the paper.

Step 1: Get a piece of paper. Put one element in the center of the page. This could be the topic or topic question of your paper, part or all of your argument, or any detail you intend to go in depth on.

Step 2: Create a web of associations around the element. They can represent broadly related ideas or categories. 

Step 3: Each main branch can have smaller subcategories or questions.  

Your Mind Map can give you an idea of where you can start your research or what else you could include on your paper. No matter how detailed Mind Maps can get, the points will be able to relate back to the main element.  

In this brainstorming method, you use what you’ve already written, and break down what parts could use revision. 

Step 1: Read through your paper again. Write down the main idea of each paragraph either on a different piece of paper or in the margins. 

Step 2: Now analyze the content of your paper after you outline. Ask yourself questions like: Did I dedicate too much space on one topic? Did I write too little about other ideas? Does the order of ideas make sense? Did I leave out any important ideas or get off track? 

Step 3: Move things around: Add on to your paper or cut irrelevant information out. 

By the time you finish this brainstorming method, you should have a good roadmap to follow as you revise your work. 

Visual Brainstorming are methods used to see your paper from different perspectives. These mostly involve the process of revising structure or the way ideas on the page are organized. 

Step 1: Write on post-it notes or cut up a physical copy of your paper based on sections such as main claim, ideas or sub-sections. You can cut/write based on paragraphs or even single sentences.  

Step 2: Now rearrange and reorganize them.  

When you have an order you like, focus on your topic sentences and transitions to guide your reader through your paper.