Topic Exploration: Ask the Right Questions

Before beginning any writing assignment or project, you must be clear on what the expectations are. Hit reply and write down your answers to the following questions:

1. What kind of writing assignment is this? Informative, persuasive, comparison-contrast, analytical, descriptive, something else?

2. Is research required? If so, consider doing some preliminary research to see if any of the topics you might be interested in would have enough research to support them.

3. What is your understanding of this writing assignment's purpose?

4. Who is your audience?

5. What is the required page length?

6. What topics interest you? Would any of these work for the assignment requirements?

7. Has the instructor provided a list of suggested topics? If so, do any of these look interesting?

After answering these questions, go to either the Freewriting or Brainstorming pages to generate more ideas.