Page 100 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

Prewriting

In this chapter , your progressive assignment is a prewriting

assignment. Once you have completed your prewriting, you should

have more than enough material and ideas to develop into an essay. If

not, you may have limited yourself without realizing it. If you focus on

having enough material for three body paragraphs, you may come up
with only three ideas. Let go of any preconceived notions about how

much material you need, and turn off the inner censor that says your

ideas are not good enough. When you have more ideas than you

need, think about which ideas you want to focus on in your essay.

Choose one of the topics below and follow the instructions.

Topic 1: Discuss three obstacles to your

education.

Tips for Prewriting

Use any of the methods outlined in this chapter to prewrite on the

topic “Discuss three obstacles to your education.” As you prewrite,

consider all the factors that surround those obstacles. What is the

nature of each obstacle? Are they physical, emotional, financial,
academic? Does family or work play a role? Are there obstacles you

have already overcome? How did you manage to overcome them?

Are there obstacles that remain to be conquered? How will you do it?