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Now that you have seen how some prewriting techniques can help you get your ideas going as you begin your writing process, it’s time to see how our sample student applies some of these strategies to her essay assignment. In this screen cast, you’ll see the student share freewriting and mapping.
For my prewriting strategies, I chose to try free writing and mapping. I did my free writing first, which you can see here, as I felt I needed to get some ideas down before I tried mapping. I have always been a fan of free writing as a good way to get started on an essay assignment, but I was really glad when I realized my free writing actually led to some good categories for my paper, which led to some a good plan for my mapping.
[switches to image of mapping]
When I created my map, I used three main categories I wanted to focus on in my paper, categories I developed from my free write. I decided to start with the categories of nature, buildings and architecture, and the people as a way to help focus my paper on Maine culture. From those categories that I actually developed from my free write, I was able to develop smaller categories that would give me some good directions to take in my paper.
Overall, I think my prewriting has been productive, and I feel ready for the next steps.