Here are some brainstorming tips for the personal argument assignment.

1. Optional Writing Prompt
– 10 minutes.
Set up a short argument. Tell your audience “Do
this” or “Don’t do this” and explain why. Use your
own experience to back up your argument.
Example: “Don’t take Everclear-infused Jello shots”
and then explain how bad those consequences were
for you.
Example: “Book your vacations through
Travelocity” and then explain the great experience
you had when you booked through Travelocity.

2. Project One
Go over the assignment sheet.

3. Exploring Ideas

4. Write what you know!
We write best about topics we know well.
Choose a topic that will engage your interest, and
explore that topic by surveying what you know about
it, and determine what you need to find out.
The next few slides will help you think of strategies to
explore topics.

5. Try Brainstorming!
Talk about it with others.
Brainstorming means tossing out ideas--often
with other people.
Share some possible ideas for this paper with
someone you know. If you can't think of
anything, start by sharing the idea from your
prompt!

6. Freewriting
Freewriting is writing without stopping for a
designated time period. It’s kind of like what
you did for your writing prompt, but with true
freewriting, you just keeping writing whatever
comes to your mind, whether it seems related
or not.

7. Try drawing or creating
word pictures!
You could try to create a drawing about
the topic or use figurative language—such
as similes and metaphors—to describe
what the topic resembles.
-If you tried to sketch your topic, what
images come to mind?
Let’s experiment for 5 minutes: try
sketching your topic.

8. Another idea: clustering
• Clustering is a way of generating
ideas using a visual scheme or chart.
It helps with understanding relationships
between topics/ideas.
1. Write down your topic in the middle
of a blank sheet of paper and circle
it.
2. Branch off with the main points.
3. Continue to branch off with ideas,
examples, facts, or other details.

9. Another idea: ask questions
Simply ask and answer questions. Here are two options (Aristole’s questions:
to describe a topic vs. reporter questions: to explain a topic):
•What is it?
•What caused it?
•What is it like or
unlike?
•What larger system is
your topic a part of?
•What do people say
about it?
•Who is doing it?
•What is at issue?
•When does it take
place?
•Where is it happening?
•Why does it occur?
•How is it done?

10. Another idea: browse resources
Search the Internet for a topic you’re
interested in that you want to learn
more about.
Start by reading the Wikipedia page
about a topic.

11. Open brainstorm
Take an additional 5 minutes to try new
methods or use ones you already like to
come up with ideas for Project 1.