This document discusses different brainstorming techniques for generating ideas before writing, including clustering, listing, and freewriting. Clustering involves writing a main topic in the center of a page and surrounding it with related subtopics and ideas connected with arrows. Listing means writing a main topic and then listing any words or phrases related to the topic without worrying about structure. Freewriting involves continuously writing about a topic in sentences without stopping to edit, in order to generate as many ideas as possible. Examples are provided for each technique.

1. Brainstorming
Techniques

2. BrainstormingBrainstorming
References
© 2001 by Ruth Luman
Getting Ideas Before You WriteGetting Ideas Before You Write

3. What is
“Brainstorming?”
Writing down any idea that comes
into your head when you think
about your topic (words, phrases,
symbols, etc.)
Before you can brainstorm, you
have to do some PRE-WRITING
(figure out TPAG: Topic, Purpose,
Audience, Genre (type))

4.  ClusteringClustering
BrainstormingBrainstorming
 ListingListing
 FreewritingFreewriting
Three Activities

5. BrainstormingBrainstorming
Clustering
1. Start with the main topic of your essay. Write that word in the center of
your paper.
2. Write down any sub-topics that are connected to that main
topic. Draw arrows to the sub-topics from the main topic.
San Francisco
Chinatown
Fisherman’s
Wharf
Golden Gate
Bridge
Alcatraz Museums
Transportation
 ClusteringClustering
ListingListing
FreewritingFreewriting

6. BrainstormingBrainstorming
Clustering
3. If you have new ideas, connect those words to the
appropriate sub-topic.
San Francisco
Chinatown
Fisherman’s
Wharf
Alcatraz Museums
Transportatio
n
Golden Gate
Bridge
American
Legion
Modern Art
Museum
Asian Art
Museum
Clam
Chowder
Ships
boats
Cable Car BusBART
Restaurants
Stores
Theaters
Old Military
Prison
Civilian
Prison
1934-1963
Famous
Prisoners
Completed
1937
Scenic View
 ClusteringClustering
ListingListing
FreewritingFreewriting

7. ClusteringClustering
Example #1
Favorite
Room
Quiet
Bedroom
Big ClosetComfortable
Furniture
Windows
Sunny
View of
Sky
View of
Trees
Soft Bed
Rocking
Chair
Yellow
Good-
Sized
 ClusteringClustering
ListingListing
FreewritingFreewriting

8. ClusteringClustering
Example #2
My Mother
Liked
Sports Very
Religious
shape and
character4
Intelligent
Hard Worker
house work
Housewife
Waitress
Cleaned
Houses
Read many
books
Had many
different
interests
Went to
church
Taught
Sunday
School
Gave to
charity
Volleyball Soccer
 ClusteringClustering
ListingListing
FreewritingFreewriting

9. BrainstormingBrainstorming
Listing
1. Start with the main topic of your essay. Write that word or words at the
top of your paper.
Why I Want to Become a Nurse
ClusteringClustering
 ListingListing
FreewritingFreewriting
2. Write down any word or phrase that might relate to your
main topic underneath. Don’t worry about spelling or
grammar. Your goal is to write down as many ideas as
quickly as possible.

10. BrainstormingBrainstorming
Listing
Why I Want to Become a Nurse
Like science
Like problem solving
Many jobs available in nursing
Good salary
Like working in a hospital
Want to help other people
Challenging job
Opportunities for promotion
Interested in study of diseases
Interested in study of human
body
Flexible hours
Will always learn something new
ClusteringClustering
 ListingListing
FreewritingFreewriting

11. ListingListing
Example #1
How to be a Successful
Language Learner
•Practice speaking with
others
•Take classes
•Guess at the meanings of
words
•Listen to radio or TV
•Observe others
•Set reasonable goals
•Don’t be afraid to
experiment
•Study vocabulary in related
topics
•Ask others to correct you
•Look for patterns in your errors
•Organize your study time
•Use special techniques to remember
new words
•Ask for help when you don’t
understand
•Review material regularly
•Use a dictionary
•Choose a good textbook
ClusteringClustering
 ListingListing
FreewritingFreewriting

12. ListingListing
Example #2
Cambodia
•Major Cities: Battambang,
Phnom Penh
•Angkor Wat
•Borders Vietnam, Laos, Thailand
•Mekong and Tonle Sap Rivers
•Once a French colony
•Tuol Sleng Prison
•Agriculture: rice, rubber, fish,
timber
•Cambodian writing: originally
from India
•Artful dances
•Theravada Buddhism
•King Sihanouk
•Pol Pot/Khmer Rouge
•Weather: hot and rainy
•Minority Groups: Cham, Pear,
Brao
•Land mines
•Education
ClusteringClustering
 ListingListing
FreewritingFreewriting

13. BrainstormingBrainstorming
Freewriting
1. Start with the main topic of your essay. Write that word or words at the
top of your paper.
2. Freewriting is like talking to yourself on paper. Write as much as you
can in connected sentences (not lists) about your topic. Write as
quickly as you can without stopping to think about grammar or
organization.
ClusteringClustering
ListingListing
 FreewritingFreewriting
My Favorite Book

14. BrainstormingBrainstorming
Freewriting
My Favorite Book
My favorite book… I don’t know where to start. I read so many books
that are interesting that it’s hard to choose just one. I guess I could
start by talking about the kinds of books I really like. I like biographies
and autobiographies the best. I really enjoy reading about another
person’s life. One of my favorite books is called Roots by Alex Haley.
How the author was able to trace his family history all the way back to
Africa was amazing! Another book I really enjoyed was Carl Sandburg’s
biography of Abraham Lincoln. What an incredible president! There are
also some very interesting books about leaders like Napoleon, Churchill,
and Stalin. Well, I guess that gives me a few ideas about where I can
start on my topic.
ClusteringClustering
ListingListing
 FreewritingFreewriting

15. FreewritingFreewriting
Example #1
A Problem I Have
I have of course many problems in my life like everybody has, but
right now I am feeling new problems like the cultural shock. I got out
of my country and came to study in the U.S.A. One of the biggest
problems is to make friends, to make or have the good old friends I
have back home. It’s so hard here- you don’t know how to act, whether
you should ask them their telephone number or wait for them to do it,
whether you should call them very often or not. Are they bothered by
my language problem? Can they not carry on a conversation with me
because they always talk about local or national subjects about which I
am not informed? This is really hard and sometimes makes me feel like
a stranger in a group where everybody is laughing and talking and they
supposedly were my friends.
(Spack, R., 1996)
ClusteringClustering
ListingListing
 FreewritingFreewriting

16. FreewritingFreewriting
Example #2
Things I Brought to the U.S.
I have been living in the U.S.A. for about four years. When I cam here,
I brought with me a few books, my favorite T-shirts, and a little hand-
made pillow from my mother. Among some of the books I brought with me
is one called The Little Prince. It is a very interesting book. Every time I
read it, I find new and different ideas that I can practice in my life. Some
of my favorite T-Shirts are souvenirs from places which I had visited in
Colombia where I come from and they remind me of the good times I had.
The little handmade pillow from my mother is a small cotton square, with
five lines around it and my Christian name on it. Sometimes when I have
difficulties in my courses, I look at it asking for help like my mother used
to give me when I was living at home.
And what I left behind was a happy family life, my good friends, and a
pretty city in the north of Colombia near the Atlantic Ocean, where it is
always sunny and windy. (Raimes, 1987)
ClusteringClustering
ListingListing
 FreewritingFreewriting