This document provides an overview of prewriting strategies such as brainstorming and outlining to help make sense of research for a paper. It presents four common prewriting approaches: asking questions about the topic, freewriting ideas that come to mind, starting with big ideas and categories in an outline, and creating visual brainstorms or mind maps. For each approach, it offers tips and examples to guide the prewriting process. Resources for additional prewriting techniques and examples are also listed.