BRAIN STROMING

Writers sometimes experience a shortage of writing ideas, chaotic floods of ideas or no ideas at all
that stalls writing projects. If you are experiencing this writers' peeve, try these proven
brainstorming strategies to generate or organize new topic ideas, approaches and revive your
stalled projects.
1. Freewriting
Freewriting involves letting your thoughts flow freely on paper or your computer screen. Set aside
a time frame like 15 minutes for writing or determine to write and fill a certain number of pages and
get down to it. Write whatever comes to your mind. Don’t worry about typos, spelling or any other
surface-level issues of grammar and style. Just write until your time is up or your page goal is
attained.
When you are done, read through what you have written. You will no doubt find a lot of filler in
your text, but there will also be golden nuggets of insights, discoveries and other little gems in
there that you can pick out and develop for your projects. Even if you don’t discover any new idea
nuggets, you will stir up your creative mind and unearth tit bits of raw concepts buried deep in your
mind you can develop.
2. Looping
Looping takes freewriting a step further with the aim of zeroing in on raw ideas and insights buried
deep in your subconscious mind. Move in loops between one free writing exercise of between five
and 10 minutes and another until you have a sequence of several freewriting pieces. Make sure
you adhere to the rules of freewriting in this exercise so that each result is more specific than the
other.
Read through what you have produced in all the freewriting looping cycles and analyze all
interesting sentences, ideas or phrases. You will likely discover a recurrent topic idea or theme
you are unconsciously thinking about has taken precedence. You can develop this topic idea or
theme and use it in your next writing project.
3. Listing
If you want to write about a specific topic or communicate a certain idea, jot down a list of single
words and phrases that relate to the general topic you are thinking about off the top of your mind.
For example, if you are thinking about producing a work of fiction, make separate lists of elements,
characters or scenes you want to convey. If you are writing nonfiction, list facts, arguments,
question or any other related ideas you want to cover.
Don’t outline or edit at this point. Let the activity be uninhibited. When you are finished listing,
group the items on your lists in a logical manner and provide a label for each group. Write a
sentence about each group and you will have several topic or theme sentences you can develop.
Build on the topic sentences and define associations of the groups to get broader topics or themes
with possible points to write on.
4. Clustering
Clustering, also known as idea mapping, is a strategy used to explore relationships and
associations between ideas. If you have run out of ideas on a subject or topic, write down the
subject in the center of a page. Highlight the subject either by underlining or circling it. Think of an
idea that relates to the subject and jot it down on your page. Link the idea to the central subject.
Think of another idea that relates to the new idea you just created. Link this new idea with the
previous idea. Repeat the process until you have a web of ideas on the page that are all derived
from the main subject. Now you can visually see ideas that relate to your main subject. Identify
clusters of ideas that interest you and use the key terms you attached to them as the departure
points for your writing project.
5. Nut-shelling
Nut-shelling entails discovering and laying out in a few sentences the gist of topic ideas in your
head. It helps you distinguish major and minor ideas in your thoughts and identify how the ideas
relate to each other. This way you are able to test how different ideas can affect what you want to
write about.
Pretend you are being interviewed by someone and they want to know what you want to write
about. Start your explanation with a phrase like “I want to write about...” or “I want to show….” Put
down your answer concisely in writing. Make your answer no more than two or three sentences
maximum to capture the essence of your topic and you will have just developed your topic
statement or premise for what you are thinking about writing.
6. Cubing
Cubing is a critical thinking process that involves examining a writing project from six distinct
angles to generate ideas for your stalled projects. Describe your project: What is it? What is it like
or unlike? What makes up its constituents? How can it be used? Finally, what are its pros or cons
or how can you oppose or support it? At the end of the exercise you should have an angle or
outline on how to approach your writing topic or project.
7. Journalistic 5W’s and 1H
When researching a story and the angle to take when covering the story, journalists ask the 5W’s
and 1H questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? Use the same technique to
generate topic ideas, possible angles to take on the topic and the most pertinent information to
include when addressing the topic.
Write each of the question words on a sheet of paper and leave spaces to provide answers for the
questions. Answer all the questions relating to your topic in brief and then review the answers. Do
you have more to say about one or more of the questions, such as more on the "where" and "why"
than the "what" or are your answers evenly balanced?   
You will discover that you know more or little about particular question words relating to your topic.
Leverage that awareness to generate new writing ideas. Research your topic further to improve on
areas you are least knowledgeable in, build on areas you are most knowledgeable in or the best
way to organize what you already know to balance your topic more.
8. Researching
Visit the library or go to a writing center near you and browse dictionaries, thesauruses, guide
books and any other reference texts that you find. You will be surprised at how much background
information, little-known facts and golden topic ideas relevant to your writing projects reference
books can give.
Write down past or current events relating to your writing subject, historical or contemporary
issues surrounding your topic and any other relevant information you gather in your library
research for use in your projects. Also, browse online versions of the dictionaries and reference
books to add to the ideas you have already collected.
If one of these strategies doesn’t work, move on and try another until something clicks.
Oftentimes, it is a combination of these brainstorming strategies that yields the best results.

TRANSITIONAL DEVICES IN WRITING

Transitional Devices
There are two basic types of transitions, conjunctive adverbs and conjunctions. Another type of
transition is called a referent. Transition words and phrases are used to clarify the relationships
between sentences. Transitions can be divided into groups according to their functions.
Types of Conjunctive Adverbs
A conjunctive adverb modifies the action by creating logical connections in meaning between
independent clauses. Unlike conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs are not always at the beginning of
the clause.
1. Of addition
Examples:
o also, besides, furthermore, moreover, etc.

o The condo complex has tennis courts; besides this, it has an indoor pool.

o He must have got stopped at the border crossing; otherwise, he would have arrived
by now.
o The lecturer had a monotonous voice; furthermore, he jumped from one idea to
another so that the lecture was very difficult to follow.
2. Of contrast
Examples:
o however, still, nevertheless, conversely, nonetheless, instead, etc.

o The printers are on strike; registered students will, nevertheless, receive course

packages on time.
o We were able to run only four courses; still, this compares favourably with other
summer programmes.
o It's really cold today; we can't complain, however, as it's been mild overall.

3. Of comparison
Examples:
o similarly, likewise

o Paul went to Lakeland college; his daughter, likewise, did her studies there.

o Kate is engrossed in her dogs; Martha is similarly obsessed with her horses.

4. Of result
Examples:
o therefore, hence, thus, consequently, etc.

o He rarely produced a day's work; he consequently lost his job.

o Caffeine is a stimulant; thus, it can keep a person awake at night.

 o We discovered Ida's activities were duplicating those of Marla; we, therefore,
assigned Ida other tasks.
5. Of time
Examples:
o next, then, meanwhile, finally, subsequently, etc.

o The chairman will be late for the meeting; meanwhile, we're to hand out minutes of
the last meeting to the board members.
o The network has crashed; next, the power will go off.

o First boil the water; then, pour it over the tea bag.

Types of Conjunctions
A conjunction is used to join words or groups of words.
1. Coordinating conjunctions 
o join grammatically equivalent sentence elements

Examples:
o and, for, or, yet, but, nor, so

o Edmonton and Calgary are the two largest cities in Alberta. (And joins two nouns.)

o Look in the cupboard or in the drawer. (Or joins two phrases.)

o You can't do that kind of heavy work, nor should you be expected to. (Nor joins two
clauses.)
2. Correlative conjunctions 
o pairs of words that join words, phrases, and clauses of equivalent grammatical
structure
Examples:
o both . . . and
either . . . or
neither . . . nor
not . . . but
not only . . . but (also)
whether . . . or
o Both Susan and Bill received their ten-year pin this year.

o Either you get a job or you go back to school.

o Whether you stay or leave is entirely your decision.

3. Subordinating conjunctions
These join clauses that are not equivalent grammatical structures. Subordinating
conjunctions introduce dependent clauses. These clauses cannot stand by themselves but
must be joined to a main or independent clause.
 The following is a list of words most often used as subordinating conjunctions:

Examples:

 In order to make feasible projections, we need to have reliable data.

 He's taller than you are.
 He looks as if he were about to cry.

PERSUASIVE WRITING
Persuasive writing is a form of nonfiction writing that encourages careful word choice, the
development of logical arguments, and a cohesive summary. Young children can be guided
through a series of simple steps in an effort to develop their persuasive writing skills.
Eight Persuasive Techniques
1. Appeal to Authority
Important people or experts can make your argument seem more convincing; Using reliable
research can help your argument seem convincing.
Example 1: Former U.S. president Bill Clinton thinks that junk food should be taken out of vending
machines.
Example 2: A recent study found that students who watch TV during the week don’t do as well in
school.
2. Appeal to Reason
Facts, numbers, information, and logic can be very convincing.
Example: A Snickers bar has 280 calories and 30 grams of sugar. That’s not very healthy.
3. Appeal to Emotion
Getting people to feel happy, sad, or angry can help your argument.
Example: Your donation might just get this puppy off the street and into a good home.
4. Appeal to Trust
If people believe and trust in you, you’re more likely to persuade them.
Example: Believe me! I’ve been there before. I’m just like you.
 5. Plain Folks
People will believe you if you appear to be an “Average Joe.”
Example: A politician says, “I’m going to clean out the barn!”
6. Bandwagon
If everyone believes it, it must be true!
Example: Nine out of ten people prefer our soap!
7. Rhetorical Question
Rhetorical questions are not intended to be answered. They’re a way to state the “obvious.”
Example: Who wouldn’t like to earn more money?
8. Repetition
If you repeat information or present information in repeating patterns, people will remember it and
believe it.
Example: Duty does not trump honesty. Duty does not trump common sense. And duty, my
friends, does not trump morality.
9. Storytelling
Storytelling is really a catch-all technique—you can and should use it in combination with any and
all of the previous nine strategies. But the reason why storytelling works so well lies at the heart of
what persuasion really is.
Stories allow people to persuade themselves, and that’s what it’s really all about. You might say
that we never convince anyone of anything—we simply help others independently decide that
we’re right. Do everything you can to tell better stories, and you’ll find that you are a terribly
persuasive person.
10. Address Objections
If you present your case and someone is left thinking “yeah, but…”, well, you’ve lost. This is why
direct marketers use long copy—it’s not that they want you to read it all, it’s that they want you to
read enough until you buy.
Addressing all the potential objections of at least the majority of your readers can be tough, but if
you really know your subject the arguments against you should be fairly obvious. If you think there
are no reasonable objections to your position, you’re in for a shock if you have comments enabled.
11. Prognosticate (Extrapolating the event)
Another persuasion theme involves providing your readers with a glimpse into the future. If you
can convincingly present an extrapolation of current events into likely future outcomes, you may as
well have a license to print money.
This entire strategy is built on credibility. If you have no idea what you’re talking about, you’ll end
up looking foolish. But if you can back up your claims with your credentials or your obvious grasp
of the subject matter, this is an extremely persuasive technique.

12. Agitate and Solve (Agitate the readers pain)

This is a persuasion theme that works as an overall approach to making your case. First, you
identify the problem and qualify your audience. Then you agitate the reader’s pain before offering
your solution as the answer that will make it all better.
The agitation phase is not about being sadistic; it’s about empathy. You want the reader to know
unequivocally that you understand his problem because you’ve dealt with it and/or are
experienced at eliminating it. The credibility of your solution goes way up if you demonstrate that
you truly feel the prospect’s pain.
13. Comparisons
Metaphors, similes and analogies are the persuasive writer’s best friends. When you can relate
your scenario to something that the reader already accepts as true, you’re well on your way to
convincing someone to see things your way.
But comparisons work in other ways too. Sometimes you can be more persuasive by comparing
apples to oranges (to use a tired but effective metaphor). Don’t compare the price of your home
study course to the price of a similar course—compare it to the price of a live seminar or your
hourly consulting rate.
14. Social Proof
Looking for guidance from others as to what to do and what to accept is one of the most powerful
psychological forces in our lives. It can determine whether we deliver aid to a person in need, and
it can determine whether we muster the courage to kill ourselves.
Obvious examples of social proof can be found in testimonials and outside referrals, and it’s the
driving force behind social media. But you can also casually integrate elements of social proof in
your writing, ranging from skillful alignment with outside authorities to blatant name dropping.