1 Exploring

Before creating a final image, an artist takes the time to

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consider what to create. Similarly, before developing a
LEARNING OBJECTIVES draft, a writer needs to explore the topic.

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LO 1 Define exploring.
(p. 4)

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LO 2 Identify your topic.
(p. 5)

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LO 3 Identify your
audience. (p. 5)
LO 4 Identify your

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purpose. (p. 5)

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LO 5 Practise exploring
strategies. (p. 8)

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LO 6 Practise journal and
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portfolio writing.
(p. 12)
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Lynne Gaetz
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LO 1  Define exploring. What Is Exploring?

Have you ever been given a writing subject and then stared at the blank page, thinking,
“I don’t know what to write”? Well, it is not necessary to write a good paragraph or essay
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immediately. There are certain things that you can do to help you focus on your topic.
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Teaching Tip Understand Your Assignment

As soon as you are given an assignment, make sure that you understand what your task
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is. Answer the following questions about the assignment:

 How many words or pages should I write?
 What is the due date for the assignment?
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 Are there any special qualities my writing should include?

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 Chapter 1  Exploring   5

After you have considered your assignment, follow the four steps in the exploring
stage of the writing process:

▶ EXPLORING
ESSAY LINK
STEP 1  Think about your topic. Determine what you will write about. When you plan an essay,

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you should follow the four
STEP 2 
Think about your audience. Consider your intended readers and what exploring steps.

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interests them.
STEP 3  Think about your purpose. Ask yourself why you want to write.

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STEP 4  Try exploring strategies. Experiment with different ways to generate ideas.

Topic

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LO 2  Identify your topic.
Your topic, or subject, is what you are writing about. When an instructor gives you
Teaching Tip

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a topic for your writing, narrow the topic and find an angle that interests you. For
example, if your instructor asks you to write about travel, you can take many approaches
to the topic. You might write about the dangers of travel or explain what people can

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learn when they travel. Try to narrow the topic to suit your interests. When you think
about your topic, ask yourself the following questions:

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 What special knowledge do I have about the topic?
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 What subtopics are most relevant to me?
 What aspect of the topic arouses my emotions?

Audience
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LO 3  Identify your
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audience.
Your audience is your intended reader. Your audience might be your instructor, your
classmates, your boss, your co-workers, and so on. Remember to adapt your language and Teaching Tip
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vocabulary for a specific audience. For example, in a report written for your business class,
you might use specialized accounting terms that would not be appropriate in an essay for your
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English class. When you think about your audience, ask yourself the following questions:
 Who will read my assignment? Will the reader be my instructor, or will other
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students also read it?

 What does my audience already know about the topic?
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 What information will my readers expect?

Copyright © 2019 by Pearson Education Canada

 Should I use formal or informal language?

HINT
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Instructor as the Audience

Your instructor represents a general audience. Such an audience will expect you to
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use correct grammar and to reveal what you have learned or understood about the
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topic. Do not leave out information because you assume that your instructor is an
expert in the field. Your ideas should be presented in a clear and organized manner.
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Purpose LO 4  Identify your purpose.

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Your purpose is your reason for writing. Sometimes you may have more than one
purpose. When you consider your purpose, ask yourself the following questions:
 Is my goal to entertain? Do I tell a personal story or anecdote?
 Is my goal to persuade? Do I convince the reader that my point of view is correct?
 Is my goal to inform? Do I explain something or present information?

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 6  Part I   The Writing Process

Teaching Tip HINT General and Specific Purpose

Your general purpose is to entertain, inform, or persuade. Your specific purpose

is your more precise reason for writing. For example, imagine that you have to write
about music. You can have the following general and specific purposes.
Teaching Tip General purpose: to inform

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Specific purpose: to explain how to become a better musician

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PRACTICE 1

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Read text messages A and B. Then, answer the questions that follow.

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Teaching Tip Text Message A Text Message B

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whaddup? how ru? can’t cu at 3 I will not be able to work as sched-
cuz forgot about doc appt. wanna uled tomorrow afternoon because I

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meet later? im prob free 2nite. have a medical appointment at 3:00
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anyway ttyl pm. If you would like me to work the
late shift instead, I could do that.
Please let me know. Thanks!
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Reply Options Reply Options

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1. Who is the intended audience for text message A?

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friend          boss

What language clues helped you determine the audience?
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2. Who is the intended audience for text message B?

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         friend boss

What language clues helped you determine the audience?
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Teaching Tip PRACTICE 2

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Read each selection carefully. Underline any words or phrases that help you identify
its source, audience, and purpose. Then answer the questions that follow each
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selection.
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EXAMPLE: I’m totally psyched about learning the drums. It’s taken me a while
Slang ➣ to get used to keeping up a steady beat, but I think I’m getting it. My
Slang, informal tone ➣ drum teacher is cool, and he’s pretty patient with me. I try to practise,
but it bugs the neighbours when I hit the cymbals.

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 Chapter 1  Exploring   7

What is the most likely source of this paragraph? Teaching Tip

a.  website article b. textbook c. email
What is its purpose? To inform
Who is the audience? Friend or family member

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1. The nationalist movement in music was first felt in Russia, where music had

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been dominated entirely by foreign influence. Starting in the middle of the
nineteenth century, Russian composers began to write operas in their own
language, on Russian themes, and they often based their librettos on literary

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works by the great Russian writers of the time.
What is the most likely source of this paragraph?

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a.  short story b. textbook c. email
What is its purpose? 

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Who is the audience?

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2. When dealing with club managers, it is imperative that you act professionally.
Get all the details of a gig in advance. Doing so will eliminate any confusion or

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miscommunication that could result in a botched deal. It will also instantly set
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you apart from the legions of flaky musicians that managers must endure on a
daily basis. That’s a good thing.
What is the most likely source of this paragraph?
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a.  website article b. novel c. email

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What is its purpose?

Who is the audience?
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3. She brought a magazine out of her purse and paged through it, and then set it
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down on her lap. The music changed—some piano piece that seemed tuneless,
for all the notes running up and down the scale, and the whisper of a drum and
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brushes. She looked at the magazine. Staring at a bright picture of little girls in a
grass field, she remembered something unpleasant, and turned the page with an
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impatient suddenness that made him look over at her.

What is the most likely source of this paragraph?
Copyright © 2019 by Pearson Education Canada

a.  short story b. textbook c. email

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What is the purpose?

Who is the audience?
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PRACTICE 3
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View the following cartoon. What is the topic? Who is the audience? What is the
purpose? Does the cartoon achieve its purpose?
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 8  Part I   The Writing Process

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© 1999 by Arnie Levin/The New Yorker Collection/The Cartoon Bank.

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Exploring Strategies

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LO 5  Practise exploring

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strategies.
After you determine your topic, audience, and purpose, try some exploring

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strategies—also known as prewriting strategies—to help get your ideas flowing.
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The four most common strategies are freewriting, brainstorming, questioning, and
clustering. It is not necessary to do all of the strategies explained in this chapter. Find
the strategy that works best for you.
You can do both general and focused prewriting. If you have writer’s block and
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do not know what to write, use general prewriting to come up with possible topics.
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Then, after you have chosen a topic, use focused prewriting to find an angle of the
topic that is interesting and that could be developed in your paragraph.
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HINT
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When to Use Exploring Strategies

You can use exploring strategies at any stage of the writing process:
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• to find a topic
• to narrow a broad topic
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• to generate ideas about your topic

• to generate supporting details
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ESL Teaching Tip Freewriting

Freewriting is writing for a limited period of time without stopping. The point is to
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record the first thoughts that come to mind. If you have no ideas, you can indicate that
in a sentence such as “I don’t know what to write.” As you write, do not be concerned
with your grammar or spelling. If you use a computer, let your ideas flow and do not
worry about typing mistakes.
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Sandra’s Freewriting
College student Sandra Ahumada did freewriting about work. During her freewriting,
she wrote everything that came to mind.

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 Chapter 1  Exploring   9

Work. I’ve only worked in a restaurant. Schedules are good for

TECHNOLOGY LINK
college students. Can work nights or weekends. Serving people so On a computer, try typing
different from studying. You can relax your brain, go on automatic without looking at the
pilot. But you have to remember people’s orders so it can be hard. screen or with the screen
And some customer are rude, rude, RUDE. In some jobs, you get turned off. Don’t worry
tips in addition to the salary. Should people always tip servers? about mistakes.

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Sandra’s Focused Freewriting
After Sandra did her general freewriting, she underlined ideas that she thought could
be expanded into a complete paragraph. Then she looked at her underlined ideas to

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decide which one to write about. Her purpose was to persuade, so she chose a topic
that she could defend. She did focused freewriting about tipping.

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People should always tip in restaurants. Why. I dont earn a lot, Teaching Tip
so the tips are really important. I gotta lot a bills, and can’t pay

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everything with minimum wage. What else? Diners should just
consider the tip as a part of the cost of eating out. If they don’t
wanna tip, they should cook at home. Also, lots of other service

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people get tips and nobody cares. And bad service. It could be
the cook’s fault. We need those tips. Sure do.

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THE WRITER’S DESK  Freewriting
Choose one of the following topics and do some freewriting. Remember to write
without stopping.
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Stress Nature Sports Teaching Tip

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Brainstorming
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Brainstorming is like freewriting except that you create a list of ideas, and you can
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take the time to stop and think when you create your list. As you think about the topic,
write down words or phrases that come to mind. Do not be concerned about grammar
or spelling. The point is to generate ideas.
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Jin’s Brainstorming
Copyright © 2019 by Pearson Education Canada

College student Jin Park brainstormed about health issues. He made a list of general
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ideas.
—lack of health care
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—obesity
—fast food
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—not enough exercise

Jin’s Focused Brainstorming

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Jin chose “not enough exercise” as his topic, and then he did focused brainstorming.
—video games, PlayStation
—parents worry about dangers on streets
—sports activities (e.g., football) cost a lot for fees, equipment, etc.

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 10  Part I   The Writing Process

—too much sitting at school

—not enough physical education time
—need more community sports programs

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THE WRITER’S DESK  Brainstorming

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Choose one of the following topics and brainstorm. Create a list of ideas.
Ceremonies Gossip Good or bad manners

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Teaching Tip Questioning

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Another way to generate ideas about a topic is to ask yourself a series of questions and
write responses to them. The questions can help you define and narrow your topic.

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One common way to do this is to ask yourself who, what, when, where, why, and how

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questions. Like other exploring strategies, questioning can be general or focused.

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Rachel’s Questioning
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College student Rachel Jubinville used a question-and-answer format to generate ideas
about family.
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What is a family? —a unit of people tied by blood or legal

documents
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Can friends be considered —maybe long-time friends become part of an

like family? extended family
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What are problems in families? —abuse, bankruptcy, grudges, divorce, jealousy

How do families stay together? —love, patience, withholding judgment, listening
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to each other, acceptance of differences

When can families connect —holidays, weddings, funerals, weekly dinners
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the best?
Why is our family important? —provides support and connection, helps during
times of crisis
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THE WRITER’S DESK  Questioning

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Choose one of the following topics and write questions and answers. Ask who,
what, when, where, why, and how questions.
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Teaching Tip
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Technology Patriotism Celebrities

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Clustering
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Clustering is like drawing a word map; ideas are arranged in a visual image. To begin,
write your topic in the middle of the page and draw a box or a circle around it. That
idea will lead to another, so write the second idea and draw a line connecting it to your
topic. Keep writing, circling, and connecting ideas until you have groups, or “clusters,” of
them on your page. You can use clustering to get ideas about a general or a specific topic.

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 Chapter 1  Exploring   11

Mahan’s Clustering
College student Mahan Zahir used clustering to explore ideas about crime. He
identified some main topics.

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White-collar
crimes

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Reasons Who should pay
people commit crimes

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for crimes?
CRIME

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Celebrity How to

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criminals punish criminals

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Mahan’s Focused Clustering
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Mahan decided to write about the reasons that people commit crimes. He added
clusters to that topic.
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stagnant
minimum
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wage influence
of luxurious
advertising tastes
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poverty
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greed
cuts to
social services
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REASONS PEOPLE
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COMMIT CRIMES alcohol

impairs
gangs
judgment
Copyright © 2019 by Pearson Education Canada

drugs or
peer pressure alcohol
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addicts
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desire to steal to buy

dares
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look cool drugs

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THE WRITER’S DESK  Clustering

Choose one of the following topics and use clustering to explore it on a separate
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sheet of paper. Begin by writing the key word in the middle of the space. Then
connect related ideas.
Jobs Health Relationships

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 12  Part I   The Writing Process

HINT More About Exploring

When you explore a topic using any of the listed strategies, keep in mind that a
lot of the ideas you generate may not be useful. Later, when you develop your
ideas, be prepared to cut irrelevant information.

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LO 6  Practise journal and
portfolio writing.
Journal and Portfolio Writing

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Keeping a Journal

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Teaching Tip You may write for work or school, but you can also practise writing for pleasure. One
way to practise your writing is to keep a journal. A journal is a book, a computer file,
or a blog (weblog) where you record your thoughts, opinions, ideas, and impressions.

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Journal writing gives you a chance to practise your writing without worrying about
your readers and what they might think about it. Journal writing also gives you a

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source of material when you want to write about a topic of your choice. According to
author Anaïs Nin, “Keeping a diary is a way of making everyday life seem as exciting

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as fiction.”
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In your journal, you can write about any topic that appeals to you. Here are some
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topics for journal writing:
 reflections and feelings about your personal life, your career goals, your college
courses, your past and future decisions, and your work
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 your reactions to controversies in the world, in your country, in your province, in

your city, or in your college
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 facts that interest you

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 your reflections on the opinions and philosophies of others, including your friends
or people that you read about in your courses
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Teaching Tip
Keeping a Portfolio
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A writing portfolio is a binder or an electronic file folder where you keep samples of
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all of your writing. The reason to keep a portfolio is to have a record of your writing
progress. In your portfolio, keep all drafts of your writing assignments. When you work
on new assignments, review your previous work in your portfolio. Identify your main
problems, and try not to repeat the same errors.
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Teaching Tip Reflect on It

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Think about what you learned in this chapter. If you do not know an answer, review
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that topic.
1. Before you write, you should think about your topic, audience, and purpose.
Explain what each one is.
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a. topic:
b. audience:
c. purpose:

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 Chapter 1  Exploring   13

2. Briefly define each of the following exploring styles:

a. freewriting:
b. brainstorming:
c. questioning:

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d. clustering:

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| MyLab | Writing
The Writer’s Room | MyLab | Writing

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Complete these
Writing Activity 1 writing assignments at

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Choose one of the following topics, or choose your own topic. Then generate www.pearson.com/mylab
ideas about the topic. You may want to try the suggested exploring strategy.

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General Topics
1. Try freewriting about a strong childhood memory.
2. Try brainstorming about anger, listing any thoughts that come to mind.
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3. Try clustering. First, write “music” in the middle of the page. Then
write clusters of ideas that connect to the general topic.
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4. Ask and answer some questions about online addictions.

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College- and Work-Related Topics

5. Try freewriting about a comfortable work environment. Include any
emotions or other details that come to mind.
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6. Try brainstorming about study habits. List any ideas that come to mind.
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7. To get ideas, ask and answer questions about the best or worst jobs.
8. Try clustering about different types of customers. First, write “custom-
Copyright © 2019 by Pearson Education Canada

ers” in the middle of the page. Then write clusters of ideas that relate to
the general topic.
Teaching Tip
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Writing Activity 2
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Look carefully at the poster on the following page. First, determine the topic,
audience, and purpose. Whom is the poster trying to convince? What is the
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purpose? Is the purpose fulfilled? Then try exploring the topic. Use questioning
as your exploring strategy. Ask and answer who, what, when, where, why, and
how questions.
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 14  Part I   The Writing Process

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Lucas Oleniuk/Toronto Star/Getty images
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Exploring Checklist
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As you explore your topics, ask yourself the following questions:

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□ What is my topic? (Consider what you will write about.)

□ Who is my audience? (Think about your intended reader.)
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□ What is my purpose? (Determine your reason for writing.)

□ How can I explore? (You might try freewriting, brainstorming, questioning,
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or clustering.)
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