Material
Forming the piece's material will allow you to refine your content, evidence, and the message you hope to convey to your reader.
You might need to develop your piece's material if...
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You understand what you want to convey in the piece (e.g., main ideas, argument, plot, etc.) but have not yet figured out the details or how to share your ideas with your audience.
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You are not sure who to cite or what others say about your topic.
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You are not confident about how your ideas relate to those from similarly written pieces.
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You are not sure what form this piece needs to take.
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What do you want to know about this topic?
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What research might you need to do? Who has written about this topic before?
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What images or other resources will enhance your presentation of the material?
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What opinions have other people had about this question or idea, and how do those connect with yours?
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What questions do you have that you would like to attempt answering in this piece?
Some questions
to guide you through the process
Strategies
Mapping
Visualize how your ideas relate to one another, as well as how your argument responds to other thinkers. What does the “conversation” look like surrounding this question? You might write out or draw the main ideas of the sources you’re working with, then identify how such ideas relate to each other. One way is to draw or otherwise represent ideas in relationship to each other.
TECHNIQUES:
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Gather sources you are planning to use for this piece and store them in one place.
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Write 1-2 sentences about each source that compel you. Use sticky notes, a sheet of paper and markers, or online tools like Miro or Coggle to gather your findings.
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Move around and color code your virtual or physical sticky notes. What connections can you make? How might your sources agree or disagree with each other? Which ideas support or may help form your primary argument? Which support secondary arguments?
Note-taking
As you complete research and plan out the content for your piece, it is important to establish a system to record and store your findings. An intentional approach to taking notes helps you shape and refine your ideas for the piece.
TECHNIQUES:
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Gather sources you are planning to use for this piece.
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Keep a record or folder of each source you read so you can return to them later. You might use digital tools like Zotero or Mendeley to annotate, highlight, and organize your texts. They will also generate citations that you can use in your final piece.
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Write down 1-2 sentences for what each source is and why you are considering using it: does it support or challenge your main argument? Does it provide helpful context or background about the topic of your piece?
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Consider creating a spreadsheet with each of sources in one column and your summary sentences in another. Jot down additional notes comparing and contrasting your summaries. This exercise can help you view how each source fits together in the grander scheme of your piece.
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Compile key quotes, ideas, or summaries in a physical notebook or digital tools like Evernote, OneNote, or Obsidian. Clearly color code or mark where these ideas came from to avoid plagiarism.
Conversation
It is sometimes helpful to talk about your ideas with a trusted mentor, friend, coach, instructor, etc.
TECHNIQUES:
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Start by explaining to your partner your goals for the piece. Once they understand the context for your writing, talk through your main points and the sources you would like to draw upon.
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Ask your partner to jot down key ideas as you speak. You may also use a simple recording tool like Google Recorder, Zoom, or Otter so you can listen to the conversation later. Additionally, there are AI tools like Speak that generate word clouds and other analytics as you and your partner speak with each other.
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If you are looking for ways to start your conversation, consider using platforms like ChatGPT to help you generate ideas. Prompts could include: I am writing a piece on X topic or in X genre: Please share examples of similar pieces OR Please share examples of arguments similar essays have made in the past.
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Establish a plan of action for yourself after this conversation. What ideas would you like to explore more in this piece? What questions would you like to research more? Who might you read, or where might you gather more information?
Quote compilation
Quotes can add specificity/depth to a piece, but it is important to integrate them into your piece so that your voice continues to shine through. Make sure to use direct quotes only when the author of the source is considered an expert on the topic. If you are unsure if this is the case, consult an instructor.
TECHNIQUES:
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Ask yourself what the quote is doing for your piece and consider how you can frame that to your reader. Introduce your quotation in the context of your argument. The book They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein includes useful sentence starters to help you.
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Use a trusted resource like Purdue OWL to help you format and cite your quote properly. You can browse APA, MLA, Chicago, and other citation styles on the site. Additionally, reference managers such as Zotero and Mendeley can help you generate in-text citations.
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Tie the explanation of your quote directly to what you are trying to say in the piece. How does it support or challenge your main argument? If the quote presents a new idea, why is it important? Why should this quote matter to your reader?
Digital Tools
Idea generation
Miro
Miro
What we like about this platform:
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Plenty of different ways to visualize and map out your ideas (e.g., shapes, lines, colors, grids)
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Free options (you are only allowed 3 free editable boards, but you can build upon or change these free boards without a subscription)
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Options to integrate into other platforms (e.g., Zoom, Slack, Google Drive)
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