... all you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. "
- Gene Fowler (1890-1960)
Do you already have a paper due or is one looming in the future? Don't know where to start? Here are some ideas for gathering thoughts after you have done the necessary reading and/or research.
Step I
Brainstorm for ideas.
Take ten minutes and write down every thought that you have on the subject. Just let the ideas flow. Some of them might be off-the-wall, but often even these will lead you in a direction that you might not have expected. Don't censor your thoughts at this stage; just generate ideas.
Step 2
Now, look at your writing and determine the "golden thread." What main idea kept surfacing? What do most of these random thoughts have in common? Develop this main idea into a working thesis statement. Remember your thesis statement should come early in your paper. A thesis statement gives the central idea of the paper-what is this paper going to "prove"; what is your opinion on this subject.
Step 3
Now that you have a pretty good idea of what you want to accomplish in this paper, look back over your brainstorming ideas, set aside all the unrelated ones, and make a list of all those that are relevant. You now have the beginning of an outline for your paper.
Step 4
Carefully look over your outline draft. Do ideas need to be rearranged? Do you need to fill in some holes? Revise your outline.