Planning Texts

Upon receiving a prompt, a guiding question or a given topic, you must take the time to brainstorm.

Brainstorming implies writing down pretty much everything that comes to mind about the topic at hand, you can use images, keywords, or short sentences.

Sometimes, we don’t know enough about a topic to write about it. So, it’s important to take the time to research the subject. Use the internet, books, newspapers or any resources available to you.

Don’t forget to use note-taking strategies!

Knowing who you are writing to is important too. It will influence the way you construct your sentences and your text.

You will not write the same way when you write a letter to Canada’s Prime Minister versus one of your friends. Your tone and attitude will also be very different in a descriptive text about desert animals for elementary school compared to a research paper on nanotechnology for your PhD.

When you write, your intentions are something that cannot be overlooked.

Is your goal to make people laugh?
Do you want to inform society about an overlooked problem?
Do you want to convince someone to do something?

The intent behind your text can influence the way you write.

Commiting your main points to paper can help you write much easier. It will help you stay on track while you write the paragraphs in your text.

Don’t write complete sentences in your outline, use keywords or small groups of words.