Choosing Your Topic: Difference between revisions

With so many possible topics to consider, it may be beneficial to use Brainstorming Methods in order to produce an organized and manageable view of your ideas. These methods allow you to break down unmanageable and overwhelming ideas into their essential parts.

The [http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_01.htm    Mind Mapping] Method encourages you to “get out of the realm of words alone and see how different spatial representations might help you see the relationships among your ideas" <ref group=>The Writing Center, "Brainstorming"</ref>. This [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_concept_mapping_and_mind_mapping_software    method] begins with a central idea and builds outward, incorporating all possible related topic ideas.  

[[File:MindMap.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35| http://blog.iqmatrix.com/how-to-mind-map]]

[http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_01.htm    Free Writing] is another useful method, especially when facing the inevitable writer’s block, where writing starts and it does not stop. This method encourages continual thought through nonsensical ideas and pure imagination.  

Another great tool used in Brainstorming is [http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_01.htm    Thinking Outside the Box], or a technique where you try to understand a concept from a different perspective and then relate it back to your initial idea. For example, imagine for a moment that you are writing about your own culture. Think of all the different possible meanings for culture, such as a bacterial culture or referring to a refined group of people, and try to relate those concepts back to your original topic. Often, this method gives you a different perspective than you may have originally identified.