Although many students don’t like the idea of doing extra work before they actually start their homework, writing an impressive essay actually requires putting in a little extra effort prior to putting together a final draft. Prewriting techniques involve warming up your – the student’s – brain, organizing ideas, and setting up a plan before diving straight into writing a composition. It may take just a little extra time, but you will find that if you practice some prewriting before every essay you write, your papers will be better written overall, which will in effect give a better overall grade. Ten or fifteen minutes of extra work may be the difference between a B and an A grade for your paper. And, with all of the different techniques you can use to prewrite, there really is no excuse not to use at least one of them.
Brainstorming
Writing down every idea that is related to your topic in a list form is one of the simplest forms of prewriting, which is called brainstorming. The great thing about brainstorming is that you can put anything in the list that pops into your head. If your topic is on birds and you have random thoughts like,
-They fly
-They’re pretty
-They squawk
-They poop on people’s heads
All of those things would be fine because your brainstorming ideas are related to your topic on birds.
Mapping, Clustering, Bubbling, Webbing
It has several different names, but whatever you want to call it, it is one of the quickest ways to organize ideas in a fun manner. Circling ideas and linking the related ones that surround your main idea is a messy way to be organized… which ends up feeling a lot more enjoyable than most homework does. And, since your related ideas are clustered together, your separate body paragraphs are already prepared for you. What’s better than a prewriting technique that’s fun and easy?
Free Writing
There is nothing more freeing than knowing you can write whatever you want without worrying about grammar, spelling, structure, or coherence. That is the joy of free writing – you are free to make mistakes and write whatever you want. The trick is to force yourself to continually keep your pen on the paper and write whatever thought comes to mind, while trying to think of your essay’s subject. You may go off topic at times, but that is okay. You do not want to stop or correct your free writing because you may lose a train of thought that could be useful to you later. Just force yourself to keep writing, and you will eventually have enough material to use in your composition. By reading over your free writing afterwards, you should highlight or underline any ideas you find useful to your essay.
Outlining
Although outlining is more structured than other forms of prewriting, it is a very useful format to use in order to have your essay organized prior to writing your essay, which was explained in a previous “how-to” (see “Writing Outlines”). Outlines also help your essay stay on topic. By outlining your body paragraphs with their specific points, it is easy to just refer to your ideas written in your outline before you begin writing your composition.
Asking Questions
Sometimes the only way students will work is if they feel they are being forced to. Asking yourself questions is a way to make yourself feel forced into coming up with ideas for your essay. The standard reporter’s questions – Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? – are great ways to begin asking yourself questions about your topic. If you are still writing a composition about birds, ask yourself, “Who likes birds?” or “What kinds of birds are there?” or “Where do birds live?” Obviously, you can bend these questions to your own needs; these are just ways to force yourself into coming up with answers that will inevitably lead to ideas for your essay.
By Julia H. Jackson
I recently heard an interview with Keith Lowell Jensen, the self-described “atheist comedian” who tours with the Coexist Comedy Tour. Their tag line: “A Muslim, a Christian, a Hindu, a Jew, an Atheist and a Buddhist Walk Into a Bar.” Jensen describes their shtick as a volley of religious jokes and plays on identity, suggesting that perhaps “political correctness” is a form of comedy in and of itself. His troupe represents an increasing trend in comedy today—the tendency for comics to label themselves by a singular standout characteristic. Just what is comedy anyway? And what, if any, educational value might it have? Today we’re inviting five of our favorite comedians into the classroom, comics who are more than just funny; in many ways, they are historic. And yes, we’ll give you yet another reason to watch Comedy Central.
Chances are, if you are between 20-30 years old, the first things you think of when you hear Cosby’s name are jello and the celebrated Cosby Show. But Cosby’s repertoire goes back much further than that; this 1963 interview is a good snapshot of the underlying social issues that inspired his work. Cosby was the first African-American to co-star in a dramatic television series (I Spy), and his comedy albums have collected their fair share of notable awards, including five Grammys. Perhaps what is most revealing about his work is not his identity as a black man, nor his gentle approach to storytelling, but the wonderful way in which he blended the two in such a subtle, sometimes subversive way. Makes you want to eat some jello.
Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky) is, without a doubt, the true American renaissance man of the past century. He is perhaps most famous for his films (Blazing Saddles, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Young Frankenstein, and his The Producers, which he made into a smash Broadway hit in 2001), but he is also a renowned comedy writer, director, producer, and, yes, actor. His recording of The 2000-Year-Old Man with Carl Reiner is a classic example of his ability to incorporate elements of his Jewish immigrant voice into the canon of popular comedy. And yet, he had funny things to say about Christianity, too, as you’ll see in this excerpt from his famous History of the World, Part 1.
Margaret Cho’s personality and comedic style reflects the setting and environment where she grew up: Haight Street, San Francisco, during the 1970s. She won her first comedy competition at 16, which gave her the opportunity to open for Jerry Seinfeld, and she hasn’t really stopped since. Not only has her stand-up and one-woman shows garnered international attention (she was named the Chief of the 2008 Mardi Gras Parade in Sydney, Australia), but her messages about cultural identity have earned her honors from GLAAD, the ACLU of Northern California, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and American Women in Radio and Television. What makes her so smart? Her straight-talking style cuts through taboos on every level: she confronts racism, sexism, heterosexism, and xenophobia with a sense of humor that has, in many ways, set a precedent. Still not sure what we mean? Check out this clip, one of many featuring an impression of her Korean mother:
Janeane Garofalo is a comedian on a mission. She wants laughs, yes, but she also has an argument to make, and she’s going to find a compelling way to make it. Her film credits include The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Steal This Movie, and Reality Bites, as well as TV roles on The West Wing and 24. Garofalo is an outspoken political critic and engaged debater; in 2004 she helped found the progressive radio program Air America Radio, where she hosted the show “The Majority Report.” She was a frequent guest on national news and political talk shows during the Bush administration, thanks to her passion for honest media and her growing career as a peace activist. And yet, she has become the master of the devil’s advocate; check out this clip from her argument that money is not the root of all evil at the 2009 Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s Great Debate.
Eddie Izzard, long identified as Britain’s top “executive transvestite comedian,” has an established career both in the United Kingdom and in the United States. His stand-up includes Dress to Kill, Glorious, Sexie, and now Stripped; titles meant as pop facades for what his stories really are: eloquently-written, expertly-performed history lessons. Izzard is famous for his explanations of European history (“I’m from Europe, where history’s from…we’ve got castles!”), his in-depth satires of Noah’s Ark and the Anglican Church (“Welcome to the Church of England. Would you like cake or death?”), and his debunking of popular myths surrounding transvestites and sexuality (“Many male transvestites fancy women…we’re kind of like male lesbians”). For a taste of a classic Izzard history lesson, check out this fast summary of religious history in England.
The story of great comedy is still being written. This list represents a fraction of the truly smart comedians out there; we’ve left out so many obvious greats, such as Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, the Marx Brothers, Monty Python, Ellen DeGeneres, Gilda Radner, Eddie Murphy, Mike Birbiglia, Maria Bamford, and, who knows—you?
