The Value of Prewriting and Organization

Strong writers understand the importance of preparation. They approach writing as a process, a cycle that requires constant revision. Brainstorming is a wonderful activity to help you gather thoughts, ideas, and possible evidence about a given topic. You should not, however, go straight from brainstorming to crafting a rough draft. Instead, take the time to outline your essay. The outline highlights all the main components of your essay and summarizes the evidence you plan to use. Outlining will give your essay structure and allow you to fix errors early. Persuasive essays especially benefit from the process of outlining because an outline can help ensure that the position stays consistent throughout the essay. In this topic, you viewed sample brainstorming techniques, learned about the basic structure of an outline, and practiced making a outline of your own.