Think Before You Begin

Topic Selection

If you have not been given a topic, select one that you can divide and put into specific categories. The topic must be broad or complex enough so that it can be easily divided into categories. As for classifying information, make sure that you’ll be able to flesh out your categories and that you’re not facing a topic that has too many categories.

Writing for Your Audience

Does your division help the audience understand your topic better?  Are your categories well thought out, and is it clear to the reader how and why the information fits into each category?

Prewriting Techniques

Which prewriting techniques may help you write your essay?  Do you want to use a prewriting technique to write your essay, or do you want to start with a rough draft? Graphic organizers and outlines may help you divide your topic and classify your information.

LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS

Excelsior Online Writing Lab (OWL). Located at: https://owl.excelsior.edu/ . This site is licensed under a https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .