Prewriting Or How To Invent Your Thesis

There is nothing worse than staring at a blank page on your computer screen! Whether you are a college student, an academic or a seasoned writer, it is never easy to find the right words to start your writing process.
However, as the saying goes-all journeys start with a single step- so will writing even the largest of volumes progress by placing single words on a paper. Nonetheless, there are some techniques and pointers that can be used to avoid the initial panic. Thus, the generally helpful hints and tips will be given here, with the hope that you will find them useful.
First and foremost, you must allow plenty of time for the writing process. Submitting the version you first produced is unlikely to work, as you will need to keep changing and editing your first draft. Some colleges even stipulate that the students submit all the drafts as a proof that they created them, thus following the tried and tested writing process.
Hence, the first piece of advice is to allow yourself plenty of time and relax.
Equally importantly, find a quiet area where you can write free of any disturbance, as it will help you focus. The prewriting process usually begins with simply thinking about the topic you wish to write about. Start by simply considering what you already know about the topic and how it relates to what you have written or researched in the past. This not only helps place your work in a valid context, it also serves to ease you in the writing process, as it will now flow more easily, owing to your realisation that the new assignment is not completely unrelated to what you already know.
Next, it is wise to follow one or all of the steps successful writers tend to adopt-directed questioning, free writing, and brainstorming. You might find that you do not need all three, or that a specific version of one of the above works best for you. Whatever brings out your creativity is fine-after all, it is you who will do all the work!
Directed Questioning
Direct questioning is linked to the initial process of thinking about the topic. However, it is more structured, as you should ask yourself specific, direct questions that will identify gaps in your knowledge. The following questions might be a good start, but you can expand them to suit your needs.
What is already known about this topic?
How does it relate to my extant knowledge?
What is my view/stance/opinion about it?
What are alternative views on the subject?
Who would be interested in knowing more about the topic?
Where can I find more information?
Free writing
Free writing is a term coined to describe writing thoughts related to specific subject, as they pop in your mind. It is not supposed to be structured, ordered chronologically or follow any predetermined pattern or style. It will simply help you bring out all your knowledge on the topic-some of which might have been long forgotten. It is a good place to start, as it will often surprise you how much you already know. You can then shape your ideas, identify gaps and proceed with formalizing your paper.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming very similar to the above, as it produces unstructured results. However, during this process you are deliberately challenging your mind to come up with anything related to the topic. You might find asking some of the questions below helpful.
How do the thoughts link together?
How can the ideas be developed further?
What idea predominates?
Why is that the case?
How can you expand on that idea?
When you have jotted down all you know about the topic and have identified the ideas you wish to explore further, it is time to organize your writing.
Organizing your writing
Clearly, you have to guide the reader through your chosen topic by providing the most common parts of any paper or a thesis:
1. Introduction
2. Statement of your thesis
3. Background information
4. Development of your topic
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
These are just the guidelines, as depending on the nature of your work, you might have experimental techniques, participants, materials and methods and other parts to your work that need describing in your thesis.
The important point to remember is that you first need to introduce your topic in a fairly general way, followed by background information which will give it a valid context and then proceed with the details of your writing. Clearly state the objective of your work, which will later be called upon when discussing the findings, drawing conclusions and recommending any future work.
Good luck!!!