Pre-Writing

In my past  I have used quite a few different types of pre-writing. Some were more beneficial to me than others, but they were all somewhat helpful.  Brainstorming different topics on paper about what I am planning to write always helps me formulate ideas.   Usually any pre-writing technique that involves  drawing some type of visual helps me the most.  Often times just putting pen to paper and scribbling can help to open my mind.  Using the branching technique is something that I often did throughout high school when preparing for a paper.  Seeing all of my ideas in front of me makes it easier for me to choose the ones that I am going to use, and if I can look at them on paper I can then organize them in the order that seems best. Once I have a rough draft, I like to go through and edit spelling and grammar, or just move around sentences to create the best "flow" possible.  Having another person read my rough draft and give me suggestions is a great help as well because they can show me a different perspective from my own.  Reading the paper out loud to myself also helps me to get a better idea of where corrections need to be made.  After this is done I am usually ready to rewrite a second draft, or type a final draft. Reading from the "Writing Simplified" textbook gave me a lot of new ideas for pre-writing that I might be interested in trying for my first assignment.  The techniques of "freewriting" and "looping" seem like they would be great ways to get my brain flowing in a more creative way, and I think I will use these for future assignments.