Choosing a subject
A subject is what your writing is about. Ask three questions.
- Do I care about it? You will write better about something you want to know.
- Can I find facts? You need things to say.
- Is it the right size? You must be able to finish it in the space you have.
"Food" is too big. "School lunch waste" is right. "The colour of my school bin" is too small. To narrow a big subject, add a place, a group of people or a time: "food" becomes "food at my school".
Keep only what fits
You will find more facts than you can use. For each fact ask: does this help my subject? If not, set it aside. It may be a good fact, but it belongs to another piece of writing. Keep it for later. Do not throw it away for ever.
Combining information: group it
Lay the facts you kept in front of you. Put facts that are alike into the same group, and give each group a short heading. For lunch waste the groups can be problem (how much is wasted), cause (why it happens) and fix (what we can do).
If a fact fits two groups, put it where it helps most and mention the other link in a sentence. If a group has only one card, look for one more fact or join it to another group.
Put the groups in order: your plan
Now choose an order that helps the reader. Often it is problem, cause, fix. For a story it is first, next, last. For a comparison it is one side, the other side, what we learn.
Write the headings in a list. This list is an outline. Each heading becomes a paragraph, and the cards under it become the facts and examples in that paragraph.
Try it
Write 10 facts on small pieces of paper about a subject you like. Make the subject smaller until it fits one page. Remove the pieces that do not fit. Make groups on the floor, name them, and move the groups until the order feels natural. Take a photo as your outline. In the 3D, tap the card buttons and see what happens when an off-topic card stays in.
Key formulas and definitions
- Subject = something I care about + facts I can find + the right size
- To narrow a subject, add a place, a group of people or a time
- Keep a fact only if it helps the subject
- Group = facts that belong together + a short heading
- Outline = headings in a helpful order (for example problem, cause, fix)
Worked examples
1. Narrow the subject "Sport" so it fits one page.
Add a place and a group: "Why girls in our school play less cricket". It is smaller, it is about real people, and you can find facts by asking classmates.
2. You have these facts on "water at home": a leaking tap wastes 10 litres a day, a bucket bath uses less than a shower, my cousin's cat is white, a mug of water for brushing saves water. Which one do you drop and what are the groups?
Drop the cat fact: it is off topic. The other three make two groups: "where water is wasted" (leaking tap) and "ways to save" (bucket bath, mug for brushing).
3. Order these groups for a short report: Fix, Problem, Cause.
Problem, Cause, Fix. The reader first learns what is wrong, then why, then what to do. A fix with no problem before it makes no sense.
Common mistakes
- Choosing a subject that is too big, like "Food", and writing a little about everything.
- Keeping every fact you found, even those that do not fit.
- Writing without grouping, so similar facts are spread over the page.
- Putting the groups in a random order, so the reader gets lost.