Brainstorming can be a good way to get started when faced with an assignment. The aim of brainstorming is to generate ideas and be creative. It's not about quality is about quantity (quality comes into the equation later).
How to Brainstorm
- Start with a blank page of paper.
- Read the assignment question.
- Be quick and note down everything and anything that comes to mind.
- Don't reject anything! No matter how silly or irrelevant or seemly inappropriate, note it down (you can decide later if you want to use it or not).
You can come up with a list of words, phases or sentences, and it doesn't even need to be in a list; you can just jot the notes down anywhere on a page. Some people like to use diagrams. Mind Mapping is a popular brainstorming tool for visually arranging ideas. Whatever works for you. Once you feel that you've exhausted all your ideas you can move onto the next stage.
Add Some Order to Brainstormed List
Look at your list and try and group like items together. Some may not belong together as a group but may share a link (perhaps one is dependent on another); in these cases draw a line. Ideas can be linked by colour-coding. See if you can give your groups a title.
Remove Ideas that Don't Belong
Just because you noted it down doesn't mean that it needs to stay. It's possible that some ideas are the same as others, just worded differently. And it's also likely that some things just aren't relevant at all. Don't be precious about what's down on paper.
Think of Some Questions
For each group of ideas, look for gaps. These could be gaps in your knowledge or perhaps other ideas you could add. Look at all your groups: are there areas you just don't understand and need more information?
Formulating questions helps you evaluate if you understand what is being asked and highlights areas to follow-up on. Brainstorming can also generate ideas that you hadn't previously considered so you may wish to pursue these further.
Thought Provoking Ideas
Your brainstorming ideas are not set in stone. You don't have to use them and they may not even be part of your final piece; they are simply thought provokers to get you started.
Go Back to the Original Question
Review your groups and ideas. You may want to start the brainstorming process over again. It's possible that your first brainstorming session highlighted the areas where you need to do further work to fully understand what is being asked. That's fine and is a good outcome.
Remember, your aim is to answer the question, so your brainstorming ideas must be relevant to remain as the ideas you will continue to work with. Consider the question against your ideas and be brutal. Do they really answer the question?
Think of a Title
There is no rush to come up with your title (unless of course your assignment is due the next day!). If a title doesn't leap out at you then don't worry, it will probably become obvious once you start working on the body of the assignment.
Brainstorming is a good technique to help think through an assignment question and to get started. It's a useful way to help organise your thoughts and visualising all your ideas on one piece of paper can show your knowledge strengths and weaknesses.
See also Brainstorming, a useful handout discussing various brainstorming techniques by the University of North Carolina.
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