Planning your writing

​​In a nutshell

You should always plan your writing. By focusing on what you want to include in your writing, you will be able to keep your work on track. It should also serve as a way of organising your thoughts and figuring out how you want to proceed. Different methods of planning work for different people. In this summary, you will learn different ways to plan.

Planning your writing

While there are many different ways to plan your writing, here are some of the most common:

Bullet points

Bullet pointing a plan in the simplest form is making a list of what you want to include and where you want it. Bullet points simplify the process of breaking down large chunks of information into short, easier-to-read lines. This allows you to work through your information logically and efficiently.

Flowcharts

Plan your tasks visually with a flowchart. Your ideas and paragraphs become more organised when you use this tool, allowing a clear idea of how your writing will flow and be read. Each idea will logically flow into the next section of the chart, efficiently planning the structure of the text.

Mind maps

There are many benefits to mind mapping, including the ability to solve problems, plan projects and creative thinking. By connecting ideas with lines, mind maps use keywords to visualise planning. A good mind map is very flexible and gives a less rigid approach to planning.

Table

A table is a good way of sectioning your ideas into different categories and lines of argument. By using this method, you are able to plot out what the different opinions are and how you will use them in your writing.
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Apply the three Ws

Before you start writing, think:

1. Why are you writing?
2. What type of text are you writing?
3. Who are you writing for?

​By asking yourself these questions, you will subconsciously begin to think about how you will structure your work and what you might write. This is a great method to use with one of the above plans because it clarifies your thought process.

Creating a rough draft

Creating a draft will help you experiment with how you want your writing to work. You may change your structure mid-way and allow yourself more creative freedom. The draft also shows you which ideas don't work or what you need to tidy up, allowing for well-planned work.

It is important to remember that not every planning method works for everyone. As such, you should experiment and see which type of plan helps you most in perfecting your writing.