Research and discuss any relevant material. For an assignment on literary analysis, read the texts and hold a class discussion on the major themes. Technical, persuasive or creative essays may require more independent research, but students will still benefit from talking through their ideas in class.
Introduce the prompt and explain any structural guidelines. Identify the type of essay and the required length. If possible, offer students a successful essay written on a similar prompt by a previous student, so they can understand the scope of the assignment completely.
Assign a free-writing task. Some students may enjoy writing entries in a journal, using stream-of-consciousness sentences. Encourage students to write in the first person for a more comfortable style. Other writers may prefer an abbreviated form of brainstorming, simply listing as quickly as possible single words and sentence fragments that spring to mind on the topic. Whatever the method, direct students to write continuously for several minutes.
Instruct the students to read over their free-writing and highlight the main ideas. Collect these concepts into diagrams or lists. On the board, demonstrate a cluster diagram using a volunteer's brainstorming or an example topic. Write the main idea in the center and circle it, adding subsidiary ideas connected by spokes around it. If students prefer some other diagramming strategy, allow them the freedom to pursue their own method.
Group students into pairs or small groups to talk about their ideas. At this stage, the students should focus on asking positive questions over criticism. Illustrate the type of helpful questions that elaborate ideas by writing "Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?" on the board.
Demonstrate an appropriate thesis statement. Note that a good thesis makes a strong statement about the material, broad enough to summarize an entire essay while narrow enough to be interesting. Allow some time for students to assess their diagrams and craft their thesis statements. Provide individual feedback on their work.
Model an appropriate writing outline on the board. A standard outline should begin with the thesis statement, and include several numbered, hierarchical sections. Students may complete their own outlines in class or as a homework assignment. Peer or teacher review of the outline affords an opportunity for criticism and redesign before writing begins.