Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

One way to write is to first write a list of questions, set the questions some place you can see them, and answer all the questions.

I continue to work with college students on their writing, and they continue to teach me.

A recent assignment the students were working involved answering a set of questions about a given technology. It is amazing how complicated the students made the assignment. Their circuitous approaches to the assignment helped me clarify:

the question and answer method of writing

Here it is:

1. write a list of questions
2. place the list where you can see it
3. write the answers to the questions

This method works better for non-fiction, informational writing. It also works well for non-fiction essays. It also works well for fiction.

Hmmm, I think that covers just about all forms of writing. Maybe something has escaped me at the moment.