Purpose of this Toolkit - Griffith University

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Idea generators
Idea generators can stimulate the writing process by helping the writer to:
• Discover more ideas;
• Discover new paths or slants;
• ‘Kick-start’ your brain;
• Prevent or dissolve writer’s block; and
• Manage time more effectively.
Idea generators include:
Brainstorming – write down all ideas about a topic. Do not censor or edit any idea.
Freewriting – just start writing anything about the topic without any regard to structure,
spelling, or grammar.
Flow Charting – construct a formal chart with major points and arrows signifying flow of
information.
Mapping – write topic in centre of page, and box it. Put other boxes around page and
draw lines to link ideas to topic.
Fishboning – use a sequence of lines instead of mapping boxes. Use main line as subject,
and draw branches, or bones, to show how other ideas link to main topic.
Petelin, R., & Durham, M. (1994). The Professional Writing Guide. Sydney: Longham Professional,
pp. 35-41.
Thesis statement
“A thesis statement puts forward the point of view or organising idea for an essay.”
Davis, L., & McKay, S. (1996). Structures and Strategies: An Introduction to Academic Writing. South
Melbourne: Macmillan, p. 76.
A thesis statement can be true or false, but must be able to be supported by evidence.
Give students lots of practice in summarising an entire essay or written assignment into
one thesis statement which is unambiguous, controversial and above all, ‘provable.’
Referencing
“Referencing is the familiar scholarly practice of referring to the works of other writers, where
they have supplied you with source material or particular arguments or ideas. This may not be
necessary when the same ideas are written about by many authors in the field, but when you
are expressing an idea or argument in the words of a particular author you must acknowledge
him/her as your source. Failure to do so is a form of plagiarism (passing off someone else’s
work as your own) and it incurs heavy penalties.”
Peters, P. (1985). Strategies for Student Writers.: A Guide to Writing Essays, Tutorial Papers, Exam Papers and
Reports. Brisbane: John Wiley & Sons, p. 123.
Source material is documented for three main reasons:
• To give credit to the original author;
• To indicate the writer’s own research credibility; and
• To enable others to locate the original work, or actual words.
Teaching tips
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