Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

University of Babylon

College of Education for Human Sciences

Department of English

A Presentation in Methods of writing research

paper

How to Use Brainstorming and

Critical Thinking in Writing Research
Paper

Supervised by:

Dr.Wafaa M. PhD

set by :
Doaa Hamid Ali

2018
Brainstorming is the first step to any writing assignment or
activity you do. It is when you begin generating ideas, exploring those
ideas, and developing what will become your topic, thesis, and, ultimately,
your essay .

So, brainstorming is a creative problem-solving method developed by Alex

F. Osborn.

It is a tool used to promote ideas created in groups rather and individually.

Brainstorming was created by Osborn to allow his company to develop
creative ideas as a group since they were struggling to meet this goal
individually. Brainstorming has been successful when applied in different
environment settings such as in the field of business, government,
industries, and in education. Brainstorming can be used to express ideas on
issues to engage in, create possible solutions for problems, and offer a
variety of approaches to use, or opinions on actions to take. We use
brainstorming in the classroom to stimulate ideas on topics for writing,
reading, problem-solving in math, science, and social studies.
Brainstorming in education can start as early as Kindergarten.
Brainstorming can be used throughout all the academic subjects in school,
but it is crucial when used in writing. It is a strategy that can be used in the
planning stage of writing. In the planning stage, students begin to organize
their thoughts. Class discussions such as brainstorming together can
establish the topic, type, purpose, and audience of the composition.
Rodriques states that "prewriting activities, including group
brainstorming, are the most important part of the writing process".
(Rodriques, 1983) There are two ways for people to communicate with
each other by writing and speaking. Writing allows students to express
their feelings and thoughts as well as to communicate with one another.
Writing skills are essential for students to develop and brainstorming
assists students in writing. Brainstorming is highly recommended to allow
students to create a list of ideas and topics they can use to write.
Brainstorming facilitates the writing process and prevents writing
blockage. Many time students have difficulties in writing because they
haven't established topics or ideas, by brainstorming together the students
come up with ideas they can build on when writing. Brainstorming is a very
beneficial strategy since it can help a team encourage creativity, rapidly
produces a large number of ideas, equalize involvement of all the team
members, and foster a sense of ownership.

Several studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of

brainstorming when writing. One study created by Orson concluded that a
group using brainstorming produced 44% more useful ideas than
individuals thinking up suggestions without the benefit of group
discussion. A review of brainstorming research was conducted and it
concluded that 16 studies found support for the productivity of
brainstorming versus contributing ideas individually. (Isaksen, 1998) The
overall outcome of the Isaken review determined that based on the studies
compiled brainstorming groups produced more ideas than individuals
working alone .
Important Tips for brainstorming

 First and foremost, don't panic! Brainstorming, like all aspects of

writing, is a process. Allow yourself some time to sit and think about
what you would like to see in your assignment
 Write everything down. Even if it doesn't seem like it is important, it
might lead you to a great idea later. Trust yourself and put it on paper.
 Remove distractions from your work area (cell phones, computers, mp3
players, etc.). This will help you focus on the task at hand.

Sometimes brainstorming can be intimidating—staring at a blank page

with nothing but an open prompt can leave you uncertain of where to go
next. Luckily, there a number of ways to brainstorm, and the only measure
of whether a technique is right or wrong, just keep trying and you will find
the ones that work for you.

This step involves gathering inspiration for your writing and generating
ideas.

Freewriting: Freewriting allows a writer to continuously write without

stopping, generating many ideas without censoring or editing thoughts.
This can help writers explore ideas they may not have thought of yet .

●To begin, simply open a document or grab a sheet of paper. Set a timer for
ten minutes and write continuously without stopping or editing your ideas .
 ●Afterward, sort through your ideas to figure out what is important. These
ideas can form a beginning or "jumping-off point" for your paper. If this
does not work the first time, try freewriting multiple times .

Looping: This is an extended form of freewriting, where the writer free

writes, then reflects and analyzes his or her free write, then free write
again. This allows the writer to get to the heart of ideas .

●Like freewriting, time yourself for ten minutes and write continuously .

●After writing, reflect on the main ideas of your free write. What idea is
most compelling? What idea do you seem to keep coming back to? What
idea is the most productive? What seems to be at the center ?

●After reflecting, free write again, starting with your central or main idea
to generate more ideas .

●Repeat the process to create multiple loops until you get to the center of
what you want to write about .

Listing or Bulleting: Here the writer lists all the thoughts on a subject,
including any important details. Similar to freewriting, this allows the
writer to generate several ideas .

●Look at a research question and write down what you currently know
about the topic .

●Creating more than one list can help generate ideas about what to write
in your paper, including what you might need for various sections like your
methods, literature review, conclusion, etc .

Web maps or Clustering: This is a great strategy for visual learners to

make connections between ideas. Similar to listing or looping, this allows
the writer to draw relationships between ideas .

●Start with the central idea in the middle of the paper and circle it .

●Once you have the center, fill the rest of the page with connected ideas or
phrases .

●Circle key ideas and connect them with lines .

●Shapes represent the type of idea and lines represent connections (see an
example to the right .)

Questioning: This technique allows the writer to ask journalistic

questions, such as who, what, where, when, why and how. This provides
context for ideas and helps create a framework for the paper. Notice below
how these questions can be asked in any order and often answers lead to
the next question .

●Consider who is doing the action, such as the researchers .

●What action are they performing? For example, a scientific experiment .

●How did they do the experiment? You might consider what methods were
used .

●Where was it done? In a lab ?

●Why was it done? Here you might think about the research
question/purpose .

●When was it completed? This allows you to consider how recent the
results are .

CONSIDER PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE

Think about the parts of communication involved in any writing or
speaking event act: purpose and audience.

What is your purpose?

 What are you trying to do? What verb captures your intent? Are you
trying to inform? Convince? Describe? Each purpose will lead you to
a different set of information and help you shape material to include
and exclude in a draft. Write about why you are writing this draft in
this form. For more tips on figuring out the purpose of your
assignment,

 Who is your audience?

Who are you communicating with beyond the grader? What does that 
audience need to know? What do they already know? What information
does that audience need first, second, third? Write about who you are
writing to and what they need. For more on audience

CLOSING
Take the next step and start to write your first draft, or fill in those gaps
you’ve been brainstorming about to complete your “almost ready” paper. If
you’re a fan of outlining, prepare one that incorporates as much of your
brainstorming data as seems logical to you. If you’re not a fan, don’t make
one. Instead, start to write out some larger chunks (large groups of
sentences or full paragraphs) to expand upon your smaller clusters and
phrases. Keep building from there into larger sections of your paper. You
don’t have to start at the beginning of the draft. Start writing the section
that comes together most easily. You can always go back to write the
introduction later .Then ,you can consult experts for your work.

Critical Thinking
described as the scientific method applied by ordinary people to the
ordinary world. This is true because critical thinking mimics the well-
known method of scientific investigation: a question is identified, an
hypothesis formulated, relevant data sought and gathered, the hypothesis
is logically tested and evaluated, and reliable conclusions are drawn from
the result. All of the skills of scientific investigation are matched by critical
thinking,

definitions
 Critical thinking is the ability to think for one's self and reliably and
responsibly make those decisions that affect one's life.
 Critical thinking is also critical inquiry, so such critical thinkers
investigate problems, ask questions, pose new answers that
challenge the status quo, discover new information that can be used
for good or ill, question authorities and traditional beliefs, challenge
received dogmas and doctrines, and often end up possessing power
in society greater than their numbers. self-assessment
 critical thinking is an active process and with practice one can
develop the skills needed to do it more effectively.
_ According to Kurland (2000), there are six key characteristics of critical
thinking:

rationality, self-awareness, honesty, open-mindedness, discipline, and

judgment. Rationality has to do with exercising good judgment based on
logic, self-awareness with knowing one’s individuality, biases, and so forth;
honesty has to do with integrity and being able to be truthful about one’s
biases; open-mindedness is about being able to appreciate differing
viewpoints; discipline is about being self-controlled and being objective;
and judgment is about being able to form an opinion about something
based on the information presented. Each of these characteristics can be
developed. According to The Critical Thinking Community (2009), critical
thinking occurs when certain standards of intellectual life are applied to
“the elements of reasoning.” For instance, one might apply the standard of
clarity to the element of purpose, the standard of significance to concepts,
logicalness to points of view, accuracy to information, and so forth.

What is Critical Writing?

Successful writing of a critical thinking paper means following certain

criteria. You need to get the reader hooked from the first sentence, express
your idea on a certain issue in a solid thesis statement, give strong
arguments, that will support your idea and provide a killer conclusion, that
will justify the result of your thinking on the subject. If, for some reason,
you don't have the time to complete this assignment or want to get your
paper written or edited by a professional – well, congratulations! You've
reached your destination point.

Masters of paper writing, employed by our company, have a passion for

writing and a background, required to complete your paper in a perfect
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It is a matter of common sense to think twice and thrice when you're

considering an opportunity to buy a critical thinking paper online. When
you'll be thinking of this option, take into account the advantages of
addressing our masters of writing.

•Learning how to present an effective argument – This means learning to

present your reasoning and evidence in a clear, well-structured manner
(just as the writers of the texts you've read have had to present their ideas)
– Different formats (e.g. essay, report, dissertation, projects etc.) mean that
argument is presented in different ways but will always lead to a logical
conclusion

• Critical writing is a process that involves using a range of writing skills as

well as personal qualities – Most people find critical writing a challenge – It
takes time to become skilled and confident – It can feel messy and
frustrating at times – but also creative.

Descriptive Writing
•Tells the reader what you've done

•Tends to use lots of quotes

• Makes lists of things (literature, theories )…

•Gives the ‘facts': measurements, data, etc .

•Sets out the history of an event, idea, etc.

• Gives a biography of important people

• Summarizes what is known about the topic

Critical Writing
•Gives a clear and confident account which refuses simply to accept what
has been said • Gives a balanced account of pros & cons of ideas

•Avoids unsubstantiated assertions – Asserts or assume something is

simply true • Uses paragraphs to develop and expand ideas

•ALWAYS gives a clear and precise account of the relevant evidence and
arguments • ALWAYS backs up an argument with evidence

•ALWAYS gives reasons for the conclusion

• ALWAYS recognizes limitations (tends, suggests..) • ALWAYS avoid

simplistic conclusions
Strategies for ‘Being Critical '

Good critical thinking is systematic – like a criminal investigation; you need

to :

•Investigate the problem thoroughly

•Prosecute and defend the ideas

•Reach an informed verdict – In the light of this evidence, it seems that.…

 Be suspicious -look for the rhetorical smokescreen - what is the

author assuming?

 Get a good dictionary/glossary for technical terms_ make sure you

(really) understand key terms_ test comprehension : express ideas
in your language.

 List down your points

You must first know what you want to put down for your essay before
you can start writing. This saves your time such that you will not have
to start thinking of what to put down on paper. The process where
you list down details about critical thinking is known as
brainstorming and should be done in a proper way. If you brainstorm
multiple points, you will easily craft an outline unlike when you only
have a few points.

 Organize your information

information is easy to grasp and remember. Brainstorming
does not allow you to logically arrange your ideas and therefore, you
may end up confusing yourself. After you have listed them down, it
is recommended that every writer should try and sample out the
most vital points with Organize your information
Organized regards to critical thinking.

References
https://www2.fgcu.edu/CAS/WritingCenter/Files/9_FGCU_Writing_an_Essay_Brainstorming
.pdf
https://tutorial.dasa.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2018/01/Brainstorming-
Outlining-and-Organizing-.pdf

Essays, UK. (November 2013). The Writing Strategy Brainstorming English Language Essay.
Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/english-language/the-writing-strategy-
brainstorming-english-language-essay.php?vref=1

https://www.kent.ac.uk/learning/documents/student-support/value-
map/valuemap1516/criticalthinkingandwriting171015alg.pdf

https://papersmaster.com/what-we-write/critical-thinking-papers.html

http://www.chateau-gombaude-guillot.com/essay-types/5.php