Note: This is part one of the Intro to Writing series. Find links to the other tutorials here.

What do you do when your teacher gives you a subject to write about, but that subject is too broad?

For instance, what if your teacher says, “Write about natural disasters”? Right off the bat, you know you are in trouble. That subject is too large; there are too many possibilities. It would take a few books to cover everything, and your essay is due in two days.

How to narrow down a subject

You narrow down a subject to a manageable size by thinking of smaller topics within the “natural disasters” subject, like this:

Earthquakes

important earthquakes around the world
the earthquake that shook San Francisco in 1906
Alaskan earthquake in 1964
largest earthquakes in the world since 1900
how a recent earthquake shaped the geology of my country

Floods

an important flood in my area and how people recovered from it
Are floods getting worse near the coastal areas of the world?
the Yangtze River flood of 1931
how to prevent floods
the effect of Noah’s Flood on the geology of my area

Recovery

How disease and pandemics follow natural disasters—and is there a way to prevent that?

Prevention

Warning systems for natural disasters—What are they? Are they effective?

And I’m just getting started! You’ll notice that not all of my ideas are written in complete sentences. That is perfectly okay because these are just ideas that I brainstormed. You’ll want to write down your ideas as quickly as you can without judging them or scrutinizing them in any negative way. Just get them down and think about them later. Complete sentences are not needed.

If you are stuck for ideas, pick up a reference book on the topic and read the chapter titles, or, with permission, search the topic on the Internet. These will give you an idea of the types of items you can write about.

Now it’s your turn: So many natural disasters are happening around to world today; you have your choice of them. Also, October 9 is Fire Prevention Day, so you could use the subject of fire, if you wish. Narrow down the subject of fire (or another you are interested in), just as I did with the topic of natural disasters. Because you are brainstorming, write down everything you think of, whether it is silly or serious. You never know what idea will spark another one that you can actually use.

You can brainstorm on a piece of paper, a large whiteboard, a pile of sticky notes, the back of an old envelope, or anything else that feels comfortable to you.

You won’t have to write an essay on this subject or on any of the narrowed-down topics you come up with unless you just can’t help yourself. Write at least seven ideas.

Let your imagination out of its cage. Let it wander around some, sniffing here and there, growling at a juicy topic or two.