Understand the assignment. Try rewriting the assignment in your own words, so you clearly understand its purposes, audience and requirements. Look at your notes, any handouts your instructor provides, related texts. Understand key words in the instructions, such as analyze, argue, define, classify, contrast, report. If you don't understand the assignment, talk to your instructor.

Get interested. If you're bored by a subject or don't see it's relevance, it's difficult to write an effective paper about that topic. Look for connections between the topic and your experiences & interests. If you can't find one, talk to a tutor or instructor; maybe they can help. If all else fails and you still can't "get invested," accept that fact that you have to write the paper. Keep an open mind; you may learn something and/or develop an interest in the subject as you write!

Prewrite. Let your ideas incubate. Give yourself time to think, consciously or unconsciously, about your paper. Write down ideas as they crop up; you may think of an idea while you're eating breakfast or driving or in the gym. Keep a small notebook with you so you can jot down your ideas. But you may NOT get inspired; you may have to employ techniques for getting started, such as brainstorming or freewriting.

Ways to Get Started & Ways to Overcome Writer's Block

Have you ever thought "I don't know what to write about" or "I don't know what I think about the book" or "I can't write anymore!"? Every writer, even professional writers and famous authors, knows the feelings of dread and anxiety when they can't begin writing or they get stuck at some point in their writing process. When you have problems getting started or when you experience "writer's block," there are remedies. Experiment, because not every suggestion works for every writer in every problem situation. Find the strategies that work best for YOU.

• Freewrite - Just write! Write freely & rapidly, without stopping, for ten or fifteen minutes. Don't censor yourself & don't stop writing. You may want to start with a word or phrase. If you can't think of anything else to write, write about your lack of ideas. You'll probably find that something worthwhile results from your freewrite: an ideas or ideas that you can develop into an interesting topic. When you're done, circle the writing that you want to "keep" and explore.
• Brainstorm or List - Jot down ideas as they come to you, in any order. Use it as a source of ideas - a list of possibilities. Start with a general idea, then list words & phrases. Circle any ideas that may be useful for your paper.
• Cluster or branch ideas - These techniques show connections among concepts and lead to more specific (and possibly promising) ideas. Start with a central idea, then jot down other ideas, as they come to you. Circle the ideas & connect them with lines, so you see the relationships among them.
• Act like a detective or lawyer (ask questions) - Use the classic reporter's questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How. By asking questions, you can discover interesting and exciting possibilities for your paper. Complex problems often provide the basis for worthwhile topics and opportunities for investigation.
• Develop a tentative plan & thesis; remember -- you can change it. Your central argument or idea points you in a definite direction. However, as you investigate your topic, you may modify your views about the topic. Your may discover that you want to head in a slightly different direction. So remain open and flexible; you don't have to feel "wed" to your original thesis.
• Talk about it - Sometimes you get trapped by your thoughts. By talking about your ideas (or lack of ideas) with a classmate, friend, writing tutor (at the BCC Writing Center), relative, teacher, or even a tape recorder, you may discover a key missing component to your topic. In conversation, you can stretch your thinking, deepen your ideas, realize different perspectives and potentialities.
• Give yourself time - If you try writing an entire essay the night before it's due, you'll probably be too tense, hurried and tired to produce satisfactory (and satisfying) work. Good writing requires a process, involving time for your work to sit and incubate. Occasionally, the best way to write is by not writing. Once in a while when you get stuck, try doing something else (work on another class' assignment, exercise, clean your room). Carefully used, limited procrastination can help "unlock" your brain.
• If you can't start at the beginning, start in the middle - For some writers, the introduction is the LAST part of a draft they write. Once you have a general sense of your focus, try writing about a component of the assignment that you feel comfortable about or which interests you. For instance, write down a provocative quote. Then write about that quote: why it interests you, how you interpret it, how it relates to other topics. See where the writing leads you. Or if you get stuck on a section of your essay, move to another section.
• Change audience -- Instead of writing for your professor, try writing as if you're writing a diary entry or a letter to a friend. Or write as if you're going to send an e-mail to the author (or character or historical figure or geographic feature). By treating your text as a form of conversation, you may become more comfortable with the topic.
• Allow yourself to write garbage. Instead of feeling as if every word you write has to be "just right," learn to throw out and/or delete stuff you've written. The permission that you grant yourself to write bad stuff may free you enough to start composing good stuff.
• Outline. While it may not work for everyone, some writers like the ordered structure an outline provides.
• Create some strategies of your own. This list provide some possibilities for getting started and overcoming writer's block. Brainstorm; find other ways to begin writing or get past writer's block.

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Adapted from Broome Community College. 2002.