Choosing a subject for explanation

If one of your journal entries suggested a possible subject, go on to the collecting and shaping strategies. If you still need an interesting subject, consider the following suggestions:

• Reread your authority list or the most interesting journal entries from previous chapters. Do they contain an idea that you might define or explain, a process suitable for a how-to explanation, or causes or effects you could analyze and explain for a certain audience?
• Brainstorm a list of the five most important things you've done in the last three years. Focus on one thing, event, or idea. Now imagine that your audience is someone like you, only three years younger. Explain this topic.
• Reread your notes from another class that has an upcoming examination. Select some topic, idea, principle, process, famous person, or event from the text or your notes. Investigate other texts, popular magazines, or journals for information on that topic. If appropriate, interview someone or conduct a survey. Explain this principle or process to a member of your writing class.