Invention

 

Invention is the first stage of the writing process. This 

process takes place in the mind of the writer. In this 

stage, we find out invent the ideas, subject, topics of our interest and knowledge. This stage is also called prewriting because it take place before actual writing. Although invention usually occurs at the beginning of the writing process, exercise aimed at the facilitating invention can be helpful at many stages of writing.

 

Stages of Invention 

(a) Understanding the assignment 

Before beginning to write, you need to understand what you are being asked to do. If the assignment is a written question, read it carefully several times and underline its key ideas. If the assignment is read aloud to your instructor, be sure to copy it accurately. If you are confused about anything, ask your  instructor for clarification.  Remember that no matter how well written an essay is, it will miss the marks if it doesnot adress the assignment. 

(b) Setting the limit

Once you understood the assignment, you should consider its length, purpose, audience and occasion and your own knowledge of the subject. Each of theyse factors helps you determine what you wil say about your subject and thus simplifies your writing task.

1) Length 

While writing an article, we have to find out the length. You have to know whether you are writing for exam, thesis, newspapers, journal etc.

2) Purpose

There are different purpose of writing. You have to find out why you are writing. Your writing may before entertainment, public awareness, presentation, just to time pass etc. 

3) Audience 

To be effective your essay should be written with a particular audience in mind. You have to know about their academic, social, cultural, political religious background and after knowing these things, select the languages according to their background. 

4) Occasion 

You have to find out the situations/ occasion  ( classwork or homework, sad s situation or happy moment, different political, social change etc)  which you are writing. 

5) Knowledge

Try  to find out if you have enough knowledge on the subject you have selected or not.

(c) Moving subject to topic

While writing an article, we have to finf out the subject of our interest so we hace to narrow the subject into specific terms that can be discussed within the limit of the assignment. We cannot write on whole subject so we have to select a suitable topic according to our interest and knowledge.

For example:

a) Subject: Nepal

b) Topic 

           1) Agriculture in Nepal

           2) Recent Earthquake in Nepal.

(d) Probing Questions 

You probe your subject by asking a series of questions about it. These questions are  useful because they reflect ways in which your mind operates.

(e)Brainstorming 

Brainstorming is an activity in which you free associate on a topic and create a list of questions, facts, and ideas that occur to you. Brainstorming can be done on your own, or with classmates. When brainstorming, you should feel free to take note of anything that occurs to you about the topic, without worrying about its importance or validity. You should pursue each concept beyond the obvious, however, continuing to note all the associations that occur to you about each aspect of the topic until you have generated a list of concrete details. You can write down sentences, phrases, or individual words, as long as what you write captures the thoughts and associations for you to explore in more depth after your brainstorming session.

Once you have listed a number of items, you can begin sorting them into groups. These groupings can help you get a sense of which of your ideas relate to each other and can therefore be integrated into your paper. Doing this sorting will also give you a rough sense of the varying levels of importance of the elements in the list, which will be helpful later, when you begin to organize and develop your paper. Items that do not seem to fit into any of your groupings can probably be discarded as not relevant to your topic.After you sort the items on your list into groups, you can begin to consider which ones seem to require further exploration. You can then brainstorm further on those specific concepts.

(f)Clustering 

Clustering is a type of pre-writing that allows a writer to explore many ideas as soon as they occur to them. Like brainstorming or free associating, clustering allows a writer to begin without clear ideas.

To begin to cluster, choose a word that is central to the assignment. For example, if a writer were writing a paper about the value of a college education, they might choose the word "expectations" and write that word in the middle of the sheet of paper. Circle "expectations," then write words all around it: words that occur to the writer as they think of "expectations." It's ok if many of these words at first seem to be random. Write quickly, circling each word, and group words around the central word. Connect the new words to previous ones with lines; when the writer feels they have exhausted a particular avenue of associations, they should go back to the central word and begin again.

(g) Thesis statement 

The main idea of your essay. It is an announcement of your idea. It is  usually written at the first line of first paragraph or the first line of second paragraph. It is directly stated. An effective thesis statement clearly express your essays main idea. An effective thesis statement reflects express your essays purpose. An effective  thesis statement is clearly worded.