Prewriting is the first stage of the writing process. In prewriting, writers come up with their ideas for writing. During this planning stage, writers have to think about their audience, the assignment’s requirements, their main topic, and their purpose for writing. Several different strategies can be used for prewriting, including brainstorming, free writing, outlining, and clustering or webbing. Another important part of prewriting can be talking about prewriting ideas with a classmate or teacher. Getting input from someone else about ideas can help a lot! Prewriting helps writers to know if they will have enough to write about on their chosen topic and to think about their audience and purpose for writing. Sometimes writers may be tempted to jump right into drafting, but prewriting is a very important step that helps writers to plan what they will be writing.