Choose a Topic

Choose a Topic

You will do your best writing and enjoy writing the most if you choose a topic that interests you. You’ll be spending a lot of time researching, writing, and thinking about your topic so be sure it’s one you like. Do you have a favorite place – a city, a country, or a special place like your grandfather’s farm - that you’d like to tell other people about? Perhaps somewhere you’ve lived or traveled to with your parents. Maybe somewhere you dream of visiting with your friends. Are you interested in habitats – the ocean, the desert, or the rainforest? If you're not interested in geography, perhaps you want to write about a sport, an animal, or even a subject like art or history.

Choose a Form of Writing

Alphabet or ABC Books

Alphabet books are usually written for young children. They present each letter of the alphabet with matching words and pictures. If you add informative paragraphs, like I did, you can also write ABC books for older readers.

Number Books

A number book uses the beginning sound or letter of each number. You can count to five or ten, or even higher! Here's one I started about Egypt:

One wagon of watermelons

Two taxis in traffic

Three thirsty thrushes

Four floating felukat

Acrostic Poems

An acrostic poem uses letters of a word written vertically. Each letter is used to start a line of the poem. You may use the name of the place or whatever other topic you have chosen. Try to choose a word that has at least five letters and write at least two words for each letter. So, instead of writing phrases for all 26 letters of the alphabet, I could have written this acrostic poem about Egypt:

Elegant egrets

Gallivanting goats

Yummy yogurt

Piles of prickly pears

Troublesome traffic

Other Writing

You can also use alliteration to write your own poetry, advertisements for your favorite toys, newspaper headlines, jingles for commercials, jump rope rhymes, or tongue twisters!

Author Advice