Greek students who went to school and studied to how make speeches had a really great teacher whose name was Aristotle. This rhetorician (actually that's where we get our word rhetoric) used to teach his students how to plan and generate a speech. Part of the process was gathering ideas; this stage was called inventio. Aristotle taught his students to ask themselves a series of questions (see below) about their subject. His goal was to encourage his students to explore their topics from as many different perspectives as possible.

Here are the questions, in translation of course, and adapted to modern times (Aristotle's students didn't have TVs or movies to watch). Try it out with any topic you have to write about. You may find that you have to be a bit creative in how you pose the question, but use the prompts freely to see how much new information you can generate about your topic. Don't spend too long on any one question; if nothing comes to mind skip it and move to the next one.

Definition

1. How does the dictionary define.....?
2. What earlier words did ..... come from?
3. What do I mean by .....?
4. What group of things does ..... seem to belong to? How is .....different from other things in this group?
5. What parts can .....be divided into?
6. Did.....mean something in the past that it doesn't mean now? If so, what? What does this former meaning tell us about how the idea grew and developed?
7. Does.....mean something now that it didn't years ago? If so, what?
8. What other words mean approximately the same as.....?
9. What are some concrete examples of.....?
10. When is the meaning of.....misunderstood?

Comparison

1. What is.....similar to? In what ways?
2. What is.....different from? In what ways?
3. ..... is superior to what? In what ways?
4. .....is inferior to what? In what ways?
5. .....is most unlike what? (What is it opposite to?) In what ways?
6. .....is most like what? In what ways?

Relationship

1. What causes.....?
2. What is the purpose of.....?
3. Why does.....happen?
4. What is the consequence of.....?
5. What comes before.....?
6. What comes after.....?

Circumstance

1. Is.....possible or impossible?
2. What qualities, conditions, or circumstances make.....possible or impossible?
3. Supposing that.....is possible, is it also desireable? Why?
4. When did.....happen previously?
5. Who has done or experienced.....?
6. Who can do.....?
7. If.....starts, what makes it end?
8. What would it take for .....to happen now?
9. What would prevent.....from happening?

Testimony

1. What have I hear people say about.....?
2. Do I know any facts or statistics about.....? If so, what?
3. Have I talked with anyone about.....?
4. Do I know any famous or well-known saying (e.g. "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush") about.....?
5. Can I quote any proverbs or any poems about .....?
6. Are there any laws about.....?
7. Do I remember any songs about.....? Do I remember anything I've read about.....in books or magazines? Anything I've seen in a movie or on television?
8. Do I want to do any research on.....?

The classical invention strategy can be a powerful way of gathering ideas for any writing project you have to do. Keep the strategy in your mental writing tool box and use it whenever you can.  If you get stuck, remember, you can always e-mail me at closserb@andrews.edu.

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