Focused brainstorming calls on you to do a second round of brainstorming in order to narrow your subject into a list of potential topics. Using free association, jot down a list of everything that comes to mind when you think about your selected subject. Think narrow! Try to keep your items more focused than your subject. If you do, you'll end up with a list of topics. If the topics still seem too broad, brainstorm again!

In the example below, the writer's subject was "Crime in America." The writer brainstormed once on the subject to generate topic ideas. Then, choosing one of the topic ideas, "gang violence in American cities," the writer brainstormed again to narrow the topic even further.