What is an abstract topic?:
An abstract topic is when one word or group of words are given and you are asked to discuss on the same. The topic could be Red Bullet Magic Bears and Balloons
How to approach the topic?:
In a abstract topic, you may use Divergent thinking Brainstorming method
Divergent Thinking :
In Divergent thinking, you think outwards i.e you try to look at possibilities wrt to the issue given. A spider web is an effective tool in this method. T ry to link concepts associated with the topic and then again link concepts or examples associated with the first level.
Drawing a spider web:
List out words you can think of associated with the topic. Let’s say the topic is Blue
BLUE–à Blue Ocean
Strategy
Indian sportsmen
Natural resources
Sky
Here, I put down a few words which I could associate with the topic – BLUE
After writing words in the first level, think of terms associated with these words. Take for example – Natural resources – These could be rivers, seas, oceans For rivers – you could look at the Cauvery Dispute For seas – you could look at the recent issue about the Italian sailors And so on
Eg . Tata Nano
Different sports eg cricket IPL
River issues eg Cauvery
Airlines – Kingfisher issue
Brainstorming :
Put down anything and everything that comes to your mind when you think of BLUE
For example Cool – Indian jersey Sea – Primary cool Blue Ocean Strategy – Bluefrog Blues (music) – Blueberry Monday blues – Bluetooth Sky – Deoxygenated blood And many more
Remember no idea is correct or wrong in brainstorming , Now think of examples or points you could discuss with some of these. For example, Bluefrog is a revolutionary, integrated music project in Mumbai, India. It consists of the country’s premiere live music performance club, four state-of-the-art music recording studios, a music production house comprising top-notch composers, musicians and producers, and an independent record label & artist management service .
Or Bluetooth® is named for Tenth Century Danish king Harald Blåtand , known in English as Harold Bluetooth Gromson , who is reputed to have been so fond of blueberries that his teeth were stained blue. And then discuss about revolution that bluetooth has brought abut.
Topics for Practise:
Mango
Green
Mind
Lizards
Prepared by Rochelle D’souza M. Sc. M. Ed. CPWED (ISB)
71 Comments