Before an essay takes shape in neat paragraphs, it begins in chaos — a tangle of thoughts, half-formed ideas, scraps of facts, flashes of memory, and sudden mental pictures.

That’s Step 0.

Here, your visible-invisible end in mind might be: “I want the reader to feel how stifled young minds are—but see a flicker of hope if we liberate their time.” That sense triggers Step 0. The rest—structure, tone, argument—follows.

It’s the stage where you don’t yet commit to sentences. Instead, you:

• Unpack the question loosely — underline words, circle phrases, scribble arrows.
• Recall anything that comes to mind — facts, opinions, quotes, even overheard conversations.
• Visualise — see scenes, colours, feelings, smells; list visualising adjectives like “rust-stained,” “misty,” “buzzing,” “clenched,” so you can drop them in later for vividness.
• Notice sentences that jump into your mind — sudden phrases, idioms, or analogies that pop up like sparks, waiting to be caught.
• Add adverbs and adjectives that bring movement and colour to those images — frantic scrolling, endless yawns, stubborn silence.
• Glance at your reader — imagine them reacting: curious? sceptical? inspired?
• Let structure emerge naturally — not by forcing an outline, but by spotting clusters of related ideas in your messy notes.

This isn’t “planning” in the formal sense. It’s letting your brain wander through all the doors the topic opens, grabbing what you might use — like a butterfly net sweeping through a wild garden of thoughts.

Why Step 0 Feels Disorganised (and That’s Good)

If your Step 0 notes look tidy, you’re probably already in Step 1.
Step 0 should look like:

teenagers –> TikTok trends? distraction – dopamine hit? 

example: Sarah (year 9) – says homework “gets in the way” of sports 

stats? maybe BBC article? 

adjective: frantic, endless scroll 

idiom: “caught between a rock and a hard place” 

analogy: homework as a “ball and chain” 

sentence jumping in: “The clock ticks louder when you’re stuck.” 

These fragments become your raw material. The order will come later.

An Example

Prompt: “Should homework be banned in primary schools?”
Step 0 mess:

• kids yawning in class → “sleep-starved”
• quote? Sir Ken Robinson on creativity
• stats — Finland? less homework, high literacy
• mum’s view: homework = “family warzone” (idiom)
• visualising adjectives: crumpled worksheets, sticky lunchboxes, weary faces
• adverbs: endlessly dragging, silently suffering
• analogy: homework as a “ball and chain” holding kids back
• sentence jumping in: “Homework steals the sunset from family dinners.”
• counterpoint: practice makes permanent

From this chaos, a clear structure will eventually form — but without this messy stage, you risk starting with too little to say.

Final Thought

Step 0 is the invisible prep work that shapes the result. and should feel delightfully untidy — because that’s when the richest ideas, images, idioms, and turns of phrase bubble up without warning, like lightning in a summer storm.

The above describes WHAT must be done during Step 0. For training how to engage learners in Step 0, click HERE to enrol for a live Zoom Thinking Tools course.

To enrol for an online Thinking Tools course in English, click HERE

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