Brainstorming & Finding Your Angle
The best essays have a clear angle — a specific perspective on a big topic. AI can help you discover yours.
~25 minutesWhat you need:
- Claude open in another tab (claude.ai)
- A topic you’re writing about — even a vague one is fine
- Something to write notes in
Goal of this module: By the end, you’ll have at least one specific, arguable angle for a paper — an angle that comes from YOUR thinking, not Claude’s.
A specific angle is the difference between a forgettable paper and a memorable one.
Most students write generic papers because they start with a generic topic. “Social media and mental health” is a topic. “The rise of social comparison on Instagram has a measurably worse effect on adolescent girls than on adolescent boys” is an angle.
The difference isn’t intelligence. It’s specificity.
❌ Not an angle: “Social media is both good and bad for society.”
❌ Not an angle: “Climate change is a serious problem.”
❌ Not an angle: “Education is important.”
✅ An angle: “TikTok’s algorithm amplifies political outrage content because outrage drives engagement, which has made political polarization worse among users under 25.”
✅ An angle: “Community college transfer policies disadvantage first-generation students because of opaque major preparation requirements.”
Why brainstorming matters before writing: Most writers know what they think only after they’ve thought out loud for a while. Brainstorming isn’t a delay — it’s how you figure out what you actually want to say.
The “3 Angles” technique: Ask AI to give you 3 completely different ways to approach a topic. You pick the one that feels most interesting or surprising to you. Then you develop that angle. The choice and the development are yours — AI just expanded the menu.
Prompt 1 — Generating angles:
After Claude responds, notice which angles surprise you or make you want to argue back. That reaction is a signal about where your genuine interest is.
Prompt 2 — Devil’s advocate:
This is one of the most powerful prompts in this course. Understanding the objections to your argument makes you a better writer — you can preemptively address counterarguments, which professors love.
Prompt 3 — Narrowing down a topic that feels too big:
Scope is one of the most common problems in college papers. “Immigration policy” is too big for 1,500 words. “The impact of DACA on STEM college enrollment in California” is manageable.
Task: Use Prompt 1 for a current paper (or pick any topic you’re curious about).
- Run Prompt 1 with your topic. Read all 5 angles Claude suggests.
- Pick the angle that interests you most OR that surprises you most.
- Write 2–3 sentences explaining why that angle appeals to you. What do you find interesting or debatable about it?
This is the key step: The 2–3 sentences explaining why are entirely YOUR thinking. Claude can list options. Only you can feel curious about one of them. That curiosity is where your paper lives.
Quick reflection question: What’s a topic you have a genuine opinion about — something where you’d argue with someone at dinner?
That’s the energy a good essay angle needs. Papers that argue something the writer actually believes tend to be more convincing than papers that go through the motions.
Take 2 minutes away from the screen. Come back ready for the takeaways.
- A topic is not an angle. An angle is a specific, arguable position on a topic.
- Use AI to expand the menu of angles — then YOU choose based on genuine interest.
- The “3 Angles” technique: generate options, pick one, develop it yourself.
- Testing your angle against objections (devil’s advocate) makes your argument stronger.
- If your topic feels too big, narrow it with Prompt 3 before you start writing.