A student is completing a research-based expository essay on the history of presidential campaigns. Which steps take place in the prewriting stage? Choose three correct answers.

Prewriting includes understanding the assignment, organizing ideas, and gathering or combining research. Analyzing the prompt establishes the essay’s purpose (A), and creating an outline organizes topics and evidence (C). Synthesizing information from articles is part of developing ideas during research and prewriting (D). Editing and applying MLA formatting (B), and citing a source in the finished essay (E), are later writing or editing tasks.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.