CHOOSING A TOPIC

THE FIRST THING YOU HAVE TO DO WHEN WRITING A PAPER

THE TOPIC OF YOUR PAPER.

WHAT YOU WILL BE RESEARCHING.

WHAT YOU WILL BE WRITING ABOUT.

A GOOD TOPIC LEADS TO A GOOD PAPER.

A GOOD TOPIC HOLDS THE READERS’ ATTENTION.

A GOOD TOPIC MAKES IT EASIER TO DO RESEARCH.

A GOOD TOPIC MAKES IT EASIER TO WRITE YOUR PAPER.

A GOOD TOPIC MEANS THAT WRITING THE PAPER WILL BE EASIER, LESS TIME-CONSUMING, AND MORE ENJOYABLE.

CHOOSE A TOPIC THAT INTERESTS YOU.

YOU’LL ENJOY IT MORE.YOU’LL DO A BETTER JOB ON YOUR PAPER.

DO SOME BACKGROUND RESEARCH ON YOUR TOPIC. READ ABOUT IT IN BOOKS, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS.

1. IT IS TOO BROAD.YOU HAVE TOO MANY RESOURCES . YOU CAN’T DEALWITH ALL THE INFORMATION YOU FOUND.

TWO PROBLEMS THAT YOU CAN HAVE WITH YOUR TOPIC:

2. IT IS TOO NARROW.YOU CAN’T FIND ANY THING ABOUT IT.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

START WITH A BROAD TOPICAND NARROW IT DOWN.

AN EXAMPLE.“EBOLA”

THIS IS A VERY BROAD TOPIC.A SEARCH IN GALILEO PRODUCED 100,998 RESULTS.

AN EXAMPLE.

“EBOLA AND HEALTH CARE WORKERS”

THIS IS NARROWER TOPIC.

A SEARCH IN GALILEO PRODUCED 5,487 RESULTS.

AN EXAMPLE.

“EBOLA AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING”

THIS IS A NARROWER TOPIC.

GALILEO PRODUCED 2,368 RESULTS.

FOCUSED TOPIC: Women Smokers and Breast Cancer

GOING FROM A BROAD SUBJECT TO A NARROW TOPIC

BROAD TOPIC: Women’s Health

NARROWED TOPIC: Women and Cancer

FOCUSED TOPIC: Computer Game Violence and Children

GOING FROM A BROAD SUBJECT TO A NARROW TOPIC

BROAD TOPIC: Computer Games

NARROWED TOPIC: Computer Game Violence

Threat of Bioterrorism in the U.S.

From a broad subject to a narrow topic:

this topic is too broad.Make it narrower:

Terrorism and the Arab-Israeli Conflict

TERRORISM

HINTS FOR RESEARCH

When choosing a topic, do some research.

Look at magazines, encyclopedias, and the Internet.

HINTS FOR RESEARCH

Determine how much time you have to complete an assignment. Then choose a topic that can be finished in that time.

HINTS FOR RESEARCH

Be very clear about the topic that you are choosing. If you are not clear about your topic, you will likely get off track and waste time.

HINTS FOR RESEARCH

Choose a topic that is appropriate to the length of your paper. A broad topic requires time and effort. If you are writing a five page paper, you should have a narrow topic.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO PICK A GOOD TOPIC.