Strategies for identifying a topic

Introduction:

Prewriting, through various methods, is an excellent way to get yourself thinking about potential topics for your writing. Once you have zeroed in on a few different ideas, you must then dig deeper to decide the topic that will develop into a strong thesis statement. This section will explore ways to narrow the focus of a topic, consider multiple perspectives, and conduct preliminary research.

• Review your general topic and consider who, what, when, where, why
• Consider the history of the topic and what research may exist
• Describe a specific controversy that exists within this topic. Identify what the sides are (and there may be more than just 2 sides), and why each believes what it does.
• Define what side you agree with, and why.
• State the overall claim that you want your essay to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt. (This will be your working thesis, and it’s welcome to change as you progress in later weeks. It’s okay to start simple, for now, and build in more complexity later. )
• Conduct preliminary research

Choosing Your Topic

Your first step is to establish a point of departure for your research project. Depending on your specific professor’s assignment directions, you may get to choose your topic completely, you may get to choose a topic within a frame, or you may get to choose a topic from a list provided by the professor.

To narrow the focus of your topic, brainstorm using prewriting techniques, as well as any guidance or texts given by your instructor.

Once you’re sure of your topic, formulate a specific research question (a broad, open-ended question) that will guide your research.

Your research will help you answer that question or answer another question that you realize is more interesting or useful. It’s important to set aside adequate time for this part of the process. Fully exploring ideas will help you build a solid foundation for your paper.

Identifying Potential Topics

When you choose a research topic and a question about that topic, you are making a major commitment. Your choice will help determine whether you enjoy the lengthy process of research and writing and whether your final paper fulfills the assignment requirements. If you choose your topic hastily, you may later find it difficult to work with your topic. By taking your time and choosing carefully, you can ensure that this assignment is not only challenging but also rewarding.

Writers understand the importance of choosing a topic that fulfills the assignment requirements and fits the assignment’s purpose and audience. Choosing a topic that genuinely interests you is also crucial. You instructor may provide a list of suggested topics, a category of topics, or ask you to develop a topic on your own.

You may find inspiration for topic ideas in your everyday life, by browsing magazines, or looking at lists of topics or themes in online databases such as Academic Search Premier, Opposing Viewpoints, CQ Researcher Online, Bloom’s Literary Reference Online, and Literature Resource Center.

You may benefit from identifying several possibilities before committing to one idea. Building a list of potential topics will help you to identify additional, related topics.

Example

In this example, you will follow a writer named Jorge, who is in a class studying conflicts in American Higher Education, as he prepares a research paper.

Jorge was assigned to write a research paper on current debates about college in the U.S.:

Assignment: Write a 5-6 page research paper on current debates about college in the United States.

Within this framework, Jorge had to decide which specific issues interested him. He brainstormed the following list of possibilities:

• College sports
• Tuition
• Free Speech on campus
• Campus safety
• Campus tech fees
• State funding for higher ed
• Financial aid
• Digital classrooms
• Prescription drug use by students
• Alcohol and college students
• Fraternities and Sororities
• Student activity fees

Focusing on a Topic

After identifying potential topics, Jorge needed to evaluate his list and choose one topic to pursue as the focus of his research paper. Once he had a narrow enough topic, his next step is to develop a research question about that topic. Discussing his ideas with his instructor, peers, and tutors will help ensure that he chooses a manageable topic that fits the requirements of the assignment. The following were some questions Jorge considered:

• Will I be able to find enough information about the topic?
• Can I take an arguable position on the topic?
• Is the topic too broad or too narrow for the scope of the assignment? If so, can I modify the topic so it is more manageable?

He needed to narrow his topic so he could formulate a concise, manageable question about it.

Most writers find that the topics they listed during brainstorming or idea mapping are too broad for the scope of the assignment. Working with an overly broad topic, such as “financial aid,” can be frustrating and overwhelming.

Each topic has so many facets that it would be impossible to cover them all in a college research paper. However, more specific choices, such as “the pros and cons of sexual education,” “children’s television programs,” or “the physical effects of the South Beach diet,” are specific enough to write about without being so narrow that they can’t sustain an entire research paper.

A good research paper provides focused, in-depth information and analysis. If your topic is too broad, you will find it difficult to do more than skim the surface when you research it and write about it. To narrow your focus, explore your topic in writing. Also, conduct preliminary research, including discussing the topic with others. Keep in mind that you will have to narrow your search.

You may be asking yourself, “How am I supposed to narrow my topic when I haven’t even begun researching yet?” In fact, you may already know more than you realize.

Review your list and identify your top two or three topics. Set aside some time to explore each one through Prewriting Techniques. Taking the time to focus on your topic may yield fresh angles.

For example, Jorge knew that he was especially interested in the topic of “college athletics,” but he also knew that it was much too broad for his assignment. He used freewriting to explore his thoughts so he could narrow his topic.

Read Jorge’s ideas from his freewriting:

I wonder if college athletes should get paid. I’ve been thinking a lot about the article we read in class: “Get Your Stadiums Out of Our Churches,” & how universities spend millions of dollars for sports (mostly basketball and football) and make money out of it. However, for the universities and colleges to make that money, they make players play without even paying them. This is a huge problem because only 1 percent of football players make it to the NFL. All the other 99 percent just wasted their energy and time for nothing.

I am a huge fan of college sports. I still watch it while hating that players are not being paid. I have a debate with my friends always about college sports. Most of the people I know said that college players are being paid by getting free learning in the university they are playing for. But I’m not sure that they’re actually getting that education–there was that program (I think in North Carolina?) where players were getting fake class grades in Swahili and other stuff so that their GPA can go up. I think Joe Nocera wrote about this. The problem is that, the universities are giving students and empty grade and calling it an education. This is really messed up because college is where people know things or many students are mature and know things. However, when it comes to football, everyone looks the other way as if they don’t know what was happening.

I love college football and basketball, but now I am starting to hate the game because of what the universities are doing. The universities even own players and make money out of them and don’t give them anything. But is paying them the answer? What would that even look like? Would they still get a degree?

Conducting Preliminary Research

Conducting preliminary research can happen a few different ways. Talk about your ideas with your classmates, friends, and family. Exploratory reading can help you identify interesting angles.

Surfing the web is a good way to start, as is finding sources that your class texts refer to (as Jorge did). Find out what people are saying about your topic in online newspapers, magazines, blogs, and discussion boards. Keep in mind that the reliability of online sources varies greatly.

In this exploratory phase of your research, you do not need to evaluate sources as closely as you will later; however, use common sense as you refine your paper topic. If you read a fascinating blog comment that gives you a new idea, search for some fully developed sources on that topic to see if it’s worth pursuing.

If you are writing a research paper for a specialized course, look back through your notes and course activities to identify potential topics. Remind yourself of reading assignments and class discussions that especially engaged you. Doing so can help you identify topics to pursue. If the readings or viewings assigned in your course deal with your topic, then review and take notes on those materials.

Librarians and instructors can help you to determine if there are enough sources available on your topic, or if there are so many sources that it would be wise to narrow your topic further.

Jorge’s freewriting exercise helped him realize that the assigned topic of current debates in higher education intersected with a few of his own interests: sports, education, and justice.

Preliminary online research and discussions with his classmates strengthened his impression that many people are confused or misled by media coverage of these subjects. Jorge decided to focus his paper on a topic that seemed to be gaining attention: whether universities should be paying their athletes, and how that could happen. He wanted to find out more.

At work, you may need to research a topic quickly to find general information. This information can be useful in understanding trends in a given industry or generating competition. For example, a company may research a competitor’s prices and use the information when pricing their own product. You may find it useful to skim a variety of sources and take notes on your findings.

Summary:

Identifying a topic can be a lengthy process, starting with brainstorming and ending by considering various perspectives. Conducting preliminary research and strategizing to take a broad topic and make it more specific are great approaches in developing a strong thesis statement.

Strategies to assist in identifying a topic include:

• Building upon your prewriting strategies
• Questioning to explore the who, what, when, where, and why behind your topic
• Conduct an initial exploration of sources to see what research exists
• Select a position in a controversial topic
• Consider multiple angles and perspectives

Sources:

“Choosing Your Topic.” by by GSU Perimeter College English Department. Retrieved from: http://gsuideas.org/SCC/Choosing/4.2%20Choosing%20Your%20Topic.html Licensed under: CC-BY 4.0. Adapted by The American Women’s College at Bay Path University.

“Topic and Working Thesis.” by Lumen Learning. Retrieved from: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/englishcomp2kscopexmaster/chapter/assessment-topic-and-working-thesis/ Licensed under: CC-BY. Adapted by The American Women’s College at Bay Path University.