Choosing a Topic: Where to Start?
• Choose something that interests you. What do you read or watch for fun? What do you follow on social media?
• Avoid "exhausted" topics. Show some mercy to your readers and listeners.
• Choose a topic that allows you to keep an open mind. If you already have a strong opinion, then it will be difficult to fairly present all viewpoints.
• Bounce ideas off friends, family, and teachers. Really listen to their feedback.
• Look at news stories in traditional and social media. What's trending and interesting?
• Lighten up on the subject matter. Avoid the shocking and really sad stuff. Aim for a pleasant experience!
• Use a note app or keep a handy notepad to quickly write down ideas when they come to you.
Why Use a Book or Reference Collection?
Books and specialized reference collections are often a better and more efficient approach to learning about important issues. Consider these advantages:
Big Picture - Books are often the best way to understand how a topic fits into the larger context of an issue. They can help you visualize how all of the pieces of a research puzzle fit together.
Terminology - Books offer a great introduction to subject vocabulary (search terms) and to the most influential people, places, and things associated with a topic. Think about it; you can't expect to find relevant information about a topic if you don't know what search terms appear in the published literature.
Citation Mining - Books contain lists of additional sources related to your topic. Bibliographies are like maps; they often lead to the best and most respected primary and secondary sources about a topic.
You do not have to read an entire book to use it as a research source! Just focus on the relevant chapters or specific pages, then format your citation accordingly.
When beginning a topic investigation, reading 15 pages from a book or encyclopedia with a broad context is often better than reading 15 pages from a journal article with a narrow focus.
Choosing a Topic -- Looking for Ideas
Specialized databases and websites about national and international issues are good places to get topic ideas. They explain issues within larger contexts and from differing viewpoints. This helps with understanding the "big picture" and with ideas for narrowing topics.
- Argumentative Writing Topics
- Debate & Persuasive Writing Topics
- Narrative, Creative, & Personal Writing Topics
- NCLive- Free access to ebooks, audiobooks, videos, online magazines, newspapers, journals, and more.
- Opposing Viewpoints- Pro/Con Points-of-View on the latest/hottest topics.
- ProCon.org
Pros & Cons of 53 controversial issues.
Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University
The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction.
For more information about services for the Purdue University community, including one-to-one consultations, ESL conversation groups and workshops, please visit the Writing Lab site.
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Videos by Jane Lofton, Teacher Librarian at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, CA