Develop Your Topic
For this class, you will need to select an argumentative essay to review critically and a topic to write on yourself. For each, choose something relevant, interesting, or which you care about. However, be aware:
- Too passionate means you may not be objective.
- Too big a topic means the essay is unmanageable.
- Too specific a topic means there won't be resources.
Check the resources below if you need help choosing a topic. When you're ready, move on to exploring and then refining your topic.
Find A Topic for Review and Writing:
- Argument Essay Prompts for Topic SelectionThis list of essay prompts can give you a good idea of some topics you may want to investigate further for either your own argumentative paper or the one you wish to review.
- Gale In Context: Opposing ViewpointsNeed help choosing a topic? Start here and use the Browse feature. "Opposing Viewpoints" includes popular and scholarly opinion articles as well as supporting documentation. The presentation of the resources is unsurpassed. PLEASE NOTE: Not all instructors accept hot-button topics; ask if you are unsure.
Before you develop your research topic or question, you'll need to do some background research first.
Some good places to find background information:
- Your textbook or class readings
- Encyclopedias and reference books
- Credible websites
- Library databases
Try the library databases below to explore your topic. When you're ready, move on to refining your topic.
Find Background Information:
- Gale In Context: Opposing ViewpointsTopics, opinion pieces, and links to supporting documentation make this an excellent starting place for this particular class.
- Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new windowA favorite for the social sciences, humanities, fine arts, medicine, and education, ASP indexes 8,200 periodicals. Full-text articles from 3,750 peer-reviewed, scholarly journals are found here, plus a number of popular sources.
Now that you've done some background research, it's time to narrow your topic. Remember: the shorter your final paper, the narrower your topic needs to be. Here are some suggestions for narrowing and defining your topic:
- Is there a specific subset of the topic you can focus on?
- Is there a cause and effect relationship you can explore?
- Is there an unanswered question on the subject?
- Can you focus on a specific time period or group of people?
Describe and develop your topic in some detail. Try filling in the blanks in the following sentence, as much as you can:
I want to research ____(what/who)____
and ____(what/who)____
in ____(where)____
during ____(when)____
because ____(why)____.
Need an Idea?
A great idea can come from many places. Here are some suggested places to start:
- Class discussions
- Assigned readings
- Topics in the news
- Browse journals in the field
- Personal interests
Worksheets
- Concept Map WorksheetA worksheet for mapping out potential aspects of a search topic such as terms and associated concepts.
- Search Strategy WorksheetWorksheet for making a research question and finding synonyms. Includes basic search techniques.
- Identifying Research Gaps WorksheetA great tool for finding any gaps or problems in your research or thesis. Like to talk things out? This is even better with a partner!