How to pick a topic:
-
Review your assignment directions and requirements.
- Are you required to pick a topic within an assigned theme, like education or advertising, or are you allowed to choose a topic from any theme?
- Are you required to use certain readings from your course? Those readings may give you ideas about potential topics.
- Brainstorm and ask questions.
- Think of the readings in your class that interest you most. Is there an idea or topic that you want to explore further?
- Write down a few topic ideas on a piece of paper, and ask yourself questions about those topics.
- Using the 5 W's can get your mind flowing as you brainstorm. For example:
- Who is affected by this topic? Who are the key players in this topic? Who benefits (and who doesn't) from this topic?
- What are the most important issues or concerns related to this topic?
- Where does this topic exist? Is it specific to a region?
- When was this topic most relevant? Is it a historical topic or a current event?
- Why is this topic important to you? Why should it be important to your reader?
- Once you have a few topic ideas, do some background research to learn more about your topic. (See next page!)
- Doing background research will help you understand your topic enough to write a research question and/or thesis statement.
Photo by Mark Fletcher-Brown via Unsplash.
