First identify your topic:
Review the instructions for your assignment and consult your class notes.
Consider: What interests you? How does this relate to your assignment? What questions do you have about your topic? What would you like to learn more about?
After reviewing your assignment prompt, think broadly about which areas you would like to explore. When you have a broad area or two in mind, begin brainstorming some of the possible terms that are related to those areas and write them down. They don’t need to be complete thoughts, just some words that come up when you think about your research question.
Example: For my English paper, I chose a topic related to the prison system in the United States. I brainstormed the following words:
When you are choosing a research topic, surveying a number of different kinds of resources can a good way of getting some basic background knowledge on your topic. Try a few different searches (possibly using the terms that you brainstormed in the previous exercise) and see what comes up. From there, you may be able to narrow down a topic.
Example: When I searched for "prison system" OR prisons AND "United States" OR America in Google’s search box, I came across a number of information resources (news, media, nonprofit organizations, videos, books, etc.) related to the history of the prison system in America, as well as information on those trying to reform it. By surveying a few articles and topic overviews here, I can begin to narrow down my focus.
This can be especially helpful if you are wondering if there is any scholarly information on your topic. In addition to perusing the Internet for some basic background information on your areas of interest, the library can offer you the following resources:
Example: I used Points of View Reference Center's topic overviews to build some background knowledge on the Private Prison Industry.
Go to the worksheet and type the name of the topic for your argument essay. The rest of today's exercises will build off the topic you choose.
