Choosing a Topic . Essay or Research Paper

• Admission Essays
• Essays Term Papers
• Research Papers
• Book Reports
• Dissertations PhD Theses
• MBA Projects
• Term Projects
• Coursework Writing
• Speech Writing
• Poetry Writing
• Creative Writing
• Essay Editing
• Academic Researching
• FAQs
• ORDER

← Back to WRITING TUTORIAL

Choosing a topic for a custom research paper, dissertation, term paper, or even a simple essay can seem like a frightening task to many students. Yet, it is actually a simple one with these tips. Often instructors assign a subject that the student must write, but even then there are topics within the subject. The first step in choosing a topic is knowing what the instructor wants and then making a choice about how to write the topic or deciding on your topic and what you want to write about it.

The first step in choosing a topic is to understand the assignment. What does the assignment want you to do? Are to you to give your opinions about the topic? Does the assignment as for only facts and no opinions? Are many sources are you to use? What are any specific facts you need to research? Do you need to find statistics stating precise information about the topic? What does the instructor want you to achieve when custom writing this paper? Know what is expected in order to be able to write a successful term paper or essay.

Some instructors allow the student to choose any topic for their assignments. This allows more freedom on what you choose to write. Begin by brainstorming what types of topics you would enjoy writing. Do you have a specific topic that you have been wanting to learn more about? Discuss different topics with friends and families. Has there been any recent news about a topic that you might want to research. For instance, outsourcing has been on the news as an issue debated in the presidential race. You might choose to research and write about why companies are outsourcing? You might choose to debate the issue of why American companies should or should not send jobs overseas.

Sometimes choosing a broad topic is a great way to begin. The next step is to brainstorm several subtopics about the subject of the paper. What do you know about the topic? Are you interested in more of a subtopic than others? What areas of the topic might be broken down into several subtopics? Choose one of the subtopics to write and research.

Sometimes it is better to choose a wide subject and begin researching it. As you research the subject may tend to go in one direction. The next step is to research the direction and make an outline giving a thesis statement of where you are headed. This can be used in deleting any information not directed to the subtopic. It can help you use key words that will give you more possible sources.

A great way to get subtopics for a subject is to use the Internet. Write in the key words of a subject and see what possible listings are provided. Take one of these and use the key words to go a step further in dividing the subject. Sometimes glancing at news articles on the Internet will help you choose a topic. The Internet is a great tool when trying to decide on a topic.

Another way to find topics is to glance through the magazines and journals in the library until you find an article that is interesting. Once you find an interesting article begin to ask yourself what information you want to know more about in the article. How can you divide this article into more topics that you might research? Pick a subtopic and decide to use it as your topic.

Another great way to get a topic is to listen to people around you and their discussions. What are they talking about that might make a great topic? Are they discussing any particular problem that might make a great research project? Often listening to friends is a way to find a topic.

There are numerous ways to find great topics. Begin with brainstorming. Listen to some friends. Visit the library. Read the news on the Internet. Before you know it you will have chosen your topic for your custom essay or research paper.

CustomPapers.com