Selecting an Issue
One of the most difficult aspects of college writing
can be choosing a topic about which you want to write.
Often, professors leave it up to you to select something
to write about, to formulate a thesis about your topic,
and to write an engaging paper about it. This section
is entitled "selecting an issue" instead
of "selecting a topic" because you need
more than a strong topic in order to write a strong paper.
You need to narrow your focus within your topic onto a
specific issue which interests you. The more interest
you have in your issue, the stronger your paper will generally
be. So, care for your issue and argue persuasively!
An example of a topic and an issue within
it might be:
Topic: Protecting Endangered Species
Issue: Breeding panda bears in captivity
As you can see, the issue serves to narrow
down the topic, but is not in and of itself an argument.
Once you select your issue, you often have to do some more
research in order to formulate a strong thesis, which might
argue that panda bears need to be allowed to live in their
natural environment, and have that environment protected,
in order to insure their survival. The topic and issue you
choose will obviously be one relating to the class for which
you are writing your paper, but helpful methods for selecting
topics and issues can be used in any discipline.
Useful methods for selecting a topic and
narrowing it into one issue (check links):
Free
Writing
Brainstorming
Making Lists
For a useful site that can guide you through
the process of deciding what you want to write about, click here.
At this stage, you need only find an issue
that interests you. For more information about formulating
a thesis and supporting it with evidence, please return
to General Academic Writing and select one of the
other useful links
