ENGL 1301 (English Composition I) - Prof. M. Hunt

Choosing a Topic

Check out the boxes below for ways to find great debatable issues to use as a topic for this paper.

What makes a good research topic?

1. Debatable or Controversial. You should not pick a topic that everyone agrees on. For example, all reasonable people agree that bullying in schools in wrong. However, not everyone agrees on what the best solution to bullying is. The issue also needs to be defendable; simple matters of opinion or preference are not defendable. 
2. An abundance of research. You need to choose a topic that has a lot of research published about it; your paper will be research-based.  
3. A 'layered' topic. Your topic needs depth. You need to be creative in how you examine your topic. Immigration, for example, is a good topic that has many different ways to look at it: evaluation of current policies, economic effects, definition of ‘asylum seeker’ versus ‘illegal immigrant,’ etc.
4. Personal interest. You must want to research your topic! If you don’t want to spend hours thinking and writing about the politics of the Texas Heartbeat Bill and its relationship to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, then don’t pick it!

CQ Researcher is an excellent resource for choosing a topic. It provides unbiased coverage of social and political issues. Each report offers pro and con interviews, background and historical information, and more. 

To access CQ Researcher from off campus, log in with your student ID and password. 

The video below will help you access and use CQ Researcher.

Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints is a great resource for choosing a topic. It provides differing views on political and social issues. Each entry includes a topic overview and a list of resources. 

Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints is an excellent place to find peer-reviewed articles on your topic.

To access Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints from off campus, log in with your student ID and password. 

This video will help you access and use Gale in Context.

Struggling to think of a topic?

Use the news sites below to get ideas.