Choosing a research paper topic requires finding the right focus. Start with a general subject area and narrow it down to a specific topic that is interesting and can be covered within the page limit. Read notes or books to find interesting topics and then narrow them down further to find the perfect topic.
Choosing a research paper topic can seem like a daunting task. After all, you will spend a lot of time and energy researching and writing this article. You want to pick something that’s interesting to you and get the grade you want. Choosing a research paper topic that meets all these requirements is all about finding the right focus.
The general subject area of your research paper is usually determined by the class you are writing for. For example, if you are taking an American history class on the US Civil War, your general subject area is the Civil War. If, however, you are taking a more general class, such as US history, then you will need to start narrowing your focus to a single general area, such as the American Civil War, the women’s rights movement, or prohibition. .
Once you’ve chosen a general subject area for your paper, you need to narrow your focus even further. A research paper topic should be specific enough that you can write a full paper within the page limit provided by your professor. If your research paper must be ten pages long, considering the entire US Civil War as your topic will drown you in the sea of facts.
To narrow the subject, read your class notes or book. Decide which topics seem most interesting. At this point, it might be helpful to make a list of all the interesting research article topics you come across.
When you have a list of three or four topics, it’s time to find your focus. Think about each topic. It needs to be narrow enough that you can cover it in ten pages, for example, but not so narrow that you run out of material on page three.
Suppose you listed these three topics about the US Civil War: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, Civil War Art, and Civil War Causes. These are all good topics, but the focus can be narrowed. See Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. This is a broad topic that entire books have been written about. You can narrow down how the Gettysburg Address shaped the Civil War.
The topic of this research article is narrow enough that you can cover it well in ten pages. However, it’s also deep enough that you’ll find plenty of material to dig through. It’s everything a research paper topic should be.
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