Research Assistant: Topic Ideas

Finding Ideas For Your Topic

If you don't have an idea for a topic or if your teacher did not assign a specific topic for your paper, consider the following suggestions. You will almost certainly get a better grade if your topic explores more than just what you can find in library books, online subscription resources, or the free Web. Think about turning your topic into a thought-provoking question for you to explore—one in which you add value to the information you find.

Think about what is interesting to you and see if you can connect that interest to the requirements of the paper. For example, if the teacher has assigned a broad topic such as “Change over time in U.S. History” and you are passionate about Corvettes, consider connecting the topics in this way: “How has the design of automobiles over time influenced the way Americans buy and use their cars?”
Here is another example for a student who loves photography: “How has photography and its advances changed the definition of what it means to be an American?” One more example for a student who enjoys reading literature written by women during a particular time period: “Did the lives and writings of the women in the Beat generation serve as precursors to the feminist movement in the 1970s?”
Browse the library shelves. (That means actually going to the library and looking at books on the shelves!)
Use the online reference services to which the school has subscriptions.
Talk to your parents, teachers and friends about good topics.

You can find information about turning your topic into a thought-provoking question and adding value to it on this page.

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