Local News Sources 

A word on paywalls! Online newspapers limit the number of free articles you get per month. Check our library databases to see if we have it in our collection too.

Choosing your topic

Interest:

• Why do you want to write about this topic? Will it interest you for the quarter?
• Complexity: Does the topic lead you to complex questions or can it be answered easily? Does it lead you deeper into the issue?
• Research: Does this topic require you to dig deeper and look at various college-level sources, such as subject databases or peer-reviewed journals?

In-depth analysis:

• Is your topic too broad for you to research it in depth? Would you be able to adequately discuss it within your page limit? For example: "The effect of the current economic recession on consumer spending" is too broad to cover.

• Can you replace general or vague terms with more focused terms on your subject? For example, in the example above, you could substitute "consumer" with teens or families and focus on specific items. 

Does the topic fit the assignment?

• What kind of genre are your writing in? Does your instructor expect a report, an analysis, an argument or another genre of writing?

• For this class, the background essay and literature review are reports. You will be reading and synthesizing the research, issues, and conclusions others have written about your topic.

• The final paper will require analysis. After you have become familiar with what others have written, you will evaluate what others have written and add to the conversation.

Topics to Avoid:

• Avoid topics based on personal belief or opinion: the death penalty is good or bad.

• Avoid topics that are simply factual and, that once answered, end the conversation: unemployment figures are at x.

• Avoid topics that rely on unverifiable speculation: UFOs are real.