Selecting a Topic -- AIM for the Best Topic
If you are free to choose a topic, how do you find the Best topic? The best topics are:
-
Appropriate: The topic is appropriate for your assignment.
-
Interesting: You will do a better job and enjoy the writing experience more if you find a topic interesting.
-
Manageable: Like the well known "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" tale, your topic is neither too broad nor too narrow, but "just right" in terms of time you have to research, the materials available to you, and the time you have to complete your assignment
"AIM for the Best Topic" is used with permission of the Shapiro Undergraduate Library, University of Michigan.
To Identify a Potential Topic:
-
Think about topics that your instructor has discussed in class or in your text.
-
Take a big topic, such as "the environment," and brainstorm about different issues related to the topic.
-
Ask your instructor or a librarian for help! Librarians can point you to sources that will help give you ideas.
Updated January 2004
Send Comments to Nancy Gauss, ngauss@western.edu
