The most important part of writing your research paper is to come up with an idea you would like to write about. There are a few ways to go about this but some methods are far more effective than others.
The first thing to do is to think about what you want to write about. There are plenty of topics available in the English realm to write about. However, you can feel free to write about something outside the subject but understand that anything scientific in nature will most likely require some experimentation or extensive data keeping which may eat up more time than you are able to spend.
Some good examples of English writing papers are:
- Taking a school of writing and constructing a criticism of the value system of the authors.
- Write about literature belonging to different countries, e.g. American literature, African-American literature, Indian writings in English, etc. Literature is often a reflection of the society, so the literature of a particular country will be the reflection of its traditions, customs, views.
- How does an author like Steven King use different devices to represent fear in his novels?
Outside of English you could go with a topic like:
- How do online stores affect retail businesses?
- How does censorship affect a public school curriculum?
- Are with really experiencing global warming?
As you can see, the possibilities are endless for you when it comes to topics. Most importantly, make the topic interesting to you. The next few months you will be working through this idea and paper and if you are not invested in the topic that will be reflected in your work and will prohibit you from doing your best work. There are plenty of ideas for topics that are out there and there are links on the left that will help you gain some ideas.
YOUR MISSION:
For this first step it is two-fold.
1.) You must have a clear defined hypothesis for the paper in two weeks.
2.) You will need to write a short 1-2 page argument in favor of your hypothesis. This does not require having sources. You are writing this to get an idea for what angle you would like to chase in your writing.
Please discuss with me your thought process and I can help you narrow down or focus your search. Make sure your idea is specific- it is easier to whittle it down than to broaden it back up.
Also, along the left hand side you will see links that are designed to help get you focused on how you are to write the hypothesis. Study Guides and Strategies has some very helpful hints about how to develop your topic and identify the audience you are writing for. Use the links to help with the thought process. This is step 1 of the process and in a short time you will know where you are headed for the next few months.
So two weeks from today I expect a hypothesis and the short argument paper.
