Evaluate Research Paper SubjectsYou shouldn't select a subject hastily, but neither should you spend too much time sifting through ideas. Here are six guidelines to make the process easier:
1. Consider your purpose. With a research paper, your purpose is to convince. Persuasive writing succeeds in large part because it has such a clear sense of purpose. Keep your purpose in mind as you weigh the suitability of various subjects. If you can't slant the subject to be persuasive, it isn't a good choice for a research paper.
2. Focus on your audience. As you select a subject, always focus on your audience-the person or people who will be reading your paper. Always remember that you're writing for a specific audience. Tailor your subject to suit your audience's expectations and requirements. Don't select a subject that condescends to your readers, offends them, or panders to them. Don't try to shock them, either-it always backfires.
3. Select a subject you like. If you have a choice, try to select a subject that interests you. Since you will be working with the subject for weeks and even months, you will find the process of writing your research paper much more enjoyable if you like the subject matter you have selected.
Start with hobbies, sports, favorite courses, career plans, and part-time jobs. For example, if you're interested in computers, you may wish to persuade your readers of the negative effects of computers on children. You might argue that we are raising a generation of sedentary children as a result of an over-emphasis on computer skills and the abundance of computer games.
School courses can also be an excellent source of topics for your research paper. If your favorite class is physical education, consider a persuasive paper related to the subject. For instance, persuade your readers that physical education classes should be mandatory in grades K-12. What happens if you have been assigned a subject you detest? See if you can find an aspect of the subject that you like. Of course, always check all changes with your instructor before you begin to write.
4. Be practical. Even though you want to choose a subject that appeals to you, look for subjects that have sufficient information available, but not so much information that you can't possibly read it all. Writing a research paper is challenging enough without making the task that much harder for yourself. For instance, avoid research papers on the entire Civil War, U.S. transportation system, or modern American literature. These subjects are simply too vast to be covered in a research paper; they require a book-length dissertation.
Beware of "hot" subjects. "Hot" subjects-very timely, popular issues-often lack the expert attention that leads to reliable information. The web pages, books, articles, and interviews on such subjects have often been produced in great haste. As a result, they are not carefully fact-checked. In addition, such research papers get stale very quickly-sometimes; the issue can seem dated even before you finish writing the paper. The media can be an excellent source of research paper subjects, especially newspapers, magazines, radio shows, and web sites. But rather than focusing on the side everyone else sees, probe a little deeper for the story behind the story. This can help you avoid getting trapped in a subject that's here today but gone tomorrow.
Recognize that not all questions have answers.
When you write a research paper, you are attempting to find an answer to the question you have posed or the one that has been given to you. Remember that not all research questions lead to definitive answers. Rather, many questions invite informed opinions based on the evidence you have gathered from research. Dealing with questions that don't have definitive answers can make your paper provocative and intriguing.
Now that you have learned how to choose a subject, we'll turn to the crucial issues of narrowing the subject to a topic. You will discover why this is such a crucial step in a successful research paper. |
