Writing Focus – Selecting a Topic and Developing a Thesis

Selecting a Topic

In a persuasive writing piece, you address a topic that is somewhat controversial or complex. After all, in order to make an argument, the topic has to be something that can be argued; otherwise, everyone would be in agreement and there would be nothing to discuss. Topics can cover issues as complicated as gun control, taxes, and violence in the media. Before choosing a topic and narrowing its scope, first come up with a list of possible topics by thinking about your own interests, opinions, and feelings. Ask yourself:

• What are some issues about which I feel strongly?
  
• What issues that interest me?
  

If you are still having trouble thinking about a possible arguable issue, you can watch the news, read a newspaper, or check out online news websites to see what issues are currently being discussed in the world. Remember, an issue directly affecting you or your local community may be the most relevant and interesting to you, but it may be easier to find more information about topics that affect the world on a broader scale. Once you have a list of possible topics, use an Internet search engine to do a brief, preliminary search for information on the topic in order to gain a general overview of the topic. A general search may also help you uncover whether there are abundant sources on a topic.

Narrowing Down a Topic

When brainstorming a list of possible topics, it is very likely that most, if not all, of your topics are very broad. For example, a broad topic such as food safety has numerous angles to consider. If you are writing about food safety, what step in the process of food production are you discussing? In other words, are you focusing on practices involved in growing or raising food sources, regulations regarding factories, preventing tainted imports, or the actual food preparation in professional or domestic kitchens? For that matter, are you addressing meat products or plant-based food? Or perhaps your food safety topic is examining the effect of antibiotics or pesticides in food sources, or the safety of consuming genetically modified organisms. As you can see by this example, a topic that is too broad would require a great amount of time and resources to be able to address fully. Once you have a preferred topic of interest selected, narrow it down further in order to help you determine your specific position on the issue.

Prewriting strategies help you narrow down your topic and focus your research. Prewriting is for your benefit only, so relax and enjoy exploring the complexity of your topic. In this interactivity, you will explore some prewriting strategies. Different strategies may work better for you depending on your personality or even the assignment at hand, so try several of them to see which are the most comfortable and effective for you. Click the player button to begin.

View a printable version of the interactivity.

Developing a Thesis

There are several characteristics that make a strong thesis. A strong thesis statement clearly states your claim or position, establishes the scope of the topic, and outlines the main points of your argument. In addition, a thesis statement must be arguable rather than stating indisputable facts. View this presentation to learn more about developing a strong thesis. Click the player button to begin.

View a printable version of the interactivity.

 

Selecting a Topic and Developing a Thesis Review

Now that you have explored how to select and narrow down a topic for your research paper as well as how to develop a strong thesis statement, review your knowledge in this non-graded activity. Read each statement and decide whether it is true or false. Then, click SUBMIT to check your responses. Click the player button get started.