How To Choose Research Topics For An English Paper
The key to writing a great English paper is beginning with a fantastic topic. Many clueless students come to us asking “how can I choose a research topic for my English paper.” They are looking for assistance with narrowing down their topic choices and landing on one that will certainly earn them an A+ grade.
The best ways to select a topic for your research paper is to begin with some basic research, makes a list of potential ideas, and then narrow it down. By preliminary researching topic ideas you will be able to determine whether or not there is enough information available to write a comprehensive essay.
- Getting Started
- Evaluate Your List
- Pick Your Research Paper Topic
Most of the time an English essay assignment will be on a specific subject, book, or classroom topic- the assignment criteria may be vague but your instructor will likely choose the subject for you. This leaves you responsible for coming up with some topics that will set your paper apart. The best way to do this is by doing some online research on the subject and seeing if anything jumps out at you. While you are doing this early research you should also be making a list of potential research topics.
Once you have a list consisting of several potential research topics you will want to immediately rule a few ofthem out. Do this by considering the quality of the paper that you want to write. Some ideas may be too general or uninteresting; other writers may have already written on them too many times. Remember, you want your paper to be unique. It is also wise to cancel out any potential topics that may be difficult to prove with examples or are too farfetched.
By now you should have narrowed down you list to include one or two research topic ideas with potential. From here would suggest that you use your best instinct. Whichever topic interests you the most, and will likely get you the best grade.
If you still can’t decide try composing a thesis for both remaining ideas and determine which these you like best. You may also do a bit more research to figure out which one will be easiest to write about.
At the end of the day picking a great research paper topic for your English class is not rocket science. Instead of getting caught up in the process do a bit of work and land on a topic that you feel good about. Picking a topic that you feel confident writing on is likely to turn out a better paper.