Annually high and middle school students write dozens of essays and research papers. College and university students are also given tasks of the kind. Along with this they also write essays applying for admission or scholarships. In many cases, teachers or professors give their students a list of essay topics to choose from. Many students like this scenario, but some would like to have their own topic to write about. In this case, they should ask their teacher/ professor about this possibility and most probably, they will be allowed to research their topic. But, it’s necessary to remember that when a teacher/ professor offers a list of topics to write about, he/she has certain considerations and so, the students might be not allowed to change the topics from the given list. And also in many cases, students are given only recommendations on how to organize their essays or research papers and have to choose a topic themselves. Of course, in this case, it’s necessary to remember, that the topic should be connected with the course students have studied or some general topic, if they write an admission essay or some kind of application. This is the point when students start to experience difficulties. How can you choose a topic for an essay paper? Specialists from the professional research paper writing service claim that some recommendations will help you to create a great topic for your essay paper.
Tips on Choosing a Topic for Essay Paper
- 1. Choose the topic you are interested in. Your passion for the topic will be inevitably seen in your essay. If you need to choose a topic within the course you are not fascinated about, try to find an aspect you find at least somewhat interesting.
- 2. Make sure that you already know something about the topic. This will help you to formulate your paper thesis and arguments. It’s also important to be sure that there are some published materials on the issue you are going to write about. It’s very important to have them because otherwise, you won’t be able to find enough proof to support your point.
- 3. Remember that your research paper or essay is limited in volume. So, it’s necessary to make the topic of your work narrow enough. Research on “History of the Fight for Civil Rights in the USA” will take thousands of pages. The topic should be narrowed to a certain location and time period.
- 4. Brainstorm your ideas for the topic. Then choose the best one from the list. If later you decide to change the topic a bit, most probably your teacher/ professor will approve the change.
- 5. You can ask for a piece of advice as for the essay topic from your teacher. Your friend can also take part in brainstorming and later help to choose the best topic. You can also look on the Internet at what other people wrote on the topic. This might help you to get some ideas.
- 6. If you are not limited in any way with the topic of your essay (https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/topic-sentences-and-signposting), choose to write about something you are interested in or about your hobby. And don’t forget to narrow your topic, make it as precise as possible.
- 7. Firstlydecide on the type of essay you are going to write. This will also influence greatly the way your topic will sound as it’s clear that narrative and persuasive essays are about totally different approaches to the topic.
- 8. If you are totally stuck, think about using the topic you have already written about. Just look at the issue from a different point, or choose a different aspect of the issue to write about.
- 9. Try to make your topic interesting. But it shouldn’t sound too funny or extravagant. Remember that you need to have enough material to write an interesting essay.
- 10. The topic of your essay should be coordinated with its thesis. But these are different things. The topic states the issue your essay will be about, while the thesis states your attitude to that issue.
Though choosing a topic for your research paper or essay isn’t an easy task following the recommendations will make it manageable.