Prepared by Jasmine Maklad

 Develops from your research  Relevant  Up-to-date  Feasible  Unanswered  Guides your research  Is answered in your thesis & throughout your paper

Do:  Analytical  Highly focused Don’t:  Fact / Yes / No  Easily answerable

Look at keywords for clues  E.g. Aid to Egypt  Donor  Sector  Aspect of focus (look at focusing topics Writing Center website)

USAID to Egypt for agriculture

Look at question markers for clues, and Consider how you would answer the question  Does Egypt receive USAID for agriculture?  How does Egypt receive USAID for agriculture?  What does Egypt use US agricultural AID for?

Why is USAID to Egypt for agriculture ineffective?

Yes / No questions can be easily transformed into good research questions  Answer the question  Ask Why

1. Has the government taken action against Israel for its treatment of POWs during the 1967 war? Or 2.Has the government de-mined Sinai and the area around Al Alamein?  No.  Why?  Why didn’t the government pursue legal action against the Israeli government for its treatment of Egyptian POWs?  Why hasn’t the government de-mined Sinai and Al-Alamein?

Whenever a yes / no question lies behind a research question, an assumption has been made.  Identify the assumption  Support it in your paper (introduction)

 Laws regarding divorce in Egypt  Political participation in Egypt  Human rights in Egypt

Laws regarding divorce in Egypt: Why is the new Khul’ law having negative effects on women? Political participation in Egypt: To what extent does the education system promote political apathy? AIDS in Egypt: How effective was the recent AIDS awareness campaign held in Egypt?