Choosing an essay topic

Your main objective should be to end up with a topic that is neither too broad nor too narrow for the purposes of your assignment. Before finalizing your choice, make sure that sufficient material is available on the topic. If your topic is a controversial one, consider the need for material representing either a neutral overview of the topic, or enough material on each major viewpoint to achieve a balance. Remember that even in an opinion piece, material from the "other side" can be used to strengthen your own thesis.

If your topic is a longstanding issue, make sure that current information is available if this is required for the assignment. While historical information is important, having both is usually preferable for a well-rounded presentation. Finally, make sure your topic choice appeals to your own interests as much as possible, as this will increase your enthusiasm for thorough research and high quality results.

Fine Tuning Your Topic If your topic is too broad... Try narrowing it down by selecting one aspect of the topic; you could concentrate on groups involved, or areas of the world affected, or time periods covered. A search on your topic using a library catalog or other online database can yield titles or key words representing possible subtopics to narrow your focus.

If your topic is too narrow Think about how your topic affects things and people or places associated with it. How does your topic affect you? What are some broader implications? Historical effects? New innovations, controversies, or laws? Topics that have been in the public eye for a significant time period are generally easier to broaden. If a topic is very new, you may not be able to find very much printed information on it.

As with narrowing a topic, a library or online search can provide other terms that might help to broaden your approach. A graphic organizer, such as a concept web, can be a big help in "branching out" from a central idea to possible parallel topics and will help you organize your ideas.

Research Topics Fair Trade vs Free Trade NAFTA (failure or success) Wal-Mart Global Warming-Fact or Fiction? Drug Trade Sex Trade Black Market Globalization Recession (Great Depression vs Recession) Canada’s Global Market See handout for more options