1. Use with permission from Monroe Community
Narrowing your topic
Shelby Bivins, M.Ed.
Librarian
Frisco High School, Frisco, TX.
Use with permission from Monroe Community

2. Quick Tips for Narrowing your topic
Use a Wikipedia-type site for general information on your topic.
Choose a topic that will be interesting to your audience.
Ask: is my topic still too broad for the length of my paper?
What kind of information do I need to do the assignment?
Is there a better question I could ask now that I know more? (more on this to come)
Use with permission from Monroe Community

3. Broad to narrow to focused
Broad Topic
Narrowed Topic
Focused Topic
Research Question
video games
video game violence
video game violence and children
How does violence in video games affect children?
eating disorders
teens and eating disorders
teen peer pressure and bulimia
What role, if any, does peer pressure play in the development of bulimia among teens?
FISD High School Research Guide

4. Narrowing your topic worksheet
Women’s suffrage
Sub-Topics
History of women’s suffrage; women’s suffrage United States; prominent women suffragists; strides made in women’s suffrage; Women’s rights; feminism
What sub-topics are of most interest to you?
Women’s suffrage and present day feminism
What new questions do you have about your topic?
What strides were made by the early women’s suffrage movement?
Are there similarities in early women’s suffrage and current day feminism?
Develop a topic statement OR research question
What role, if any, did the suffrage movement play in forwarding current day feminism?
Used with permission and adapted from Monroe Community College, Professor J. Wilkie

5. Use with permission from Monroe Community
General Search Tips
Write down similar search terms.
Use with permission from Monroe Community