Select a Topic

Background Reading

State Topic

Skill Check

Selecting a suitable topic for a research paper, speech or other project is a crucial first step.When selecting a topic, remember that potential research topics can come from encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines, radio, television, the Internet, in-class discussions, professors, or friends.

Some things to keep in mind when choosing a topic:

• Select a topic that interests you.
• Check to see if sufficient resources are available on your topic. Some topics may be too narrow or too recent.
• Exercise caution in selecting popular topics such as capital punishment, abortion, etc., because you may be overwhelmed by the amount of information you find.
• Start your research early - as soon as the assignment is made.
• Keep an open mind during this stage of the research process and be on the look-out for a back-up topic.

Module 1: Introduction Background Reading