Perhaps the most important step in writing a paper is choosing the topic.
If your topic is not well selected, regardless of how much time
you put into writing the paper or how good a job you do, your grade
evaluation will suffer.
Writing a paper, in other words, may be likened to building a house.
Choosing the topic for the paper is like laying the foundation of your
structure. If the foundation is not sound, the house will be shaky
(and the reception of others to it will be less than enthusiastic).
Here are five points we urge you to consider when selecting your topic:
1. THE TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE. Teachers, especially college teachers,
tend to be a rather opinionated bunch. They usually hold very definite views
on anything that relates to what they are teaching. In theory, it might be
possible to take a position diametrically opposed to that of the instructor
and still get a grade of A for the paper. In practice, however, swimming
against the current, so to speak, is usually less fruitful than swimming
with the current.
The instructor might tell you that it does not matter which issue you choose
or which side of an issue you take, as long as you do a good job with what
you have chosen. Don’t believe this. It’s a trick, of sorts (even though the
instructor might not be trying to trick you deliberately).
We all have our biases, even though we might not admit to them readily,
even to ourselves. We like certain things better than we like others. We
each tend to be more interested in certain things than in others.
So, when you do have the luxury of choosing a topic yourself (which is more
often the case than not in U.S. institutions of higher education), you might
as well choose one that interests the instructor — and you might as well
choose the position to which your instructor is favorably inclined.
(These suggestions are based on the assumption that getting a good grade
is a priority. If this happens not to be the case for you, then the
suggestions in this first step might not be as applicable. Still, even if
your sole purpose is learning, you might want to consider this aspect:
You are likely to get a more helpful evaluation from your instructor when
he or she is interested in what you are writing about. It would seem, then,
that the strategy suggested here will still benefit you, even if you are
not concerned with grades.)
How can you tell what topics interest a teacher and what that teacher’s
positions are? You can (a) pay attention to clues (sometimes extremely
obvious) given during class meetings, (b) talk with other students or
instructors who know the teacher better than you do or (c) look up whatever
articles and books have been written by the instructor during the past
several years. These will most surely give you very definite information
about your instructor’s interests and opinions. Finally, you can (d)
sound out your instructor’s position by submitting a proposal or outline
for approval, before you begin doing the bulk of the work. Many instructors
actually require this of students at an early stage in the course.
Though you would be well-advised indeed to choose a topic that is of
potential interest to the instructor, you would also be well-advised to
choose a topic outside of your instructor’s special area of
expertise. If the instructor has written a book about the subject, for
example, you would probably be well-advised to select a different topic.
Why? Because the instructor will naturally be more picky when reading
something about which he or she knows a great deal.
In summary, then, if you want to get a good grade on your paper, the topic
about which you choose to write should be of interest to your instructor
— but it should be outside the instructor’s special area(s) of
expertise.
2. THE AVAILABILITY OF MATERIALS. This is a very practical, important aspect
that many students fail to investigate — until it’s too late!
It is not enough to select a topic that is good, in the sense that it is
both worthy of investigation and works well with your instructor. It should
also be a topic for which materials are readily available.
Typically, the time a student has to complete a paper is quite limited.
There is other course work that needs to be completed. There are often
job and family responsibilities that are competing for the student’s
time as well. You also want to be able to have some time left over for fun!
You will make life easier, and more enjoyable, for yourself if you invest
a modest amount of time making sure that sufficient materials are easily
available, before you settle on your topic. (Most instructors do not look
favorably on topic changes after you have formally committed yourself to
that topic.)
So what’s the quickest way to determine availability of materials?
One way is to check with the reference librarian at your library. Reference
librarians (there are usually several who work at any library) represent
one of the best resources at our disposal, whether we happen to be students,
teachers or researchers in other roles. A reference librarian can
probably help you ascertain within a few minutes whether materials for your
proposed topic are readily available.
Note number one: Though reference librarians at some libraries do answer
questions by telephone, you will almost always get much better service if
you go to the library to ask the question in person.
Note number two: You want to make sure not only that the materials you need
are owned by your library but also that they are not checked out, missing,
stolen, at the bindery or whatever. The reference librarian will also be
able to help you in this regard, if you don’t know how to find out
yourself.
Another way to check for availability of materials is through on-line
research, using your computer and modem. On-line research is a complex
subject that will be covered in some detail in a separate category within
our Tips, Tools & Ideas section. As of this writing, on-line research is
not a viable substitute for traditional library research, for the majority
of students. The two main reasons are extra expense and difficulty of use.
If you happen to be among the fortunate minority for whom on-line research
can substitute for physically going to a library, then by all means take
advantage of your superior positioning.
3. THE DIFFICULTY OF THE MATERIALS. It is not enough that your topic is good
and that materials are readily available. If you wish to achieve your
objectives, your level of ability must correspond with the level of
difficulty of the materials. Certainly there is nothing wrong with
challenging yourself and thereby growing in the process of learning. At the
same time, however, you want to be realistic about what you will be able
to accomplish. Be ambitious, by all means, but do not be overly ambitious!
A few minutes invested in sitting down with the materials you propose to
work with, before you commit yourself to the topic, will be a few minutes
well invested.
4. YOUR OWN LEVEL OF FAMILIARITY WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER. Keep in mind that
having some background on a topic you launch into will represent a
substantial savings in time. Here you must balance the conflicting objectives
of forging into uncharted territory to learn new things and remaining on
familiar ground to leverage your existing knowledge.
To make an intelligent decision, you will need to consider a variety of
factors, including: how much time you have available to become familiar with
new subject matter, the level of risk that is acceptable to you in terms of
the grade evaluation (it is usually easier to get a better grade when you
build upon existing knowledge) and the value to you of exploring whatever new
subject matter you are considering.
5. THE TOPIC SELECTIONS OF YOUR CLASSMATES. There are at least two good
reasons to avoid, if at all possible, a topic that others are writing about:
First, the competition for a limited pool of resources at your library could
make it difficult for you to get the materials you need. Second, any
instructor will naturally be less positively inclined toward a paper on the
same subject as several others that have preceded it. The laws of human
nature are as operational in an educational context as any other. If you
offer your reader (in this case, your instructor) something that is
interesting and different, you will have a happier reader. This state of
mind will almost certainly have a favorable impact on the grade evaluation.
6. THE PRINCIPLE OF “MANY BIRDS WITH ONE STONE.” Do you want to
save time and derive maximum leverage from your research activities? If so,
you might want to consider choosing a topic that you will be likely to
write about for other purposes as well.
Let’s say, for example, that you are taking courses on contemporary
film and contemporary literature — and you plan to take a course next
semester on American popular culture (and all of these courses require term
papers). Rather than doing separate and distinct research projects for each
course, you might want to consider adopting a research focus that compares
contemporary literature and film in American popular culture, with spinoffs
representing different angles of the same general topic. By leveraging
your research efforts, you can achieve a level of depth and thoroughness
that would not be possible by delving into separate and distinct topic areas.
The more sophisticated material that you generate by leveraging could serve
as the basis for research at the graduate level (a thesis or dissertation
topic, for example) and even published articles!
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