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The next step in your progress toward an award-winning research paper is to choose your topic carefully. If you are responsible for choosing your own topic, put some thought into this decision. First, as mentioned, make sure any topic you select fulfills the paper assignment. Second, if possible pick a topic that interests you. The more interested you are in a topic, the easier it will be for you to devote time and energy to studying it and to writing about it. Third, ensure that you select a topic that fits the length of the paper that you intend to write, the research resources that are available to you, and your analytical tools.
Length: If you attempt to write a 10-page paper entitled "The President and Congress Struggle for Power: Two Centuries of Constitutional Conflict," then your paper is destined to be "a mile wide and an inch deep," as they say. It is better to do something more narrowly focused and to do it well than to give a superficial treatment of a large subject.
Research Resources: Trying to write a paper on "Secret Military Operations in the Persian Gulf War" would also be a mistake because the government has not released the relevant information. You should take the holdings of your library into account. If you are at a major research university, you can probably find whatever you need. Even at large libraries, however, you may have trouble finding good sources to support a research paper on U.S.-Sri Lankan relations or U.S. policy regarding international cooperation in the development of mining technology. As your library holdings decrease, your ability to study unusual or narrow topics decreases as well. So be careful not to choose a topic that destines you to fail.
Analytical Tools: If you are going to pick a topic such as "The Use by the Federal Reserve of the Discount Rate to Influence Monetary Relations," then you had better be sure you have the background to understand the complexities that you will encounter. Similarly, ensure that you have the proper statistical skills if you are going to analyze votes in Congress to see whether length of service, party affiliation, constituency interest, or the margin of victory is most closely associated with a senator's support of presidential proposals.
For all of these issues, rule number 1 here and throughout this writing guide ischeck with the instructor if there is any doubt in your mind. Indeed, it is a very good idea to write a paragraph on what you intend to analyze, show it to the professor, and get his or her reaction. |
