How To Choose a Research Paper Topic

Research papers are part and parcel of every college semester, and when students are assigned one, they usually worry as to what topic to write on. In most cases, teachers let students pick topics of their own choice, but it becomes a burden for many as it consumes plenty of time.

Choosing a nice topic for your research paper is probably the hardest part. No matter how good you are at writing and can prepare the paper within tight deadlines, picking a decent topic can still be an uphill task.

If you have been assigned a topic by you teacher, that is great. Since most of the professors want to know how good you are at, analyzing whatever they have taught you during the course of a semester, they ask to come up with a unique topic, covering multiple aspects of your subject.

Remember, research papers carry marks and failing in them will cost you the whole semester. So, try to come up with a topic that can grip your teacher’s attention and it interests not only you, but also every reader.

Instructions

  • 1

    Examine your choices

    To come up with a good topic for your research paper, you will first need to examine your choice. If you have been given the list of topics by your professor, then there is not much you can do and the liberty to pick your favourite topic is limited. However, the best way to do it is narrow down the list to a topic or two.

  • 2

    Understand the subject

    Having a solid grasp of the subject is the key to finding a good topic. Solid grasp does not mean that your knowledge should revolve around the books recommended by your professor at college. It also means that you are up to date and regularly follow it through sources outside the recommended course books, such as magazines, journals and the Internet.

  • 3

    Pick an easy-to-research topic

    You can write on just about every topic, but when it comes to the availability of relevant information and material, things start to get a bit tricky. Complex topics are not easy to research, and you may find it difficult to search for relevant material. If you want to write a paper on something common, coming up with a topic will be an easy task because books, newspapers, and the Internet can provide you with plenty of sources and material.

  • 4

    Search the Internet

    Even if you do not know what to write on, you can still do a lot. Thanks to the Internet, you have a wide variety of topics at your disposal. No matter what subject you are writing on, doing a Google search and websites like Wikipedia can help you very much.

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