How Do I Pick a Topic?

Struggling to find a topic for an important writing assignment? You’re not alone. Many students wish professors would assign topics for writing assignments instead of leaving them open-ended. However, this flexibility is meant to encourage creativity, prevent repetitive essays, and allow you to explore what genuinely interests you.

Imagine you’re in an introductory literature course. Your professor assigns a 3-5 page essay on a Shakespearean play, requiring multiple sources. When you ask for guidance, the response is, “It’s up to you. Find your research question.” What do you do?

Tips for Choosing a Topic

• Use Scholarly Sources for Inspiration: Search academic journals and books in your college library’s databases to explore topics that scholars have already studied, which can help spark ideas for your own paper.
• Identify Common Scholarly Discussions: Look for recurring themes and debates in existing research, as scholars often build on each other’s work rather than trying to create completely original ideas.
• Use Binaries to Generate Ideas: List opposing ideas within your subject—such as fate vs. free will or justice vs. revenge—to help identify areas of debate that can lead to a strong research question.
• Engage with the Scholarly “Conversation”: Think of academic writing as an ongoing discussion where scholars respond to each other’s work, and consider how you can contribute a fresh perspective or extend an existing argument.
• Keep Your Topic Manageable: Choose a research question that fits within your assignment’s page limit, avoiding overly broad topics that may be too difficult to cover in depth. Choose something narrow enough that you will have space to use current sources to strengthen your argument with relevant evidence, while also addressing counterarguments to demonstrate a well-rounded understanding of the topic.

Figure 1. Researching several scholarly sources can help you when narrowing down or refining your topic.

The Problem of Topic vs. Approach

Some instructors let you pick your own topic, while others give you a set list to choose from. Either way, you still have room to make the assignment your own. The real challenge isn’t just what you write about—it’s how you approach it. If you see writing assignments as just another hoop to jump through, they’ll start to feel like a chore, making the whole process (and maybe even the class) way more frustrating.

Instead, try shifting your mindset. Pick a topic that actually interests you, or find a way to connect it to something you enjoy. Think of your paper as an excuse to explore what made you sign up for the class in the first place. When you approach writing with curiosity rather than obligation, it becomes a whole lot more enjoyable—and your work will be better for it.

Narrowing a Broad Topic

Once you’ve settled on a general topic or problem to address for a writing assignment, the next step is to narrow it down to an appropriate focus.

Narrowing a topic can be done in various ways. Most of the time you will need to use two or more of the following strategies. However, the requirements and scope of your assignment will determine which ones you use.

To narrow a topic, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Can you focus your project on a specific aspect of the topic?
   • Most issues or concepts can be subdivided into narrower issues or concepts. If you can’t subdivide your topic, then, most of the time, your topic is as narrow as it can get. In addition, it is probably better suited to a short or small project than a long or substantial one.
   • In some cases, you might find you need to expand, rather than narrow, a topic selection.
2. Can you narrow your topic to a specific time period?
   • Restricting your topic to a specific time period can narrow most topics. Many activities or things exist through time. Restricting yourself to that activity or thing within a specific time period reduces the amount of material you have to cover.
     • For example, armies and soldiers have existed from before recorded history. Restricting yourself to “Army life during World War II” or “Army life in Ancient Egypt” reduces the scope of what you need to cover. 
       • HINT: there is likely to be a lot more primary and secondary material on army life in World War II than there is on army life in ancient Egypt simply because more information from recent centuries has survived than from ancient centuries.
3. Can you narrow your topic to a specific geographic area?
   • Many topics can be limited to a specific region of the country or the world. 
     • For example, “Wolves” can be limited to “Arctic Wolves.”
4. Can you narrow your topic to a specific event?
   • Restricting your topic to a specific event is another way to narrow a topic. However, the amount of information available on a specific event will depend upon the relative importance of that event. 
     • For example, you will most likely find more information on why the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan than you will about the car bomb used by criminals in a local crime.

Taking the time to think through your research question, your topic, and the research available will help you as your draft your ideas.