{"id":5309,"date":"2022-04-06T00:10:09","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T00:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/?post_type=chapter&p=5309"},"modified":"2025-03-31T18:48:49","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T18:48:49","slug":"module-6-discussion-narrowing-a-topic","status":"web-only","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/chapter\/module-6-discussion-narrowing-a-topic\/","title":{"raw":"Module 6 Discussion: Narrowing a Topic","rendered":"Module 6 Discussion: Narrowing a Topic"},"content":{"raw":"

In college, you may be assigned to write papers on any number of topics<\/span>\u2014engineering, social movements, sports, politics, education, history\u2014you name it. Sometimes, one of the biggest challenges in research writing can be narrowing a broad topic into a focused, researchable question that you can actually answer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This discussion will help you practice that process by identifying a broad topic, refining it with defining questions, and considering how you might develop that narrowed topic into an essay or paper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Discussion Instructions<\/h2>\r\n

STEP 1: <\/strong>In the discussion board, post a <\/span>broad topic that you may be expected to write a paper about. Your topic should be something general (e.g., climate change, artificial intelligence, college tuition, public transportation).<\/span><\/p>\r\nSTEP 2: <\/strong>Return to the discussion and\u00a0respond to TWO classmates\u2019 posts<\/strong> with defining questions that could help you narrow down the topic. For example, if someone posts the topic \"New York taxes,\" you could suggest these defining questions:\r\n