Skip to Main Content

WRT 101 - Northwest (Baddar) Writing 1: Identify your topic

Guide for Instructor Baddar's WRT 101 students conducting research on a persuasive essay.

STEP 1. Identify Your Topic

  • Identify a current topic from the news (be specific). What topic are you going to research?

                       Example problem: Rising cost of a college education causes students to graduate with larger debt.

 

 

  • Brainstorm a list of keywords associated with your topic to use in the databases:

          Example keywords: college tuition costs, tuition increases, college tuition inflation, education finance, student debt, etc.

 

Not sure about selecting a topic?


*If you are unsure of what to research, take a look at a database list of current topics HERE

                                                         OR

Use the newspaper databases (below) to find headlining topics along with local and national newspapers and magazines: