English 101 Lesson:Choosing and Narrowing Your Topic

Stephanie Herfel, User Services Librarian

SUNY Orange County Community College

Have you ever attended a library research session at SUNY Orange?

1 2 3

35%

4%

61%1. yes2. no3. not sure

Have you had a library research session with me before?

1 2 3

9% 9%

83%1. yes2. no3. not sure

Which of these words below best describes your opinion of the word “research”?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9%

18%

9%

27%

9%

27%

0%

1. thought provoking

2. easy3. difficult4. confusing5. hard work6. interesting7. boring

What do you think is the hardest part about doing a research paper?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32%

23%

0%

5%

9%

18%

14%

1. Deciding on a topic2. Narrowing down a topic to create a

thesis statement3. Finding background information on a

topic4. Evaluating information to make sure it’s

reliable/acceptable5. Organizing the information you find6. Writing the paper7. Citing my sources properly

How confident are you in your ability to narrow down your topic into a successful thesis statement for your paper?

1 2 3 4 5

26%

17%

4%

35%

17%

1. No confidence whatsoever2. Lacking confidence3. Not sure4. Somewhat confident5. Confident- I am an expert thesis

statement writer and “narrower downer”

How do you choose a topic?

How do you know if a topic is too narrow or too broad?Too narrow =

Too broad =

Methods to Narrow a TopicAsk yourself these questions:

What do you know about it? What don't you know?

What aspects of your topic interest you: historical, sociological, psychological, etc.?

What time period do you want to cover?On what geographic region do you want to

focus?What kind of information do you need?

Method 1: Narrowing ChartCreate a chart or other graphic

Method 2: The Topic/Subtopic Brainstorming Graphic Organizer Thingamajig!

Method 2: The Topic/Subtopic Brainstorming Graphic Organizer Thingamajig!

Let’s try it again…Draw it!

Opposing ViewpointsPoints of View Reference CenterAcademic Search CompleteCQ Researcher

Method 3: Use a Library Database

TRY ME!

TRY ME!

TRY ME!

TRY ME!

TRY ME!

Which of these methods of narrowing your topic do you prefer?

1. Topic Chart2. Graphic organizer

thingamagig3. Library Database4. Other method

Your Library Research GuideSearch this url:

http://libguides.sunyorange.edu/ENG101

Make sure you capitalize the ENG.