What does narrowing your topic mean

Examples of variables to look out for are:. Cause and effect. Group and individual. Compare and contrast. Contemporary and historical. Problem and solution. Male and female. Opinion and reason. Study periods can be assigned timeframes. For example, instead of studying trade relations between China and Singapore, focus on the trade relations between China and Singapore between and Focus the study topic with regard to a particular class of people, phenomena, or places.

For instance, a study of developing better housing near schools may focus on condominiums, universities, or building materials only. You can choose at least two of the above tips to narrow down to a specific topic. In sum, you can use the broad topic given by your instructor to narrow down, or you can come up with your own topic first and narrow it down some teachers give this freedom.

Either way, you should ensure your narrowed topic is specific and more of a sentence than just a couple of words. Remember, you want to be able to write a good thesis statement from the topic and proceed to write a paper on it.

You can ask for feedback from your friends or instructor to confirm the topic is good and worth writing about. Your email address will not be published. Skip to content. Choose a general topic area. Give specific description of the topic area. There are a couple of strategies you can try when broadening your topic.

One strategy is to choose less specific terms for your search, e. Another strategy is to broaden your topic by changing or removing limits or filters from your topic:.

For example, a paper about alcohol use by college students at the University of Michigan in might be too narrow of a focus. But a paper about alcohol use by college students in the s might be just right. University of Michigan Library Research Guides.

Is there an explicit list of topics, or are you expected to narrow to a topic on your own? Are you to work with a specific theory or course material as you write the paper? If your instructor hands out a topic list and expects you to operate within those boundaries, keep in mind that those lists are often broad topics, not thesis statements. Other teachers prefer to be intentionally vague in order to give you the freedom to narrow to an area of your interest.

That means that you will have to search for a topic that you are willing to work with for a considerable amount of time. Skim the literature to help you narrow your topic to a manageable one which meets your instructor's assignment and your interests. As an example, if your initial topic for a 10 to 20 page paper is " Space Exploration ", by the time you finish your topic search, you might have narrowed your topic to " Unmanned U. Space Exploration of Planets " or even to a specific planet and mission like " s Pathfinder Mission ".

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