You are on page 1of 1

BRAINSTORMING TOPICS--

Answer these questions for yourself to help you consider what you want to explore in a paper.

What do you find interesting?

Why are you interested in this?

Can you answer the five Ws about your topic?


Who:
What:
When:
Where:
WHY: What at are the stakes? Why does it matter to you? Why might this matter to others?

Is there any cause & effect element you could explore? How does X affect Y?
Is there a relationship element you could explore?

What do you already know about your topic? Have you read anything in the news that sparked
your interest? Have you heard people talking about your topic anywhere? Hint: consider the
source of your interest for clues about what you might research.

What do you need to know? What kinds of information will help you consider all aspects of the
issue? Example: interview with a certain person, background information on a certain event,
other critical analysis to help you formulate your own, a book giving the historical overview...

You might also like