Topic Brainstorming: Finding

the Topic for Your Projects

Dr. Fang-Yu Liao
Elective English Course: Academic Writing
3/2/2021
Overview of the Two Main Projects
for this Course
1. Poetic Autoethnography
 You will need to include 3 poems that you will write on a topic
based on your personal experiences.
 You must also include an introduction and a reflection in the
poetic autoethnography.

2. Research Paper
 You will work on a debatable or controversial topic developed
from the poetry project.
 You will write an argument integrating academic sources into
your text in order to persuade others.

 So, we will need to identify one topic for poetic

autoethnography project first.
 Choosing a Topic
A topic that interests you and invites further discussion.
For example:
The influence of writing poetry in a second language
=>This can be boring to you.
The tips to be a successful college student
=>This is more like a report and won’t invite too much discussion.
The influence of studying/travelling abroad
=> A possible topic.
 Choosing a Topic (Cont’d)
A topic that is focused but not too narrowed or too general.
 For example:
 The influence of travelling/studying abroad on People
=>Where exactly? What people?
 The influence of traveling to New York on FCU students
=>Too narrowed to focus only FCU students who traveled
to New York.
 The influence of traveling to New York on undergraduate
Taiwanese students.
=>A possible topic
 Choosing a Topic (Cont’d)
A topic that has personal connection to your life.

The influence of The influence of

traveling to New York traveling to New York
on undergraduate on graduate Taiwanese
Taiwanese students. students.
 Identify Your Topic: Poetic
Autoethnography
It will help to word each topic as a question starting with
“What” or “How.” It helps you find a clear theme/focus for
your poetry project.

For example:
1. What are the experiences involved as an African American
student in a white dominant school?
2. What is the experience involved for an adopted girl from
China in the United States and how does it influence her?
3. What is the experience of undergoing parental divorce as a
biracial kid?
 Identify Your Topic:
Poetic Autoethnography (Cont’d)
Time Course Status
For example: 2007 ESL College Undergraduate
• My personal experiences of Fall Writing exchange
student
writing poetry in English
for over 8 years in the USA. 2010 Intro to TESOL M.A. student
Fall
2012 Second PhD student
• What is the experience Fall Language
Literacy
of writing poetry in a
2014 Art-Based PhD candidate/
second language in the Summer Research Teaching
USA and how does this Associate
experience influence the
1. Takeindividual?
some moments to reflect your own experiences and make a list
of meaningful personal experiences that invite further discussion.

2. Then make a table to list 3 major events for the experience.

 Understanding
Poetic Autoethnography:
Exploring the Genre of Poetry
&
Sample Reading
Group Work:
Understanding
Poetry
When hearing the word “poetry,” what are
the images or words you think of?
Poetry Sample Reading
Group Work: Discuss as a group
 Sample
Reading #1:
Sample Reading #2
 Sample
Reading #3
 Sample
Reading #4
What is poetry?
 Definition of Poetry
Hanauer (2004) defines poetry as “a literary text that presents
the experiences, thoughts, and feelings of the writer through
self-referential use of language that creates for the reader and
writer a new understanding of the experience, thought, or
feeling expressed in the text” (p. 10; emphasis added).

Hanauer, D. (2004). Poetry and the Meaning of Life. Toronto: Pippin.

 Wrap Up
Please submit Online Entry #1: Class Reflection (20 points)
by Monday, 3/2, 23:59 pm.

Online Entry #2: Poetic Autoethnography Topic (20 points)

by Monday, 3/2, 23:59 pm.