Research Guides: Introduction to College Writing for EN100: Content

Not sure what to write about?

A good topic for an argumentative essay has several characteristics:

Reasonable people can disagree about it.
You can find good sources about it. If your topic is very narrow, this can be difficult.
You find it interesting. If you think your topic is boring now, just wait until you've finishing researching and writing about it!

Get curious!

Encyclopedias are an excellent place to start your research because they can provide a broad overview of your chosen topic, and will familiarize you with the major concepts and terms associated with it. A specialized encyclopedia is also a good resource to browse when you are having trouble deciding upon a topic. In addition, an encyclopedia article will often conclude with a short bibliography, which can lead you to additional resources on your topic.

Having difficulty finding a topic for your paper? The resources below provide pro and con viewpoints on many current issues:

Online:

Issues and Controversies
published by Facts on File, investigations of today's top issues. Explores more than 800 hot topics in business, politics, government, education and popular culture.

Room for Debate: A Running Commentary on the News
"In Room for Debate, The Times invites knowledgeable outsiders to discuss major news events and other hot topics. The aim is to hear a variety of voices — well-known, up-and-coming or unexpected — on a range of issues. Discussions include opinion, analysis, context — sometimes all three."

In Print:

Bloomberg Quick Take (Online)
Fast news explainers for a world in flux. Bloomberg Radio's Charlie Pellett brings you the context, background and meaning for an issue, event or idea in the news." (Quote taken from website home page.) These are just a selection of brief clips on topics for which much more is available to subscribers.
Contemporary World Issues
This series provides "coverage of critical issues facing America and the world."
Current Controversies Series
"Current Controversies examines often sensitive social, political and economic topics from many angles .... Each chapter asks a pertinent question about the topic, and the viewpoints that follow are grouped into 'yes' and 'no' categories." Click on the link to access a list of Current Controversies titles in the Trexler Library online catalog.
Opposing Viewpoints Series
Each title in this series explores a contemporary controversial issue "by placing expert opinions in a unique pro/con format. The viewpoints are selected from a wide range of highly respected and often hard-to-find sources and publications."
ProCon: Pros and Cons of Current Issues (Online)
"The 75+ main debate topics at ProCon.org are listed below along with their respective core questions. Topics normally consist of pro/con questions, arguments, quotes from experts, historical backgrounds, readers' comments, videos, photos, and more. ProCon.org is nonpartisan, nonprofit, and used by more than 25 million people every year, including educators in more than 12,000 schools." (Quote taken from site home page.)
Public Discourse (Online)
Public Discourse is the Journal of the Witherspoon Institute. Please link here: https://winst.org/about/mission
to learn about the purpose and mission of the Institute. Link here to learn more about the journal, Public Discourse: https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/about/

Quick tutorial on selecting a topic

Try this quick interactive tutorial on choosing your topic

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