Library Guides: ENGL 202B: Writing in the Humanities: Choosing your topic

Choosing your topic

Choosing a topic:

Choosing a right topic can often make the entire process much easier. This can be done if you follow these steps:

Pick a topic that interests you.
Find information on your topic.
Create a research question.
Do a test search on your topic.
Broaden or narrow your topic as needed.

For more information, see the following link: Choose a Topic Tutorial

Identify and write down key concepts and synonyms and become familiar with your topic.

Newspapers and reports

Not sure what to write about or where to begin? Newspapers and reports are a good place to find articles and information on contemporary issues. You might try some of these (links open in new windows)

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
A collection of reports covering political and social issues, with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy.
The CQ Researcher is a collection of reports covering political and social issues, with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy. Keywords: hot topics, current events, social issues, social trends, archive, English 15, CAS 100, background information, general interest, contemporary issues, overviews. CQ Global Researcher (formerly a stand alone DB) content was merged into CQ Researcher.
Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) This link opens in a new window
A collections of over 2000 resources in all subject areas.
A collection of over 2000 reference resources.
Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
Provides research and background information on social issues. The database contains the essays from the Opposing Viewpoints series, supplemented by statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center provides research and background information on social issues. The database contains the essays from the Opposing Viewpoints series, supplemented by statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles. Keywords: hot topics, current events, social issues, social trends, English 15, CAS 100, background information, general interest, contemporary issues, overviews.
PressReader [full page reproduction] This link opens in a new window
More than 5000 newspapers and magazines from 100 countries in 60 languages. Help using PressDisplay
PressReader provides a global perspective on the World's events and news and is the most convenient and complete way to read all your favorite newspapers on one site. Users will gain access to newspapers from within the library, from home and around the world on the day they are published. Researchers will find convenient searching, a traditional 2-page newspaper view, table of contents, article jumps (linking article sections) and easy to read text views. PressDisplay can also provide translations into ten major foreign languages.