Library Guides: CAS 100: Effective Speech (Fayette): Choosing a Topic

Choosing a Research Topic

Pick a topic that interests you, but make sure it's workable too. You want something that is broad and current enough that other writers and scholars are talking about it, yet focused enough that you can cover the topic thoroughly within the limits of the assignment.

Choose a Topic
A great tutorial that walks you through the whole process.
Creating a Concept Map
A concept map can be a great way to expand and improve your topic choices.

Topic Shopping

Having trouble thinking of a topic that interests you? These resources will help.

Opposing Viewpoints
Click on "browse issues" for hundreds of topic ideas. Also provides persuasive essays, news articles, and other resources for each topic.

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.
Global Issues
Similar to Opposing Viewpoints, but looks at social issues outside of the U.S.

Offers current, international news and perspectives on a variety of topics and events throughout the world. It brings together an array of sources to explain the historical and contemporary conditions in a wide range of subject areas, including sociology, civics, politics, science, economics, cultural/religious studies, women's studies, and human rights. Updated daily.
Environmental Studies (formerly GREENR)
Provides a variety of resources on issues pertaining to the environment, sustainability, and emerging green technologies.

GREENR (Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources) is an interdisciplinary resource that offers content on the development of emerging green technologies and discusses issues on the environment, sustainability and more. It is interactive and current, allowing users to navigate issue, organization and country portals.
CQ Researcher
Click on "browse topics" to explore. Each report typically includes background information, pro/con essays, and other resources. Some reports may be outdated.

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.

ProCon.org
A website funded by Brittanica with the mission, “To promote civility, critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting the pro and con arguments to debatable issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, freely accessible way.”