Being given the freedom to choose the topic for an essay is a great benefit that not all students receive. Instead of having to come to terms with a complicated theme already assigned by the teacher, college kids can apply their knowledge, creativity, and unrestrained enthusiasm and pick something that’s really appealing to them! Then, students can either pen a great essay highlighting their chosen topic by themselves, or check this GPALabs review and get professional writing help online.
As uplifting as it seems, however, picking an essay topic proves to be quite confusing sometimes, especially if you have several strict academic criteria in mind that you need to follow.
Yes, this is where the unlimited freedom in what you do starts getting under your skin. With this in mind, we have created an in-depth guide on how you can come up with a great topic for your essay while maintaining a good state of mind!
Go for Brainstorming
Try to think about what academic themes interest you the most, narrowing down the area of your scholarly research. Thus, you can get a clear picture of what you want to investigate in your paper and understand what subject you need to build it around.
In addition to this, you also need to determine what academic area you are the most proficient in, as developing a paper on a topic you know well is more effective than sticking to something interesting but unfamiliar. Since writing an essay is entirely your prerogative now, from titling it to finding reference materials, you should use it to your benefit to the fullest.
Check Out Academic Materials
Go through scholarly sources to find some hint on what you could potentially write about. Pay close attention to what seasoned academics have contributed in your area of study, drawing inspiration for your own future paper.
But again, remember not to go too far with consulting reference materials, deviating from one particular area of interest and diving in the perplexing miscellany of works in different academic fields. Adhere to one specific course and make sure to gather scientific materials in one particular field.
Consider the Source Availability Factor
Be sure that, by choosing a certain topic, you will be able to find an extensive number of materials on it. There’s no point in generating a topic on which you’ll have a hard time highlighting in your paper or providing relevant information.
To write solid, comprehensive academic work, you need to choose the subject mirrored in several sources so you won’t end up struggling to architect the basic structure of your essay.
Don’t Be Too Specific
Yes, it somewhat contradicts what we said earlier about sticking to one area of study, but let’s look at it from a different angle. Writing a paper in one specific discipline is one thing, but digging too deep in the topic and confining your essay to some obscure and poorly studied aspect is another.
Don’t probe too hard into one specific topic, instead of concentrating on something that lies closer to the surface. Otherwise, you risk arriving at a dead-end in your research, finding no relevant information on the subject you’ve chosen and being forced to start the entire process from scratch.
Don’t Shun Doing Thorough Research
At first sight, it may seem to you that checking out two or three academic sources is quite enough for gaining the proper insight in the topic that your essay needs. But it’s a misleading assumption to follow.
Limiting your investigation to the few materials you’ve found on tricky web forums or even in trusted handbooks will make your paper shallow and unprofessional.
Moreover, if your research is insufficient, you’ll find it difficult to complete your paper, let alone make it compliant to the rigid academic standards, which is the main reason you’re writing it. Try to dedicate more time on researching the subject, extending the range and number of the materials you consult and studying them meticulously.
Most students will steer clear of this downright demanding step of paper writing, just because they don’t want to commit themselves to college so painstakingly. But if you ignore the research aspect, your essay will lack the proper depth and informativeness, which will make your efforts a waste.
Get the Teacher’s Help
For every student who is free to choose the topic and able to demonstrate their creativity and knowledge in essay writing, it seems kind of embarrassing to consult their teacher to receive help.
But, when it comes to the complex process of academic writing, you should leave your ambitions and other manifestations of your ego and approach your supervisor with your request for consultation.
Inform them about the problem of creating a topic that you’ve faced and wait for their expert advice on what you should do next. Your teacher will most certainly give you a good hint on how to pick the right topic, what topic is better to write on, and what principles you should regard when trying to come up with the topic.
And yes, your teacher may even develop the topic for you, and there’s nothing shameful or humiliating in this – challenged by the overwhelming nature college life, students may lack the zeal and concentration needed for generating a good essay topic.
And it doesn’t have to do with their idleness or unwillingness to do so, as they may just be too puzzled with loads of other academic duties to follow the right vector of topic creation.
To Wrap Up
With the fundamental guidelines in picking a paper topic we have provided, does this process still seem confusing to you? We don’t think so – now that you have these effective tools for confronting your issues in writing papers, we bet you will no longer approach this assignment as something discomforting and time-consuming.
Being able to write your essay based on the topic you want gives you unlimited space for creativity and academic exploration, and, provided you adhere to simple rules and tips on picking your topic, you will make your paper a success!