4 Steps to Choosing the Perfect Essay Topic

What do you do when a professor says that you can write about anything you want? This can be a really scary, or at least annoying, experience for students who have never written an essay without some kind of prompt. 

As a PhD student I've grown used to this fact of life, and yet coming up with paper topics is still one of the most harrowing experiences of my term.  I just wish a professor would tell me exactly where I should be looking and what I should be looking for.  And yet, they just throw me to the wolves.  Fair enough.  I am supposed to have my own research interests after all, and I should also be competent enough at research to know where to start, but it still remains daunting.

Today I must decide on a paper topic for a seminar on Sophocles' Antigone, so I've been thinking a lot about process of deciding on a paper topic.  I don't want to be reductive, but it amazes me how this harrowing decision can turn into a rather simple one if you follow a few steps.  These steps are not always easily discernable, and they may be different for everybody, but this is how this process has worked for me for the last eight years, and hopefully it can help you out the next time a professor utters those words "You can write about anything you want."

1. Follow your gut, and then write a list

It's helpful to keep note of the things that have sparked even the slightest interests during class or while reading and researching.  Make a list of 3 of those thoughts, 3 things that made you think "hmm".  They don't have to be formulated topics or ideas, but just get them out of your head and on paper.  It might be good to talk about those ideas with a friend or other classmate.  Often verbalizing ideas help you know how strong they are or how much potential they have.

This is one of my favorite parts of the process because I love how odd the connections I make have become over the years.  Even the craziest idea could turn into a compelling paper.  For instance, in my recent course on coldness and culture, when my professor was talking about ice palaces and ice hotels I immediately thought of Kubrick's The Shining and as silly as it may have sounded to everyone else, I held on to that connection and ended up writing one of my favorite papers. 

Know Your Audience: How to Score With Your TA

If you are a university student, it's likely that most of your papers are read and marked by other students. These people are called TAs (Teaching or Teacher Assistants) or graders, and it is their job to read the papers that your professor doesn't have the time or wherewithal to read. It's true that TAs are fellow students, but they are also supposedly the best and brightest, those who received the highest grades in the classes you are now taking. Even still, they are students, and they are learning as they go. It is important therefore to write your papers with this audience in mind. I've drawn on my own experience working for five years as a TA and talked to other seasoned teaching assistants to compile this list of tips for when you write your college essay. Please feel free to add any other advise or tips in the comments!

5 Elements of Authoritative Content in Academic Writing

I don't know many people who like the word authority. It makes us think of "The Man," of oppression and tyrants and "authority figures" who think they can tell us what to do. Butauthority doesn't always have to be a dirty word. In fact, it's something most of us appreciate, indeed find essential, when we seek information. When it comes to writing, authority equates to someone who has done their homework, someone who may even be an expert on a topic, and who you feel you can trust.

Today Problogger posted an article called "The 5 Elements of Authoritative Content," which emphasized the importance of writing with an authoritative voice in order to keep readers interested and always coming back. The blogger, Tito Philips, explained what he saw as the five basic elements to authoritative writing, elements which make your content compelling, useful and trustworthy to the audience you are trying to reach.

As I was reading through the post I realized how important these same five elements are within academic papers, and how when I spent six long years as a grader and Humanities instructor, these elements were always found in the best essays. You know, those essays that received the highest grades.

So I thought it would be interesting to look at Philips' article in light of the academic essay and try to show how these elements are so essential not only to the content on blogs and websites, but also in the academic world.

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Insight

Philips says that insight is "the personal understanding gained as a result of coming in contact with particular information." In other words, insight is the result of your personal experience with a text. This is an invaluable element of an academic paper. In fact, it's the only reason to write or read an academic paper. Insight is what imbues your essay with life and meaning. Your professors have likely read the same texts you have , and so have countless other academics, but it's a fact that you have something to bring to the conversation that hasn't yet been said, simply because your personal experience with the text will be unlike any other person's experience.

As Philips simply states, insight is "basically telling us what you think of the information or knowledge you've gathered on any particular subject." It is certainly essential to do this in a blog, when information is constantly moved from one source to the next, but it is equally important in your essay. I guarantee you that professors and graders don't want to see someone else's argument regurgitated. We want to hear your unique opinion, your singular experience with a text.

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Simplicity

The purpose of academic writing is to share information and to bring others to see the value of your insights, your way of thinking. Your insight is valuable, yes, but if your language and structure are convoluted and confusing, then no one will be able to understand that valuable insight. As Philips explains, "Simplicity is about making the information easily memorable by breaking it down from a complex whole to tiny understandable bits. Simplicity is the evidence of insight." Again, this is just as important in academic writing as it is in blogs. Even if your readers are experts on the topic, it is essential to demonstrate your command of the information by breaking it down and showing how it works.

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Depth

How can an essay be both simple and deep? Depth, according to Philips, "is about how well you’re driving home your point. Depth is the extent to which you break down the concept you’re writing about. It’s a matter of not leaving any stone unturned." When I write academic papers I like to think that I must be as thorough as Sherlock Holmes. I investigate every angle I can in order to develop my own understanding of the situation. It is important then to explain how you got there. Give your reader the pertinent and specific information that they need in order to take the same journey you did. Philips asks, "What good is a solution that only half-solves the problem?" When you write academic essays you are posing a solution to a problem, and you must be as specific as possible. Avoid sweeping statements and generalizations, because they won't solve any problems.

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Breadth

"If depth is about details, then breadth is about association". As a Humanities scholar, I especially enjoy the element of breadth. Whenever we encounter art or literature we automatically make associations. For example, I recently wrote a paper about ice palaces, and I was able to reference a Russian Empress, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Cowper (an 18th century British poet) and Stanly Kubrick's The Shining. I received high marks and praise from my professor for being able to draw all of these texts into a coherent discussion. Making connections is essential to academic essays, and can add great interest and meaning to your work.

Philips offers a couple of suggestions that will work just as well for your papers as it does for blogs. First, "storytelling helps your reader to associate the information you provide with a similar concept that's familiar to them." In the Bible this is called a parable, and it's a tried and true way of conveying information. Second, reference others. This of course is essential in academic writing, but it's still good to know why. As Philips explains, referencing other authorities "suggests to the reader that you do your homework well. You don't just come up with solo ideas, but build up on the ideas of others that your readers consider experts". That's exactly what your professors want from you, to consult the experts and show that you are a competent reader.

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Relevance

While most blogs need to be up to the minute with specific information within particular niches, academic papers may seem less relevant, especially if they cover information that may be slightly obscure or historical. This is an erroneous assumption, however. Your paper is relevant if you make it so, if you show exactly why it matters. Relevance answers the "so what?" question that is so essential to the essay, and must be more than "this is an assignment that I have to do." Maybe the topic is assigned, but it is still important to find the point of it all, to look at why it is interesting, why it is worth even talking about.

It really is interesting to see the strong connection between blogs and academic writing, two seemingly incongruent genres. All of these elements combined make strong arguments and interesting content, and proves that it is definitely worth thinking about how you handle the information that you present to any audience.

Writing Effective Thesis Statements and Avoiding the Road to Nowhere

Trying to write an essay without a clear thesis statement is like trying to go on a road trip without a map. You have a strong and confident beginning, but that confidence will flag by the middle part and you’ll lose the thread entirely before the end. The thesis statement, like a map, indicates exactly where you begin, exactly where you’re going to end, and exactly how you plan to get there. It acts as a guide for both the writer and the reader.


The thesis statement is your assertion. It’s your purpose, your argument, the reason you’re writing this essay to begin with. Fiction writers also must have a thesis statement, though it is typically implicit in the text rather than explicit, as it is with academic writing. Thousands of English majors toil away at finding, debating, and explicating implicit thesis statements every day. But when they write about their conclusions, they must always have strong, explicit assertions.

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A thesis statement must be clear, straightforward, and plainly worded. Don’t try to obscure your topic in order to create a mystery to entice your readers. The opening line should create the questions; the thesis statement should answer them. Don’t use weak language to distance yourself from your assertion. That negates your authority as the author. Your reader won’t be interested in what you have to say if your word choice signals that you’re not confident in your knowledge of the topic.

Many people argue that the Glen Canyon Dam should be demolished.

That’s a factual statement. Many people do argue that the Glen Canyon Dam is harmful to the ecosystem and serves little purpose. But what is the essay going to be about? Will it be in favor of demolishing the dam or against it? Is this going to be an argument, a report, an observation, or a reflection essay? Who are the “many people” who argue about it, for that matter? Is the debate limited to the science community, people who enjoy outdoor sports and recreation, hippies, or somebody else? Is many the same as most? Is it more than some?

The question of demolishing dams in order to save ecosystems is becoming increasing controversial.

Once again, this is technically a factual statement. It gives the reader more information about why people are even discussing demolishing dams, but there’s still no indication of the writer’s opinion or what ground the essay will cover. This might be used as a transition sentence between the lead-in and the thesis, but it is not an assertion.

The Glen Canyon reservoir should be drained within the next decade so the Colorado River ecosystem can thrive once again.

This sentence states a clear opinion and a reason for that opinion. The reservoir should be drained so the ecosystem can thrive. The explanation of why the ecosystem will thrive or the logistics of draining the reservoir can wait for later. Remember that your thesis statement isn’t a riddle. Your audience shouldn’t have to guess what you’re trying to say.

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So what? and Who cares?

The number one question I ask about essays is so what? The second question I always ask is who cares? That might seem a bit harsh when I’m writing it in the margins of a student’s paper, but when it comes to a thesis statement you must have an answer.

Your thesis statement should be specific. A vague or generalized thesis statement indicates a lack of clarity in the author’s mind. If you don’t know what you want to say, then how could your reader ever hope to understand your point? As I mentioned before, it’s sometimes easier to write your final thesis statement after you’ve completed the essay, but your working thesis statement should be specific as well.

Owning a pet can teach a child about responsibility.

How old is the child? What sort of pet? What lessons about responsibility will the child learn? How will the child learn those lessons? The statement is true, but there’s not enough information for the reader.

Children who look after pets at home or in class demonstrate greater empathy, responsibility, and perform better in school.

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Let the thesis be your guide

Keep the following rules in mind when you’re crafting your thesis statements:

1. Your thesis statement is not merely an announcement of subject matter. Don’t say I will be writing about the Colorado River or Some fish are endangered.
2. Your thesis statement should not be cluttered with qualifiers. Don’t say in my opinion because it’s clear that this is your opinion. You wouldn’t be writing it down if it wasn’t your opinion. Likewise, avoid I think… or Perhaps… or My thesis states. That sort of phrasing is redundant and its only function is to distance the author from the text, which then undermines the author. If you don’t even believe what you’re saying, why should I?
3. Stand by your words, but don’t be insulting. Don’t use language that might antagonize readers or casts a strong us versus them argument. Calling the opposition “radical” or “misguided” or insulting large groups of people will never be effective writing.
4. Your thesis statement is not a simple statement of fact. All calico cats are female is an interesting fact, but it wouldn’t make for a very interesting paper. Thesis statements need to be arguable opinions. I like cats isn’t an arguable opinion. People who live in apartments should look for small pets, like hamsters, gerbils, or cats is an arguable opinion.

Note: This post is an excerpt from our writing guide Put the Body on the Slab: The Anatomy of College Writing which will be released on May 1, 2011.