Choosing Essay Topic

A significant part of essay writing is a selection of a topic. It is not as easy as it may seem at first sight. Your topic is the first aspect of your essays that readers will pick up on. Whether it will interest them or not depends on you. Here are 10 steps that will aid you in selecting a good topic.

• Choose a topic that you are interested in.
  If you are passionate about your topic, then you will write an essay with enthusiasm. Your essay will be generally easier to read and to comprehend. Plus, the process of writing will be more enjoyable for you.
• Write a list of prospective topics.
  Put a piece of paper in front of you and write down a list of prospective topics. The more topics you have, the better it will be. Consider each of them carefully and select the best one.
• Estimate whether each potential topic connects to your purpose.
  If it is difficult for you to make a final decision, then think about strong and weak features of each of your topics.
• Define your purpose.
  A topic that you are going to choose must fit your purpose. Do you want to educate people, inform them or persuade? Select a topic that will be relevant to your purpose.
• Think about novelty.
  When choosing a topic of an essay, you should ask yourself: “What is a new way I can express this topic.” Over-used topics don’t have much value. It is important for readers to feel “the author’s voice”.
• Start researching.
  Use different books, magazines, websites to become more aware of your topic. You may have found out that your topic is “popular” and there are a lot of papers about it already. In this case, you can change the angle of your perception of the topic.
• Brainstorming.
  Look around you and write down everything that comes into your mind. It can be thoughts about your occupation, your surroundings, some facts from your previous experiences. Be sure that you are satisfied with at least one idea that you down during this exercise.
• Ask for advice.
  Ask your parents, friends, teachers for some guidance, find out what they know about the topic you chose. Also, you can search for information on in Internet or go to the library to learn what other people have written on your topic.
• Re-use a topic.
  Recall your previous topics and papers. It may occur that you have already written text in connection to your current topic. It will save you time and give you an opportunity to provide a more profound essay.
• Narrowing a topic.
  Try to avoid general topics and focus on peculiar characteristic of a problem. With an extended topic, you will over-limit the necessary size of an essay. Remember that you have to dig inward, not broad-wise.