Month: August 2021

Coming up with a really good thesis statement is often one of the hardest parts of writing an essay, so we’re going to break it down for you and show you everything you need to know to get it right.

Your thesis statement is a roadmap to your essay. It’s the heart and soul of your paper, and if you don’t choose strong arguments you’ll have a really hard time with the rest of the writing and research. Not
only that, but most of the time if you take a look at the rubric your professor gives you for your essay, you’ll find that the thesis statement alone is worth a big chunk of your mark.

Essentially, the thesis statement sets the tone of your paper and tells your reader exactly what you’re going to be talking about or arguing for the rest of the essay. It also showcases how your paper is going to be organized, which helps everything flow seamlessly. You’re going to be graded on how well your paper flows, and the thesis statement is the glue that holds everything together.

Every thesis statement should have two main elements: an argument or position and an answer to a research question. Generally, the argument itself will be the answer to that research question. From there, you need to break it down and determine exactly which arguments you’re going to be making and what claims are going to back up your answer.

Avoiding General Statements

Anyone can make a general statement about something, and this should not be what comprises your thesis statement. It’s very easy to say that climate change is bad. In fact, most people would likely also believe this already. A real argument provides an analysis with credible facts explaining why climate change is bad, if or how it can be slowed down/reversed, or the factors that cause climate change.

Even if you’re tasked with writing a research paper where you’ll generally be providing objective information about that subject, you still need to form a statement that creates some type of point or argument. For example, if you need to write a biographical research essay about Abraham Lincoln, you could focus your thesis statement on why his election to President of the United States was a turning point in modern American history. Then, pinpoint the reasons he contributed to the growth of the country or the major challenges he overcame.

Even if you don’t need to take a debatable stance on your subject, your thesis statement should provide an idea of what your essay will tell the reader. For example, if you are writing an essay describing how something works, you could briefly summarize the information you’re going to present.

For longer essays, you’ll need a thesis statement that is versatile enough to apply to every supporting argument and point you’re going to make. That being said, if you are going to fill twenty pages with arguments, you’re not going to have the room in one or two sentences to explain all of those ideas. If you can, you probably have one big run-on sentence that will lose you some major grammar points.

Instead, think of an overarching point that connects multiple arguments together, and then make sure those body paragraphs are arranged in order within your paper.

How to Break Down a Topic to Make a Thesis Statement

To make your thesis statement, you’ll need to make sure your topic is broken down enough so you know what you are going to be focusing on. It should have enough information to tell your reader what information you’re going to discuss in the paper and why they should care.

A thesis statement needs to be something that is debatable. Think about your topic and your particular position, opinion, or stance about it. What would someone who disagrees with you say to disprove your
position, or what alternative viewpoints would someone present that might contrast with your ideas? If you can’t think of an answer to these questions, your topic is too broad.

When you’re trying to narrow down your thesis statement, try to think about the five Ws: who, what, where, when, and why. If you can answer these questions about your specific topic, this will help you
narrow down your argument. Try to answer as many of them in your thesis statement as possible without forcing it.

This is why it’s important to try to choose a topic you’re passionate about if you can. The more you care about something, the easier it is for you to explain exactly why someone else should care, too.

Questions to Ask Yourself That Will Help Formulate a Thesis

• Ask yourself some of the following questions if you’re stuck trying to figure out what to write for your thesis statement:
• What do I want the reader to know?
• What question am I answering?
• If my topic is a widely known subject, what information am I presenting that someone may not already know? Alternatively, what new information can I present?
• Is there a controversial opinion out there about this topic? If so, why does that person think the way they do, and what evidence are they using?
• What arguments could someone make to refute my position on my topic?

A Few Things to Remember

Here are some final tips and pieces of advice to follow when you’re getting ready to create and finalize your thesis statement:

• The order you list your arguments in your thesis statement should be the order they appear within your essay. You can order them in chronological order, from least to most significant, or however else it makes sense for your topic.
• Try to be as specific as possible, and avoid using vague words that could be misconstrued.
• Avoid using sentence starters such as “My paper will argue that…” or “In my paper, I will argue that…”
• Avoid using jargon or technical terms that are very niche-specific. Unless you’re writing a very specific type of paper for a very knowledgeable audience, assume that your reader doesn’t know all of those terms and try to explain it for a broader audience.
• Always be ready to answer “so what?” about your topic.

A basic essay will follow the 5-point “hamburger” outline, but some types of essays will require their own formatting. This happens because specific types of essays often require that you include sections for additional types of content.

We’re going to go over some specific types of essay outlines with you to give you a better idea of what you’ll need. Expository essays, research papers, and analytical essays will generally follow the basic outline format, while argumentative essays, compare/contrast essays, and cause/effect essays will need some tweaking.

Argumentative Essay Outline

In an argumentative essay, you need to include a section for opposing viewpoints and counterarguments. This isn’t always required, but it is an important way to strengthen your argument and show that you’ve acknowledged or considered other viewpoints before taking your own position.

The number of paragraphs you’ll need depends on the number of arguments and counterarguments you’re presenting. If you are writing a shorter paper, you can put one or two counterarguments in the same paragraph, but for longer papers, you can include more of them in their own paragraphs. Here is a typical structure for a basic essay:

1. Introduction Paragraph
   • A catchy hook for your opening line
   • Background information or context to introduce your topic
   • The thesis statement
2. Body Paragraph 1: Argument 1
   • Topic sentence
   • Evidence
   • Transition to next point
3. Body Paragraph 2: Argument 2
   • Topic sentence
   • Evidence
   • Transition to next point
4. Body Paragraph 3: Argument 3
   • Topic sentence
   • Evidence
   • Transition to next point
5. Body Paragraph 4: Counter Arguments
   • Topic sentence
   • Counter argument 1
   • Rebuttal to counter argument 1
   • Counter argument 2
   • Rebuttal to counter argument 2
   • Transition to conclusion
6. Conclusion Paragraph
   • Restate thesis statement
   • Summarize arguments and counter arguments
   • Ending line

This particular structure is the most common way to organize your argumentative essay, but if you’d like, you can use a different method. You may choose to alternate arguments and counterargument paragraphs if there are many, or you could include a counter-argument in each body paragraph that relates to your own argument.

Using the latter structure, in your body paragraphs you would then present your argument, point out the evidence, state a counter argument someone might have to your point, and then refute that argument further.

Compare and Contrast Essay Outline

When writing a compare and contrast essay, you could choose from a few different options to structure your paper. You could choose to present all of the similarities together at once, and then list the differences, you could go point by point, or you could go subject by subject.

No matter which method you choose, you always need to make sure you tie the subjects together and focus on the examination of your chosen theme or topic. If necessary, add an additional body paragraph with a brief plot summary of both subjects before you get into your points if you don’t already do this in your introduction
paragraph. Here is a typical structure if you decide to do the similarities first, and then differences:

1. Introduction Paragraph
2. Body Paragraph 1: Comparisons
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Argument from subject 1
   c. Similar argument from subject 2
   d. Continue this pattern for additional similar arguments between subjects
   e. Transition sentence to next paragraph
3. Body Paragraph 2: Contrasts
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Argument from subject 1
   c. Contrasting argument from subject 2
   d. Continue this pattern for all additional different arguments between subjects
   e. Transition sentence to next paragraph
4. Body Paragraph 3: Further Analysis
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Analysis of comparisons
   c. Analysis of contrasts
   d. Transition sentence to conclusion
5. Conclusion Paragraph
   a. Restate thesis statement
   b. Summarize arguments
   c. End on a high note

Here is an example of a compare and contrast essay that goes point by point:

1. Introduction Paragraph
   a. Catchy opening hook
   b. Background information or introduction of topic
   c. Thesis statement
2. Body Paragraph 1: Point or Argument 1
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Position of subject 1
   c. Position of subject 2
   d. Analysis
   e. Transition sentence to next paragraph
3. Body Paragraph 2: Point or Argument 2
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Position of subject 1
   c. Position of subject 2
   d. Analysis
   e. Transition sentence to next paragraph
4. Body Paragraph 3: Point or Argument 3
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Position of subject 1
   c. Position of subject 2
   d. Analysis
   e. Transition sentence to next paragraph
5. Conclusion Paragraph
   a. Restate thesis statement
   b. Summarize arguments
   c. End with a resonating line

Lastly, here is an example of the subject by subject structure:

1. Introduction Paragraph
   a. Catchy opening hook
   b. Background information or introduction of topic
   c. Thesis statement
2. Body Paragraph 1: Subject 1
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Arguments and points in subject 1
   c. Transition sentence to next paragraph
3. Body Paragraph 2: Subject 2
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Arguments and points in subject 2
   c. Transition sentence to next paragraph
4. Body Paragraph 3: Analysis
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Connect arguments from subject 1 to arguments from subject 2
   c. Transition sentence to conclusion
5. Conclusion Paragraph
   a. Restate thesis statement
   b. Summarize arguments and subjects
   c. End with a nice, relevant line

Cause and Effect Essay Outline

Cause and effect essays have a variety of potential structures based on the direction you choose to take. As we said, you could focus on how one cause has multiple effects (Focus-on-Effects), how multiple causes lead to one effect (Focus-on-Causes), or put the emphasis equally on both. If you use the Focus-on-Effects method, your essay outline should look something like this:

1. Introduction Paragraph
   a. Catchy opening hook
   b. Background information or introduction of the topic
   c. Thesis statement
2. Body Paragraph 1: Information on the Cause (Optional)
3. Body Paragraph 2: Effect 1
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Points and evidence
   c. Transition sentence to next paragraph
4. Body Paragraph 3: Effect 2
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Points and evidence
   c. Transition sentence to next paragraph
5. Body Paragraph 4: Effect 3
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Points and evidence
   c. Transition sentence to next paragraph
6. Conclusion Paragraph
   a. Restate thesis statement
   b. Summarize arguments and subjects
   c. End with a nice, relevant line

If you use the Focus-on-Causes method, your essay outline will resemble this structure:

1. Introduction Paragraph
   a. Catchy opening hook
   b. Background information or introduction of topic
   c. Thesis statement
2. Body Paragraph 1: Information on the Effect (Optional)
3. Body Paragraph 2: Cause 1
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Points and evidence
   c. Transition sentence to next paragraph
4. Body Paragraph 3: Cause 2
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Points and evidence
   c. Transition sentence to next paragraph
5. Body Paragraph 4: Cause 3
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Points and evidence
   c. Transition sentence to next paragraph
6. Conclusion Paragraph
   a. Restate thesis statement
   b. Summarize arguments and subjects
   c. End with a nice, relevant line

Lastly, if you choose to focus on both causes and effects as a chain of reactions, your essay structure may take the following form:

1. Introduction Paragraph
   a. Catchy opening hook
   b. Background information or introduction of topic
   c. Thesis statement
2. Body Paragraph 1: Cause and Effect 1
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Points and evidence about the cause
   c. Points and evidence about the effect
   d. Transition sentence to next paragraph
3. Body Paragraph 2: Cause and Effect 2
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Points and evidence about the cause
   c. Points and evidence about the effect
   d. Transition sentence to next paragraph
4. Body Paragraph 3: Cause and Effect 3
   a. Topic sentence
   b. Points and evidence about the cause
   c. Points and evidence about the effect
   d. Transition sentence to next paragraph
5. Conclusion Paragraph
   a. Restate thesis statement
   b. Summarize arguments and subjects
   c. End with a nice, relevant line

Every essay, no matter what kind you’re writing, should start with a good outline. Sometimes a professor might ask you to turn in an outline as an extra part of your assignment, and other times they
might just want to see your final paper. Even when this isn’t required, you should always be in the habit of making one anyway.

Most students tend to skip this process, especially the ones who tend to start their essays the day before they’re due and want to finish the paper as fast as they possibly can. If this sounds like something you usually do, and you’re wondering why your essays always get average grades, this could be why.

We can tell you from our own experience that once you get in the habit of writing your papers with structured outlines, you’ll never want to avoid using one again.

Why an Outline is Important

An essay outline is a big help when it comes time to sit down and actually write your paper. Your outline tells you exactly what you need to write about, how you’re going to structure your paper, and what
information you’ll need to find.

When you’ve narrowed down your topic and determined what your thesis statement is going to be (more about thesis statements in the next chapter), you’ll be able to start building your arguments. In the outline, you can lay out the points you’re going to make so you have an idea about how you’re going to back it all up. Then, you can place everything in order and figure out exactly where your content will
go.

Academic sources, such as scholarly journal articles, tend to be very specific. That can make things difficult when you’re doing the research and pulling evidence for your essay. With an outline, you can narrow down your search when you’re looking in databases or libraries so you get more accurate or relevant results faster. This is key to keeping you on track while you’re writing, especially if you tend to find yourself getting sidetracked or lost in all of the information out there.

An outline also helps you see everything in one place without scrolling through all of your paragraphs. This gives you a good idea of how well your essay flows together and whether it transitions nicely, which in turn makes it easy to put it all together. Once the essay outline is done, all you have to do is fill in the gaps.

How to Structure an Outline

The structure of your essay will largely depend on what type of essay you’re writing.

But the majority of essays will follow the same 5-point format: introduction, body paragraph for each argument, and conclusion. Sometimes we call this the hamburger format, because on a burger, your toppings, meat, and cheese are in the middle (your body paragraphs that contain the bulk of your argument), held together in place by the top and bottom buns (your introduction and conclusion).

You’ve probably heard that term in elementary school and high school. A university or college essay takes the same basis, but it’s a little more complex than that because, of course, you’re older and smarter now. So, when you put it all together, a basic essay outline will look like this:

1. Introduction Paragraph
   • A catchy first sentence with a hook that captures your reader’s attention
   • Background information and/or an introduction into your topic
   • Your thesis statement
2. Body Paragraph 1: First Argument or Point
   • topic sentence that introduces the point you’re going to make
   • Evidence to support your point
   • A transition sentence that leads into your next paragraph/argument
3. Body Paragraph 2: Second Argument or Point
   • A topic sentence that introduces the point you’re going to make
   • Evidence to support your point
   • A transition sentence that leads into your next paragraph/argument
4. Body Paragraph 3: Third Argument or Point
   • A topic sentence that introduces the point you’re going to make
   • Evidence to support your point
   • A transition sentence that leads into your conclusion
5. Conclusion Paragraph
   • Your thesis statement, reworded from your introduction
   • A summary of the arguments or points that you presented, further questions or thoughts, and/or a connection to a broader theme
   • A final line that will resonate with the reader

Naturally, the longer your essay is, the more paragraphs you’ll need. If you’re writing a 10-page essay, you’re going to need more than five paragraphs. In that case, you can break up your arguments further
into separate paragraphs, but make sure each paragraph contains a theme or detail. For example, if you’re using different types of evidence to back up a point, you can showcase each piece of evidence in its own paragraph.

If you’re writing a long research paper or expository essay, you will benefit from including a paragraph of background information before you get into your body paragraphs. Include some general statistics,
summary of the time period, information about a theorist, or anything else that the reader might need to know. Likewise, for a literary analysis, you could include a paragraph with a plot summary to give your reader some background information.

However, when you take this approach, remember that your information needs to be relevant to your topic and thesis statement. Don’t just ramble on to fill up space. Professors notice this and will factor it into your mark.

We’re going to go over some of the different types of essays you may end up writing, either for this paper or for any of your classes throughout your academic career. It’s important to understand the different types of essays because you need to understand how to structure them and what type of information to look for.

You’ve got your topic ready to go, but you need to know where to go next. Sometimes the specific type of paper will be given to you by your professor, and other times you’ll have a bit more freedom to
choose the format that works for you. Regardless of how you get to this point, it’s important to make sure you’re going in the right direction from here. You can’t make a good outline if you’re not sure how to structure it.

There are 6 main types of papers that fall under the essay umbrella that we’re going to discuss here.

Argumentative Essays

An argumentative essay is exactly how it sounds. In this essay, you’re arguing a specific viewpoint on your topic, and trying to convince the reader that they should agree with you. This paper will need to touch on both sides of an argument with enough evidence to show why your side is the right side.

There are two main components to an argumentative essay: solid evidence for your perspective and a rebuttal to opposing viewpoints. Pretend you’re having a written debate with someone. You’ll have to present the argument in a way that doesn’t leave room for further questions or confusion. What do you need to do in order to prove them wrong? Show them the evidence and make sure that it’s credible, believable, and strong.

Even though you’re arguing your perspective on something, you still need to avoid using first-person pronouns. Instead of saying “I believe that…” your thesis statement should say “This paper will argue that…” or “This paper will provide conclusive evidence to prove that…” This is a much more formal and professional approach. Here are some very basic examples of argumentative essay topics:

• Online courses in university are helpful and beneficial for post-secondary learning
• Voting should be mandatory for all citizens of legal age
• Animal testing should be completely banned from all industries
• The legal drinking age should be lowered
• Climate change is a growing problem caused by human activity
• The music industry is not fair to recording artists and bands
• Health care should be free for everyone
• The laws need to be changed to include more policing for cyberbullying
• Batman is not a real superhero
• Abraham Lincoln was the best American president

Expository Essays

An expository essay is very similar to an argumentative essay, but your job here is to explain something to your reader in a clear and concise way.

Instead of arguing one perspective or side of an argument, you are adapting a more neutral and objective tone to present the facts and evidence. Assume that you’re writing for an audience that doesn’t really know that much about your topic and needs an explanation. Think of it as if you’re presenting the solution to a problem that the audience doesn’t really realize they have.

Here’s another way to think about expository essays: your friend has asked you a question about something and you need to provide them with a helpful answer that gives them everything they need to know.

Be sure to be descriptive in your expository essay and make sure you present enough information so the audience can form their own opinion. Expository essays take a lot of research, and you need to make sure that all of your information is coming from credible academic, primary, or scholarly sources. Here are some examples of very basic expository essay topics:

• What qualities make a real leader?
• What are the negative effects of gender-based stereotypes in the media?
• Why is peer pressure a bad thing in high school?
• How do people with anxiety learn to cope in society?
• Why is it important for politicians to be transparent in their platforms and campaigns?
• How does a democracy work?
• What steps can civilians take to reduce their individual carbon footprint?

Compare and Contrast Essays

In simple terms, a compare and contrast essay points out the similarities and differences between two topics. You could compare and contrast two different people, books, journal articles, historical perspectives, or even types of governments. The options are seemingly endless. For example, you could compare and contrast how two of Shakespeare’s tragic heroes embody a specific theme, such as Macbeth and Hamlet and their descent into madness.

Sometimes you’ll have to use more than two topics, but it’s most common to focus on two things. The more topics you have to compare and contrast, the less detail you can include about each specific one. If you have to eliminate details, this could weaken your argument. If you’re choosing how many topics to include, be conscious about your word count or page count and the requirements in the provided rubric.

When brainstorming for a compare and contrast essay, it’s helpful to make a Venn diagram when you get started. This will give you a clear idea of where your topics overlap so you can find the similarities
right away, and then expand your research further. Here are some examples of compare and contrast essay topics you could test out if you’re stuck coming up with something:

• The film and book versions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
• Leadership styles of different presidents
• Comparing themes in two different Shakespeare plays
• Literary devices used in Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories
• How women are presented in historical fiction and modern fiction
• Marvel characters versus DC characters
• The death penalty versus restorative justice
• Democracy versus socialism

Essays are going to be assigned to you during your time at school, whether you like it or not. You likely wrote one to get into your university or college, and you’ve probably already written a ton of them in high school. However, university and college level essays are a step up from your high school papers.

Not only are they longer, but they’re often more complex and your professors are expecting a lot more from you than your high school teachers ever did. That can be a really scary thing. Especially given the fact that most university professors don’t provide you with an outline or clear instructions on how to write essays.

In this essay writing guide, we’ll give you the tools you need to turn in a paper that will not only impress your professors, but yourself as well.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a writer, learning the right elements of an essay and how to properly write one can help you get better grades.

We’re going to walk you through every step you need to take while you write your paper, from coming up with a great idea to knowing what to look for in the editing process. By the time you finish this, you’re going to feel so prepared and ready to take on any challenges.

Before You Get Started

There are a few things you need to remember before you start writing your essay. It’s important to take the time to treat every single paper like it’s worth 100% of your grade.

Firstly, don’t start everything the night before your paper is due. You hear this all the time, but it’s absolutely true. Leaving everything until the last minute leads to rushing and leaving out critical information. You may run into situations such as skimming through sources to get random snippets of information instead of the most vital components, that could turn your argument around. Additionally, your professors can tell which students have done this, and while you may not end up with a failing grade, you likely won’t end up with the grade you truly could have received if you put the time and effort into it.

Secondly, stay disciplined and on track. Charles Dickens once said, “Procrastination is the thief of time.” When it comes to writing your essay, time is definitely of the essence.

Give yourself the right amount of time to complete your essay, and get yourself in the zone. Good writing takes focus and practice. You know about your essays and assignments for the semester as soon as you get your syllabus during the first week of classes. While it may not have the detailed instructions, this will at least let you know when your paper is due, and gives you time to prepare for it step by step.

Start thinking about topics, arguments, and sources as soon as possible and carve out a little bit of time each day to work on it. The more you go back and revisit your writing, the more you can see areas for improvement.

Lastly, don’t be too hard on yourself. If you don’t get the grade you thought you deserved, talk to your professor. Read the comments that they leave when they mark your papers, and learn from your mistakes. Find out where you can improve for your next paper. Life is all about learning and growing, and the best way to do this is to try. As George R.R. Martin wrote in his award-winning book A Game of Thrones, “A bruise is a lesson… and each lesson makes us better.”

Choosing Your Topic

When it comes to writing an essay, no matter what type of essay you’re writing, you need to start with a good topic. Sometimes this will be given to you by your professor in the essay instructions, and other times you’ll have to come up with something on your own.

If you are fortunate enough to come up with your own topic, it should be something you’re passionate about, or at least a topic that interests you. Do you really want to spend the next few weeks reading articles about a topic you could care less about? No, of course not. So, pick something you want to learn more about and you’ll actually be interested in the research component.

When you’re stuck choosing a topic, go back through your readings and class notes and look for a topic that interests you that was covered during a lecture or in your textbook. If you’re still in doubt, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask your professor or TA for advice or suggestions. Your professor has likely taught this class many times before, and has seen a variety of topics and ideas come through in students’ essays. They’re more likely to be enthusiastic about fresh new ideas instead of the same topics over and over again from past years, and will be able to give you some good places to start.

The right essay topic can’t be too broad. For example, if you’re asked to write a paper about a social issue, you can’t just pick climate change or gun control and write a paper about that. It’s impossible to make a strong thesis statement for a topic that’s overly general and broad, and therefore it’s hard to formulate a good argument. Here’s another example: you can’t possibly narrow down a paper on World War II to eight pages, but you can if you focus on a topic such as how aerial warfare changed the way that the war was fought.

You need to get down to the basis of the topic and formulate a research question from there. If your topic is too broad, you’ll have a hard time writing and arguing about it. Instead, with a broad topic, your paper will just be filled with generic information that doesn’t actually make a point about anything except for giving your reader regurgitated information from various sources.

How to Narrow Down a Broad Topic

Figuring out how to narrow down your broad topic can be difficult. However, this is an important step to take when you’re getting your paper ready for writing. You can’t possibly do all of your research effectively until you know the specific topic you’re working with.

Do a little bit of initial research about your topic. It doesn’t have to be the same collection of research or sources you’re going to use in the paper itself, but you should get an idea of what experts, scholars, and researchers have written about your topic. Even if you just do a bit of searching on Google or Google Scholar, you’ll start to get an idea of the different arguments that are out there to give you an idea of what direction you want to go with your paper.

It doesn’t hurt to check out some blogs, too. Of course, you’re not going to be using someone’s blog as a scholarly source in your paper, but it’s a good idea to check out the opinions other people have formed about the topic. What arguments are those people making that you could research further?

Here are some questions you should ask yourself when you’re trying to break down a topic to come up with a narrow thesis statement:

• Why should your audience care about this topic? Why do YOU care about this topic? If you don’t care about your topic, why should anyone else care about it? You need to be able to prove there’s value in talking about this subject. If you don’t see that value, you may want to consider finding a new topic altogether.
• What is your opinion on this topic, and how would you argue this in a conversation with a friend? If you can formulate an opinion about the topic, it’ll be easier to find research that lines up with your arguments.
• What comes to mind when you think about your topic? Even the smallest keywords could help you make meaningful connections or help you start to think about why you would want to talk about this in the first place.
• What smaller questions could you ask about this topic? These could form potential research questions that translate to supporting arguments.
• What are others saying about this topic? As stated above, you can do some initial Google research to see if there are articles published on this topic and figure out what conclusions others have made. Don’t copy word for word what those people have said, but see if you can find some good viewpoints that could be a good starting point.
• What specific words can I add that would make this more focused? For example, if you can add words such as “the evolution of” or “the effects of,” you can break down your topic more effectively.
• What kind of questions should my audience have? You want to get your audience thinking and leave them with something to take away.

Brainstorming

There are plenty of ways you can start brainstorming about your topic in order to get an idea of what type of arguments you want to include in your essay. Start with your central topic, even if it’s really broad. Then branch out and see how many topics and words you can come up with on your own before you do any research. After that, do a quick Google search (even Wikipedia will do at this stage), and see what other terms and ideas you can find.

Once everything is out on paper in your mind map, it’ll be easier to start making connections between the ideas that came to your mind and the research you’ve found. Think about those connections, why those specific keywords came to your mind, and what questions you could ask about them that could formulate some type of argument.

Let’s say you’re writing a paper about music history. Start by breaking down the genres of music and everything that comes to mind about each of those genres, even if they’re just abstract thoughts or basic keywords connected to the theme. Then, figure out how you can work those keywords into something that forms an argument or research topic.

From here, you can take a look at how you formed the beginning of a narrowed-down topic and potential argument. For example, you could choose jazz music in the 1920s and focus on how Louis Armstrong changed the music style to impact future generations. Or, you could choose to focus on how jazz music was connected with race or cultural divisions. For any of these genres, you could think about how early versions have transcended into influencing modern generations, such as how The Beatles transformed rock music and influenced other important bands.