ENGL 1100 - Writing & Research

What types of information do reference materials contain?

• Research Topic Ideas
• Short overviews of topics, issues, problems, and subject areas
• Historical information
• Biographical information on famous or important people
• Collections of facts and statistics
• Geographical information

Why use reference materials?

• Get Topic Ideas
• Get ideas for narrowing your topic from broad to focused
• Very quickly acquaint yourself with ideas, people, issues and events associated with your topic
• Define terms and jargon associated with your topic
• Identify key resources on your topic (many reference resources will include links to useful sources you can use in your essay)

Should you cite reference material?

No.  You can cite facts and definitions via reference materials, but in most cases reference articles are too general to cite.  However, many contain links to key resources on your topic that you can locate and cite directly.

• Read Your Assignment Carefully:  Your instructor may require that you write about certain types of topics, or may forbid you from writing about others.  They also may require that you use specific types of resources.  Always read your assignment carefully to understand the requirements before starting your research.  
• Pick Something that Interests You:  Has a current event caught your attention?  Do you have a hobby or interest? Almost anything can be turned into a topic if you sufficiently focus it.  
• Look for Issues or Problems: Issues and problems make good topics because you can make an argument about them and support it through evidence:
  • ​An issue is something that people disagree over. 
    • Example issues: taxation levels, gun control, voting laws, 
  • A problem is something that demands a solution because of the harm it's causing to people or society. 
    • Example problems: global warming, the opioid crisis, school shootings, domestic violence, police brutality.

Having trouble finding a topic?  Browsing the following reference databases can help you identify topics that might be suitable for a research essay.

Many times when students choose a research topic, they start with a broad topic idea (i.e. Gun control, childhood education, nursing practice). It would be very difficult to cover the scope of these topics in just a few pages. Instead, it is better to focus on a narrower aspect of a broad topic.

If you need help moving from a broad topic idea to a more focused research question, try mind-mapping! This is a great way to brainstorm the many aspects of a broad topic, and allows you to visualize these aspects before choosing one to focus on.

Mind-Map Example:

Writing a research question is a good way to focus your research.  You can write one main research question to focus your research, along with more specific questions about pieces of information you will need to answer your main research question.

• Address an issue or seek to solve a problem.
• Avoid close-ended questions that can be answered by finding a single piece of information.
• The answer should not be immediately obvious.  It should require research and multiple pieces of evidence to answer.
• If you phrase your research question correctly, all you will have to do to write your thesis is answer it!