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What do I want to write about?

When it comes to writing, you have to balance the assignment requirements with your own interests. It's more enjoyable to write about something you find engaging or compelling. Keep reading for tips on how to find a topic you want to write about.

Getting Started and Finding a Topic

The first rule of starting a paper is to understand the assignment - what do you have to turn in? What kind of materials are you required to use? If you have questions about this, always ask your professor.

Once you understand what you need to turn in, you can create a list of possible topics. Topics can be broad or narrow, but they should all have a target or purpose. Sometimes you will be required to write something on a particular topic. Other times, you will have the freedom to choose. In either case, you should always pick something you find intriguing. 

Then, it's time time to gather some background information on the general subject area you've selected. There are various things you can do or use to gather this introductory information:

• Talk to your professor about your topic as it relates to the class. They know the subject in and out and will be able to help you focus on materials that will be useful.
• Use your textbook. Read any section that deals with your topic. Note any references made to other publications that could be helpful.
• Consult a reference resource, such as an encyclopedia or dictionary. There are many academic reference resources available to you through the library.
• Go to Wikipedia! In exploratory stages, this is a great resource to help you narrow down what you find compelling.
• Get help from a reference librarian. Librarians usually have a good idea of what materials are available and can help you access those materials.

Personal Opinion / Want / Curiosity

Another aspect of finding a writing topic is considering what you want to talk or read about. It's a lot easier to finish an assignment if you have some personal interest or experience in the topic. As you do your background research consider the following questions:

• Do you have a personal opinion about something in the topic area?
• Do you have personal experience about something in the topic area?
• What aspects of the topic are grabbing your interest?
• What questions do you still have about the topic area?
• What gaps are you finding in your background reading?
• What trends are you seeing in your background reading?

Asking yourself these questions can help you pinpoint a narrow aspect of the overall topic you need to cover in your assignment. You can also use these questions to help you figure out your thesis or research statement.

Brainstorming and Mind Mapping

Brainstorming is when you sit down and think about various things related to the topic. This is where you can again ask who, what, why, where, when, and how. Just brain dump anything you find interesting about the topic. In brainstorming, you want to focus on quantity. Just get out any ideas you have about the assignment, information need, or topic. 

In brainstorming, you can ask yourself different types of questions:

• Observational Questions - These are questions related to your senses about anything that can be seen, heard, touched, or felt. Essentially, they're asking you to discuss what you "see" about a topic. What jumps out at you?
• Introspective Questions - These are questions that ask you to think deeply and look inward about a topic. They ask you to connect your emotions and experiences to a topic.
• Retrospective Questions - These are questions that ask you to look backward. They encourage you to think about past perspectives, history, and trends.
• Lateral Thinking Questions - These are the "devil's advocate" questions. What would the other side say? What is the opposite or an alternative perspective? These questions are also "big picture" questions where you can explore anything or try something unpredictable.
• Actionable Questions - What are specific actions you can take or you can look at? Is there a specific "thing" your research topic is trying to solve.

You don't need to ask all of those questions, but you should use a few of them to help you generate ideas about your general topic.

Once you've brainstormed and have a list of ideas, it's time to try mind mapping. Mind mapping is when you show the connection between all of these ideas. How are they related? What things agree or disagree? Are parts of your brainstorming examples of others? Does one thing lead to another? In mind mapping, you take the main idea and show how it relates to other ideas or components of your brainstorming. You can then break down those ideas to even smaller ideas. When you mind map, you can follow these steps:

• Think of a main idea and write that down
• Figure out sub-topics to that main idea and show how they branch off from the main topic
• Break down the sub-topics into even smaller topics, ideas, questions, or specific example

Tying it All Together

As you go through this exploratory process, write down your ideas, and create possible theses. You may notice trends in your thinking or that you are drawn to a certain subject. This can help you refine your thesis as you do preliminary research and background reading.

Here is a sample process of developing a thesis:

1. Your assignment asks you to write about a topic in popular media.
2. You like watching TV with your friends so you can talk about what you saw. You also like following X/Twitter while watching TV.
3. You noticed that people watching the TV show Bridgerton use the same hashtags to discuss the show.
4. You do some background research and learn that audiences watching the same show and discussing it online create a community.
5. You think you can do research on this topic so you start doing preliminary research on "show audience engagement."
6. Since you want to write about something that interests, you refine your thesis to - "The show Bridgerton creates community by connecting people on X/Twitter through the use of hashtags."

Writing is a process and everyone's methods look a little bit different. How do you like to find a topic or start writing?