Five Questions to Ask Yourself Before Choosing an Essay Topic
Monday, November 16th, 2009Many students fail to use the privilege of choice when it comes to choosing an essay topic. They would rather want their teachers to provide them with a topic to write an essay on. But is this approach fruitful? not really. You might feel less burdened to have someone else do the primary work but when it comes to writing on a given topic you will have to put in extra research, time and if the topic happens to be not in accordance to your interest or ability, you might end up scoring much lesser than you deserve.
The task of deciding an essay topic is not as difficult as it may seem. Though it takes research to decide the exact topic for an essay, more so for a Masters dissertation or a thesis but it takes a few minutes of introspection to choose a topic that suits your interest and abilities. You just need to have answers to these five questions to write an A+ level coursework.
1. What are my areas of Interest? If you enjoy reading Poetry to Biographies you would certainly enjoy working on evaluating a poem by Browning or Poe rather than read about their lives. It is essential to have interest in the topic you choose to write as it will make the process of research and writing less a burden and more a hobby.
2. What are the topics I am comfortable writing on? There are topics and issues we are comfortable writing on, either because we have a prior knowledge about them or because we have genuine feelings about them. Whatever be the reason, we all have comfort zones where we are at home with a subject. If you choose to write on “The problem of litter” because you have strong opinions on the topic rather than writing on “The Emergence of Roman Empire” when you only have remote knowledge and interest in it, you will make for an interesting essay.
3. Do I prefer research-based or personal writing? Some students have a knack at writing research based articles where they can easily synthesize varied views and trigger their own ideas thereby producing a good essay, while there are others who are adept at personal writing turning their personal experiences into universal emotions. Whatever form you choose to write on, your essay topic should bring to surface your flair for writing in a particular genre.
4.What is my writing Style? “Style is man” Walter Pater subtly puts his theory of style. Your style of writing is akin to your personality and this makes every writing unique. If you are a witty person you will be able to write polemical or analytical essays with a style they are best suited for. Also, your reading interests determine your writing style to a large extent. To be able to write an essay well and effectively you must know your style.
5. What are my Strengths and Weaknesses as a writer? Choosing an essay topic which best suits our abilities helps us write better and effectively. Write down your strengths and limitations, introspect by recollecting your past essay writing ventures and your success and failures at them.
