Controversial/ Argumentative

    How Can You Narrow the Topic?

Once you have selected a broad topic, such as Global Warming or Drug Abuse, you should try to narrow your focus.  Here are some ways to narrow the topic:

• Pick one aspect of the topic: Causes, Prevention,  Effects, Treatment.                                             
   
• Pick a location or subgroup:  College Students, Teenagers, Athletes                                                       
   
• Select a person closely related to the topic

Now you can put your narrower topic into a research question. Here are some examples:

What are the causes of global warming?

How can we prevent child abuse?  

What are the effects of steroid use on athletes?

Why do college students use illegal drugs?

Now you need to identify the keywords for your research.

Focusing Your Topic

Use the Five W's to Help Focus Your Idea!

What:  What is your topic?   What are your Interests?   How can I use my interests in an assignment?

Who:  Who is your audience?  Narrow your topic down by being more specific with age, gender, race, nationality, religion......

Where:  Focusing your topic within a defined area such as a city, state, region, country,... can help narrow down your searches.

When:  Narrow your topic down to a certain time range or period.   Instead of searching for "global warming", search for global warming during the 1980's. 

Why:  If your topic is too broad, you can narrow it down by a certain circumstance.  If you are searching for "medical marijuana", try narrowing it down to medical marijuana and cancer patients.