BEGINNINGS OF THE RESEARCH

PAPERMrs. Jeffries

SUBJECT VS. TOPICWhen asked for your senior project research

paper topic, I heard many students say things like . . .

“I want to do my senior project on nursing.”

“I feel so relieved, I know that I am going to do my senior project research paper on baseball.”

“There’s an awful lot of information about antique cars.”

SUBJECT, TOPIC, THESIS CONT’D

What’s the problem?

Nursing

Baseball

Antique Cars

SUBJECT A subject is a large category within which

you may hope to find your actual topic.

A subject is too large to be usefully enlisted as a topic in itself.

Think of a subject area as a large, unopened sack of topics.

Your will find your topic in your subject.

TOPIC The topic of a paper is the issue it deals with.

A topic is a slice or a portion of the subject.

A topic is a narrowed-down subject.

NARROW IT DOWN Nursing The process in obtaining your LPN

Baseball The History of

the New York Yankees

NARROW IT DOWN

Antique Cars Camaros Rebuilding a ‘68

Camaro motor

NARROW DOWN THESE TOPICS

Choose 3 subjects and narrow them down into manageable topics.

Agriculture Genetic research

Moby Dick Drug abuse Alcoholism

TURN TO YOUR NEIGHBOR

Share your senior project research paper topic.

Discuss ideas about how you might narrow down your topic and your neighbor’s.

Come up with 3 different ideas for your neighbor.

Swap papers and come up with 3 ideas for yourself.