Better Writing Right Now - Lesson 1 Choosing Your Own Topic

LESSON  SUMMARY

In the last lesson, you learned how to take apart  writing  assignments that  had  very  specific topics. But what if your  assignment doesn’t give  you  a topic to begin with? What  if the  topic is left wide  open? This lesson will give  you  some strategies for  choosing a topic if one is not provided for you in the writing assignment. It will also show you  how to determine if your topic is appropriate for your assignment.
 
Often a writing assignment will not be as specific as the ones you have been working with in the last lesson. Instead, the assignment will be open ended. Here are some techniques you can use
to find your own topic when you are given an open-ended writing assignment:
■    Explore your own areas of expertise.
■    Browse  different sources for ideas.
■    Keep  a clip file.
■    Write in a journal.
■    Ask others for ideas.
■    Glean ideas from all around you.
 
Let’s look at how you might go about using each of these techniques.
 
EXPLORING YOUR  OWN  AREAS OF EXPERTISE. Everyone has unique interests and areas of expertise. You may find that you are already interested in or knowledgeable about a topic that you can expand into a topic to fit a particular writing assignment. These questions may help you identify an appropriate topic.
 
■     What are your hobbies? What clubs have you participated in?
■     What types of jobs have you had in the past or what type of career are you interested in pursuing?
■     What types of volunteer or community service projects have you participated in?
■     What places have you visited or would you like to visit?
■     What pets do you have or would you like to have one day?
 
BROWSING DIFFERENT  SOURCES FOR   IDEAS. Browse through  an encyclopedia, magazine, book of quotations, or surf the Internet. You might find a topic that interests you and fits your writing assignment, but don’t copy the information! You can use it as a starting point for your own work, though.
 
KEEPING A CLIP FILE. We all have ideas that we do not have time to pursue. You might start a folder or notebook of ideas that you can set aside for future reference. Photocopy or clip articles or tidbits that inter- est you as you come across them and place them in your clip file. When you need a writing topic, you can go to your clip file for ideas.
 
WRITING IN A JOURNAL. Like a clip file, a journal can be a place where you keep ideas you can come back to later. You can use your journal to record your observations and reflections as well as quotations from other sources. If something unusual happens, you can describe the incident and your feelings about it in your jour- nal. What was special about this event? If you overhear someone say something that impresses you, you can write it down in your journal and describe your feelings about it. Use your journal to help you explore your thoughts and to make connections to your life. Then, when you are looking for a topic to write about, you can go back and reread your journal entries.
 
 
ASKING OTHERS FOR  IDEAS. Your friends, family, classmates, and coworkers are also good sources of ideas that fit a writing assignment. Talking to others can help you get a better idea of what you think. It can also help you explore what you want to say in your writing.
 
GLEANING IDEAS FROM YOUR  ENVIRONMENT. Pay attention to everything around you. You will be sur- prised how many sources for ideas you already have. Here are a few more suggestions.
 
■     radio, television, the Internet
■     films
■     music
■    visual  art
■     your dreams
■     your memories and personal experiences
■     conversations with your friends and family
■     literature
■     your imagination
■     your personal interests
■     magazines, newspapers, periodicals, CD-ROMs
■     research

PRACTICE     
 

1.  Choose one of the following topics. Then, write a journal entry for 15–20 minutes. If you need more space than is provided below, use the blank pages at the end of this book.
a. Think about something unusual that you witnessed recently. What happened? What was unusual about the experience? What about this experience struck you? How did you feel coming away from the experience?
b. Make a list of things you are interested in or know a lot about. Then choose one of the topics and write about it. Describe the interest. How did you become knowledgeable about it? Why does it interest you? What does this interest say about you?
 
2.  List a few good sources for the topic ideas in the following writing assignments.
a. Describe a social problem in your community, and suggest ways to address it.
b. Describe a specific work of art and discuss how it makes you feel.
c. What are your three greatest accomplishments? 
 
3.  Use one of the techniques described in this lesson to come up with your own topic for each of the following writing assignments. If you need more space than is provided below, use the blank pages at the end of this book. Remember, you only need to list topics.
a. Write a five-page research paper about a subject that interests you.
b. Write a two-page essay giving advice on a topic with which you are familiar.

   EVALUATING  YOUR  TOPIC  IDEAS                                                             

 You will probably generate a number of interesting ideas to write about, but not all of your ideas will be a perfect fit for the assignment. When choosing which topic to write about, remember that your topic should

■     work with the length of the writing assignment you’ve been given.

■     be interesting to you.

■     meet the purpose of the writing assignment.

■     be appropriate for your audience.

■     be appropriate for the form of your writing.

 Let’s briefly discuss each of the characteristics of an appropriate topic.

 CHOOSE A TOPIC THAT IS  APPROPRIATE TO  THE  LENGTH SPECIFIED. Usually, your writing assign- ment will give you an idea of how much you are expected to write. Sometimes, you will be given a page range, such as 1–2 pages, or a word count, such as 500 words. If your writing assignment is to write a paragraph, don’t choose a topic that requires 10 pages to introduce. Your topic should be narrow enough to fit into the given length, yet broad enough for you to be able to write about it.

 CHOOSE A TOPIC THAT YOU ARE  INTERESTED IN.  If you are truly interested in your topic, your enthu- siasm will show in your writing. You will be more likely to present the information in a way that interests your reader, and you will enjoy the writing more. Just because you are interested in a topic doesn’t mean that you are an expert on it, but you can do research to find out what you need to know.

 CHOOSE A TOPIC THAT MEETS THE  PURPOSE OF THE  WRITING ASSIGNMENT. People write for dif- ferent reasons and writing assignments have different purposes. Identify the purpose of the writing assign- ment or establish a purpose for your writing. Your purpose might be to inform, persuade, or entertain your audience. It might be to tell a story or simply to express yourself. Make sure that your topic fits your purpose. Use these questions to help you set a purpose for your writing.

■     What is the purpose of the writing assignment? Why was this assignment given to me?

■     What do I want to accomplish in this piece of writing?

■     What response do I want to get from my audience?

 CHOOSE A TOPIC THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR  YOUR  AUDIENCE. Imagine your audience. Would they be interested in how you restore a ’57 Chevy? If the audience is the College Placement Board, they just might like to know that you have the skills, organization, and drive to tackle such a project. Besides, there’s plenty to tell because it’s your story. Who are you writing for? For your teacher, your boss, your classmates, a college admissions officer, or simply a general audience? Knowing who your audience is can help you choose what you will say and how you will say it. If you are writing about training your dog for your kennel club, your approach will be different than if you are writing about training your dog for your school newspaper. Although you don’t have to identify your audience before you start writing, it can sometimes be helpful in ruling out inappropriate topics. For example, you might not want to write about a very technical or specialized topic for an audience that is not knowledgeable in that field—unless you will be able to simplify the information without losing the meaning and interest level of the topic. Moreover, you might not want to write about a very personal topic for an audience that might not be sensitive to your feelings. Once you know who your audience is, you can use these questions to guide your writing.

■     What will my audience find most interesting about this topic?

■     What does my audience already know about this topic?

■     What parts of this topic will be hard to explain or will require technical terms?

■     Why is my audience reading this piece of writing?

 

CHOOSE A TOPIC THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR  THE  FORM OF YOUR  WRITING. Your writing can take on many different forms. It might be a poem, a report, an essay, a newspaper article, a letter, a story, a play, or even a speech. Sometimes the form of your writing may be stated in the writing assignment, but other times you will be free to choose your own form. If your writing assignment specifies a form, make sure that your topic is appropriate.

PRACTICE

4.  For each writing assignment described below, tell who the audience is and for what they would be looking in your writing.

a. an essay on a college application form

b. a letter to the editor of your local newspaper

c. an essay on a biology test

d. a research paper for a college composition class

 

5.  Choose a piece of writing. The writing can be from any source. Then, answer the following questions about the writing.

a. What is the topic?

b. How long is the piece of writing?

c. What is the purpose of the writing?

d. Who is the main audience?

e. What is the form of the writing?

f.  Did the writer achieve his or her goals? Give specific examples to support your opinion.