Research Question Assignment
It is absolutely essential to develop a good research question that interests you
in order to write a good and persuasive research essay. When you begin to
research a broad topic such as "significant historical events," you will be faced
with a seemingly infinite number of topics to pursue. However, once you
identify a focused question such as "What historical events have most
influenced border policies in the United States?" your research will have
direction. Eventually, with further research you should be able to design an
argumentative thesis that takes a position on that question. With the workable
thesis you can begin drafting an argument.
But how do you develop a focused research question? The first step is to choose
an appropriate topic for your research, one that actually can be researched. In
week one you chose a broad category. That should have gotten you started. The
next step is to narrow the focus within that topic. Say that instead of
significant historical events, you chose "scientific innovation." After doing some
reading you should likewise find a topic of interest-perhaps, "key scientific
innovations in transportation" or "breakthrough scientific innovations in
medical treatment." Those are now workable reasonably narrow topics.
A good way to move from your narrower topic to the research question is to
make a list of questions that you might like answered within your narrowed
topic. Then simply choose the best question, the one with the most appeal and
one that seems neither too broad nor too narrow. The more preliminary
research you do the better. You want to say something worth saying.
Assignment: