Writing an Essay? Here’s How to Choose the Best Topic

Writing an Essay? Here’s How to Choose the Best Topic

Essays aren’t exactly what you imagined college life would be. Sometimes you feel like college life is the best time of your life; however, when professors assign you the next in turn essay, it seems like twenty-fours is not enough. Sometimes you’re given an opportunity to choose from a list of approved research topics, and sometimes you can pick the most interesting topic on your own. Every professor and every discipline is different. While some research projects are written to persuade, others are meant to describe some person or event in history or simply inform. Whichever project you’re assigned to accomplish, you can either pay someone to write your essay or try to cope with it on your own. If you think you can make it, it is important to start your work by choosing the most interesting topic. If you are having a hard time selecting a topic for your essay, we have some recommendations on how to choose the topic that you can relate to.

Define the Purpose of the Essay

As we have already mentioned, every essay serves a different purpose. Maybe you’re required to write an essay to inform your target readers about the consequences of global warming. Or, maybe you’re writing to persuade your readers about the effects of teen pregnancy and why they should educate their kids about sex and birth control methods. At the same time, you can write your essay on the cause and effect of the no-homework policy for the kids in the kindergarten. For instance, if you’re writing an essay on the no-homework policy for the kindergarten, you could choose to write about why parents should always be available to help their kids. Many scholars have already worked on this topic, which means you will have to do your best to view it from a new angle and with a new perspective. If you’re going to use many sources in the process, don’t forget to properly cite each and give every author credit to stay away from plagiarised content.

Brainstorm & Free Write

When it comes to barnstorming, you have to follow one simple rule. Whatever comes to your mind is a good idea. No such thing as “too complex,” “too far from the topic,” “too silly,” or “too primitive.” List all of your ideas on a piece of paper and get back to them later. The point here is that you never know what topics may turn into the most brilliant idea for a college essay. Never ignore your ideas! Take a pen and a piece of paper, or a cup of coffee and your laptop – this is all you need to get started. If you find it hard to manage the flow of your ideas, feel free to use the apps like Evernote to ease the process.

How to Choose the Best Topic for your Essay?

If possible, make sure to get in touch with your college peers online to have a group barnstorming session. Sometimes you may feel like you don’t have a clue when it comes to your topic. You will see that as you get into a brainstorming session, you can get loads of new ideas from the other participants of the conversation.

When you finally choose the most appropriate topic, it’s time to use the so-called free writing technique. The latter is a stream-of-consciousness practice that requires you to put down all things that come to your mind on a given topic. Make sure to stick with your topic and write down all thoughts that pop up in your head. Believe it or not, but you will be surprised how many thoughts and ideas you actually have on the given topic and how solid your knowledge actually is. Finally, as you free write, you will get more and more focused on your topic and the best ways to cover it. As a result, you will be able to narrow down your topic to a more specific idea, if needed. Even better, when you free write, you may find out that you’re more interested in something else. At this point, you still have a chance to change your topic if you come up with something new.

Choose a Topic that You’re Passionate About

If you’re going to spend your weekend writing an essay for college, you might as well be working on something that you’re already interested in. Or, if possible, give your preference to something that you are familiar with. Writing on a topic that is unfamiliar to you will not only be boring, but it will also make you push yourself every other minute to keep yourself on track. When you’re writing on a topic that you know and are passionate about, you have an opportunity to include your personal points of view and ideas as well. Always get excited about the topic you choose to write about!

Look Back at Your Life Lines

Is there anything that you know that other people have no idea of? What do you understand that most college and university students do not? Is there any unique experience that you can boast of or special knowledge on a particular discipline? If your answer is yes to any of the questions asked above, your life story might be a perfect source of new ideas when it comes to choosing the best topic for your essay. Something that you understand better than anyone else that you know can be a perfect topic for a college essay (especially if you’re assigned with a process essay). If it’s a narrative essay that you have to produce, your experience may turn into a reservoir for possible ideas. It provides you with a unique viewpoint. Just make sure you don’t ignore important evidence in order to show more of your story. And the best thing about writing about your life story is that you will write more productively and faster when the text is related to you personally.

Finally, give yourself time. The reality is that the best ideas always keep you waiting. Make sure to take your time to look at your topic from various angles, and then pause for a moment and look again. Then take a walk and look again. Give yourself some rest to recharge and provide your brain with some space needed to come up with all possible variants and evidence.

Author Bio

Mark is a pro in education and science. He writes about opportunities for studying in the best schools across the US and abroad. Also, Mark is a devoted sociologist always ready to explain the latest trends in the community.