Contributor: Melissa Kowalski. Lesson ID: 12878
Oh, no! You've been asked to write a paper about a book you just read. No fair copying from the back of the jacket! Choosing a topic can be tricky but these steps will make the process easier for you!
How do you decide what you want to write about? How do you go about picking a topic for a paper? This first step in getting started is often the hardest part!
Imagine that you've just finished reading a novel for a class and now the teacher wants you to write a paper reflecting on that novel to show what you know about the book.
Many times, a teacher or parent will assign a specific topic for writing, such as "Explain one of the themes of the novel," or "Explain how Character X is a hero." However, sometimes a teacher or parent might give you more free choice for writing and simply say, "Write a paper on the novel." While it can be exciting to have so much free choice, sometimes it can also be scary because it's not always easy to know where to begin.
The first step in writing about literature, whether it's a poem, short story, play, or novel, is to pick a topic. So, how do you do this if you don't have a topic assigned to you? There are several steps you can take to help select a successful topic for a literary response paper. Read through the following steps:
If so, this will probably be the strongest topic for the paper. If all the topics seem to have relatively the same amount of information, then choose the one that most interests you.
For instance, you wouldn't just want to describe characters in a book. That is not very interesting and is something most people would know. A weak claim would be, "Goldilocks from 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' is a young girl." However, you want to take a stand on a topic that can be proved, such as, "Character X has to struggle with being the middle child in his family," or "The novel proves that a character can become a hero by standing up for what she believes." These statements make a claim or argument about a topic that can be proved from evidence in the book. A strong claim would be, "Goldilocks likes Baby Bear's household items because she is most similar to this bear," or "Goldilocks' actions show the dangers of trespassing." A claim is also called a "thesis" or "thesis statement."
It is important to know who will be reading the paper because that tells you how much information you need to include and what information you can assume the reader knows. For example, if someone didn't know the story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," you would need to provide a brief summary so the reader can understand the story. In most academic settings, the reader is someone with general knowledge of the subject. Therefore, you can assume the reader has basic knowledge of the story but needs to be shown evidence to prove your claim. If the assignment didn't explain who is the intended audience, you can always ask your parent or teacher!
Now that you know the steps to picking a successful topic, watch the following video. As you watch Choosing a Topic by Shmoop, write down the questions the video describes for picking a topic in your notes. You can pause the video as you write down the six questions:
Now, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper:
Once you've discussed these questions, move on to the Got It? section to practice these skills for picking a topic.