Finding arguable research topics

Too often when students are asked to write an argumentative research paper, they settle on tired, old topics that they have no interest in, which makes the research process an excruciating ordeal and results in half-dead writing that fails to engage either writer or reader.

You can do better by spending some time brainstorming to find a topic that you care about!

What makes a good arguable question?

  • An arguable question is open-ended, so that reasonable people could take different positions on it. (It is not purely fact-based but rather has an element of controversy.)
  • For the purposes of this assignment, the question should be narrow enough that you have time to inform yourself about the issue and to form your own claim. (The problem of illegal immigration or what to do about the current economic situation are much too broad to handle in three or four weeks!)
  • To answer an arguable question requires taking a position (one that not everyone would agree with: “Smoking is bad for you” is not an arguable claim because it is not controversial.)
  • That position can be explained by reasons that can be supported by evidence.The claim is not merely the writer’s preference but rather the writer’s judgment, which has some fact-based support. This support may involve some explanatory facts/history but also typically involves both statistical information (numbers) and the opinions of experts, which add credibility to your argument. It also typically involves some consideration of values; an effective argument is persuasive not just on logical, factual grounds but also on an emotional level.

I’ve been paying attention the past few weeks to find some examples of possible topics and to show you how I came up with them.

  • I was spending some bonding time with one of my daughters (= moping around a clothing store waiting to see what she’d like me to buy for her), when I noticed a particularly low price on a rack of silky-like short-sleeved shirts. Out of boredom I looked at the hem and seams, then at the tag: Made in Indonesia. I looked at the tags on six or eight racks (China, India, Indonesia,not a one from US). This led me to the question: Does one have an ethical responsibility to consider where the items of clothing one purchases are made? What portion of this store’s garments are American-made? When did this trend start, and how has it affected the US economy (or on a local level, the Fall River economy)? What should the government do (if anything) to encourage companies to keep manufacturing in this country?
  • A few weeks ago it was local-election time. As I drove to work, I noticed all the knee-high signs on neighbors’ lawns promoting one candidate or another. This led me to these questions: does this sort of campaigning work? how does it work (by drivers seeing who is supporting whom, or by asusming that voters will vote for the most familiar name?) what can be done to increase participation in local elections?
  • I saw this ad the other day that attracted a lot of attention. What is behind all the hoop-lah?  To borrow a question I heard somewhere (I’d check if I were going to write about it): Why is it more acceptable (in some circles) for a girl to wear a baseball hat and play in the dirt than for a boy to paint his toenails and play with dolls? How do or should parents influence gender-identity?
  • Each time I have to hack into the hard-plastic packaging that manufacturers use to encase ink jet cartridges, I ask about what should be done to eliminate this environmental abomination that surely accounts for multiple knife wounds each year.
  • My town is starting to offer full-day kindergarten this year, charging families who wish to participate. What will be the effects of this? Should this be the norm?
  • What should be done in <pick your workplace> to make it easier for parents to balance work and family responsibilities?

To look for ideas, keep your eyes and ears open. Consider issues that affect your friends, family, community. What are the controversies that are simmering? What are the problems that need solving? What are your pet peeves, and how could they best be reduced? Browse through newsppers and general interest periodicals like Newsweek or Time to find topics that interest you.

It is much more exciting to research a question that you do not already know the answer to, or to investigate an issue upon which you do not yet have a position.

Try to find questions that are of interest to you, that connect to your life and experiences, your proposed career or your community.

A few online places you might look for ideas:

Arts and Letters Daily (which adds links every day to quirky and/or interesting online articles)

The New York Times section Room for Debate (a controversial question is tackled by five or six writers of differing opinions; browse through the topics index on the lower right of the home screen, which includes many of the themes for the semester)

Look at the database Opposing Viewpoints, available through BCC library database section (it’s one of the comprehensive databases) for ways to limit questions on social and political controversies.

Look through the readings list for your theme as well as reading journals of the people in your theme (see master list) for interesting issues you may have missed.

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