Selecting Your Essay Topic

Essay writing is part of academic fulfillment that every student must pass through. It can be a daunting task for students who have never written such papers. However, some of the students who have done such pieces also find it challenging to write the best essay. Sometimes, it is not that they don’t understand the concept, but the problem lies in the topic. If you don’t understand the topic well, you might end up writing ideas out of context. Sometimes lecturers assign a topic they want you to write on. In this case, you have to move on to the next steps and start doing the research. However, there are some instances whereby you need to select the topic on your own. Here you have all the freedom to pick your favorite topic.

When given the option t choose a topic, do not select a topic without thinking. Yes, you may view some topics as your favorites and doable just by looking at them. But the question is, have you thought of where you will get the content? Can the topic help you generate enough sources to support it? Sometimes you can reach in the middle of writing, and you realize you have no more concepts to write. At this point, you have no time to change the topic, and you can’t generate more points. What follows is you delivering a low-quality paper.

Note: Avoid picking general topics. Always narrow down to give the reader the exact idea you want to talk about. For example, you can’t write Kenya as your topic. The reader will have several questions in mind, like, what about Kenya? Narrow down your ideas. For example, you can write, “The Kenyan Economic” This way, the reader can see that you are talking about Kenya’s economic situation.

Back to the main point, you can use the following ideas to select a topic:

• Know your purpose

First of all, before falling for a topic, you must define the purpose of the essay you want to write. Do you want to explain a situation to people? Or, do you want to compare different things? Or, is your goal educating a specific audience? Whatever the reason is, the selected topic must answer the question before you can move on.

• Brainstorm ideas

Now that you have defined your essay’s purpose, think of the subjects you have interests in. Whichever goal you have, there are many topics you can select from to fulfill your objective.  However, if you can’t figure out exciting subjects, concentrate on what makes your life exciting and develop a topic from there. Write down as many topics as possible.

• Evaluate the topics one by one

Since you have several topics, go through each case one by one. Try to evaluate ideas revolving around the subject. What about your experience with the issue? Do you love it? Will you enjoy doing the research? Once you have read through all the topics, settle for the one that will give you countless ideas to include in your paper.

At this point, you have your favorite topic, and you can start researching. However, before moving on, re-visit your topic again check for clarity. Ask yourself, does the topic make sense, or should I change some concepts? Think of the bigger picture here. You need to produce the essay out of the topic. Will you get the best thesis out of the topic? What about the points in the main body? Will the topic give you enough sources while researching? Revise where possible and move on when you are satisfied with the topic.