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your topic if it is too big:
Be careful not to choose
a topic that is too broad in scope. For instance,
the Civil War is a topic of interest for many
history students. However, choosing The History
of the Civl War as your topic will leave
you looking through thousands of periodicals,
books, and websites.
Quick fix?
Limit your topic. Do this
by focusing on a particular:
- timeframe
(the first year of the war)
- category
of people
(plantation owners, slaves, factory
workers, etc.
- specific
event (Battles at Appomatox,
Antietam, etc.)
- place (Memphis,
the South, the Appalachians, etc.)
Another solution is to add
another topic that interests you
to your original topic. For instance:
music and the Civil War
religion and the Civil War
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your topic if it is too small:
There should be enough background
information and scholarly research on your topic
for your paper to be comprehensive and factual.
For instance, you might have trouble finding
enough information about hazing practices of
southern fraternities - there just isn't enough
research on the topic.
Quick fix?
Expand your topic. You can
do this by:
- looking for parallels
and wider categories
(peer pressure among college students)
- choosing an alternate
focus (drug and alcohol use
instead of hazing)
- choosing an alternate
place (the entire United States
instead of the South)
- choosing an alternate
person or group (fraternities
and sororities, young adults, etc.)
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