Selecting a topic for a research report

One way to find a topic for a research report for school is to think about your own interests and experiences. Although a research report uses information outside your experience, you can use personal experience as a starting point.

For example, if you want to write about sports, you might write a research report on how football (or some other sport) began. However, you would not write about how you threw a winning pass. Or suppose you are a mystery fan. Your favorite mystery show on television would not be an appropriate topic for a research report, but a famous Scotland Yard murder case would be appropriate.

In selecting a topic, remember that you need to use outside sources for information, so before you make a decision, check to be sure you can find the sources you will need. For instance, you may be interested in writing a report on the video disk, but your library may not have that information.

Remember, too, that a topic is a limited subject that can be discussed with specific details in a short paper. Continents is a broad subject, not a topic for a short paper. However, Atlantis, the Lost Continent is a topic because it focuses on the story of Atlantis, a continent that some people say once existed. You could develop this topic with specific details from questions such as these:

•  Where did Atlantis exist?

•  When did Atlantis exist?

•  Why did Atlantis vanish?

•  Why do some people say this continent never existed?