As you begin to think about your topic, one question you may have is whether your topic is too broad or too narrow.
Your topic is probably too narrow if:
- you find very little or nothing written about it
- you can imagine covering your entire topic in an essay that is shorter than the required length of your assignment (i.e. 1000 words)
Your topic is probably too broad if:
- you find too many sources on your topic or more than can be reasonably looked through
- you can imagine your project's requirements (i.e. 1000 words) will not be enough to adequately cover your topic
- you find there are so many related topics and sub-topics that you don't know which to cover and which leave out.
To narrow a topic that you find is too broad:
- you can investigate your topic by doing some background reading and finding related topics or sub-topics
- you can focus on an individual or an organization that is related to your topic
- you can think of specific examples you would use as evidence in your paper and consider making that your new topic--for example, if your topic is causes of the Vietnam War, you will likely include the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Consider using the Gulf of Tonkin incident as your new topic
