Tip!
Your thesis statement is a road map for your paper telling the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. As you write your paper, make sure you are not wandering from your thesis statement. Do you need to modify your working thesis? Your keywords will help you locate resources to support your thesis.
Is Your Topic Too Narrow?
If you are not finding enough information, your topic may be too narrow. Consider broadening it by:
- Exploring related issues
- Comparing or contrasting the topic with another topic
- Choosing an alternative topic that is not so recent -- it may not be covered in books and journal articles yet
- Considering the time period covered
- Broadening the population considered
- Expanding the geographic area discussed
- Choosing an alternative topic that is not so popular -- it may be covered in popular magazines and tabloids only
Narrowing Your Topic Video
Helpful Handout :: Narrowing Your Topic
This handout illustrates how a research question develops from a broad topic to a focused question.
What is a Thesis Statement?
A thesis is typically a one-sentence statement in the first paragraph, or beginning, of your project that states your purpose. Thesis statements should be arguable, specific, detailed, and meaningful.
Additional resources for help in developing a thesis statement:
Developing a strong thesis statement - Purdue OWL
Thesis Statement Video
Is Your Topic Too Broad?
Narrowing a topic requires you to be more specific about your research interest and can help you to develop a thesis.
Questions to Narrow Your Topic
- Who? Who is the specific person/group to which you would like to limit your research?
- What? What specific aspect of the broad topic idea is interesting to you?
- Where? To which specific geographic area or region would you like to limit your research?
- When? On what time period would you like your research focused?
- Why? Why do you think this is an important/interesting topic?