Working with Your Topic

Brainstorm!

 

Outline your topic's main concepts.

Example: nuclear waste storage

Pose the topic as a question.

Examples:

• What are the effects of storing nuclear waste on a community?
• Should local communities build nuclear waste storage facilities for economic development?

List words that describe the concepts. Try to think of synonyms, or different words that describe the same thing. Also try to think of different aspects or parts of your topic.

Synonyms for the Main Idea	Aspects/Parts of Your Topic
- nuclear waste - radioactive waste	- environmental effects - economic effects - geographic (the West; Utah; Yucca Mountain, NV; Indian Reservations)

 

Find background information if the topic is new to you

Look in reference books, such as encyclopedias and dictionaries. Try the Oxford Reference Collection Online (available to USU students only) or Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a free, online encyclopedia that is written by its users, who are not necessarily experts in a field; you need to carefully evaluate the information you find on Wikipedia.

CQ Researcher: If you find an article on your topic, click the Pro/Con link at the top of the report. This will give you some idea of the questions or debates surrounding your topic.

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