This guide offers helpful links and advice for researching and writing an informative, argument, or scripted (multi question) written project for introductory English or communications courses, such as English 1101 and RSCH 1203 at Perimeter College of Georgia State University. It can help you:

• Choose an exciting and useful topic
• Productively search library databases
• Look for books with GIL-Find

This guide also features information on:

• Information on choosing quality web sites
• Help with your works cited.
• And a link to your online RSCH 1203 textbook.

Choosing a Topic

One of the hardest parts of writing a paper is choosing a topic. For an argument/expository paper, you need to choose a topic that has at least two sides about which reasonable people can disagree. A paper on the "evils of drunk driving" will bore both you and your professor. A paper on the psychological effects of abortion, by contrast, covers a hotly debated topic and will work if your professor permits you to research it.

Sometimes faculty ask that you use a topic from a presselected list. This works well if one of the topics genuinely interests you. In addition, even some professors who have a topic list, allow you to suggest your own topics.

Other times, you are completely on your own, usually within a broad set of guidelines. Current events, public policy, medical, and science topics are all difficult to frame if you are either not that interested in them or are not following the news regularly.

Fortunately, there are both books and web sites that list topics in a vast, variety of subject areas.

Lamb, Catherine. 10,000 Ideas for Term Papers, Projects, Reports, and Speeches. Lawrenceville, NJ: Arco, 1998 CALL NUMBER: LB1047.3 .L35 1998e This book lists paper topics by fairly broad subject area. Not all topics are detailed enough for college level work. Some require you to narrow them down. It is also up to you to choose appropriate articles for argument papers. Note: 10,000 Ideas is now more than twenty years old. While some of its topics need a bit of an update, many paper topics are perennial problems, so the book's age is not a particularly large issue.

Another way to select topics is to read whatever articles appeal to you in either print or online publications. This method, while indirect, has the added bonus in yielding your first article when you find your topic. The drawback to this sort of topic search is that it takes time and can feel directionless. If you would like to search for your topic, by reading articles, here are some good places to start:

The New York Times
This is the newspaper of record for the United States. It's web site offers all the articles from the past thirty days' print version plus blogs created by the paper's columnists. The Times covers pretty much any and all newsworthy subjects including: news, lifestyle, fashion, entertainment, science, medicine, and sports. Note: the New York Times has a paywall, but every GSU student gets a free account.

You can also search for New York Times articles on ProQuest News and Newspapers. Here is how to read the Times on ProQuest News and Newspapers Step by Step.

The Wall Street Journal
Though it is one of the best places to go for economic and financial topics, The Wall Stret Journal offers more than business and investment information. It also covers international events, and lifestyle issues from the view point of the well off. You can avoid its paywall because the library has it's own Wall Street Journal database, and you can learn to search the Wall Street Journal on ProQuest. step by step.