ENC 1101: Written Communication: Cobb

Start here if you're new to college research or need a refresher!

When picking a topic its important to make sure its the "right size."  Information on a topic that is too broad will be hard to fit in a short writing assignment but a topic that is too narrow or specific might mean you struggle to find enough valid information.

Try to avoid being too subjective.

• For example: if you're trying to argue that a President was good or bad, then you should decide how you are going to define good or bad.
• If a President is good or bad because of how they handled the economy, how do you decide what is a good or bad economy?
• If a President is good or bad because of other things they did or did not do, then why does this matter? How could this situation have been improved or been worse?

How would you go about gathering evidence to support these claims?

Resources to help with topic selection

Documenting your research: Avoid plagiarism!

• Always cite the sources you use, even if you "paraphrase" (put it into your own words.)
• If you copy+paste the citation provided in the database's "Citation Tool", check the rules and CORRECT any mistakes.
• When in doubt... ask a librarian!

Link to MLA Citation Guides

These databases contain scholarly articles from experts in their fields, the results of experiments, and other higher level information. These resources are a bit more challenging to use but will take you to materials that will improve your understanding of a topic.

Try using multiple search strategies or use Advanced Search tools to find out more on your topic.

Don't get discouraged! The writers whose works you are reading followed a very similar process of trial and error and assembling a coherent narrative out of the pieces of evidence that they could find. Their reference pages represent many, many, many hours of careful searching, reading, and analysis.