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Finding your own “why” is essential at the start of a new academic project, especially when choosing a topic or area of focus. When you align your research with your personal interests or career aspirations, the entire process becomes more engaging and fulfilling. Some questions to ask yourself are:
When you invest in questions that matter to you, you are more likely to overcome challenges faced during research. It's easier to persevere through obstacles when you’re committed to a topic that excites you. Ultimately, discovering your own “why” not only enriches your academic experience but also equips you with the skills and knowledge to make a meaningful impact in your chosen field. Embrace your passions and let them guide your research journey!
What topics are you interested in, professionally or personally? Most areas of interest can be incorporated into an appropriate topic for academic writing, like comic books, video games, sports, and music, in addition to more common topics like animal rights or cybersecurity.
To get started in choosing a topic of your own, consider:
We’ve suggested finding a topic that is personally meaningful, but (perhaps counterintuitively) you will not be writing a personal essay. A personal essay is a genre of essay that focuses on personal experiences, reflections, and opinions. In personal essays, there is much more of a focus on the literary qualities, such as colorful descriptions and the use of figurative language like metaphors.
Academic writing is another genre that focuses on a careful analysis of evidence to come to a conclusion. Academic writing is also distinct from personal writing in that it is written in a neutral tone (even if the writer is arguing a point) and provides support from other sources.
| Personal Writing | Academic Writing |
|---|---|
| Tells a story | Answers a research question |
| Goal is to make the reader feel something | Goal is to engage the reader intellectually |
| Rarely provides “evidence” other than the writer’s claims | Provides evidence and documents sources |
| Emphasis on literary qualities | Emphasis on clear and structured writing |
| Writer develops a unique voice | Writer maintains a neutral tone |
We’ve suggested finding a topic that is personally meaningful, but an argumentative essay is different from a personal essay, which just focuses on personal experiences, reflections, and opinions. Traditional academic essays are based in a careful analysis of evidence which then comes to support a conclusion. Academic essay writing is also written in a neutral tone and includes support from and evaluation of other sources.
However, this does not mean that academic essay writing is not about topics of personal importance: A doctor might write about treatments and methodologies. Similarly, you may tap into your interests and experiences to find questions you want to answer, but you will approach the topic as an academic.
An essential part of academic writing is to take a position on a topic, such as advancing a new idea or weighing in on a controversy. Taking a position also helps narrow down a broad area of interest to a specific topic for a paper.
It's important that this position can be supported with logic and evidence. Simply stating an opinion, like “football is better than baseball,” is impossible to support with evidence because it just states a preference. It's also important that the argument be somewhat controversial—that is, that the opposing argument exists and has a lot of believers. “Diet and exercise are good for you” or “littering is bad for the planet” are positions that can be supported with evidence, but there is no viable opposing opinion.
Source: This tutorial was authored by Sophia Learning. Please see our Terms of Use.
