Controversial/ Argumentative

 Assignment Requirements

Now that you have your assignment for your research paper, it is important to look at the assignment closely and familiarize yourself with all of the requirements.  After you have looked the assignment, make notes about any questions you may have and ask your instructor for clarification.  Some things to think about are:

• How long is the paper?                                                                                            
• When is it due?
• How many Sources are required?
• What kind of Sources are required?
• How do you cite the sources?  (APA, MLA, ...)

Is your topic assigned or do you have a choice?

Take a look at your assignment. Is a topic assigned to you?  Does your Instructor allow you to choose a topic?  Is there a list of topics to choose from?  If there is not a list of topics to choose from, are there topics that are off-limit?

Do you have an interest?

What are some of your interests?  Think about the topics you are interested in and decide which topic you might have the most to say about.  Choose a topic that would be interesting to you and see how easy it would be to write about it.

Are there sources?

Do some research!  Make sure there is enough information available on your topic before you commit to it.  Often when you pick a topic that is new or a topic that is not well known, you may struggle to find enough reliable information for your research assignment.  

You may also find that sometimes a topic has too much or an overwhelming amount of information.   In cases like this, you will need to narrow your search down more. 

To get a good idea on your topic's sources, do some research in the library's databases to see what is and is not available.