Working with Topics, ColoState Reading

Number one, before we do anything else, the main, most important and critical tidbit from this reading: start with what you know!!! Now on to the rest of this post...

So, we start at the beginning and go from there...aaaand...that would be the topic. Because why? Why do we need a topic?? Because I said so, that's why? No. Because writing needs boundaries. Oooohhh, that's why.

Now that we have established why topics are a good thing, how do we go about choosing a topic?

First, topic choice is about making your writing relevant and meaningful, not only for you as a writer in this class, but also for you as an individual member of your group, and as a distinct, separate person. One way to start (if you're having trouble with that) is to go to the assignment and answer these two questions:

1. What is the purpose of this assignment (sci. lit. review)?
2. Who is the audience for this assignment (you know, beyond the obvious)?

One thing that I hadn't thought of that Mike brought up in this section was how important the instructor is as a resource for student writers. I'd never really thought about myself that way, but in fact as instructor I am as important a resource as any journal article or book. Why? Because I came up with the assignment, I hold all the cards, right? I know what I want, and though I make every effort to explain fully what that is, sometimes I fall short. If I do, what is left to you, the student? Why, using me as a resource! And, more than most, I am available to you as much as possible, in as many media as possible (think office hours, IM, email). Please, use me as a resource (you don't even have to put me in the works cited, so how is that for convenient??).

I might use the ideas in the "Choosing Workable Topics" section to help my group select a topic that works for everyone.

What does a lit review do for you as a student? It helps you see the conversation going on in a given discipline, one you might like to take part in at some future time.

I found the advice in using computer sources will come in quite handy right now, as we start our research, but also in the near future, when we are faced with the popular press article assignment.

We have all heard of brainstorming, and I liked how this section sort of segued into questions for testing topics, then further to explain that it is OK to change direction one or more times as you become more familiar with your topic. That then lead, eventually, too the idea that your thesis (kind of like an hypothesis, really) may change from day to day until your final draft is done. And, that is OK. In fact, that is expected.

Whoa, way over time today...