Creating Issues from Topics
Create an issue you could research and write about for each of these topics:
- Racism in the US
- The education system in the US
- The food industry in the US
- Putting children in beauty pageants
- Cell phones
- Social media
You may need more than a sentence or two to explain the issue. This is fine, but stop yourself if you find it stretched to a paragraph.
Let’s look at an example.
TOPIC- the war on drugs
This topic is worthy of investigation. But if you try to research something this big, you will get lost! You must create an issue to give yourself direction.
ISSUE- A disproportionate ratio of African-American men are currently serving time in prison for drug charges.
The issue is much more focused. It gives me a direction to start research. It will certainly lead to other, related issues, like racial profiling, the connection between poverty and the war on drugs, inner-city planning and policing. This is a good thing! When the issues are related, it will feel natural to include the ones you want and make smooth connections between them.
