Topics, Topics. Where do you start?

Whether you're in the library or at home, you probably have everything you need to choose an interesting and researchable topic for your next persuasive speech or argumentative paper.

For the couch potato:
Turn on the television and start flipping channels. Chances are the evening news or the morning talk shows have a topic idea that will hold your interest for the next several weeks. Did you know that you can use transcripts from news and radio shows as documentation for your research? Transcripts for many shows are available in the Lexis Nexis Academic database.

Are you plugged-in or wireless?
Check out blogs to find out what others are buzzing about. To find a blog on a topic of interest to you, use the online search tool, Technorati. If you're an avid Google user, you could also turn to Google's Blog Search tool. Blogs are great places to find a topic or even refer you to additional resources, but remember that the blogs themselves may not be a reliable source to quote for your paper or speech.

Pros and Cons:
It's always a good idea to look at all the sides of an issue. Why not use a database that provides that for you all in one place? Check out the subscription database, Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Not only does this online resource offer a list of ideas you might consider, but each topic has viewpoint essays, entries from reference books, articles from magazines, newspapers, and academic journals, and links to Internet sites. This is one-stop-shopping at its best.

Browse, browse, browse
There's no better way to pick up a great topic than flipping through current magazines and newspapers. If you don't subscribe to many titles at home, stop by the library and take a look a our magazine wall or browse through our local papers.

Just for fun:
Check out what other people are looking for. Check out Google Trends or Ask.com's IQ site to look at popular searches or see what the buzz is on Yahoo's Buzz Index.

When in doubt, just ask:
We would be glad to discuss a topic with you and offer advice on where to get started. Stop by, call, send us an email, or chat with us online.