Developing Topics

You have learned about different world religions in your social studies class. You must choose one religion to research and create a handout about it for your final product. Which subtopic should be included in the final product?

• church population
• belief systems
• leadership
• geography

Most report topics are too broad and must be narrowed. Which topic is the narrowest?

• Asia
• Japan
• Haiku

You are about to write a report about the Mayans for social studies. You need to have a list of four questions before you start writing the report. From the five questions below, choose one question that would be LEAST HELPFUL for your report.

• Who were the Mayans?
• Why are the Mayans studied in school?
• How did the Mayans grow their food?
• Where did the Mayans live?

You must write a three-page report for class. Which of the following would be the best choice?

• Animals
• Science
• African Elephants

Read the original topic and the revised topic. Decide if the revised topic is BROADER (less specific) or NARROWER (more specific) than the original topic. 
Initial Topic: Describe what is needed to grow healthy plants.
Revised Topic: Describe the soil composition that works best to grow tomato plants.

• Broader
• Narrower

You are assigned a research project on animals. You need to narrow the topic. Which group below begins with the broadest topic and then moves to the narrowest topic at the end?

• Mammals, wild cats, animals, lions
• Animals, mammals, wild cats, lions
• Lions, wild cats, animals, mammals
• Animals, mammals, lions, wild cats

Read the first topic and the revised topic below. Is the revised topic BROADER (less specific) or NARROWER (more specific) than the first topic?
First Topic: Many civilizations around the world built pyramids.
Revised topic: More than 100 pyramids were built in Egypt.

• Broader
• Narrower

You are doing a report about astronauts working in space. Which question below is LEAST important to answer for this report?

• How do astronauts breathe when working in space?
• What do astronauts eat in space?
• What happens if astronauts get sick while working in space?
• How do astronauts put out fires working in space?

Which question would be most helpful in finding relevant information if you were doing research about United States westward expansion?

• Who was the President during westward expansion?
• What was the Oregon Trail?
• Where is Mexico?
• When was the United States founded?

You have chosen music as your topic for a research project. This topic is too broad and needs to be narrowed. Which would make a more manageable topic for your research?

• The Beatles
• The history of jazz
• Music through the age
• Modern day musical instruments