ENG1100: College Writing - Summer 2019: Food and Traditions

Develop Your Research Topic  

Begin to think about possible topics, issues, events, etc.

• Start with a topic that interests you.
• Conduct some preliminary research to determine what has already been written on the topic.
• What are the key concepts of your topic?
• Can you broaden or narrow your focus?
• Develop your thesis statement.

Consider focusing on one or more of the following:

• time period
• specific event
• specific people
• historic events of the time

Does your topic overlap other subject areas such as history, geography or political science?

Think of 2- 3 questions that you will need to explore.

• Think about the topic you are researching and the topic's main issues.
• What was the historical period of your topic?
• What happened that was significant?

Under each question, think about the following aspects:

• What do you already know about your topic?
• What do you need to learn to better understand your topic or issue?
• What kind of information resource might provide the answer to these questions?   

There are many types of traditional practices and beliefs. When searching for information on traditions, it's a good idea to focus on a specific category or type of tradition to get useful results. Here are some examples:

Authority
Belief
Conventions
Craft
Economy
Etiquette
Fashion
Food
Holidays
Knowledge
Language
Lifestyle
Myth
Norms
Pastimes
Rite of Passage
Rituals
Roles
Rules
Storytelling
Systems