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COLL300 Week 1 A Forum: Exploring Possible Topics
Subject
Writing

Question Description
Week 1 A Forum: Exploring Possible Topics

As you begin working on a research paper, it is helpful to examine what things you are interested in. Why does this matter? Doing so is important because papers written on a topic that is interesting to the author tend to be stronger. The best papers are written by those who are passionate about their topics.

For this forum, explore five areas of interest that intrigue you. Think outside the box. Go where you have wanted to go, but haven’t yet. Because the research paper assignment in this class asks for a paper on a topic in your field or major, this requirement could form the outer perimeter of your interests. But inside, there are many variations that could intrigue you.

For example, if you are majoring in homeland security but have a love for the visual arts, you may want to explore how messages about homeland security have been conveyed, including what visual techniques have been used. If you are majoring in history and love exploring science, you may look at the roles of specific scientific advances in a particular era. If you are majoring in psychology and love building furniture, you may want to look at how humans think about creating things and how they feel about polishing specific skills.

For your initial post, share these thoughts:

1. Briefly describe your major or field of study.

2. Explore topics that intrigue you that may or may not be in this field of study. These may be reflected in the kind of leisure reading you do, the movies or TV shows you choose to watch, the places you tend to go to relax, and the topics you really like to talk about with friends and family. List five (5) of these topics.

3. Try making connections between items 1 and 2 above. How might the five (5) interests listed in item 2 connect with your major or field of study?