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Narrowing the Topic
for
Expository Writing
  • Answer these two questions when considering a topic:

1.What do you want to know about your topic?
If the topic isn’t interesting to you, change it!
(Unless it has been pre-assigned by your teacher!J

2. What do you want your reader to know about your topic?

  • Carefully narrow your topic so that the amount of information is manageable within the framework of a research paper.
  • A variety of methods exist for narrowing the topic. One example is the 5W-How Process.
  • Avoid using one or two word topics. As a rule, they are usually too broad to cover within the scope of a research paper.
  • Other__________________________________________________
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The 5W-How Process

Broad Subject: __________________

N
A
R
R
O
W
I
N
G

T
H
E

T
O
P
I
C

What

  

 

Who

  

 

When

  

 

Where

  

 

Why

  

 

How

  

 

Present the Topic
(Narrowed and focused with a clear purpose)
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