Writing Resources

Lesson Plan: Developing a Final Paper Topic

African and African American Studies

Objective

This lesson helps students get from a germ of an idea for a final (12-15 page) paper to an intriguing set of questions to answer. Although there is not enough time to run through every student’s topic, students benefit from participating in the process.

Estimated Time

20 minutes (depending on how many students participate)

Work Completed Before Class

This does not require any advance work, but it helps if the students have thought about their final papers. Their final paper proposals and annotated bibliographies are due the next class.

In Class

1. I ask for someone to volunteer their idea for a final paper and write this idea on the board.
2. As a class, we develop answers to a series of questions about it. Each question depends on the answer(s) to the one before. The questions are as follows:
   • What is interesting about this topic?
   • What questions does this raise for you?
   • Why is it worth writing about; what are the stakes (intellectual, cultural, social)?
   • Can anyone form a tentative thesis about this?
   • What kinds of resources will you have to gather to support this thesis? What kinds of search terms will you use?
3. After we have finished the last question, I review the process with them so they can see how we got from beginning to end.

Anna Jaysane-Darr and Faith Smith
Developed at Brandeis University through a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation