WAYS
OF NARROWING DOWN AN ARGUMENTATIVE TOPIC
Below are some of the most common ways of narrowing any topic 1 degree of resolution/specificity. Combine them, try different ones, repeat them – to get down to the 6th level of narrowing ( use 6 times below, repeating is ok). You can use any of these 22 ways to narrow for the first (3-5 pg) and/or the final (6-8 pg) paper -- any paper you are ever assigned, in fact!
GENERAL CATEGORIES for breaking
down topic to narrower topics/subtopic (choose/combine below)
For example, general
category: Space Exploration
a)Breakdown by Who (American
Space Exploration)
b)Breakdown by What (Manned
Space Missions)
c)Breakdown by Where (Moon Exploration)
d)Breakdown by When (Space
exploration in the 1960's)
e)Breakdown by Why (Quest to leave Earth)
f)Breakdown by How (Rocket to the Moon: Space Exploration)
g)Breakdown by problems
faced (Sustaining Life in Space:
Problems with space exploration)
h)Breakdown by problems
overcome (Effects of zero gravity on
astronauts)
i)Breakdown by motives (Beating the Russians: Planning a moon
mission)
j)Breakdown by effects on a
group (Renewing faith in science:
aftershock of the Moon mission)
k)Breakdown by member group (Designing a moon lander: NASA engineers
behind Apollo 11)
l)Group affected (From Test Pilots to Astronauts: the new
heroes of the Airforce)
m)Group benefited (Corporations that made money from the
American Space Program)
n)Group responsible for/paid for _____
(The billion dollar bill: taxpayer reaction to the cost of sending men
to the moon)
S.O.C.R.A.P.R. =
o) S = Similarities (Similar issues to
overcome between the 1969 moon mission and the planned
2009 Mars
p) O = opposites (American pro and con
opinions about the first mission to the moon)
q) C = Contrasts (Protest or patriotism: different opinions
about cost vs benefit of the moon mission)
r) R = relationships (the NASA family: from the scientists
on earth to the astronauts in the sky)
s) A = anthropomorphisms [interpreting
reality in terms of human values] (Space: the final frontier)
t) P = personifications [giving objects or descriptions human
qualities]
(the eagle has landed:
animal symbols and metaphors in the space program)
u) R = repetition (More missions to the
moon: Pro and Con American attitudes to landing more astronauts
on the moon)