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ENG 101/ENG107: General Research Papers, Persuasive Writing & Annotated Bibliographies

This guide will direct you to the best library resources for developing a topic, researching a topic, locating argumentative sources and understanding the difference between scholarly and popular sources.

Choosing a Topic Resources

Visit the following recommended sources to help you choose a topic:

MCC's Choosing a Topic Research Guide 

Schaum's Quick Guide to Writing Great Research Papers

Check out the following library databases (You will be prompted for your MEID and password if accessing from off-campus):

  • Issues & Controversies
    • Click on 'Issues" for an extensive list of topics and issues
  • Opposing Viewpoints
    • Click on "Browse Issues" for an extensive list of topics and issues
  • CQ Researcher
    • Check under "Browse Reports" for a list of topic ideas under "Topic" or "Date" 
  • Credo Reference
    • Look under "Find Topic Pages" for a list of topics or try "Concept Map" on a general subject to focus or narrow your topic
  • Topic Finder (Gale OneFile)
    • Use the search box to enter keywords on any given topic to find connections, keywords, and ideas to identify or focus a topic.

The following open web sources are great places to browse for topic ideas:

National Public Radio (NPR): Includes breaking national and world news and top stories from business, politics, health, science, technology, music, arts and culture.

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) News Hour: Includes documentaries and programming on current national and world issues in addition to the latest news.

LiveScience: Get the latest science news or browse their articles including interesting, amazing, mysterious and 'strange' science regarding health, animals, planet earth, space and much more.

Yahoo! News: View the latest news and headlines including U.S. and world news, science, health and 'odd' news with videos, photos and in-depth coverage.

AZCentral: For an Arizona focus on news topics, visit The Arizona Republic's online partner AZCentral for local and late breaking news.