Blog Post #5: BBG Chapter 5

One of the points that I found most helpful was within the section on brainstorming, on the way that talking to other people out loud about your ideas can often help you figure out what you want to do and write about in a paper. I often run my ideas by my friends or classmates before settling on one specific topic, and speaking though my plans always helps me discover new things about what I want to write.

Within the section on asking yourself questions about your topic, I thought that it was important that the book mentioned having a defined point of view on your topic while also realizing the other side's argument and taking that opposition into account while writing. While obviously your side of the argument should take up most of the paper, and you should be trying to prove your point as best as you can, you should also make sure to include the opposing side. This lets your readers know you that you're reasonable and rational, and that you recognize that both sides have valid arguments.

Additionally, as the book mentions, it is important to actually be interested in your topic, which might seem like it goes without saying, but I know many people who just write research papers on random topics that have nothing to do with them or their views because they do not believe their views have a place in an academic paper. A research paper needs something fueling it, some sort of passion from the writer, and if it does not, it loses its power and the point becomes lost. Anything can become a topic for research, as we will never know everything about literally anything, and you shouldn't feel boxed into something you don't care about at all.