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243 amazing humanities topics for research.

Humanities is an academic discipline that deals with studying the different aspects of culture and human society. This field has a rich historical background that distinguishes it from other empirical approaches to the natural sciences.

The different fields in humanities include archaeology, classics, philosophy, religion, linguistics, and languages. You will encounter methods such as hermeneutics and source criticism in the course of your study. It is crucial to understand that scholars in humanities significant to questions rather than answers.

What Are Humanities Topics?

These are topics that major in interpreting the known facts and look at them from a fresh perspective. Unlike sciences and other fields, there are no restrictive rules – you can create them in the form of art.

Humanities topics involve the study of human society and social relationships. Such titles are analytical and deal with the philosophical questions of what makes us human. Since they trace their origin from ancient Greece, these topics take a more historical turn.

When coming up with humanities topics, it is essential to consider the following:

They should be practical
They should impact society as a whole
Should relate the historical and current perspectives

Humanities students have the rare opportunity of understanding ancient and modern events that shape human life. You can learn all things from the romantic era’s poetry to the rise and fall of empires in the 15th century. It thus widens your understanding of the historical perspectives of almost every aspect of life.

In humanities topics, college students get strengthened in their research, writing, and critical thinking skills. But what are the best topics in humanities that you can present and score an A+?

Look at the topics below for inspiration.

Best-Rated Anthropology Humanities Paper Topics

How different aspects of the social sciences relate with humanities and human biology.
Reproducible and verifiable experiments in human anthropology
Local traditions that shape the structure and functioning of human life
Scientific methods to understand social phenomena in the society
Why do humanities use nuanced descriptions rather than general laws?
A critical look at the different branches of anthropology
Factors that inhibit the study of anthropological linguistics
Why cultural anthropology receives a cold shoulder among most undergraduate students
Describe a case study that properly illustrates sociocultural anthropology
Why is it difficult to provide a holistic account of humans and human nature?
Why do anthropologists only specialize in one sub-field?
Explain the importance of the biological, linguistic, historical, and cultural aspects of any problem.
Describe the impact of anthropology arising as a science in Western societies
Major industrial trends associated with anthropology research
Effectiveness of methodological drives in studying peoples in communities with more simple social organization
Why non-western cultures are least accepted in most countries?
The quest for holism in the study of humanities
How to use the biogenetic, archaeological, and linguistic data in humanities

Professional Topics For Humanities Classes

Factors affecting the proper record keeping of archaeological data
The role of architecture, biofacts, and Eco facts in human archaeology
Using culture history to reconstruct past lifeways in ancient culture
Explain the various changes in human societies through time.
Describe the origin of humanities in the Classical Greek
How the general education dating from the Sophists in the mid-5th century influenced humanities
The role of early Middle Ages Church Fathers in humanities
Describe the role of 15th-century Italian humanists to denote secular literary
How ancient Greek and Latin studies have helped advance research in humanities
The impact of the separation of humanities from the realm of the divine
Methods of the maturing physical sciences in the scholarly arena
Discuss the contemporary conceptions concerning the study of humanities
Conduct a complete analysis of the humanities curriculum in the U.S.A.
How to propagate a self-sufficient system of human values in the society
How to distinguish the humanities from the social sciences

High-Quality Topics For Humanities Research Papers

How different countries vary in the way of their social interactions
What is the impact of breaking down humanities into other majors?
Global political and economic issues affecting the study of humanities
Using sociology to draw a complete picture of how the world works
How to reinvent the best ideas from the past occurrences effectively
The role of critical thinking and effective communication in humanities
Which set of abilities should students have for humanities?
Discuss the factors that affect the behavior of individuals and society
Why are humanities papers on marriage among the most relevant nowadays?
Is it true that focusing on the family is vital for one’s self-development?
Discuss the notion of different societies concerning aging
Why is the world still struggling with the problem of inequality to date?
Factors affecting changes in social interactions among communities
The role of social media in shaping the perspectives of different people
Evaluate the factors affecting teenagers in the 21st century

Impressive Topics For Humanities Research Paper

Discuss the impact of various social movements in advocating for change
Why is child abuse still a pertinent issue in the 21st century?
The role of social backgrounds in contributing to conflicts at workplaces
What is the main challenge facing racial movements?
An analysis of the reaction of people towards social policies
Elaborate on the trends and impacts of irresponsible teenage behavior in the society
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of early marriages
Why should parents not restrict their children from accessing the internet?
Analyze the different class systems and their impact on associations
What is the primary cause of criminal organizations in different societies?
A case study of cliques among high school and college students
The risk of delaying early childhood education among children in the U.S.A.
Discuss the various clashes between different social classes in the world
What is the place of the marginalized in society?
Discuss the impact of the Me Too movement on the girl-child

Hot Humanities Research Topics

What are the leading causes of drinking among a majority of the population?
Discuss the various means of dealing with institutional crisis
The role of capitalism and communism in the study of humanities
What are the impacts of immigration into the U.S. from Mexico?
The role of gender in determining leadership positions in the society
Theoretical foundations of humanities in different institutions
Discuss the significant differences between sects and cults
Elaborate on the impact of the myths and misconceptions about coronavirus
The role of poverty in facilitating violence and civil unrest
Is cultural segmentation a good thing?
The effect of technology on preserving historical facts
Why social theories are essential in the field of humanities
Discuss the origin of the discrimination against African-Americans
An overview of the effects of cultural assimilation
Is it possible to eliminate healthcare disparities among the LGBT community?

Interesting Humanities Topics

Discuss the role of video games in advancing violence in societies
Why fashion is becoming a distraction for many in the society
Discuss why the topic of abortion is a live wire in most societies
A case study of mass media and fear during terrorism attacks
Discuss the social role of mass media in communities
Why has online dating distorted the necessity of marriages?
Discuss the evolution of lifestyles from the 15th century to date
The part of body images in appealing to emotions
Why are most college students victims of poor time management?
The effects of the social, cultural engagements in the development of societies
Discuss the political aspects that relate to social interactions
Why are primarily teenagers and youths defiant to their parents?
Why people from different nationalities differ from each other
Why can’t the millennial live without updates of any event?
Social issues affecting students in colleges and universities

Latest Humanities Project Ideas

Discuss the different branches of humanities concerned with creative audio-visual pursuits
Conduct an in-depth analysis of the human communication and behavior
Critically examine the role of the justice system in advancing equality
Current issues facing societies about the coronavirus prevention protocols
The part of statistical data relating to population
Explore the environmental foundations necessary for humanities
Look at the gender divide in society and how to address it
Discuss the cultural construct of the masculine and feminine identity
Explore the field of Geography and its relationship to humanities
How people interact with different physical features
What are the challenges when it comes to relations between nations?
Examine why language is essential for any society to thrive
The role of multi-cultural and regional dimensions to humanities
Why the study of beliefs, histories, values, and geographic backgrounds is necessary
A systematic review of the issues affecting rational arguments

Top-Tier Humanities Topics Ideas

Examine the role of religion and mythology in the study of humanities
Why is pop music gaining acceptance among the general population?
Investigate the relationship between society and social relationships
Explore how the politics and government of the United States has evolved over the ages
Study the implications of studying philosophy to the growth of a society
Dive into the impact of peer-reviewed humanities papers
The role of diversity in making the world a better place
The importance of intersectionality and discrimination in any society
Why differences can also advance peace and harmony
Discuss the social relations between Islam and Christians
Evaluate the process that led to the unification of Germany
How did the Vietnam War affect the relationships of different countries?
Outline the impacts of the great migration
Impact of the Women’s Suffrage movements in championing for female rights
How did the Ottoman Empire contribute to socialization?

World-Class Topics in Humanities

Discuss the conflict between religion and social order
What is the best disciplinary action for employees’ misconduct outside work
The role of sales tax on internet purchases
Why it is essential to understand the history of Europe in understanding humanities
Why are human beings anatomically similar?
The part of Greek and Latin texts and language in the study of humanities
Why are the classical-era scholars in important in humanities?
Discuss the role of humanities in institutions of higher learning
Why do humanities and liberal studies make up the bulk of specialization for college students
Give a substantive analysis of the renaissance-era humanists
The place of a balanced curriculum in fostering critical humanist skills
How humanities help students achieve analytical and problem-solving skills
Why do most universities require multiple humanities courses?
Discuss the events that led to the French revolution
The implications of William Shakespeare’s plays

Medical Humanities Research Topics

Discuss the ethical and humanistic dimensions of medicine
Analyze the impact of various medical and technological advances
The growing interest of researchers in the field of neuro-ethics
Discuss the relationship between medicine and humanities
How has the history of medicine varied with that of the humanities sector?
Critical issues of healthcare access and public health policy
What are the factors facing doctor-patient relationships?
Discuss how to deal with end-of-life issues in medicine
How does the media impact the study and progress of medicine?
Analyze the relationship between medicine and society
Who are the most significant scholars in medical anthropology?
A critical analysis of empathy and experience of illness
Choices available for doctors in the neonatal intensive care unit
How the issues of limited resources impact access to medical care
Analyze the ethics of medical advances

Good Research Topics For Humanities

Informed consent issues for the matter of terminal diseases
Why is humanities a rich interdisciplinary concentration?
The vital importance of diversity in any society
The state of empathy and sympathy during the COVID-19 pandemic
Explore the different aspects of poetry
Is it practical for anyone to work late in the night?
How modern literature writers find meaning and inspiration in the works
Ethical issues involved in the dialysis of the obese, homeless, and diabetic
Why motivational interviewing was preferred for patients with diabetes?
Discuss the effects of stigma among leaders
The role of technology in reshaping the future of social interactions
An innovative approach on the psychological aspects students
Discuss the essentials of a practical counseling session
Why do there exist disparities between the likeness of children to their parents
The effects of becoming a counseling psychologist

Unique Topics For Humanities Research Paper

Personal and professional reflections on the 9/11
How parents can handle children with disabilities
The impact of social media on the freedom of speech: A case of Facebook
The role of the international criminal court in maintains world law and order.
Analyze the economic context of a novel
Emergent property and consciousness in the study of philosophy
Discuss the effectiveness of the theories of punishment
Are we likely to experience a third and fourth wave of feminism?
What are the factors that are likely to cause philosophical anarchism?
Discuss the growth and spread of Pentecostalism in Latin America
Evaluate the impact of the Great Awakenings in the U.S. history
Conduct an overview of the Shia minorities in the Middle East
What are the social and cultural implications of the Religious Freedom Act?
Do atheists honestly believe that there is no God?
How to foster relationships among the Catholics and Evangelicals

College Humanities Essay Topics

The necessity of teaching children the gender issues
What is the origin of the discussions for and against gay marriages?
Is it correct to say that everyone is a stereotype by default?
An overview of the international marriages and globalism
The impact of spending more time on social networking sites
The role of social norms and cultures in a given society
Why do most people experience challenges shifting from one culture to another?
Discuss the relationship between a class and a student’s performance
Are unconventional families essential for the growth and development of any child?
Why do most students prefer foreign education over any other?
Discuss the concept of the right to privacy
Why do some studies need to engage in patriotism students?
The role of economic prosperity in influencing patriotism
Discuss the relationship between social media and addiction
A case study of WhatsApp as the best social media group in the U.S.A.

Topics in Digital Humanities

Discuss the various tools and methods for nineteenth-century American literature
Understanding how the media is involved in human interactions
Why digital communications technologies are the new norm
Analyze the nature and extent of the digital revolution
The history of computing in the humanities
A humanistic critique of the computational methods
Why most practitioners are opting for digital communication
The role of the computer as a continual tool of innovation
The process of using and building digital projects
Incorporating digital technologies in archiving archaeological data
Discuss the connection between traditional and digital textual scholarship
Large-scale digital literary analysis
Explore the potential of the digital academic data
The broader context of the digital humanities
How to computationally research and teach in humanities

Humanities And Arts Research Topics

Home-schooling
Literacy levels in America
The role of prayer in schools
Programming and advertising
The portrayal of women by media
Physical attention techniques
Affirmative action programs in the U.S.A.
What is the way forward on gambling?
Race relations
Learning disabilities
Family values
Intelligence tests
Distant learning
White-collar jobs
Morals and values

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How to Write a Good Humanities Research Paper

Writing in humanities and sociology requires a unique approach that goes beyond traditional research papers. These academic disciplines are vital to the understanding of our rapidly evolving and progressing world, which makes it important to convey your research in a clear, easy-to-understand way. While the goal remains to communicate your findings effectively, the writing style, structure, and presentation differ significantly from other disciplines. To do this, researchers must possess a firm grasp of the subject’s nuances and be aware of how audiences view the world and evaluate information. In this article, we provide valuable tips specially tailored for researchers writing in humanities and sociology, enabling them to produce clear, compelling, and impactful research papers with the best chances of publication.

Understand the essence of academic writing in humanities

Academic writing in humanities and sociology involves exploring complex human experiences, societal structures, and cultural phenomena. It demands a nuanced approach, encouraging researchers to embrace diverse perspectives and demonstrate critical thinking. Keep the following points in mind:

Develop a clear research question: Frame your research question carefully to guide your exploration and keep your writing focused.
Engage with existing literature: Thoroughly review relevant literature to contextualize your research and build a strong theoretical foundation.
Humanize your research: Use storytelling and real-life examples to connect with readers emotionally and make your work relatable.

Craft a cohesive structure for your humanities research paper

Academic writing in humanities and sociology requires a well-organized structure. You can refer to the following humanities research paper example to structure your work clearly and coherently.

The introduction section: The introduction of your humanities research paper should present your research question and its significance, provide a brief overview of the existing literature and its gaps, and state your thesis statement clearly.
Comprehensive literature review: This is an important step in any research journey. Summarize key works related to your research topic, identify the common themes and controversies, and highlight the relevance of your research in filling the existing gaps.
Research methodology: Describe your research approach and methods, justify why these methods are suitable for your study, and address potential limitations in your humanities research paper.
Findings of the study: Present your research findings systematically, use relevant evidence and examples to support your arguments, and clearly connect your findings to the research question.
The discussion section: Interpret your results and explain their implications, compare your findings with existing literature, and address any limitations and suggest future research directions. Be sure not to repeat the results in this section.
A neat conclusion: Recapitulate the main points of your paper, emphasize the importance of your research and its contributions, and leave the reader with a thought-provoking final statement.

Humanities research paper style and language

When writing in humanities and sociology, the writing style should be engaging, yet maintain academic rigor. Here are some essential tips:

Choose clarity over complexity. Use straightforward language and sentence structures to ensure your humanities research paper can be read and understood by global audiences. Avoid technical jargon and convoluted expressions that may confuse the reader.
Favor conciseness. Be concise in your writing, focusing on conveying your message without unnecessary wordiness. Try to use crisp, short sentences or visuals (infographics, graphs, charts, etc.) to communicate complex themes clearly.
Opt for active voice. Prefer using the active voice to enhance readability and add a sense of authority to your statements.
Ensure smooth transitions. Employ transitional phrases to create seamless connections between paragraphs and ideas.

Citing sources and referencing correctly

Properly citing sources is crucial when writing in humanities and sociology to acknowledge the contributions of other researchers and strengthen the credibility of your work. Follow the citation style recommended by your institution or journal (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago). Double check to ensure all in-text citations are accurate and complete and you’ve provided a comprehensive bibliography or reference list at the end of your paper.

To conclude, knowing how to write a good humanities research paper requires you to achieve a delicate balance of creativity, critical thinking, and adherence to academic conventions. By following the steps outlined in this article, researchers can elevate their writing and make a lasting impact in their field of study. Be sure to read the critical dos and don’ts when writing in humanities to create a compelling humanities research paper, open the door to new avenues of exploration, and enrich scholarly discourse.

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What is a Thesis Statement and How to Write It (with Examples)

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220 Best Humanities Research Topics to Get Started

Table of Contents

Humanities is a broad academic discipline that deals with the various facets of culture and human society. It mainly involves the study of languages, philosophy, literature, religion, art, history, law, archaeology, and anthropology. If you are a humanities student, then as a part of your course, you will have to submit a research paper on any interesting topic related to the subject. In case, you are unsure what topic to choose for your humanities research paper, then check this blog post. For your convenience, here, we have presented a list of the great humanities research topics in various categories. Also, we have shared a few significant tips for selecting a good humanities research topic.

Without wasting your time, explore this blog post and get more ideas for humanities research paper writing.

Tips for Selecting a Good Humanities Research Topic

Before jumping into the humanities research topics list, first, let us take a look at how to select a good humanities research topic.

Usually, when it comes to research paper writing assignments, your professors will share some writing prompts for you to choose from. But, at certain times, they will allow you to select a topic on your own. In such a scenario, you may get confused about what topic to choose.

If you are given a chance to select the humanities research topic of your choice, follow the below-mentioned tips. It would help you identify an ideal humanities research topic.

Pick a practical research topic.
Choose a topic that belongs to your area of interest.
Go with a topic that is related to both the current and historical perspectives.
Give preference to the topic that is impactful to society.
Never pick a topic with no or less research scope.
Select a topic that is matching to the research methodology of your choice.
Consider a topic that is interesting and informative to your readers.
Choose a research topic that has extensive information and credible sources for reference.
Select a topic that contains valid facts, evidence, or examples supporting your major points of discussion.

Besides all these steps, before finalizing your research topic, check whether the topic you have identified stands in line with the writing guidelines of your professor or university. Once you have chosen a perfect humanities research topic, start writing the research paper by using your writing skills, after conducting deep research.

List of the Best Humanities Research Topics

To write a humanities research paper, you can choose a topic from any discipline such as arts, religion, philosophy, medicine, etc.

Especially, to make your topic selection process simple and help you save time, below we have added a list of outstanding humanities research paper ideas on various categories. Go through the entire list carefully and pick any topic that is convenient for you to research and write about.

Basic Humanities Research Paper Topics

Assess the best strategies for negotiations during wars.
How do body image issues change with age?
Does book reading make people more social?
How does economic prosperity affect the feeling of patriotism?
Explain the effects of gender-based violence on children’s personalities.
Explain how social media affect America’s political decisions.
What are the social changes in developed nations?
Research the effectiveness of the UN in fostering global peace.
Discuss the negative impacts of teen pregnancies.
What is the role of America in Europe’s restoration after WWII?
Discuss the role of artists in a time of war
Application of the views of Socrates to western democracy in the 21 st Century
Evaluation of Appalachian language and its academic power
Critical analysis of the role of conflicts in violence
Why building resilience is important for ensuring environmental sustainability?
Perspective pathways to greater human flourishing
Regional Identity and Appalachian Language
The 18th Century Conventions of Feminism and Jane Austen
How can the theories of Socrates be applied to 21st-century Western Democracy?
Briefly discuss the historical tension between religion and science with examples

Excellent Humanities Project Ideas

Compare human and animal sacrifice in religion.
Are fast foods spoiling traditional food cultures?
What are the pros and cons of studying gender issues in school?
How photography is framing public opinion in the 21st century?
Investigate the role of the justice system in advancing equality.
Compare African socialism in the 1950 and 1970s.
Discuss the environmental foundations necessary for humanities.
Explain the pros and cons of studying humanities.
Discuss how cultural stereotypes are developed by superstitions.
Why is it hard to stop bullying in school?
Research why language is essential for any society to thrive.
What impact do graphic novels have on literacy?
Assess human communication and behavior.
How oral history has affected modern culture?
How science fiction has invaded the mainstream culture around the world?
How do intersectionality and gender bias affect inclusion and diversity in the workplace?
Describe the current status of transgender and other sexual minority communities in Canada
Discuss some common social justice issues across every country in the world
Humanity is the best religion and the essence of human existence: Explain
Impact of the feminism movement on society

Great Humanities Research Paper Topics

Discuss the link between bureaucracy and the law-making process.
Write about the executive power in the US.
What are the ethical issues involved in media advertising?
Explain the connection between Italian fashion and Chinese culture.
Discuss the impact of dual nationality on political views.
Analyze the effects of poverty in rural communities.
How Twitter has transformed into a powerful political platform?
Is capitalism the best system?
What is the impact of the Neolithic revolution on people’s cognitive abilities?
Discuss the effects of daily family routines on a child’s development.
How to differentiate the humanities from the social sciences?
Explain the role of capitalism and communism in the study of humanities.
What are the global political and economic issues that affect the study of humanities?
Discuss the effects of irresponsible teenage behavior in society.
Discuss the pros and cons of early marriages.
Analyze the humanities curriculum in the U.S.A.
Write about the origin of humanities in Classical Greek.
What are the factors that inhibit the study of anthropological linguistics?
Explain the factors that modify the behavior of individuals and society.
Explain the impact of the Me Too movement on the girl-child.

Captivating Humanities Research Topics

What are the effects of Consumerism on sustainability?
Write about the fashion trends in society.
Research the social problems faced by people who are with disabilities.
Why does cultural appropriation always result in political contests?
Should poverty be treated as a social issue?
What are the benefits of countercultures in society?
How to prevent the fight for resources in families using the conflict theory?
What is the role of the bible in the development of US democracy?
Explain the major differences between interstate conflicts and wars.
Using the critical race theory analyze the Black Lives Matter activist movement.
Analyze the impact of different class systems on associations.
What are the various clashes between different social classes in the world?
Discuss the effect of various social movements in advocating for change.
What is the ultimate cause of criminal organizations in different societies?
Explain the effect of technology on preserving historical facts.
Explore the reaction of people towards social policies.
Discuss the differences between sects and cults.
What is the impact of the separation of humanities from the realm of the divine?
Discuss the role of critical thinking and effective communication in humanities.
What is the role of early Middle Ages Church Fathers in humanities?

Humanities Research Topics in Philosophy

Discuss election ethics.
What are the main causes of war?
Prepare a case study of Europe in the 20th century based on the application of socialism.
Discuss the inference of learning philosophy for the growth of a society.
Discuss the implications of scientific realism on judgment by scientists.
How to eradicate corruption in society?
Explore mind philosophy and problems with dualism.
Discuss the main challenges involved in regulating the environment using laws.
Are morals relative to society or culture?
Using Aristotle’s perspectives define a perfect government.

Humanities and Arts Research Paper Topics

How does art education make people think differently?
Discuss the effect of music on modern culture and society.
Explain the impact of the Cultural Revolution on Chinese art.
Compare the themes in modern and traditional Caribbean music.
What is water puppetry in Vietnamese tradition?
Analyze the Mayan art and society.
Explain the music and political propaganda in the 20th century.
Compare the role of liberal arts education in the 20th and 21st centuries.
What is the use of totem masks in Papua New Guinea art?
Discuss the causes of the decline of art in medieval Europe.
Explain how Japanese art influenced that country’s clothing.
How the modern art is related to American suffering?
What is the effect of the printing press on the wide-scale spread of art?
What is the influence of ancient art on current artistic trends?
Describe the ancient Greek and Roman motifs in modern architectural works.
Discuss the effects of social media on digital art and the spread of ideas.
Explain the K-pop music style and subculture.
Explain the impact of mythology on the sculptures of Ancient Greece.
Depict war in 20th-century art.
Should advertisements be seen as a form of modern art?

Medical Humanities Research Topics

Can exercise ruin a person’s health?
Should a doctor be allowed to offer medical help against the desires of the guardian?
Discuss the impact of various medical and technological advances.
Explain how to deal with end-of-life issues in medicine.
How are medical addictions portrayed in literature?
Where the people with mental issues should be treated- in or outside their communities?
Explain the history of abortion throughout the 20th century.
What is the relationship between medicine and humanities?
Examine the practice of medicine across different cultures.
Is it ethical to use animals for testing drugs?
Discuss the ethics of medical advances.
Explain the medical practices in the field of battle.
Discuss the criminal charges for medical malpractice throughout the 21st century.
How do humanities affect the use of alternative medicines?
Discuss the religious impact on the medical community.

Digital Humanities Research Paper Topics

Why do social media make people feel lonely as opposed to connecting them?
How to incorporate digital technologies in archiving archaeological data?
Discuss the history of computing in the humanities.
Explain the effect of Modern devices and technology on people’s relationships.
Evaluate the nature and extent of the digital revolution.
What are the effects of video games on violence in society?
Have a closer look at humanities studies and the age of information technology.
Discuss the history of the printing press and its role in spreading ideas.
How do modern gadgets affect people’s mental health?
Should we adopt a scientific approach to the problem of alcoholism?
Does digital technology offer a better life?
Explore the potential of digital academic data.
Discuss the future of digital communication.
Explain how data visualization tools are changing people’s opinions.
Discuss the change in people’s jobs because of technological developments.

Humanities Research Topics on Religion

Discuss the conflict between religion and social order.
Compare the two most ancient religions in society.
What is the role of religion in contemporary society?
Explain the concept of reincarnation in different religions.
What is the major reason for the emergence of new religions?
What is the importance of the church in the well-being of society?
Compare funeral rituals in two religions of your choice.
Explain the difference between new and older religious movements.
Discuss the positive changes that can be achieved through religious practices.
Analyze the concept of Goddess and God in religion.
Explain the similarities between religions around the world.
What is the effect of sacrificial traditions in ancient religions on today’s society?
Discuss female clergy in religions.
What is the relationship between religion and science?
Explain the role of religion and mythology in the study of humanities.

Amazing Humanities Research Ideas

What are the effects of cultural assimilation?
Explain why the topic of abortion is a live wire in most societies.
What is the role of poverty in facilitating violence and civil unrest?
Why has online dating twisted the necessity of marriage?
Why is pop music gaining acceptance among the general population?
Is cultural segmentation a good thing?
Prepare a case study of mass media and fear during terrorist attacks.
How to handle the institutional crisis?
Why social theories are significant in the field of humanities?
What is the role of gender in determining leadership positions in society?
Explain the social issues that affect students in colleges and universities.
Analyze the effects of the great migration.
Why are primarily teenagers and youths resistant to their parents?
Explain the consequences of intersectionality and discrimination in any society.
Compare pop music and classical music

Read more: Great Human Rights Topics For Writing Academic Papers

Outstanding Humanities Research Topics

Write about Western humanities in the 21 st
Discuss symbolism in television sci-fi shows.
Explain the evolution of socialist movements throughout the world.
Write about humanities in the computer age and mass information.
How does online publishing affect humanities?
Describe the Bible’s representation of humanities and culture.
Write about community volunteer programs and their impact on youths.
Discuss the influence of science on humanities over the centuries.
Present the different definitions of freedom from around the world.
Why the tools for cultural analysis are essential for humanities?
Alternative dispute resolution mechanism for the settlement of environmental disputes in Nigeria: A Study of Ojodu Community, Lagos State
Describe the scarily lucrative business model of human trafficking
Technical Change And Productivity in the Manufacturing Industry in Imo State of Nigeria
How the military force of a nation can promote human security in conflict situations?
Analyze the governance and service delivery of the local government in the Kiruhura District of Uganda

Top-rated Humanities Dissertation Topics

What are the challenges faced by adult graduates with learning technologies?
Explain the impact of the internet on the emotional maturity of the students.
How do the qualities of family life affect parent-child relationships?
Assess the link between classroom quality and learning results in kindergarten.
Is creativity a type of fantasy?
What are the major causes of the Cold War?
Discuss the effect of adoption on parent-child relationships.
Investigate how racism affects a family unit.
What are the political and social implications of design?
Explain the future of humanity in an extraterrestrial world.
Examining the most effective tactics for wartime negotiations: Utilize three 20th-century example studies.
When should kids start receiving sex education?
Offspring of multinational marriages facing identification challenges.
Who is responsible for defending human rights on a global scale? A study of the International Criminal Court’s efficacy.
The major reason for misunderstandings in social media communication is a lack of face-to-face encounters.

Read more: Interesting Dissertation Topics to Consider for Academic Writing

Informative Humanities Research Ideas

Answering the challenging inquiries What is the main reason for the conflicts between Israel and Palestine? Can it or it be dealt with?
How Twitter has become a potent political tool.
Do gender and spirituality go together?
Should the United States be held accountable for the severe harm that its use of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused to Japan?
Should social media use be controlled to lessen the risk of addiction and other adverse effects?
Discuss the role played by NGOs and free-of-cost education service delivery organizations to develop underdeveloped nations
Participation motives and competitive orientation of football players in the Kenyan Women’s Premier League
Analyze the central idea of marriage in African Religio-Culture with reference to the Maasai of Kajiado County, Kenya
Critical analysis of women’s political participation: a case of Bomachoge constituency in Kenya (1963-2013)
Association between paternal illicit drug and alcohol consumption, complementary feeding and children’s nutrition status

Awesome Humanities Research Topics

A critical look at the different branches of anthropology
Explain the various changes in human societies through time.
How to propagate a self-sufficient system of human values in the society
What is the impact of breaking down humanities into other majors?
Discuss the notion of different societies concerning aging
Elaborate on the impact of the myths and misconceptions about coronavirus
Discuss the political aspects that relate to social interactions
Explore the field of Geography and its relationship to humanities
A systematic review of the issues affecting rational arguments
Evaluate the process that led to the unification of Germany

Out of the different ideas suggested in this blog, select any topic of your choice and draft a brilliant humanities research paper. In case, you need help with humanities research paper topic selection and writing, get in touch with us immediately.

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128 Unique Humanities Topics For Your Research Papers

Many students struggle to find humanities topics worth researching. That’s because most students think the humanities are only about ancient cultures and dead languages. However, social science and humanities explore how humans document and process different experiences. These study fields enable learners to understand intellectual and personal scales, such as culture, heritage, and identities. When studying humanities, students explore past self-exploration and philosophy to political views, economic issues, culture, and religion.

What Are Humanities?

The humanities are educational disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, “humanities” referred to the studio humanitatis, a Medieval Latin phrase meaning “liberal arts or studies.” In the medieval curriculum, the seven liberal arts were grammar, rhetoric, and logic (the trivium); and arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music (the quadrivium). Academicians chose these subjects because they considered them essential for a free person—a citizen—to know so that they can actively participate in civic life, voting, holding office, serving on juries, and so forth.

Today’s humanities definition includes all those original seven subjects plus literature, history, philosophy, archaeology, anthropology, jurisprudence, comparative religion, and ethics. Topics in humanities help us understand aspects of our culture and others, how people lived in the past, what they believed, how they worked and played, what kinds of governments and social structures humans developed, and the type of art and technology they created. In other words: How did we get to be where we are today?

How To Improve A Bad Paper

Perhaps, you’ve chosen a topic and written an essay. Unfortunately, you might not like your paper because you feel it doesn’t meet your educator’s quality standards. In that case, follow these tips to improve it.

Make your description, anecdotal details, and sensory and imagery details more specific.
Make your paper more concise to convey ideas with few words
Use transition phrases or words
Make your thoughts understandable and clear to the reader
Check the organization to ensure ideas flow logically
Proofread and edit your paper.

Writing a research paper for a high grade is not an easy task. It’s better to hire a research paper service and get your papers complete on time.

Interesting Humanities Topics

Do you love writing about exciting topics? If so, here’s a list of interesting ideas to explore in your humanity paper.

Investigating changes in gender roles in modern society
Exploring the differences between wars and interstate conflicts
Texas case study- How poverty affects tertiary education
Examining the illegal immigrants’ implications on host countries in Europe
How conflict theory can help prevent the fight for family resources
Is poverty a social issue?
Detailed analysis of the problems faced by people living with disabilities
Contemporary music and political commentary
The bible’s role in the US democracy’s development
Exploring labour struggles in Europe and their effects on global and local politics in the 19th century
Investigating the essence of studying humanities
Exploring the enlightenment age- What does it mean?
Examining the Appalachian regional identity
The race problem in the US- Exploring its causes
Analyzing the Black Lives Matter movement and its role in the race theory
How consumerism affects sustainability
A closer look at the counterculture’s benefits in society
A critical view of the differences between cults and sects
Analysing gender studies- What are the emerging issues?
Cultural appropriation- Investigating why it causes a political contest
Fashion trends in modern society- Examining their connection with cultures
Should governments legitimize prostitution?
The influence of oral history on modern culture
How graphic novels affect literacy
Discuss the pros and cons of studying humanities
How bullying is challenging to prevent in schools
Investigating the environmental foundations for humanities
Explore cultural stereotypes and how superstitions shape them
Compare animal and human sacrifice in religion
Analyzing human behaviour and communication

These are exciting topics to consider in this academic field. Nevertheless, take sufficient time researching your preferred title to write a winning paper.

Good Humanities Paper Topics

High school, university, and college students need good topics to impress teachers and earn top grades in their classes. Here are such ideas.

How the law-making process relates to bureaucracy
Why public choice awareness is vital
A historical analysis of the Indian migrant workers
How the Neolithic revolution affects cognitive abilities
Should America implement more restrictive laws about gun ownership?
Ethical issues surrounding media advertising
Why youth culture is complex for older generations to understand
LGBT people and straight people’s rights- How do they compare?
The absence of face-to-face interactions- Does it cause misunderstanding in communications on social media?
Why democracy fails- Iraq case study
What causes the Israel-Palestinian wars?
Spirituality and gender- Is there a connection?
Is the world hauling toward a Third World War?
Discuss relevant anthropology issues
Hinduism- Does it affect Indian socio-political development?
Factors affecting the 21st-century teenagers
Social media’s role in shaping people’s perspectives
Factors affecting social interactions and their changes among communities
Why the world struggles with the inequality problem to date
Discuss the ageing notion among different societies

Pick a title in this category and develop it via research. Nevertheless, ensure it enables you to answer the question your educator poses.

Humanities Project Ideas

Did the educator ask you to pick a topic for your humanities project? If so, here are humanities topics for research projects to consider.

The role of funding in education
What limits collision admission policies?
Is doping prevalent in sports?- Explain why
Investigating prisoners’ life and prisons
Macroscopic trends- Analysis of cultural change
Digital archives- A textual analysis
Why pedagogy lacks a focus
Information access issues in society
How online publishing affects humanities
Tools for cultural analysis- Why they are vital for humanities
Doctors’ role in assisted suicide
Violence perpetrators and administrators’ role in campus
Capital punishment and its ethical downside
Legal drinking age- Who should determine it?
Why achieving modesty is difficult nowadays.
Crisis- When international intervention is justified
African socialism- How it compares between the 1950 and 1980s
Lessons learned from Europe and US immigrant crisis
Comparing and contrasting foreign policies in the UK and China
Should governments ban alcohol and beer advertisements?

Please choose a topic from this list and develop it via extensive research. Ensure that your paper has relevant information to impress the educator.

Easy Humanities Topics Ideas

Maybe you’re searching for an easy idea to explore in your paper. In that case, consider these ideas for your essay.

Investigating age and changes in body image
How social environment prompts people to relocate to cities
Deviance development among urban youths
Does reading more books make people less or more social?
Illegal immigrants- Should governments make them legal citizens?
How does gender-based violence affect kids’ personalities
Sociological perspectives of child development and interracial adoption
Parental control limits on child’s personality
Investigate the adverse effects of teenage pregnancies
Analyze war negotiations strategies- Provide 20th-century case studies

These are relatively easy topics to consider for academic papers. Nevertheless, they still require some research.

Arts and Humanities Research Topics

Are you interested in humanities and arts research topics? If so, this list has some ideas worth exploring.

Contemporary art and the feminist movement
Art education- Why it helps learners think differently
Advertisements- Should the audiences view them as modern art?
Mythology’s impact on Ancient Greece’s sculptures
Government accountability and democracy in the US
How did the cultural revolution affect the Chinese art
The second migration- How it affects Harlem Renaissance’s art
Sharing pieces of art and music online- Is it a legal practice?

Consider these titles if you want to write about art and humanities. However, prepare to spend sufficient time researching your topic before writing.

Medical Humanities Topics

Do you want to explore medical humanities in your research? If so, here are some interesting titles to consider for your essay and help you take the first step toward a good research paper done for you.

Does global warming cause tropical diseases?
Child vaccination- Should the government make it mandatory?
How exercising can affect a person’s life negatively
Is using animals in drug tests a good idea?
Should governments limit drug tests on humans?
Is the world ready for another pandemic?
How the world managed the COVID-19 pandemic
Medical research- The threats and their mitigation
Should hospitals test individuals with mental issues in or outside their immediate communities?
Doctors should provide medical assistance against the guardian’s wishes
Parents should regulate social media use to prevent or reduce the addiction impacts
How the COVID-19 pandemic prompted society to rethink global healthcare coordination

These are good humanities research topics that touch on the medical field. Nevertheless, they also require some research to write high-quality papers.

Topics in Digital Humanities

Digital humanities are also worth exploring in academic papers. Here are exciting titles to consider in this category.

Printing press history and its role in information dissemination
Art presentation in America during the digital age
The information technology age and humanities studies
How video games contribute to violence in modern society
Is digital technology a bane, or does it provide an improved life?
The influence of modern gadgets on individuals’ mental health
Social media and its impact on people’s lives
Technology and modern devices- How they affect relationships

After extensive research, these are some of the best topics worth writing humanities papers about in college. However, every student should choose a title according to guidelines from their teacher or professor.

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233 Great Humanities Topics For 2023

Picking a great paper topic is the first step you need to put together a great assignment. In humanities classes, this is very important because you need to consider topics that will explore new areas in the subject but also be topics that can be thoroughly researched given the limitations of an assignment. If you ask, “what are humanities topics I can use to write a great research paper?” you can refer to the list of free humanities paper topics below:

Humanities and Arts Research Topics

These humanities research paper topics are great for students interested in art history and other related fields that take a close look at the impact art has had on society:

Impact of Middle Eastern art on Western civilization.
American art influences democracy.
The Romantic period and modern art techniques.
Depictions of war in 20 th -century art.
Defining the European distress in modern art forms.
Racist depictions in early global maps and the impact on societies.
The ways that medicine has impacted how we view cultural expression.
Human flourishing and different perspectives in modern art.
Religious influence in 19 th -century European art.
The African American experience during the Harlem Renaissance.
The influence of music on modern culture and society.
Political propaganda in 20 th century American and European art.
The Beat Generation and its influence on modern art.
Ancient art and its influence on current artistic trends.
Mayan and Aztec artistic influence on current Latino cultures.
The Reformation Period and its impact on the art of the 20 th century.
Social media’s impact on digital art and the spread of ideas.
The impact of the printing press on the widescale spread of art.
The impact that modern warfare has had on artistic expression.
The stolen art of WWII and how it relates to cultures.
Early cave paintings and the understanding of human culture.
Racism and negative ethnic depictions in 20 th -century art.
Explain the ways Japanese art influenced the country’s clothing.
Popular music is an artistic form of expression among youth.
The censorship of specific artforms and the impact on culture.
The most famous architectural works from around the world.
How architecture was influenced by foreign cultures.
Ancient Greek and Roman motifs in modern architectural works.
The influence of 20 th -century art on 21 st -century culture.
How music influences youth culture in the 21 st century.

Topics in Digital Humanities

This is a relatively new field that offers a lot of opportunities for exploration. Just be sure you consider your topic carefully, as you may have some trouble finding information in your research:

Social media’s impact on third world countries.
The impact social media has had on international relations.
The ways digital humanities is changing the educators teach children.
Explain how digital access to information affects culture.
Metadata and scholarship processing in the 21 st century.
Language processing with the use of digital tools.
Linguistics and the role digital humanities has on the future.
The study of migration using technology.
Digital tools and their role in mapping underground structures.
Digital communication creates a bigger gap between generations.
The study of ancient texts through digital technologies.
Digital humanities and the mapping of our ancestral histories.
Linked open data and the challenges it faces in gathering data.
The ways digital archiving has helped people embrace ancestral cultures.
Researching art using digital technologies.
The impact digital humanities will have on higher education.
The media’s use of digital communication can affect the way we identify culturally.
Digital humanities in the developing world.
Machine learning and its impact on the discipline of humanities.
Implementing digital tools and resources into education.
Forensic study in the search for hidden meaning in texts.
Encoding U.S. documents to improve the legal process.
Digital communication and how we view military conflicts.
Access to digital information helps people learn more efficiently.
Removing discrepancies in translations of ancient works.
Recognizing patterns in historical literature.
Digital archives and analysis of the written word.
The ways data visualization tools are changing people’s opinions.
Digital humanities change the way we view our cultural past.
The ways digital humanities have helped us visually recreate ancient cities.

Medical Humanities Research Topics

These ideas are great to write about because many discussions are occurring on the internet. Writing about medical issues is a great way to get the reader’s attention. Here are some great topics to consider for a humanities research paper:

Humanities studies impact doctor-assisted suicide cases.
The history of abortion throughout the 20 th century.
Cultural influences and prenatal genetic testing in developed countries.
The evolution of medical costs in the United States.
The ways that medical theories have been represented in art.
Informing families of patients’ illnesses throughout literature.
Wearing a mask after Covid-19 and its effects on culture.
Social distancing and the connections made through social media.
Creating a culture of social distancing to avoid future pandemics.
Giving doctors the right to work extra hours without pay.
How literature influences the use of marijuana for medical regions.
Robotics replacing the roles of nurses and doctors in the medical field.
Medical depictions in art versus religious depictions in art.
How are medical addictions portrayed in literature?
The practice of medicine across different cultures.
Medical ethics is involved in deciding who lives and dies.
Medical practices in the field of battle.
Medical care for people from low-income areas.
The impact art has had on growing the medical community.
Medical records and the development of treatments.
How humanities influence the use of alternative medicines.
How religion impacts the way patients agree to treatments.
Criminal charges for medical malpractice throughout the 21 st century.
Representation of the medical profession through the 20 th century.
The rise of confidentiality agreements in the medical field.
Questions and concerns regarding abortion in the modern age.
The decision to vaccinate or not for the safety of the greater population.
Religious impact on the medical community.
The rights of patients when religion prevents certain procedures.
Medical depictions in the art are against religious principles.

Good Research Topics for Humanities

If you don’t have a lot of time to conduct in-depth research, you may want to write about any of these topics in humanities. You will have no trouble finding information on the web, just be sure you use trustworthy sources when making your argument:

The impact television has had on modern culture.
Political commentary in modern music.
The role humanities will play on future generations.
The ways humans flourish through different shared perspectives.
The need to promote the study of humanities in schools.
The application of philosophy in western democracy.
Artistic influence during the times of war.
The ways the Depression of the 1930s influenced culture.
Broadening the mind through international travel.
Literature and the increasing rate of illiteracy in adults.
The impact music has on political propaganda.
Fair treatment of immigrants in the U.S.
Western humanities in the 21 st century.
The ways culture is shaped by modern photography.
Eastern philosophy and its influence on western cultures.
Cults and modern religious movements in American society.
Eastern religion and its influence on western beliefs.
The importance of studying philosophy in humanities.
International trade routes and the spread of cultures.
The impact of social media in modern culture.
Social media and the dissemination of international news.
The impact that media has on modern culture.
The Ottoman Empire and its role in shaping the Middle East.
The impact the 20 th migration movement had on international policy.
The lost Native-American languages and the country’s culture.
The influence that African music has had on American culture.
The impact Joe Hill had on the country’s early labor struggles.
The influence of the Beat Generation on modern culture.
The unification of Germany and its impact on international policy.
Gender expectations in American modern fiction.

Humanities Project Ideas for High School

When writing any assignment, you always want to make sure you choose a good topic. These humanities topics ideas are great for students that are still learning skills in researching and writing. Students should have no trouble finding information:

Sacrificial traditions in ancient religions and their impact on today’s society.
The impact the printing press had on spreading religion.
Theatre of the absurd and its impact on modern culture.
The protection of traditions when they are considered unethical.
Questions that arise from space exploration efforts.
The impact the IRA has had on international relations.
Interpreting Sigmund Freud’s theories in the 21 st century.
Cultural differences between Latin American countries.
The Chinese Communist Revolution and its influence on global culture.
Fairy tales and the influence they have had on modern cinema.
Symbolism in television sci-fi shows.
How the gothic genre has captured new readers.
The history of nationalism in the United States vs. European countries.
Speakeasies in the 1920s and the role they had in shaping culture.
The Sit-down strike of the mid-1930s and its impact on the 21 st century.
The impact graphic novels have had on literacy.
The United States’ Woman’s Suffrage Movement and its influence around the world.
The war protests of the 1960s and 1970s and modern American politics.
How African culture has influenced modern American culture.
The decisions that are made by public policy committees.
The Dust Bowl and how the U.S. was shaped into different regions.
How eco poetry has changed our understanding of the environment.
Folklore’s influence on how we interact with others.
How science fiction has entered the mainstream culture around the world.
Community volunteer programs and their impact on youth.
How oral history has influenced modern culture.
The impact television has had on America’s youth.
Explain the history of human violence in the U.S.
The human family unit and its role in racism.
Human interaction over social media outlets.

Humanities Essay Topics for College

The humanities research topics listed below don’t require a lot of in-depth academic research and can be dealt with by doing some easy background research on the web and then some research at the library:

Animal rights and their impact on American culture.
The effect that Third Wave Feminism has had on Europe.
The influence the Islamic religion has had on American culture.
The meaning of moral philosophy in the United States.
Similarities between religions around the world.
Political obligation at the federal level versus the state level.
How humans think about the future of the world.
The definition of the human condition is described in the Bible.
Events that led to the study of humanity at a scholarly level.
The negative effects of the temperance movement in the U.S.
The quest for happiness in modern society.
The ways theology contradicts our knowledge of medicine.
The industrial revolution’s impact on human identity.
The impact modern photography has on European and American culture.
Color and the impact it has had on the human experience.
Different definitions of freedom from around the world.
The major religious ideologies in humans and their impact on societies.
The role gender definitions play in the educational experience.
Development of new languages in today’s society.
Diverse human behaviors and cultural characteristics.
The Bible’s representation of humanities and cultures.
Humans and the root of modern society.
Possessions humans have learned to live without.
Global warming and its impact on different cultures around the world.
The evolution of violence among humans.
The reason why humans will become extinct.
The ways subcultures have developed over the decades.
Science and its influence on humanities over the centuries.
The way Roman and Greek civilizations educated themselves.
The evolution of social interactions among humans.
The way Western Civilizations developed over the centuries.
The negative impact humans have on the earth’s environment.
Music and its impact on human psychology.
The ways our environmental surroundings affect our cultures.
Present a detailed overview and analysis of global humanities.
The characteristics that separate humans from all other animals.
The importance of mistakes to improve a person’s development.
The impact war has on children in devastated areas.
How humans became the dominant species on earth.
The reasons humans have decided to procreate less.

Topics for Humanities Research Paper

Many young students find this area of study interesting. So, we have gathered several humanities research project topics that will inspire them to explore the field further without being too overwhelming:

The ways different world cultures perceive and handle death.
The role of holidays in bringing people together and strengthening the family unit.
Relationships with domesticated pets and inclusion into family life.
The cultural meaning behind family names and how they bring people together.
The role a nation’s economy has had on human development.
The evolution of socialist movements throughout the world.
The tension between religion and science throughout the centuries.
The ways humanity will change in the next century because of our current state.
An exploration of the way humanity was represented in the art of the Renaissance.
The Enlightenment Period and its impact on human development.
The Harlem Renaissance and its influence on African American culture.
Humanities in the computer age and mass information.
Human identity and the role of the Industrial Revolution in our development.
The relationship between the environment and human beings.
The impact WWI and WWII had on our understanding of humanity.
Holidays and the different ways we celebrate them.
Cultural diets from around the world and our relationship with food.
The ways different cultures define democratic freedom.
Education in liberal arts and its current role in education.
The course of American politics over the last century.

Interesting Humanities Topics for Grad School

As students become more familiar with this type of assignment and as they advance to higher academic levels, they will need to choose a topic that meets or surpass the standards of their instructors’ expectations. Here is a list targeted toward graduate-level students:

The impact that genocides have had on groups of people.
Comic books and graphic novels and their influence on America’s youth.
Super-hero movies in the 21 st century and how they are affecting culture.
The influence the media has on our understanding of society.
The most fascinating aspects of European and American culture.
Different cultures and our beliefs about the human soul.
The ways Asian literature has entered American culture.
Slavery across the centuries and the ways we still discriminate.
Early civilizations and the evolution of human societies.
Human interactions with nature and wild species.
The political divide is caused by different parties and ideologies.
World Travel and its ability to broaden our thinking of other cultures.
The influence villains in movies have on human behavior.
The ways people mistreat natural environments.
Violence in television and the ways it affects young adults.
The impact racism has had in American society.
The ways society is influenced by the media.
Diversity and inclusion among different ethnic groups.
Professional sports and their ability to bring people together.
Cultural identification and the way it affects the way we look at history.
The definition of social Darwinism in modern society.
The portrayal of women in 20 th -century European literature.

If you need more humanities research papers, we can put you in contact with one of our academic experts trained in the subject. He or she can provide you with a custom list you can apply to any kind of assignment. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Send us an email or call us by phone, we are always glad to help.

Systematic Strategies for Humanities Research-Paper Writing: Part One

By Sørina Higgins, Consultant

Hello, fellow grad students in the humanities! It’s just about time to start thinking about those big end-of-term papers you’ll write for most of your grad classes, those 20- to 30-pagers that hover somewhere between an exhausting school assignment and the draft of a professional article. Well, here are some suggestions for you to consider applying to the process of researching and writing those seminar papers. Hopefully these ideas will be useful for you whether you’re about to write your first one or your last one ever. Either way, congrats! This is a big deal; you’re about to produce some original research to add to the scholarly conversation, and it’s a chance to really dig into doing what you love, the thing you came to grad school for. I’ll try to help smooth the way here so that you don’t have to figure out the research process for yourself. And feel free to add additional strategies in the comments below!

First, plan ahead. Set aside a day well before the deadline (at least a month; six weeks or two months is better) in order to start preliminary research and order books. Don’t panic; you needn’t begin writing the paper at this point, but you do need to provide enough lead time for getting materials through interlibrary loan , and you probably want to at least glance over the most relevant and/or recent scholarship to make sure someone else hasn’t done exactly what you want to do. At this point, you can do a few of the steps below. You don’t need to do all of them now, and you can probably get away with never doing some of them, but the more of this background research you complete early on, the smoother the writing process will be and the better the final product.

Choose authors, texts, themes, time periods, events, or issues of interest, as relevant to the project and your field. Make sure to read and reread the assignment prompt carefully and ask your professor for clarification if needed. But here’s something to consider: I don’t think “choosing a topic” really works for serious research. Instead, I recommend picking a field of interest, narrowing it down considerably, and honing your focus until you develop a Research Question .
Crafting your Research Question is an important step that many inexperienced scholars omit or rush past. The better your initial Research Question, the more successful and less stressful the whole process will be. There are lots of reasons for this: Your question guides the type of research you’ll do, what sources you’ll investigate, the kind of research design or method you’ll employ, even the scope and structure of the paper. So don’t “pick a topic”; take the time to develop a truly workable question instead. There is lots of advice available about the characteristics of good and bad Research Questions ; here are a few I’ve found particularly helpful. The question must be researchable by you and must fit into the rest of this semester—so there probably isn’t time for extensive field work or archival research. It must be a fact-finding question, not an ethical or interpretive question at this stage. It must be a question to which you do not currently know the answer, but which has high stakes for your field. Take your time on this step, consulting with faculty or advanced students and browsing around in publications in your field.
Okay, once you’ve drafted a solid Research Question, it’s time to start the initial research. See if there is a recent “state of the field” article, bibliography, or some other resource that covers what’s being published right now in your area. If you don’t readily find such a thing, ask the professor to recommend one. The more focused this can be on works that potentially answer your Research Question, the better. Even just reading through the titles of the most recent articles and books in your field can give you a sense of what’s being done now and what the current concerns are.
For studies involving literature and other print-heavy fields (English, Theatre, History, Religion, American Studies, Music, etc.) it’s a good idea to find the best, most recent bibliography of your target authors’ works and to find out which are the official editions of these authors’ works. You can usually discover this by looking in the latest issues of the top journal(s) in this field. If you don’t readily find out, ask the professor which ones are currently the most acceptable. It would be a shame to write your whole Thomas Malory paper, say, using Vinaver only to find out that your target journal—or worse yet, your professor!—favors Field. Horrors.
Now you might want to compile a list of the relevant primary sources in chronological order. Hopefully this already exists, in the form of a handy bibliography. But if not, make one yourself—then narrow it down. There’s no way you’re going to read all that in the next few weeks. No, seriously. You won’t.
Similarly, compile a list of the relevant secondary sources, but in reverse chronological order. While you’re at it, do a quick check to find out what your professor has written (if they haven’t already assigned their Complete Works to you in their seminar. Yup. It happens). Do they have anything relevant on the subject? If so, be sure to read it and cite it if possible. Anyway, back to this reverse chronological order thing. See, the idea is that you’ll want to have a general sense of both what’s hot in your field and also what the classic, game-changing, most-cited academic works are. If you start reading (skimming, really, or maybe even just reading abstracts) with the newest stuff, you’ll accomplish that first goal of seeing what’s hot right away, and pretty soon you’ll start seeing certain Names repeated over and over. Those are the Founding Folks of your field; get their works. Have a glance inside. Cite them a teeny bit. That’s cocktail party cred right there.
Take a breath. What have you learned? Do you get a sense of the most pressing concerns in your field right now? Do you need to revise your Research Question at this point? Take a break. Let it all settle for a while. Then come back and cut your lists in half. For real. You still won’t read all of that, so cut out whatever is not absolutely necessary, and then some of what’s left. Now acquire the rest of it. Check books out of the library, order things via ILL, download or print articles, and that sort of thing. Somewhere in this initial researching phase, make an appointment with your subject-area’s liaison librarian to get assistance with locating anything you’ve missed or with filling in gaps.
As you work on this initial research process, put everything in a Zotero folder. Researching, writing, and citing are one integrated activity, so always keep track of sources and citations as you go.

TL;DR: Read, read, read! Come up with a research question , rather than a research topic; the narrower, the better. Know the foundational texts related to your question. Check out the bibliography of related article from a journal that you really like. Compile a list of primary texts you need, then narrow to the essentials. Do the same with secondary texts, but prioritize by the most recent scholarship. Do preliminary searches and skims, then revise your lists again. Keep track of everything in a Zotero folder.

Tune in next week when we talk about actually beginning to write!

2 thoughts on “ Systematic Strategies for Humanities Research-Paper Writing: Part One ”

Thanks for sharing the strategy. what is the appropriate strategy for writing the next paper part two?

Hey! Check out our blog; part two has been posted!

Writing in Your Discipline: Writing for Humanities

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Writing in Philosophy values logical reasoning — in other words, Philosophy is interested in how you argue. Writing in Philosophy can include several types of writing tasks, like original arguments, argument reconstruction, objections and replies, and/or thought experiments. As the UNC-Chapel Hill Writing Center’s Philosophy writing guide points out, each type of writing has a different goal to achieve and so needs a different approach from the writer.

For example, an objection to an argument must give reasons for why the argument or its reasoning is flawed: maybe the premises don’t really support the claims, or the argument doesn’t use its terms consistently, or the conclusion relies on unspoken assumptions; etc. When building arguments in Philosophy, writers need to be careful to avoid logical fallacies, which create flaws in an argument and weaken its reasoning.

Remember, also, that writing in Philosophy often uses specialized terminology with meanings that are specific to Philosophy itself. When defining these terms in an argument — like ‘vague,’ ‘logical,’ or ‘truth’ — writers should not use a standard dictionary. For philosophical terms, look up Philosophy reference materials or even Pryor’s “Philosophical Glossary for Beginners” for a head-start.

Writing in Philosophy should be clear and straightforward so that a reader does not misinterpret the argument. So, writers should use plain prose and a clear structure. To help your reader follow your argument, try to ‘signal’ to them what you’re doing (for example, “As I have just explained” or “Smith’s next premise that…”).

Writing in Music can involve several types of assignments, and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Writing Center’s Music writing guide talks about approaches for argumentative papers, concert reports, historical analyses, song analyses, and performance or media comparisons. They also give tips for describing music, using music terminology (and terms to avoid), and making arguments about music.

Writers in Music should be careful to avoid common pitfalls, like projecting emotional content, mixing or misusing terminology, or using the wrong tense. When writing technical descriptions of music, explain why the details you’ve described are important — try to avoid giving a “‘blow-by-blow’ analysis.” Duke University’s Writing Studio’s Music writing guide explains more “actions” for writing in Music, including tips like providing the relevant sections of the score in your examples, supporting your evaluations with evidence from the music, and always explaining your examples.

The ultimate goal in writing in the humanities is to explain or understand the human experience and human values. The humanities—also called the liberal arts—include philosophy, religion, art, music, literature, history, and language. These fields are a broad way of studying and understanding how people express ideas, information, and feelings—the experience of what makes us human. Sometimes mislabeled as the “opposite” of the applied sciences or professional programs such as business, the humanities are in fact at the core of every human endeavor to pursue, discover, and pass on knowledge.

A good literature paper has a debatable argument (or thesis) that is well supported. This argument is your own original idea, based on a thorough understanding of the text and supported with careful reasoning. So, what makes a good literature paper?

An argument: when you write an extended literary essay, often one requiring research, you are essentially making an argument. You are arguing that your perspective-an interpretation, an evaluative judgment, or a critical evaluation-is a valid one.

A Debatable Thesis Statement: like any argument paper you have ever written for a first-year composition course, you must have a specific, detailed thesis statement that reveals your perspective, and, like any good argument, your perspective must be one which is debatable.

You would not want to make an argument of this sort:

Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play about a young man who seeks revenge.

That doesn't say anything-it's basically just a summary and is hardly debatable.

A better thesis would be this:

Hamlet experiences internal conflict because he is in love with his mother.

That is debatable, controversial even. The rest of a paper with this argument as its thesis will be an attempt to show, using specific examples from the text and evidence from scholars, (1) how Hamlet is in love with his mother, (2) why he's in love with her, and (3) what implications there are for reading the play in this manner.

You also want to avoid a thesis statement like this:

Spirituality means different things to different people. King Lear, The Book of Romans, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance each view the spirit differently.

Again, that says nothing that's not already self-evident. Why bother writing a paper about that? You're not writing an essay to list works that have nothing in common other than a general topic like "spirituality." You want to find certain works or authors that, while they may have several differences, do have some specific, unifying point. That point is your thesis.

Lear, Romans, and Zen each view the soul as the center of human personality.

Then you prove it, using examples from the texts that show that the soul is the center of personality.

Research papers are perhaps the most common form of writing you should expect in a history course. As the name suggests, these assignments require you to participate in historical research. After reading through primary and secondary sources, you will need to interpret them in a way that can answer some question about the past.

When writing a historical research paper, your goal is to choose a topic and write a paper that:

1) Asks a good historical question—your inquiry should capture the complexities of history, examining how certain factors contributed to an event or how an event could be examined or understood in a new light, apart from what previous historians have suggested.

2) Tells how your ideas connect to previous work by other historians, and

3) Offers a well-organized and persuasive thesis of your own.

Art History

Evaluating and writing about visual material uses many of the same analytical skills that you have learned from other fields, such as history or literature. In art history, however, you will be asked to gather your evidence from close observations of objects or images. Beyond painting, photography, and sculpture, you may be asked to write about posters, illustrations, coins, and other materials.

Some helpful tips when writing for theology classes:

1. Know what kind of paper you are writing.

If it is a spirituality/reflection paper, you can use first person.
If it is a biblical studies/analysis paper, use third person only.

2. Be extremely clear. Theological writing is very academic. If it helps, state what you will be doing or the purpose of your paper directly in the thesis/introduction.

In this paper, I will _______.

3. Read sources carefully

Be able to understand what the author is saying and summarize it in your own words.
Read footnotes.
Make use of sources frequently in your paper.
When including a quote, make sure you explain it and incorporate it into the sentence.

4. Useful sources

Commentaries: analyses on scripture
Good for: exegesis, passage analysis, biblical studies
Examples: Anchor Bible Commentary
Practical sources: applying theology to the public sphere
Good for: ethics, philosophy, history, spirituality
Examples: St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Reinhold Niebuhr, H. Richard Niebuhr, Catholic Church catechisms

Philosophy Links

Arguments in Philosophy
UNC-Chapel Hill Writing Center’s Philosophy writing guide
Harvard College's Philosophy writing guide

Theatre Links

UNC-Chapel Hill’s Writing Center’s drama guide
University of Wisconsin’s Writing Center’s play review guide
University of Richmond’s Guidelines for Writing Critiques for Theatre Performances

Literature Links

William H. Hannon Library Literature Guide

Music Links

UNC-Chapel Hill’s Writing Center’s Music writing guide
Richmond University’s Writing Center’s Music writing guide
Duke University’s Writing Studio’s Music writing guide

Writing about theatre or drama includes writing about plays, productions, and performances. UNC-Chapel Hill’s Writing Center’s drama guide explains that “writing about drama often means explaining what makes the plays we watch or read so exciting.” They provide a handout for writing about drama, including mini-guides to what elements to consider and analyze when writing specifically about a play, a performance, or a production.

For a brief overview of some general principles for writing about theatre, refer to the University of Richmond’s Guidelines for Writing Critiques for Theatre Performances.

Typically, you should format and organize a theatre paper in the same way you would format a paper for your humanities classes, including English 101 and 102. Here are some general guidelines:

Begin with an introduction paragraph that includes your thesis. A good thesis for a theater paper will be an argument or central claim about some aspect of the play, production, or performance (such as the ones discussed above) that is specific, bold, and, most importantly, supportable by the evidence you will present in the body paragraphs of the paper.
Evidence includes both primary sources (the play or production itself as well as analysis based on your own interpretation) and secondary sources such as scholarly publications you may consult.
End with a conclusion paragraph that reiterates the main points of the paper and gestures beyond its scope to the larger significance of what you have accomplished.
Citations should be in MLA format (unless otherwise indicated by your instructor)
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writingxhumanities

A "how to" guide for UC Berkeley writers

Doing Research

In the humanities, as in the sciences, research begins with formulating a hypothesis about a subject and “testing” it out by engaging with evidence. But the nature of the evidence, the method of testing, and the kind of knowledge produced in humanities research differ from those in the sciences.

Rather than using quantitative or qualitative evidence as researchers do in the sciences, humanities researchers rely for evidence on their own close readings of primary and secondary texts. Whereas research in the sciences is grounded in the empirical method, humanities research uses a diverse array of methodologies, sometimes combining historical, conceptual, and/or critical methodologies in a single study. And instead of attempting to “prove” their hypotheses once and for all, humanities researchers develop arguments using their hypotheses in order to contribute and extend to ongoing critical conversations. These conversations themselves, one might say, constitute knowledge in the humanities.

Doing research into what has already been written about on your topic will allow you not only to situate your hypothesis within these conversations, but also to come up with questions that haven’t yet been asked. Through critical reading, you can identify gaps in previous writing on your topic and orient your own project to address these gaps if they seem like meaningful oversights. Your aim as a humanities researcher, then, is to develop a fuller understanding of your subject matter in dialogue with other scholars, and thus to move this ongoing conversation forward.

To develop a research question, you might start by making a bulleted list of topics or issues that you might want to pursue, based on your interests and the concerns of your course. When making this list, you should be expansive. Don’t limit yourself: your goal at this stage is to generate ideas, not evaluate them.

Next, you could try free-writing on the themes you see emerging from your list of potential topics. Are there any areas of interest that seem to repeat or echo? Can you start to create umbrella terms? Are you noticing friction within or between some of these concerns? These are just a few of the questions that may lead to a more focused line of investigation.

Then, see if you can reframe your topic or theme as a research question by asking “How?” or “Why?” Keep in mind that your research question should be debatable and defendable : you may find that other scholars have very different points of view on this question or its answer. This is a good sign, and an invitation for you to step in and contribute to the scholarly discussion.

Here are some helpful suggestions for broadening, narrowing, or otherwise tweaking a preliminary research topic so that you will be poised to write a well-focused essay.

And here is a concise overview that will guide you on the road to finding your research question .

To engage fully with your secondary sources, you will need to read critically. But reading sources critically doesn’t necessarily mean disagreeing with them or reading them in a negative way. Rather, it means analyzing the details of an argument-driven piece of popular or scholarly writing that you may ultimately use towards fashioning your own argument. It means asking how these details reflect the assumptions, values, and stakes of the writer’s argument. Reading critically means navigating between doubting and believing what you read.

When reading critically, we treat what we read less like objective, self-evident data and more like evidence being presented to persuade us of something. Sometimes it’s obvious that what we’re reading is trying to persuade us of something—think of an editorial that takes an explicitly controversial stance or a scholarly article that clearly signposts its position using phrases like “here I argue…” Other texts may make their arguments more subtly or indirectly. But either way, reading critically involves considering how the components and structure of the argument contribute to its actual or intended effect upon the reader.

One approach to reading critically is to investigate a text’s “ way of thinking .” Rather than reading simply for comprehension or information, you can also attend to a text’s claims, contexts, kinds of reasoning, and evidence in order to evaluate the effectiveness of its argument and to think about what you might add to the discussion or redirect it.

Another approach involves asking questions about the relationship between the parts and the whole of an argument. These questions might address the role of pattern, process, sequence, causality, and other elements of argumentation and structure.

Here are some tips for reading secondary sources and some step-by-step exercises for reading critically.

Since you can’t write an interesting research paper without engaging with other scholars’ ideas, you’ll have to find secondary sources that are accurate and pertinent to your argument.

You’ll almost certainly want to start online, but the internet is an enormously complex—and just plain enormous!—compendium of resources. You can use Wikipedia to check out some basic facts and get some rough background information, but it’s not a reliable, scholarly source–see What’s Wrong With Wikipedia . Likewise, Googling, even using Google Scholar , can only get you so far, since there are valuable scholarly resources out there that are discoverable only by using humanities-specific Web directories ( Voice of the Shuttle , started in 1994, is the granddaddy of all online humanities research directories) and databases ( JSTOR , Project Muse , and the MLA International Bibliography , among others), along with the Berkeley library’s online catalogue .

Before you begin searching in a library catalog or journal database, familiarize yourself with using advanced search functions , such as “Boolean operators” (the basic ones are AND, OR, and NOT), truncation and wildcards (*, !, ?, or #), and keywords and subject headings. Here are some suggestions for coming up with searchable keywords .

You can read many of the sources (especially the articles) that you find through databases entirely online; you’ll need to track down other sources (like most books and book chapters) in the library. Once you’ve found a book in the library, take some time to scan nearby shelves for other books on the same topic that might not have come up in your catalog search. Also scan the bibliographies and footnotes of books and articles you’ve already found: these are great places to find more sources on your topic.

“Good” here means two different things: “good” as in relevant to your topic and useful for the kind of argument you’re making, but also “good” as in scholarly, reputable, and current.

To determine the usefulness and relevance of a secondary source, begin by skimming it . If the source at hand is an article, read the abstract. If it doesn’t have an abstract, read the opening paragraph, the section headings, and/or first sentences of a few of the body paragraphs, plus the concluding paragraph. If it is a book, read the blurb on the back cover, the table of contents, and the beginning and ending of the introduction and/or conclusion. From this quick but strategic dip into a secondary source, you should be able to glean something about its overall argument and whether it provides useful material for your own project.

Remember: don’t discard a scholarly source just because it contradicts what you want to say. Do you disagree with its premises, its use of evidence, or its conclusions? Any of these points of disagreement might provide a foothold for advancing your own argument. Or if a secondary source does not address your primary text directly, does it put forth a theory or provide information that will help you to analyze your text?

Your quick dip into a source may also give you a feel for the quality of its scholarship. But there are also many concrete questions you can ask about a source to evaluate its reliability. What are the credentials of the author? Who is the publisher and the intended audience? When was it published? What sources does it cite? For a more detailed breakdown of ways to evaluate print and online sources, consult one or more of the following (reliable!) resources:

Evaluating Resources (UC Berkeley Library) Quality of Sources (Dartmouth College) Critically Analyzing Information Sources (Cornell University Library) Evaluating Web Pages (Cornell University Library) Evaluating Print vs. Internet Sources (Purdue OWL) Interpreting Sources (University of Michigan)

Skimming is a valuable reading technique. It can give you a general sense of what a text is about, and it can help you to locate key arguments and passages relevant to your own research and writing. Skimming is also useful when you’re short on time. Let’s be honest: skimming is sometimes the only reading you have time to do!

But skimming does not mean speed-reading an entire text; zooming through a whole story or story at breakneck speed is, generally speaking, a waste of your time. Instead, skim strategically. Read the first and last pages of the whole work, and then read the beginning and ending of each chapter. Look for words, especially names, which appear repeatedly, dipping selectively into the text to get a sense of the style and “texture” of the writing.

Scholarly and critical texts, typically used as secondary sources, often have abstracts that give a summary of their main argument, and they also often have section headings, topic sentences, and transitions to guide readers through their discussion. Introductions are good places to look for roadmaps and thesis statements, while conclusions often summarize the whole argument. Focusing on these signposts will help you get the gist of an article or book without reading the whole thing in depth. These techniques are especially useful when your research turns up multiple secondary sources and you need to select the ones most relevant to your own topic.

You can find some pointers on skimming in this very thorough set of instructions on How to Read a Book .

Taking notes is an essential part of doing research. Obviously, the notes you take should provide a clear record of what you’ve read. But the very act of note-taking can help you to develop your thinking about your research question and ultimately to use evidence to support your argument.

To help yourself read secondary sources critically, you should take thorough but not overly detailed notes . Make sure to record key terms but don’t write out everything word for word; paraphrase whenever possible to make sure you have a grasp of relevant points; and don’t highlight or underline without also making marginal notes about the significance of the marked words or passages and any questions you might have about them.

Make sure to include complete bibliographic data with your notes on each source so that you can retrace your steps if you end up needing to go back for more information or to check that you are quoting accurately. There are many different formats for note-taking—in the margins of the text or on Post-Its; on paper or in a Word document—and you’ll need to experiment to figure out what works best for you. You will also need to work out a good system for organizing and reviewing the notes you take. If you are juggling multiple sources, for example, consider using index cards or a citation management software ( Zotero and Mendeley are two popular ones) to organize and annotate your sources. You can even use these programs to generate properly formatted endnotes and Works Cited lists.

You can use your notes as the basis for an annotated bibliography ; here are some additional resources on writing annotated bibliographies. Even if your instructor does not require you to produce a formal bibliography as a preliminary phase of your research paper, your own notes will still serve as the basis for situating and differentiating your own argument within a field of existing literature. Your notes should help you to take a strong, well-informed, and original stance in your writing.

Research, like writing, is not a linear process. You will probably begin with a broad topic that will gradually become more focused over the course of your research and writing. You’ll then have to do additional research on this more focused and developed version of your original topic. Remember that the evolution of your topic depends not only on your reading but also on your writing throughout the research process. Such preliminary writing might include producing an annotated bibliography and/or a prospectus, as well as in less formal modes such as freewriting, mind mapping, outlining, and drafting.

The process of researching and refining, and researching and refining again, could go on endlessly, but don’t let it. You have to strike a balance between your responsibility as a researcher—citing and integrating the sources most relevant to your topic (not just the first three sources you find!)—and what is humanly possible. You can’t read every source ever written on your topic, and you shouldn’t. Remember that your goal is to develop and answer your specific research question. When you have a good sense of how your argument fits into the existing conversation, you can stop.

How do you know when enough is enough? Here are some diagnostic questions to help you answer the question: “When Can I Stop Researching?”

It’s not enough to use secondary sources merely for factual or historical information, although this is certainly one thing that sources can do for you. It’s also not enough to simply say “I agree” or “I disagree” with what other scholars have written, although this can be a starting place for developing a tentative research question and even a tentative thesis. Through thoughtful selection of and engagement with secondary sources, you can participate in ongoing critical conversations and even propel them in new directions. (Of course, the initial phases of your attempt to enter one of these conversations might reveal to you that you need to find different or additional sources!)

You might begin by considering how your sources are using their own sources . They probably cite other research to support their own claims (“Yes, and…”), to make a new claim instead (“No, because…”), or acknowledge other arguments in order to show a critical “gap” in the conversation, which their own argument will fill (“Although X and Y, nonetheless Z…”). In turn, you can use the specifics of their critical positioning to situate yourself in the discussion.

There are any number of ways of navigating secondary sources effectively , most of them involving either limited alignment or partial dissent. Some of these modes of engagement include adopting a term, adapting a theory, and changing the question, using moves that might be described as “picking a fight,” “drawing battle lines,” “piggybacking,” “leapfrogging,” and “matchmaking.” Here are two overviews of basic maneuvers and fundamental strategies for using secondary sources to develop an argument.

In order to effectively use your secondary sources to develop an argument, you need to clearly and gracefully integrate material from those sources into your sentences. Whether you paraphrase, quote, or summarize this material, you must fully signpost its relation to your argument, whether via limited alignment or focused dissent. As when you are making an argument about a primary text , you need to ensure that you are analyzing your source rather than leaving it undigested for your reader. Toward that end, there are a few things you should consider when integrating sources:

Evaluate whether you need to quote, paraphrase, or summarize . Here are some tips on when and how to summarize effectively. And here is some advice for determining whether paraphrasing or quoting will best serve your purposes.
When paraphrasing, be sure to do so accurately and fairly . You can practice this skill by doing this quick paraphrasing exercise . Just as when you quote word-for-word from a text, it is crucial to avoid plagiarizing when paraphrasing . For more information on avoiding plagiarism when quoting and paraphrasing, jump to the next section, “How do I responsibly cite my sources and avoid plagiarism?”
Always be sure to Introduce, Cite, and Explain (“ICE,”for short) your evidence! Another way that you can ICE your evidence is by “sandwiching ” it between a claim and analysis, much as you would introduce and analyze a primary text.
Familiarize yourself with guidelines about when quoting is most effective rhetorically and how to avoid quoting extraneous material . Determine which type of quotation —a block, spliced, or signaled quote—best suits your purposes.
Before you submit your essay, be sure to review the nuts and bolts of integrating source material into your prose, i ncluding using proper punctuation. Bonus: here’s a list of signal verbs and phrases to help you synthesize the words and ideas of other scholars.

Whenever you use language, ideas, or arguments from others, you need to cite them. The Berkeley Campus Student Code of Conduct frames improper citation as a form of academic misconduct —failure to cite one’s sources properly constitutes the theft of intellectual property. Plagiarism can make you subject to penalties ranging from failing an assignment to failing a course. Under some circumstances, suspension or even dismissal from the university may be imposed as a sanction.

Correct citation is not only a matter of personal and scholarly integrity. There’s another important reason to cite the arguments of other scholars who have written on your topic: citing them accurately and fully allows other scholars to track down those sources themselves . . . and it also allows you to check your own work. This practice might be compared to writing a detailed account of your experimental method in the sciences—citation is what gives research in the humanities its “replicability.” In sum, citation allows the scholarly conversation to continue moving forward.

What counts as plagiarism? It can take a wide variety of forms, not just the act of submitting the work of another person as your own. Copying language directly from a source, like “patch-working” together sentences or paragraphs or ideas from multiple sources, is also plagiarism. And paraphrasing or rewording of sources without attribution can also be considered plagiarism. Even if you discover that a source makes the same point that you made first on your own, you still have to cite it!

The easiest way to avoid plagiarism? If you’re in doubt about whether or not you should cite something, cite it! Accidental plagiarism is still considered plagiarism and is subject to the same repercussions. Keeping scrupulous notes throughout the research and writing process will help you to remember which ideas and phrasings are your own and which came directly from your sources.

There are several different formats for citing sources; your instructor will tell you which style—MLA style, Chicago, style etc.—to use. For more details on MLA style, the most common citation format in the humanities, try the Purdue OWL or The MLA Style Center .

There is a wealth of resources–guides, grants, mentoring, awards, and more–for undergraduate research across the humanities at UC Berkeley. Here are some of the best-known ones, though you may be able to find others under the auspices of specific departments or programs.

You can begin searching for materials through the Library Guide to Research , which is organized by discipline or area of study. You can also find here the contact information for the particular UC Berkeley librarian who is an expert on research offerings in each subject area, and who can guide you to these resources. There are many research databases and subject-specific guides listed here under each heading. One that you won’t find listed there, A Guide to the Archive Resources of the Bay Area , lists some of the primary research offerings at UC Berkeley’s Bancroft Library and other university archives around the Bay.

The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarships (OURS) is a clearing house for information about university-wide research grants and mentoring programs across the disciplines including the Haas Scholars Program , Student Mentoring and Research Teams (SMART), Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF), Underrepresented Researchers of Color (UROC), and Undergraduate Research Apprentices Project (URAP). They have databases with information about many other internal and external grants and programs, as well as offering help with finding and applying for these. Don’t forget to check with individual departments for major-specific prizes. UC Berkeley’s English Department, for example, offers travel grants for undergraduates to attend conferences and to do research at archives elsewhere in the U.S. and abroad.

When your research is done or close to being finished (the submission deadline is in mid-April!), you should consider applying for the Library Prize for Undergraduate Research .

For additional materials, go to Teaching Research in the For Instructors section of this website.

Three Effective Thesis Structures for Humanities Research Papers (with examples)

Your thesis is the roadmap of your paper, it tells your reader both where we are going and how to get there. It’s also key for organizing your own thoughts — after all, if the driver doesn’t have a map, they’re as lost as the passenger. The effective thesis can take many forms, but if you’re stuck, here are three effective thesis structures to get your research papers back on track:

The Goal Posts

The Goal Posts thesis is the most simple thesis structure, it outlines the main goals of your paper without elaborating on the ways you will achieve this goal. The essential structure looks like this:

“This paper examines the relationships between X and Y.” or “In this essay I analyze the influence of X on Y.”

This thesis structure is useful if your paper has several main goals within it that you will need to accomplish and if your methodology is not unusual for your discipline (and so does not need to be explained.) It is a great fit if you are trying to summarize existing scholarship without adding in your own opinion.

EXAMPLE: “This essay examines the changes in scholarship of the dystopian worlds of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s 1984 .”

CAUTION: This thesis structure easily slips into the first person. While many professors do not take issue with this, be mindful of your professor’s preferences. It is also important with this thesis structure to make strong, declarative statements and avoid wishy-washy phrases like “could be” or “should.”

The “Because I Said So”

The “Because I Said So” thesis makes your argument and then outlines the pieces of supporting evidence that you will be using to support that argument. The essential structure is this:

“A is B, because of C, D, and E.” or “Due to C, D, and E, it is clear that A is B.”

In this case, A is the subject of your paper, B is the argument you are making, and C, D, and E are the pieces of supporting evidence. This thesis structure is useful for helping you to outline your paper because C, D, and E can then become individual paragraphs in your paper.

EXAMPLE: “Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s painting The Swing is a Rococo painting because of its pastel color palette, classical allusions, and depiction of the leisure life of the aristocracy.”

CAUTION: If your paper has many pieces of supporting evidence, do not try to list them all or your thesis will become unwieldy. Either group these pieces of supporting evidence into like-categories or pick a select few to focus on.

The “Source?”

The “Source?” thesis places the source or method that you are using front and center. The essential structure is this:

“By utilizing X on Y, it is clear that Z.” or “By analyzing X through Y, it is clear that Z.”

This is especially helpful if you are applying an unusual or underutilized source or method. If you have found a cool primary source, an unusual approach, or a new lens to apply, consider using the “Source?”

EXAMPLE: “By analyzing the letters exchanged between Benjamin Franklin and General Edward Braddock through a rhetorical lens, it is clear that Franklin studied the persuasive strategy of the ancient Romans.”

CAUTION: You must be specific with your source or methodology for this to be an effective thesis structure. “Looking at”, “reading”, etc. are too vague to carry a thesis.

Trying a new thesis structure can revolutionize your essay — don’t be afraid to try more than one to see which one best fits your argument!

Written by Mary Rose

Hi, I’m Mary, I’m an art historian and adjunct. Let's talk art history, books, education, AI, museums, and more.

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WashU Libraries

Conducting research.

The Process
Step 1: Exploring an idea
Step 2: Finding background info.
Step 3: Finding Print/E-Books
Step 4: Finding Articles (Current Research)
Step 5: Evaluating your sources
Step 6: Citing your sources
FAQs This link opens in a new window
Library Vocabulary
Research in the Humanities
Research in the Social Sciences
Research in the Sciences

Researching in the Humanities

The fields in the Humanities discipline generally include the visual and performing arts, philosophy, literature, religion, history, languages, art history, and classics. Although research methods differ among the Humanities, the Social Sciences, and the Sciences, any research project in any discipline starts with curiosity and a hypothesis. Often research topics are interdisciplinary and may include multiple subject areas and methods from more than just one discipline.

When beginning a research project in the humanities, you must develop a deep knowledge base in a subject area, choose original sources to examine, locate and evaluate sources that also explore your areas of interest, and then come to your own original conclusions. Libraries can help you find the material you need to get started. The research guides listed on the right are created by WUSTL Subject Librarians. Subject Librarians have expertise in both searching techniques and academic fields, and their online guides suggest resources for the different phases of the research process: 1) Use background sources to establish your knowledge base. These could be subject encyclopedias, key works in a field, bibliographies, etc. 2) Select original sources, commonly referred to as primary sources, for your analysis. Primary sources are simply original works, e.g., novels, photographs, diaries, correspondence, advertisements, eyewitness accounts. 3) Find articles, reviews, and books that analyze primary sources. These are known as secondary sources. Then, synthesize all this information with your own thinking and draw your original conclusions, thus creating new research in the field.

If you need additional assistance, please reach out to one of the Subject Librarians.

Find a Subject Librarian This is a list of the Subject Librarians by academic subject.

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URL: https://libguides.wustl.edu/research

Organizing Research for Arts and Humanities Papers and Theses

General Guide Information
Developing a Topic
What are Primary and Secondary Sources
What are Scholarly and Non-Scholarly Sources
Writing an Abstract
Writing Academic Book Reviews
Writing A Literature Review
Using Images and other Media

Critical Engagement

Note: these recommendations are geared toward researchers in the arts or humanities.

Developing a research topic is an iterative process, even for a short paper. This is a process that emerges in stages, and one which requires critical (but not criticizing) engagement with the evidence, literature, and prior research. The evidence can be an object, an artifact, a historic event, an idea, a theoretical framework, or existing interpretations.

Ultimately, you want to be able to pose a research question that you will then investigate in your paper.

If you are writing a paper for a course, the initial critical ideas and theoretical frameworks may come from your course readings. Pay attention to footnotes and bibliographies in your readings, because they can help you identify other potential sources of information.

As you are thinking about your topic, consider what, if anything, has already been written. If a lot of literature exists on your topic, you will need to narrow your topic down, and decide how to make it interesting for your reader. Regurgitating or synthesizing what has already been said is very unlikely to be exciting both for you and for those who will be reading your wok. If there is little or no literature on your topic, you will need to think how to frame it so as to take advantage of existing theories in the discipline. You may also be able to take advantage of existing scholarship on related topics.

Types of Research Papers

There are two common types of research papers in the arts and humanities: expository and argumentative . In an expository paper you develop an idea or critical "reading" of something, and then support your idea or "reading" with evidence. In an argumentative essay you propose an argument or a framework to engage in a dialog with and to refute an existing interpretation, and provide evidence to support your argument/interpretation, as well as evidence to refute an existing argument/interpretation. For further elaboration on expository and argumentative papers, as well and for examples of both types of essays, check the book titled The Art of Writing About Art , co-authored by Suzanne Hudson and Nancy Noonan-Morrissey, originally published in 2001. Note that particular disciplines in the arts or humanities may have other specialized types of frameworks for research.

Also, remember that a research paper is not "merely an elaborately footnoted presentation of what a dozen scholars have already said about a topic; it is a thoughtful evaluation of the available evidence , and so is, finally, an expression of what the author [i.e., you] thinks the evidence adds up to." [Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art (New York: Pearson/Longman, 2005), 238-239.]

If you select a broad topic

If a lot has been written on your topic, perhaps you should consider the following:

why are you interested in this topic?
is there something specific you want to address?
can you offer a different or a more nuanced interpretation?
is there a specific theoretical or methodological perspective that you would like to apply?
can you shed more light on specific evidence or detail(s)?
review scholarship cited in the footnotes/bibliographies of your readings and see if there are lacunae you can address.

If you stick with a broad topic, you run into the danger of over-generalizing or summarizing existing scholarship, both of which have limited value in contemporary arts and humanities research papers. Summarizing is generally useful for providing background information, as well as for literature reviews. However, it should not constitute the bulk of your paper.

If you select a narrow or a very new topic

If you are interested in something very specific or very new, you may find that little has been written about it. You might even find that the same information gets repeated everywhere, because nothing else is available. Consider this an opportunity for you to do unique research, and think of the following:

is there a broader or a related topic that you can investigate in order to circle back and hone in on your chosen topic?
can your topic be critically examined within an existing theoretical or methodological framework?
are you able to draw on another field of study to investigate your topic?
review scholarship cited in the footnotes/bibliographies of the readings. - in other words, engage in citation chaining.
if the pertinent readings you find are not scholarly (this is not necessarily a bad thing), evaluate how you can use them to develop a more scholarly and critical context for investigating your topic.

Citing sources

Remember to keep track of your sources, regardless of the stage of your research. The USC Libraries have an excellent guide to citation styles and to citation management software .

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Next: What are Primary and Secondary Sources >>
Last Updated: Jan 19, 2023 3:12 PM
URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/ah_writing

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What is Humanities Research?

UW English majors at the 2013 Rutgers English Diversity Institute

Research in the humanities is frequently misunderstood. When we think of research, what immediately comes to mind for many of us is a laboratory setting, with white-coated scientists hunched over microscopes. Because research in the humanities is often a rather solitary activity, it can be difficult for newcomers to gain a sense of what research looks like within the scope of English Studies. (For examples, see Student Research Profiles .)

A common misconception about research is reinforced when we view it solely in terms of the discovery of things previously unknown (such as a new species or an archaelogical artifact) rather than as a process that includes the reinterpretation or rediscovery of known artifacts (such as texts and other cultural products) from a critical or creative perspective to generate innovative art or new analyses. Fundamental to the concept of research is precisely this creation of something new. In the humanities, this might consist of literary authorship, which creates new knowledge in the form of art, or scholarly research, which adds new knowledge by examining texts and other cultural artifacts in the pursuit of particular lines of scholarly inquiry.

Research is often narrowly construed as an activity that will eventually result in a tangible product aimed at solving a world or social problem. Instead, research has many aims and outcomes and is a discipline-specific process, based upon the methods, conventions, and critical frameworks inherent in particular academic areas. In the humanities, the products of research are predominantly intellectual and intangible, with the results contributing to an academic discipline and also informing other disciplines, a process which often effects individual or social change over time.

The University of Washington Undergraduate Research Program provides this basic definition of research:

"Very generally speaking, most research is characterized by the evidence-based exploration of a question or hypothesis that is important to those in the discipline in which the work is being done. Students, then, must know something about the research methodology of a discipline (what constitutes "evidence" and how do you obtain it) and how to decide if a question or line of inquiry that is interesting to that student is also important to the discipline, to be able to embark on a research project."

While individual research remains the most prevalent form in the humanities, collaborative and cross-disciplinary research does occur. One example is the "Modern Girl Around the World" project, in which a group of six primary UW researchers from various humanities and social sciences disciplines explored the international emergence of the figure of the Modern Girl in the early 20th century. Examples of other research clusters are "The Race/Knowledge Project: Anti-Racist Praxis in the Global University," "The Asian American Studies Research Cluster," " The Queer + Public + Performance Project ," " The Moving Images Research Group ," to name a few.

English Studies comprises, or contains elements of, many subdisciplines. A few examples of areas in which our faculty and students engage are Textual Studies , Digital Humanities , American Studies , Language and Rhetoric , Cultural Studies , Critical Theory , and Medieval Studies . Each UW English professor engages in research in one or more specialty areas. You can read about English faculty specializations, research, and publications in the English Department Profiles to gain a sense of the breadth of current work being performed by Department researchers.

Undergraduates embarking on an independent research project work under the mentorship of one or more faculty members. Quite often this occurs when an advanced student completes an upper-division class and becomes fascinated by a particular, more specific line of inquiry, leading to additional investigation in an area beyond the classroom. This also occurs when students complete the English Honors Program , which culminates in a guided research-based thesis. In order for faculty members to agree to mentor a student, the project proposal must introduce specific approaches and lines of inquiry, and must be deemed sufficiently well defined and original enough to contribute to the discipline. If a faculty member in English has agreed to support your project proposal and serve as your mentor, credit is available through ENGL 499.

Beyond English Department resources, another source of information is the UW Undergraduate Research Program , which sponsors the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium . They also offer a one-credit course called Research Exposed (GEN ST 391) , in which a variety of faculty speakers discuss their research and provide information about research methods. Another great campus resource is the Simpson Center for the Humanities which supports interdisciplinary study. A number of our students have also been awarded Mary Gates Research Scholarships .

Each year, undergraduate English majors participate in the UW's Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium as well as other symposia around the nation. Here are some research abstracts from the symposia proceedings archive by recent English-major participants.

UW English Majors Recently Presenting at the UW's Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium

For additional examples, see Student Profiles and Past Honors Students' Thesis Projects .

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UCI Humanities Core

Spring: Research Project

Research Paper Rubric

UCI Libraries Humanities Core Research Guide Exemplary Sample Projects by Past HumCore Students Appointments at the CEWC

After evaluating multiple primary sources and surveying the scholarly conversation that surrounds potential topics, select a primary source related to our cycle theme of Worldbuilding. Conduct extensive research on the topic, and then compose an expository academic paper that makes an argument about your chosen primary source’s humanistic significance. How did the primary source come to make meaning, in what contexts, and for what audiences? How does the form or genre of the primary source shape its meaning? How do other scholars understand and interpret this primary source or ones like it? How does your own humanistic interpretation of the primary source enter a larger scholarly conversation? What world does this primary source imagine and/or work toward enacting?

Your primary source and research questions must be approved by your seminar instructor. As part of the process, you will engage and collaborate with your seminar and program community and produce a series of prewriting and reflective components, including activities in your Digital Archive: the Research Log and the Research Presentation . The required process-oriented assignments will be determined by your seminar instructor and must be completed in the order assigned. Your final Research Paper must incorporate and engage in depth with at least 6 scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or books and should be 10–12 pages (approximately 3500–4000 words).

Learning Goals

Reinforce and hone compositional skills acquired to date in Humanities Core: to make specific, clear, arguable claims; to produce unified, cohesive body paragraphs; to integrate well-selected evidence from primary and scholarly secondary sources; to exhibit fluid transitions between ideas; and to develop a rhetorically-effective title, introduction, and conclusion
Adopt the appropriate stance, style, and genre conventions of humanistic research-based writing as well as the methodology/methodologies relevant to the chosen primary source (e.g., cultural, literary, visual, film and media, historical, and/or philosophical analysis)
Demonstrate the capacity to critically survey, read, and assess primary sources and scholarly conversations across a variety of genres and media
Demonstrate advanced information literacy skills by locating, evaluating, and integrating information gathered from multiple sources (the university library, online academic databases, and digitized archival collections) into a research project
Produce accurate, rhetorically effective, multimodal communication using the appropriate genres, stance, and citational practices of scholarly digital media
Develop flexible and ethically responsible strategies for generating, revising, and editing research writing and online multimodal compositions
Reflect critically on the experience of research, writing, and multimodal communication

Required Reading

You may find it worthwhile to revisit the chapters and appendices you read in the Humanities Core Handbook during the fall and winter quarters as you conduct research and draft your paper. The following chapters cover the research process in general:

Stewart, Robin. “Determining the Topic of a Humanistic Research Project.” Humanities Core Handbook , XanEdu, 2023, pp. 222–34.

Connell, Christine. “Engaging in a Scholarly Conversation.” Humanities Core Handbook , XanEdu, 2023, pp. 256–69.

Morse, Susan. “Developing Titles, Introductions, and Conclusions in Research Writing.” Humanities Core Handbook , XanEdu, 2023, pp. 272–85.

Additionally, the Handbook includes chapters that walk you through the terminology and methods that humanistic scholars employ when analyzing genres of primary sources which we haven’t yet covered in lectures this year.

If you intend to research a work of philosophy, plan to read:

Siakel, Daniel. “Analyzing Arguments.” Humanities Core Handbook , XanEdu, 2023, pp. 77–88.

If you intend to research a video game, plan to read:

Ruberg, Bo. “Analyzing Video Games.” Humanities Core Handbook , XanEdu, 2023, pp. 235–43.

If you intend to research a built environment, plan to read:

Broadbent, Philip. “Analyzing Built Environments.” Humanities Core Handbook , XanEdu, 2023, pp. 244–55.

The Writing Process and Your Audiences for this Project

As you can likely tell from the Learning Goals detailed above, the spring Research Project is an integrative and cumulative experience of the Humanities Core program as a whole. We hope that you can take the academic writing skills and tools of rhetorical, literary, visual, historical, and film and media analysis that you have developed in the past two quarters—as well as those you will learn this spring—and apply them to a topic that interests and excites you. We invite you to take an expansive view of what the theme of worldbuilding can mean and how it relates to the work we do in humanities disciplines, just as our lecturing faculty members have done. While some of your secondary sources might come from disciplines outside of the humanities, the majority of your sources should reflect the kinds of interpretive methodologies that you have been learning about over the course of the year.

Even more so than the other academic expository essays you have written this year, the research project is all about the process. In your seminar, you will be completing a range of scaffolded assignments that will help you to select a feasible topic, identify and engage with secondary sources, and generate your own interpretive intervention into a larger scholarly conversation. Along the way, you will be writing for multiple audiences. Many of the assignments you will undertake in this process are part of formal academic genres; for example, an Annotated Bibliography will help you to track your ongoing research and convey to your seminar instructor that your project is feasible and will produce a worthwhile contribution to a field of study. The audience for your research project is first and foremost your HumCore seminar and program community: you should anticipate working closely with other students in peer research groups as you explore your topic and build your ideas. You should also envision yourself addressing lecturing faculty members and your seminar instructor, in as much as they are also immersed in the humanistic study of Worldbuilding and thus represent a preliminary scholarly community for your ideas. Perhaps more importantly, you should imagine yourself addressing the scholars in the field or fields you will be exploring, interacting and arguing with them across space and time through your writing. While we certainly don’t expect that you will be an expert in your field by June (though you will certainly be able to identify who is!), you may know more about your particular topic by the end of the quarter than your seminar instructor.

Grade Allocation in the Spring Quarter of Humanities Core

Your two grades in Humanities Core this quarter will be allocated as follows:

Spring Quarter Lecture Grade

Digital Archive Research Presentation	20%
Midterm Exam	30%
Final Exam	50%

Spring Quarter Writing Grade

Research Process Writing Assignments (including entries in Digital Archive Research Log, Annotated Bibliography, Working Draft of Research Paper, etc.)	30%
Final Research Paper	50%
Seminar Participation	20%

The Work and Insights of Past HumCore Students

Many students find that the work they do in the spring quarter of Humanities Core inspires them to take additional coursework in a Humanities department. Humanities Core Research Projects have formed the foundation of many undergraduate honors theses. Past students have even reported that this project sparked their interest toward future graduate study. You can read award-winning Research Papers and explore Digital Archives from past students of Humanities Core on our Student Awards page ; be aware, however, that some past students were writing about a different theme than Worldbuilding and/or may have had different technical expectations in place for their projects. The winners of last year’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Awards will share their insights on this process with you at our Annual UROP/Humanities Core Research Symposium on Friday, April 26th (please see the Calendar page on the Canvas Lecture site for more information). Posted 19 March 2023

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A Comprehensive Guide for Writing Research Papers: Humanities Edition

September 16, 2019

Megan Betancourt ’21

Open gallery

A Comprehensive Guide for Writing Research Papers: Humanities Edition

Welcome to college!

Congrats on making it this far! You’ve spent the last year and a half or so of your life doing tedious research, going on campus tours, hunting down people who like you enough to write recommendation letters, filling out applications, having mental breakdowns and—most importantly—writing a college essay. Now, you’re probably thinking if that essay was good enough to get you into college, you must be pretty good at writing essays, right?

Fast forward a little bit. You’ve registered for a humanities class or two, and boom : you have a research paper due in two weeks. But you’re not worried because you had this on lock in high school: A three-part thesis, five paragraphs, add a little garlic for extra fragrance, sauté, and voilà! You have an A+ ! Or so you think, until you get maybe a B– , and in your unadulterated terror and confusion, you burst into your professor’s office and ask why your perfectly formulated essay garnered you anything less than an A .

And that’s where they drop the bomb on you: your essay was too formulaic. Too mechanical. It looked *stock horror violins* like a high-school essay!

You’re devastated. Your world has been shattered. Your academic career during K–12 has been a sham. You don’t even know who you are anymore. You mournfully tell them that your high-school education has stunted your essay-writing abilities and inflated your ego, and, in yet another moment of hubris, you ask if there’s anything you can do to change your grade.

But there isn’t. There never is.

Your professor patiently tries to explain to you exactly what went wrong, but you’re too panicked to take away anything from the conversation besides “don’t write like this.” But you don’t know how else to write academic essays. You leave their office absolutely distraught and are frantically wondering, “How else am I supposed to write?”

Since this exact scenario may or may not be coming from personal experience, I’m willing to bet that’s how you ended up at this nifty little article here. Well, maybe not that exact scenario (for your dignity and sanity’s sake, I hope not) but you are at least sitting with the question, “How do I write a college essay that doesn’t follow the three-part thesis, five-paragraph format?” As someone with several years of experience writing college essays who also had to throw out everything I thought I knew, I’d like to share with you some high-quality, gamer-approved, pro tips on the entire essay writing process. And when I say the entire process, I mean it.

Time-management tips to help you the whole way

This probably goes without saying, but do try and keep deadlines in mind. Put them on your calendar; set a reminder—you know the drill.

But turning something in by the deadline that you did during one all-nighter isn’t what I mean. That’s the complete opposite of time management. Instead, try to develop a sense of how long it takes you to get things done. Do you just galaxy brain the moment you open up Microsoft Word and crank out five pages in an hour and a half? Great!se the extra time to edit. Does your brain turn to TV static the moment you finish your MLA heading? That’s OK. Just make sure you get an early start and plan breaks so you don’t frustrate yourself. Again, timely does not mean all at once. If you know how long it takes you to accomplish certain tasks, you can fit working on your essay into your schedule better and won’t have to cram everything in at the last minute. It’ll feel like less of a gargantuan task if you spread the work out into smaller chunks over a longer period of time.

Pick a topic

Although some professors may tell you exactly what they want you to write about, it’s more likely that you’ll be given a list of open-ended topics to choose from or you’ll be able to come up with your own topic as long as they approve it. This can be great for some people who are really enthusiastic about the class and have a lot of ideas already swimming around. For others, you can practically hear the crickets chirping while you stare blankly at your essay guidelines. Here are some ways you can strike a good balance between a fun and a practical paper:

Again, make sure your topic is something you’re at least mildly interested in. It’ll make the writing process more enjoyable and make for a more compelling read. Readers, including your professor, can usually tell how much care went into a piece of writing, and that will go a long way regarding the reception of it.
The types of sources your topic will need are usually pretty intuitive. For example, if you’re writing a critical response to a text, you’ll probably need to cite existing critical responses to back you up. Or if you’re writing about what it was like to live in a certain place at a certain time, some primary sources might be in order.
Keep in mind the plausibility of there being available sources. Something super contemporary might not have a lot of existing research surrounding it, and what does exist might not be peer reviewed.
Keeping your question specific will help whittle down how much research you will need to do, but there is such a thing as too niche a topic (see above).
Try to have a backup. Your topic might not be super researchable once you get to looking or might not be as interesting as you thought it would be.
Run everything by your professor. They can provide good insight regarding the intrigue and researchability of your topic so you know whether you’re heading in the right direction before you invest too much time and effort.

The research

You’ve used the above information to help you formulate a professor-approved topic as well as a plan B. Now it’s time for you to hit Google and start gathering research. And while the old trick of using literally anything other than Wikipedia was enough in high school, you will likely encounter the phrase “peer reviewed” when looking at the source requirements for your paper. This means that you need to be looking for scholarly sources by experts that have been reviewed by other experts in that field. But how could you possibly know that?

The good news is that there are these incredible things known as academic databases that contain literally nothing but scholarly resources. You might actually be somewhat familiar with these if you ever used Google Scholar and found what you thought was the perfect source, only to click on the link and have the website tell you that you need to pay money if you want to read anything besides the abstract. Thankfully, full access to academic databases will usually be provided by your college. So now that you know where to look, here’s how to go about your research:

Make a list of keywords and keyphrases relating to your topic. This will come in handy because you usually won’t turn up many results if you type your question word for word into a database’s search bar.
JSTOR is your best friend. Just type in your keywords or keyphrase into the search bar, and you’ll be greeted with an almost overwhelming amount of results. You can narrow things down based on different types of sources: academic journal articles (usually the most abundant and most helpful), book chapters, research reports, and pamphlets. You can also search for content tagged by subject. Each search result will also have a list of topics, which is an additional set of keywords you can use for your research. You can also narrow it down to a range of publication years. Beyond being well organized, all sources on there are peer-reviewed, scholarly sources.
Related to JSTOR, there is also a database called ARTSTOR that contains an immense library of visual media, from museum pieces to illustrations. Images are sources, too, and if you’re required to cite one, this is a great place to look.

Although databases like JSTOR are immensely helpful, there will inevitably come a moment when you need to find something that just isn’t there. The rest of the Internet obviously isn’t devoid of useful sources, but you will need to use a more discerning eye.

You’ve heard it from your teachers for years, and you’re going to hear it again from me: don’t use Wikipedia. However, it is not totally useless. Check the sources at the bottom of the article; there’s usually a hidden gem or two every now and again.
Google Scholar isn’t just good for psyching you out by showing you sources that are behind a paywall. You can actually find a lot of book sources on there via Google Books. You may have to have books be a part of your citations, and if you can’t find a helpful one on JSTOR, you may just find it through Google Scholar.
Websites ending in .gov or .edu will usually be more reliable because, as the extensions imply, they are run by government agencies or educational institutions. But, as with most things, caution and common sense must be exercised.
Lastly are things I like to call “metasources.” As with Wikipedia, this is where you look at the citations of another source. If you’ve found a source that’s already helpful, there’s a good chance it’ll send you in the direction of other good sources, which can be a great timesaver!

Planning and outlining your paper (I’m begging you not to skip this step; please just hear me out)

I’m a big fan of outlining. I know some of you reading this have gotten into the habit of just opening up a Word document and just trucking along with your paper, and while I won’t stop you (although I absolutely cannot relate), I do want to champion the benefits that come with outlining. First and foremost, it’ll improve how your essay is organized. Your thoughts will already be in a logical order, and it’s easier to move paragraphs and ideas around before you end up writing a really good sentence you get attached to but just doesn’t fit anymore. Outlining also prevents or at least minimizes writer’s block. If you have an outline, you’ll always have at least somewhat of an idea about what’s coming next, and if you lose your train of thought while you’re writing, that’s OK—you’ll have the outline to reference!

Now that you’re sold on the idea of outlining because why wouldn’t you be, how can you go about it?

Often, a simple bulleted list will suffice. Just putting your ideas in the order you want to talk about them will strengthen the logical flow of your paper before you even begin drafting it. But if you’re a more visual person, put all of your ideas onto sticky notes and put them up on a board or wall. It’s extra easy to reorder things that way.
Come up with your thesis. This is going to be the backbone of your paper, and everything you discuss needs to relate to it somehow. If your thesis is strong, it will usually be fairly easy to generate the rest of the paper. Decide on the kind of evidence you are going to provide to building on your thesis. This can be done by either referencing what kind of sources you’ll be citing or summarizing them. Briefly trace the steps you’ve taken to reach your claim. The body paragraphs will expand upon those steps.
Run everything by your professor, especially your thesis statement. Just letting them know what you’re thinking of doing will go a long way in helping you plan a stronger paper before you start writing. After all, it’d be a real bummer if you came up with a thesis, wrote your whole essay around it, and asked your professor to look at your draft only for them to say it doesn’t work.

Actually writing

Now it’s time to write. But before you do, I’m going to let you in on what is probably the most important tip I can give you, especially in regards to combating the five-paragraph essay: Write organically! If you write in the way that comes most naturally to you, your authorial voice will be more present. There will be more of you in the paper, and it will make for a more interesting read and compelling argument. Give yourself room for creative freedom.

Honestly, if that was your only takeaway from this guide, I’d be more than happy. I wish I had known that I was able to do this in the beginning, but sometimes we feel like we need permission to change the way we do things, especially when it comes to school. So for those of you who need it, I am not only giving you permission but even encouraging you to write how you want to write.

Of course, writing a college essay isn’t just about putting heart into it;there’s some technique involved as well. The following advice, however, pertains mostly to my own preferred style. If you like, you can always try them on for size and see :

Spice up your punctuation. Diversifying how you split up and deliver sentences will give you stronger control over the pacing of your essay. For example, if you want to deliver a particularly hard-hitting line, use an em dash (—). It’s sort of the written equivalent of a dramatic pause and can let your reader know you’re about to deliver some hot takes.
Weave (properly cited) quotes into your own prose. You’ll know you’ve done it correctly when you read the paper aloud and it’s nearly impossible to distinguish quotations from your own writing. So rather than saying something like “according to ____” or “as stated by ____,” you write around the quoted material. This will improve the flow of your paper.
Put down the thesaurus! Purple prose will just distract from your ideas and come off as inauthentic. I know we all want to make Oscar Wilde proud, but your college essays aren’t the place to do it.

You’re done! Except you’re not.

Now it’s time for my favorite part: proofreading. And, just like outlining, do not skip this step. I don’t care how good you think your paper is; I know you missed something: a skipped word, a misplaced apostrophe, a sentence that needs omitting. Even if you get to do an official rough draft and then a final draft, it’s better to take the sand-blaster to the rough draft and the glass file to the final draft than the other way around. It’ll save you a lot of time and frustration because I know it can be a little disheartening to get back a draft covered in red ink.

Put some distance between yourself and your work. You’re gonna get so used to reading the same thing over and over that you’ll start to miss stuff. Do whatever you need to to make it feel new again, whether that’s giving yourself a day away from it or playing around with the margins or font (let me tell you, reading something in Comic Sans is a whole different experience than Times New Roman; just remember to change fonts again before you turn it in).
Not sure if that comma is in the right place? How do you use a semicolon? If you aren’t sure, look it up. Plenty of universities have online writing center resources with answers to these exact questions.
Read it aloud. Note any mistakes. Fix them. Read it aloud again. Repeat. Got a roommate or friend who will be a mildly tolerant audience? Even better. And yes, I know you’re going to feel weird doing it, but it is an absolute lifesaver and one of the best things you can do in the editing phase, and I will die standing on this hill. Read. It. Aloud.

Bold of you to assume I was finished

The essay odyssey doesn’t end when you turn it in, and neither will I! So you’ve done all of the above, you got that paper written (congratulations!), and you finally, finally got it back from your professor, annnnnnd … it wasn’t the grade you were hoping for. Before I get into my spiel about coping with these kinds of things, here’s some quick advice on doing something productive with a less-than-ideal grade:

If you want to better understand why you got the grade you did, again, go to your professor’s office hours and talk to them about it. You’ll get a better understanding of what you can improve on. The rubric (if you get one) isn’t going to cover every little nuance of how they grade, so if you don’t know, ask.Save all of your work, regardless of the grade! Your professor’s constructive criticism and praise will be invaluable resources in improving all subsequent work and providing a little reassurance along the way.

Granted, if you followed at least most of the suggestions here, your grade is probably going to be more than fine, but hey, these things happen, right? Maybe you misunderstood the prompt or couldn’t make time to go over it with other people. Maybe life got in the way, or it just didn’t quite come together. We can follow all the practical advice in the world but still just not be in the right headspace to write, and that’s OK. Your “best” isn’t a fixed measure of performanceL your “best” for one week may not be as good as your “best” the week before. Don’t stress over a B or a C– , especially if it’s the first paper you’ve written for that class. It took me a long time to figure that out. This isn’t just about breaking bad writing habits; it’s about breaking unhealthy habits about how we view our own productivity and success. So here are my final suggestions:

Don’t be so hard on yourself.
And remember: you’re always going to be a better writer by the last sentence than you were when you wrote the first. Develop good habits and practice, and there’s nothing you can do except improve.

Good luck, guys, and happy writing!

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What this handout is about

This handout provides definitions and examples of the two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. It also provides guidelines for constructing an abstract and general tips for you to keep in mind when drafting. Finally, it includes a few examples of abstracts broken down into their component parts.

What is an abstract?

An abstract is a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work. Components vary according to discipline. An abstract of a social science or scientific work may contain the scope, purpose, results, and contents of the work. An abstract of a humanities work may contain the thesis, background, and conclusion of the larger work. An abstract is not a review, nor does it evaluate the work being abstracted. While it contains key words found in the larger work, the abstract is an original document rather than an excerpted passage.

Why write an abstract?

You may write an abstract for various reasons. The two most important are selection and indexing. Abstracts allow readers who may be interested in a longer work to quickly decide whether it is worth their time to read it. Also, many online databases use abstracts to index larger works. Therefore, abstracts should contain keywords and phrases that allow for easy searching.

Say you are beginning a research project on how Brazilian newspapers helped Brazil’s ultra-liberal president Luiz Ignácio da Silva wrest power from the traditional, conservative power base. A good first place to start your research is to search Dissertation Abstracts International for all dissertations that deal with the interaction between newspapers and politics. “Newspapers and politics” returned 569 hits. A more selective search of “newspapers and Brazil” returned 22 hits. That is still a fair number of dissertations. Titles can sometimes help winnow the field, but many titles are not very descriptive. For example, one dissertation is titled “Rhetoric and Riot in Rio de Janeiro.” It is unclear from the title what this dissertation has to do with newspapers in Brazil. One option would be to download or order the entire dissertation on the chance that it might speak specifically to the topic. A better option is to read the abstract. In this case, the abstract reveals the main focus of the dissertation:

This dissertation examines the role of newspaper editors in the political turmoil and strife that characterized late First Empire Rio de Janeiro (1827-1831). Newspaper editors and their journals helped change the political culture of late First Empire Rio de Janeiro by involving the people in the discussion of state. This change in political culture is apparent in Emperor Pedro I’s gradual loss of control over the mechanisms of power. As the newspapers became more numerous and powerful, the Emperor lost his legitimacy in the eyes of the people. To explore the role of the newspapers in the political events of the late First Empire, this dissertation analyzes all available newspapers published in Rio de Janeiro from 1827 to 1831. Newspapers and their editors were leading forces in the effort to remove power from the hands of the ruling elite and place it under the control of the people. In the process, newspapers helped change how politics operated in the constitutional monarchy of Brazil.

From this abstract you now know that although the dissertation has nothing to do with modern Brazilian politics, it does cover the role of newspapers in changing traditional mechanisms of power. After reading the abstract, you can make an informed judgment about whether the dissertation would be worthwhile to read.

Besides selection, the other main purpose of the abstract is for indexing. Most article databases in the online catalog of the library enable you to search abstracts. This allows for quick retrieval by users and limits the extraneous items recalled by a “full-text” search. However, for an abstract to be useful in an online retrieval system, it must incorporate the key terms that a potential researcher would use to search. For example, if you search Dissertation Abstracts International using the keywords “France” “revolution” and “politics,” the search engine would search through all the abstracts in the database that included those three words. Without an abstract, the search engine would be forced to search titles, which, as we have seen, may not be fruitful, or else search the full text. It’s likely that a lot more than 60 dissertations have been written with those three words somewhere in the body of the entire work. By incorporating keywords into the abstract, the author emphasizes the central topics of the work and gives prospective readers enough information to make an informed judgment about the applicability of the work.

When do people write abstracts?

when submitting articles to journals, especially online journals
when applying for research grants
when writing a book proposal
when completing the Ph.D. dissertation or M.A. thesis
when writing a proposal for a conference paper
when writing a proposal for a book chapter

Most often, the author of the entire work (or prospective work) writes the abstract. However, there are professional abstracting services that hire writers to draft abstracts of other people’s work. In a work with multiple authors, the first author usually writes the abstract. Undergraduates are sometimes asked to draft abstracts of books/articles for classmates who have not read the larger work.

Types of abstracts

There are two types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. They have different aims, so as a consequence they have different components and styles. There is also a third type called critical, but it is rarely used. If you want to find out more about writing a critique or a review of a work, see the UNC Writing Center handout on writing a literature review . If you are unsure which type of abstract you should write, ask your instructor (if the abstract is for a class) or read other abstracts in your field or in the journal where you are submitting your article.

Descriptive abstracts

A descriptive abstract indicates the type of information found in the work. It makes no judgments about the work, nor does it provide results or conclusions of the research. It does incorporate key words found in the text and may include the purpose, methods, and scope of the research. Essentially, the descriptive abstract describes the work being abstracted. Some people consider it an outline of the work, rather than a summary. Descriptive abstracts are usually very short—100 words or less.

Informative abstracts

The majority of abstracts are informative. While they still do not critique or evaluate a work, they do more than describe it. A good informative abstract acts as a surrogate for the work itself. That is, the writer presents and explains all the main arguments and the important results and evidence in the complete article/paper/book. An informative abstract includes the information that can be found in a descriptive abstract (purpose, methods, scope) but also includes the results and conclusions of the research and the recommendations of the author. The length varies according to discipline, but an informative abstract is rarely more than 10% of the length of the entire work. In the case of a longer work, it may be much less.

Here are examples of a descriptive and an informative abstract of this handout on abstracts . Descriptive abstract:

The two most common abstract types—descriptive and informative—are described and examples of each are provided.

Informative abstract:

Abstracts present the essential elements of a longer work in a short and powerful statement. The purpose of an abstract is to provide prospective readers the opportunity to judge the relevance of the longer work to their projects. Abstracts also include the key terms found in the longer work and the purpose and methods of the research. Authors abstract various longer works, including book proposals, dissertations, and online journal articles. There are two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. A descriptive abstract briefly describes the longer work, while an informative abstract presents all the main arguments and important results. This handout provides examples of various types of abstracts and instructions on how to construct one.

Which type should I use?

Your best bet in this case is to ask your instructor or refer to the instructions provided by the publisher. You can also make a guess based on the length allowed; i.e., 100-120 words = descriptive; 250+ words = informative.

How do I write an abstract?

The format of your abstract will depend on the work being abstracted. An abstract of a scientific research paper will contain elements not found in an abstract of a literature article, and vice versa. However, all abstracts share several mandatory components, and there are also some optional parts that you can decide to include or not. When preparing to draft your abstract, keep the following key process elements in mind:

Reason for writing: What is the importance of the research? Why would a reader be interested in the larger work?
Problem: What problem does this work attempt to solve? What is the scope of the project? What is the main argument/thesis/claim?
Methodology: An abstract of a scientific work may include specific models or approaches used in the larger study. Other abstracts may describe the types of evidence used in the research.
Results: Again, an abstract of a scientific work may include specific data that indicates the results of the project. Other abstracts may discuss the findings in a more general way.
Implications: What changes should be implemented as a result of the findings of the work? How does this work add to the body of knowledge on the topic?

(This list of elements is adapted with permission from Philip Koopman, “How to Write an Abstract.” )

All abstracts include:

A full citation of the source, preceding the abstract.
The most important information first.
The same type and style of language found in the original, including technical language.
Key words and phrases that quickly identify the content and focus of the work.
Clear, concise, and powerful language.

Abstracts may include:

The thesis of the work, usually in the first sentence.
Background information that places the work in the larger body of literature.
The same chronological structure as the original work.

How not to write an abstract:

Do not refer extensively to other works.
Do not add information not contained in the original work.
Do not define terms.

If you are abstracting your own writing

When abstracting your own work, it may be difficult to condense a piece of writing that you have agonized over for weeks (or months, or even years) into a 250-word statement. There are some tricks that you could use to make it easier, however.

Reverse outlining:

This technique is commonly used when you are having trouble organizing your own writing. The process involves writing down the main idea of each paragraph on a separate piece of paper– see our short video . For the purposes of writing an abstract, try grouping the main ideas of each section of the paper into a single sentence. Practice grouping ideas using webbing or color coding .

For a scientific paper, you may have sections titled Purpose, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Each one of these sections will be longer than one paragraph, but each is grouped around a central idea. Use reverse outlining to discover the central idea in each section and then distill these ideas into one statement.

Cut and paste:

To create a first draft of an abstract of your own work, you can read through the entire paper and cut and paste sentences that capture key passages. This technique is useful for social science research with findings that cannot be encapsulated by neat numbers or concrete results. A well-written humanities draft will have a clear and direct thesis statement and informative topic sentences for paragraphs or sections. Isolate these sentences in a separate document and work on revising them into a unified paragraph.

If you are abstracting someone else’s writing

When abstracting something you have not written, you cannot summarize key ideas just by cutting and pasting. Instead, you must determine what a prospective reader would want to know about the work. There are a few techniques that will help you in this process:

Identify key terms:

Search through the entire document for key terms that identify the purpose, scope, and methods of the work. Pay close attention to the Introduction (or Purpose) and the Conclusion (or Discussion). These sections should contain all the main ideas and key terms in the paper. When writing the abstract, be sure to incorporate the key terms.

Highlight key phrases and sentences:

Instead of cutting and pasting the actual words, try highlighting sentences or phrases that appear to be central to the work. Then, in a separate document, rewrite the sentences and phrases in your own words.

Don’t look back:

After reading the entire work, put it aside and write a paragraph about the work without referring to it. In the first draft, you may not remember all the key terms or the results, but you will remember what the main point of the work was. Remember not to include any information you did not get from the work being abstracted.

Revise, revise, revise

No matter what type of abstract you are writing, or whether you are abstracting your own work or someone else’s, the most important step in writing an abstract is to revise early and often. When revising, delete all extraneous words and incorporate meaningful and powerful words. The idea is to be as clear and complete as possible in the shortest possible amount of space. The Word Count feature of Microsoft Word can help you keep track of how long your abstract is and help you hit your target length.

Example 1: Humanities abstract

Kenneth Tait Andrews, “‘Freedom is a constant struggle’: The dynamics and consequences of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, 1960-1984” Ph.D. State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1997 DAI-A 59/02, p. 620, Aug 1998

This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social structures and the constraints movements face when they try to do so. The time period studied includes the expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white-flight academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data and (2) three case studies. Data have been collected from archives, interviews, newspapers, and published reports. This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as the agents driving institutional change, but typically these groups acted in response to the leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi.

Now let’s break down this abstract into its component parts to see how the author has distilled his entire dissertation into a ~200 word abstract.

What the dissertation does This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social structures and the constraints movements face when they try to do so.

How the dissertation does it The time period studied in this dissertation includes the expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white-flight academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data and (2) three case studies.

What materials are used Data have been collected from archives, interviews, newspapers, and published reports.

Conclusion This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as the agents driving institutional change, but typically these groups acted in response to movement demands and the leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi.

Keywords social movements Civil Rights Movement Mississippi voting rights desegregation

Example 2: Science Abstract

Luis Lehner, “Gravitational radiation from black hole spacetimes” Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 1998 DAI-B 59/06, p. 2797, Dec 1998

The problem of detecting gravitational radiation is receiving considerable attention with the construction of new detectors in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The theoretical modeling of the wave forms that would be produced in particular systems will expedite the search for and analysis of detected signals. The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented to obtain an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D asymptotically flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future null infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some compact source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included in the evolution algorithm. This code is shown to be second-order convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we have shown that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is equivalent to a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational radiation in one second. We further use the characteristic formulation to treat the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes. The code carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity and accurately evolves generic black hole spacetimes with apparently unlimited stability.

This science abstract covers much of the same ground as the humanities one, but it asks slightly different questions.

Why do this study The problem of detecting gravitational radiation is receiving considerable attention with the construction of new detectors in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The theoretical modeling of the wave forms that would be produced in particular systems will expedite the search and analysis of the detected signals.

What the study does The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented to obtain an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D asymptotically flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future null infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some compact source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included in the evolution algorithm.

Results This code is shown to be second-order convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we have shown that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is equivalent to a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational radiation in one second. We further use the characteristic formulation to treat the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes. The code carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity and accurately evolves generic black hole spacetimes with apparently unlimited stability.

Keywords gravitational radiation (GR) spacetimes black holes

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Belcher, Wendy Laura. 2009. Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Press.

Koopman, Philip. 1997. “How to Write an Abstract.” Carnegie Mellon University. October 1997. http://users.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html .

Lancaster, F.W. 2003. Indexing And Abstracting in Theory and Practice , 3rd ed. London: Facet Publishing.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Humanities Research
Examples of Humanities Research. Some Examples of Humanities Research are as follows: Literary research on diversity and representation: Scholars of literature are exploring the representation of different groups in literature and how those representations have changed over time.
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Interesting Humanities Topics. Discuss the role of video games in advancing violence in societies. Why fashion is becoming a distraction for many in the society. Discuss why the topic of abortion is a live wire in most societies. A case study of mass media and fear during terrorism attacks.
How to Write a Good Humanities Research Paper
Humanities research papers require a unique approach, a firm grasp of the topic and awareness of the audience. Read this article to gain valuable tips when writing in humanities, including the structure and steps to produce clear, compelling, and impactful humanities research papers with the best chances of publication.
220 Best Humanities Research Topics to Get Started
Once you have chosen a perfect humanities research topic, start writing the research paper by using your writing skills, after conducting deep research. List of the Best Humanities Research Topics. To write a humanities research paper, you can choose a topic from any discipline such as arts, religion, philosophy, medicine, etc.
Humanities
Religion: A Guide to Library Research. JSTOR. Full-text access to the archives of core scholarly journals in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and science, plus full text ebooks and open access content. more info... Last Updated: Jul 10, 2024 5:18 PM. URL: https://libguides.umflint.edu/topics.
128 Unique Humanities Topic For Research Papers
128 Unique Humanities Topics For Your Research Papers. Many students struggle to find humanities topics worth researching. That's because most students think the humanities are only about ancient cultures and dead languages. However, social science and humanities explore how humans document and process different experiences.
233 Original Humanities Topics For Any Level
Humanities and Arts Research Topics. These humanities research paper topics are great for students interested in art history and other related fields that take a close look at the impact art has had on society: Impact of Middle Eastern art on Western civilization. American art influences democracy. The Romantic period and modern art techniques.
7.10: Sample Research Paper
Research on how low-carbohydrate diets affect cholesterol levels is inconclusive. Some researchers have found that low-carbohydrate diets raise levels of HDL, or "good" cholesterol (Ebbeling et al. 2093). Unfortunately, they may also raise levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, which is associated with heart disease (Ebbeling et al. 2094).
Systematic Strategies for Humanities Research-Paper Writing: Part One
As you work on this initial research process, put everything in a Zotero folder. Researching, writing, and citing are one integrated activity, so always keep track of sources and citations as you go. TL;DR: Read, read, read! Come up with a research question, rather than a research topic; the narrower, the better. Know the foundational texts ...
PDF 6 Research Papers 1n the Humanities
6 Research Papers 1n the Humanities The term paper, or the library research paper, is a standard assignment of liberal arts courses. It is ... for example, what Charles II said about his own foreign policy. But historians may disagree on what the answer is, not because it is a mere matter of taste but because the range ...
Writing in Your Discipline: Writing for Humanities
Writing for Humanities. The ultimate goal in writing in the humanities is to explain or understand the human experience and human values. The humanities—also called the liberal arts—include philosophy, religion, art, music, literature, history, and language. These fields are a broad way of studying and understanding how people express ideas ...
PDF WritingaResearchPaperintheHumanities(
Write down interesting problems, questions, tensions, and gaps in the discourse. All of these provide an opportunity for you to contribute new ideas to the conversation. Keep track of them somewhere. Every problem is a gift. Write out lists, questions, ideas that confuse you, and interesting problems.
Doing Research
In the humanities, as in the sciences, research begins with formulating a hypothesis about a subject and "testing" it out by engaging with evidence. But the nature of the evidence, the method of testing, and the kind of knowledge produced in humanities research differ from those in the sciences.
Three Effective Thesis Structures for Humanities Research Papers (with
EXAMPLE: "This essay examines the changes in scholarship of the dystopian worlds of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984." CAUTION: This thesis structure easily slips ...
Research in the Humanities
Often research topics are interdisciplinary and may include multiple subject areas and methods from more than just one discipline. When beginning a research project in the humanities, you must develop a deep knowledge base in a subject area, choose original sources to examine, locate and evaluate sources that also explore your areas of interest ...
13.1: Formatting a Research Paper
Working with the document you developed in Note 13.11 "Exercise 2", begin setting up the heading structure of the final draft of your research paper according to APA guidelines. Include your title and at least two to three major section headings, and follow the formatting guidelines provided above.
Organizing Research for Arts and Humanities Papers and Theses
For further elaboration on expository and argumentative papers, as well and for examples of both types of essays, check the book titled The Art of Writing About Art, co-authored by Suzanne Hudson and Nancy Noonan-Morrissey, originally published in 2001. Note that particular disciplines in the arts or humanities may have other specialized types ...
5.2: Writing in the Humanities
Analytical writing happens in four steps. The first step is to clearly identify the problem, the question, or the issue. The second step is to define the issue. The third step is the actual analysis of the topic. Finally, the fourth step defines the relationship between the issue and the analysis of that issue.
What is Humanities Research?
Research in the humanities is frequently misunderstood. When we think of research, what immediately comes to mind for many of us is a laboratory setting, with white-coated scientists hunched over microscopes. Because research in the humanities is often a rather solitary activity, it can be difficult for newcomers to gain a sense of what research looks like within the scope of English Studies.
Spring: Research Project
Spring: Research Project. After evaluating multiple primary sources and surveying the scholarly conversation that surrounds potential topics, select a primary source related to our cycle theme of Worldbuilding. Conduct extensive research on the topic, and then compose an expository academic paper that makes an argument about your chosen primary ...
A Comprehensive Guide for Writing Research Papers: Humanities Edition
Come up with your thesis. This is going to be the backbone of your paper, and everything you discuss needs to relate to it somehow. If your thesis is strong, it will usually be fairly easy to generate the rest of the paper. Decide on the kind of evidence you are going to provide to building on your thesis.
Abstracts
An abstract of a scientific research paper will contain elements not found in an abstract of a literature article, and vice versa. However, all abstracts share several mandatory components, and there are also some optional parts that you can decide to include or not. ... Example 1: Humanities abstract. Kenneth Tait Andrews, "'Freedom is a ...
Humanities Research Paper Examples That Really Inspire
Humanities Research Papers Samples For Students. 13 samples of this type. WowEssays.com paper writer service proudly presents to you an open-access catalog of Humanities Research Papers meant to help struggling students tackle their writing challenges. In a practical sense, each Humanities Research Paper sample presented here may be a guide ...

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Systematic Strategies for Humanities Research-Paper Writing: Part One

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Writing in Your Discipline: Writing for Humanities

Doing Research

Three Effective Thesis Structures for Humanities Research Papers (with examples)