Benjamin L. Stewart

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tagsacademicwriting

6 min read

Working towards a problem statement

One of the most difficult tasks when writing a five-paragraph essay is narrowing down a topic. Too many writers try to do too much. Too many thesis statements are too general and too many topic sentences that begin each body paragraph are too general. This page is designed to facilitate the process of narrowing down a researchable topic. A topic becomes researchable when it is narrow enough in scope.

Reflecting on personal experiences

  • What problem have you experienced as a teacher and/or as an English language learner in the classroom?

  • What problem that you have experienced interests you the most?

  • What problem are you curious about?

  • What problem have others researched? Are there primary, peer-reviewed journal articles from the literature that address the problem as it relates to your topic? If not, are you using proper search words and search techniques? If you cannot find articles related to your topic, it no longer is researchable - it no longer is a good topic to write about. - [Brainstorming ideas](file:///C:/Program Files/RemNote/resources/app.asar/build/doc/6NKWRDaS00vUzcWyn)

  • Based on how you answer the three questions above, are you interested in writing about the problem itself or possible solutions to this problem? Has your instructor indicated whether or not you are to offer possible solutions throughout your essay? The way you answer these questions will relate later to how you develop your [Thesis Statement And Skeleton Outline](file:///C:/Program Files/RemNote/resources/app.asar/build/doc/bwvwibKlM46vFs6F1?aliasId=bwvwibKlM46vFs6F1).

  • Based on how you answer the four questions above, how does the topic relate directly to the language teaching and learning classroom experience? Refer to the terms below.

    • listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, teaching techniques, learning strategies, materials, technologies, groupings, communicative strategies, task-based learning, project-based learning, performance-based learning, corrective feedback, formative assessments, differentiated instruction, curricular planning, etc. Also, refer to [Possible topics related to applied linguistics (SLA)](file:///C:/Program Files/RemNote/resources/app.asar/build/doc/cHtTD6peQgai8a0LC?aliasId=cHtTD6peQgai8a0LC).

  • Have you created a list of at least 15-20 words or short phrases that relate to your topic?

  • Have you considered the number and type of references required for completing the assignment?

  • Have you tried several search techniques to find peer-reviewed journal articles: Boolean search (Boolean operators), Google Trends, Corpus, UAA Digital Library, Semantic Scholar, Google Scholar, etc.?

  • Are you using a [Research Matrix](file:///C:/Program Files/RemNote/resources/app.asar/build/doc/wc7M09wAO4LjLa0na) for collecting and sorting your references?

Selecting a topic

  • Consider first an everyday problem that you would like to investigate (stage 1) and then define a specific subject, perspective, and vantage point that defines your research topic (stage 2). The final stage (stage 3) is to remove yourself from the process and the use of everyday language and switch to more technical terminology used in a particular academic discipline (e.g., applied linguistics) (Machi & McEvoy, 2012).

  • Merge your topic with an area of linguistic focus: a) individual skills (i.e., reading, writing, listening, speaking), b) grammar, c) vocabulary, etc.) or some combination of the aforementioned (e.g., reading and writing, listening and speaking, speaking and vocabulary, etc.).

Moving from topic to a question

Historical context

  • Ask questions about how your topic has changed over the years.

Structure

  • Ask questions about the structure or composition of a phenomenon, situation, etc. that relates to your topic.

Categorization

  • Ask questions about how your topic compares and contrasts with other similar categories.

Negative questions

  • Shift positive questions to negative ones: Why have English language learners in Mexico not been able to achieve…?

Questions from sources

  • Find a question from other studies, either verbatim or modifying it to your own research context (Booth, Colomb, & Williams, 2008).

Moving from a question to a problem statement

  • A problem statement - expressed as one sentence - for the purposes of developing a researchable topic includes 1) a topic, 2) an indirect question, and 3) a significance [or purpose] (Booth, Colomb, & Williams, 2008).

  • Topic (general idea)Here are a few examples of topics (in bold).

    • I wish to learn more about teachers’ beliefs about formative assessments and related teaching techniques.

    • I wish to learn more about English language teachers who teach English grammar covertly to their English language learners.

    • I am working on students’ reluctance to speak English in class.

    • I am trying to learn about teaching covert grammar and student perceptions related to different teaching techniques**.**​

Indirect question (a more specific idea that relates directly to the thesis statement of the paper)

  • Extend your topic by adding an indirect question (in bold) to indicate what you don’t know or would like to understand better more specifically. What follows are a few examples.

    • I wish to learn more about [a topic] because I want to find out who/what/when/where/whether/why/how _________.

    • I am studying teachers’ beliefs about formative assessment because I want to find out how students feel about related teaching techniques**.**

    • I am working on students’ reluctance to speak English in class because I want to find out what authentic materials primary English language teachers use to promote better interaction among students**.**

    • etc.

    • Build research questions specifically around the indirect question (in bold) that you have created above.

Significance (So what?)

  • Your topic must be interesting to you, the researcher, but must also be interesting to others in the field. Your research should be an extension of what other researchers have already done. For this reason, it’s best to replicate someone else’s study (i.e., base your instruments, data collection protocols, analysis, etc. on what other researchers have already done while applying your method to a different set of participants related to the purpose of your own particular study). The significance and problem that you are researching are integrally linked. Add the significance after your indirect question. Here are a few examples.

    • I wish to learn more about [a topic] because I want to find out [indirect question] in order to [significance].

    • I am studying teachers’ beliefs about formative assessment because I want to find out how students feel about teaching techniques used to assess written texts in order to demonstrate the role of formative assessment when motivating English language learners to improve grammar in the classroom community.

    • I am working on students’ reluctance to speak English in class because I want to find out how authentic materials might be used to promote better interaction among English language learners in order to avoid having English language teachers in public schools use the coursebook as a syllabus**.**

    • Note: “I am studying…” and “I am working on…” can be substituted for “I wish to learn more about…”

    • Moving from a topic to questions involves a three-part process: 1) expressing what you want to learn more about, 2) tagging an indirect question to your topic that is specific enough (beginning with “because”), and 3) stating the significance of your research (beginning with the connector “in order to”).

References

  • The Craft of Research, Third Edition

  • The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success

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