Topics

In order to write properly an essay, paper or other written text, we have to be aware of the topis that we are going to write about. But what is the topic of a written or spoken text? There are many definitions according it, but among the most important we can mentioned the following ones:

(Colorado State University) "A topic is the main organizing principle of a discussion, either verbal or written. Topics offer us an ocassion for speaking or writing and a focus which governs what we say".

(Mikulecky) "Basically, the topic answers the question: what is the paragraph about?"

(WritingDEN) "The topic summarizes the main idea of your paragraph or text and it indicates to the reader what your paragraph or text will be about".

So, basically, the topic is just what we are going to talk about in the text; the theme or subject that we are going to focused on in any text that we write.

Important things about topic

What do I know about my topic?
•Can I answer the questions who, what, when, where, why, how?
•What do I know about the context of my topic?
•What historical or cultural influences do I know about that might be important to my topic?
•Does my topic belong to any particular genre or category of topics?
•What do I know about this genre?

What seems important to me about this topic?
•If I were to summarize what I know about this topic, what points would I focus on?
•What points seem less important?
•Why do I think so?

How does this topic relate to other things that I know?
•What do I know about the topic that might help my reader to understand it in new ways?

What DON'T I know about my topic?
•What do I need to know?
•How can I find out more?

If we can answer all these questions about our topic, our text, for sure, will be communicative and it will attract the reader as well.