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Problem Paper

Seniors, your next step in the process is to decide on a topic for your "problem" paper. You must narrow it down to ONE topic, and you must focus on the problem ONLY. There are several ways to search for topics:
  • Ask a professional - one of your questions should have been "what problems/issues do you face on a regular basis?"
  • Search for problems on Google - i.e. "_____ problems"
  • Look at your college's website - on the department page, there should be some direction to the course catalog or course descriptions where you can find subjects you will be studying in your degree program - look for one that interests you and research it
  • Look up your professional organizations' sites - search for "_____ association" - there are usually several organizations connected to your profession, and each will have its own website, with current "hot" topics
After you have decided on a topic, you will need to research the "history" of the problem. Most likely, you'll be looking for the following information:
  • How often does this problem occur? How widespread is the problem?
  • Whom does it affect?
  • What causes the problem to occur?
Then, and only then, are you allowed to consider solutions. That's reserved for the next paper. If you come across research related to solving the problem, print it out and use it later. Again, this paper is focused on the problem ONLY.

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