An English 102 research paper is an assignment that tasks students to study a certain subject linked to English, literature, or culture. College students often write it as a requirement for their English 102 class or related English coursework.

A typical English research paper will start with n introduction, then a thesis statement, and a clear research question that outlines the aim and parameters of the investigation. This is where a good topic comes into play.

In this blog, I will present to you 21 good topics to write for your English research paper. Read our guide if you want to learn more about the process and for guidance on the steps to write a good paper and the structure.

 21 Good Topics for English 102 Research Paper

  1. Obesity /Fast food 
  2. Effects of divorce
  3. Clean Energy
  4. Food insecurity 
  5. Poverty and homelessness 
  6. Child labor 
  7. Climate change 
  8. Guns violence and morality 
  9. Income inequity 
  10. Religion in public schools 
  11. Diet and moods
  12. Technology in education 
  13. Sleep deprivation. 
  14. Infidelity
  15. Gaming and brain function. 
  16. Music and brain
  17. Animal rights 
  18. Child sexual abuse
  19. Food safety and regulation 
  20. Distance running
  21. Parenting styles

How to Write English 102 Essay Outline

One needs an outline because it acts as a plan for your academic paper. You must structure it by organizing the key points into the paragraphs to make it easy for the writer to capture the right details. 

It becomes hard for one to craft an essay without outlining it.   As an author, you should create it to organize your thoughts well.

Furthermore, the outline assists you to know the information how the information will flow and capture it accordingly. 

1. Figure out your Thesis In Advance 

English 102 Research Paper

Before you begin to craft a single word of your essay, it is great to know the type of thesis you will be handling.

Every statement within the research paper will be complimenting the thesis. 

2. Do a Great Research

It can be disappointing if you craft your essay paper and later discover that you skipped many facts due to a lack of enough research.

Even worse, if you write some points that can contradict what the reality could be. This calls for objectivity. This is the reason why in most cases, people avoid personal opinions in English papers and essays.

As such, it is better to perform extensive research before you start to write. After that, you can use the research in creating an outline of what you want the essay to cover. In this outline, you will highlight the key points that you will be writing about. 

You can follow the following formatting. 

1. Introduction 

The thesis will carry the core idea of your essay. It will state what are trying to stand for or state the major focus of your paper.

Put the thesis statement within the introduction. This thesis statement is great as it helps you in giving the direction for your essay. Mention the main subtopics of the essay.  

You can indicate various subtopics that the thesis will be addressing. It will be sensible to number all subtopics. You can narrow down the topics that you want to address if the word count is large. 

Consider those subtopics that you can write concisely, critically, and convincingly to English 102 expectations. 

2. Topic and Sentence Outline

You will encounter two types of outlines. It is a topic and sentence outline. A topic outline will list phrases or words. A sentence outline will list full sentences. 

A topic outline will be arranging your ideas hierarchically. In other words, it will show the key and sub-points. Such a sequence helps you to know how to make it flow well. 

A sentence outline will indicate what you will be saying in each subtopic. Every sentence will be like a mini-thesis statement concerning that mini-topic. It expresses the full idea that will cover the overall thesis. 

Before writing the sentences outline, you should write the thesis statement on the top page. In addition, make a list of points that you want to prove in your thesis. 

 3. Body Paragraph

English 102 Research Paper

You can indicate the number of paragraphs that you would want to have. You can create an outline for the paragraph.

For every paragraph, begin with a topic sentence and place an argument that will relate to your thesis. Remember, we avoid second-person language and anything related to it. Use third-person.

In the paragraph, the writer will be placing facts, examples, and any other evidence that you will be using to prove the topic sentences. 

One example is as follows;

Paragraph one 

  • Thesis statement where you will include your main idea. 
  • The first idea
  • The second idea

Include some cons or refutations if you are dealing with an argumentative essay. It could be an opinion where you will be disagreeing with others who had talked about the same issue. If you are refuting them convincingly, you must clarify them clearly. 

Lastly, you conclude the paragraph. Repeat the same issue style with the preceding paragraphs until you are through with the main body. 

Conclusion

Last but not least is to end your paper with a conclusion. It is where you will be wrapping up your essay. It is so easy. Here, you should restate the essay thesis and summarize the paper’s goal. 

The typical essay outline will look like this:

Introduction

  • Introduce your topic
  • Put your thesis
English 102 Research Paper

Body Paragraph One 

  • Put your topic sentence which is the argument of your thesis  
  • Support the argument with facts, data, and examples 
  • Give details of how they relate to the thesis.

Body Paragraph Two

  • Put your topic sentence which is the argument of your thesis  
  • Support the argument with facts, data, and examples 
  • Give details of how they relate to the thesis.

Body Paragraph Three

  • Put your topic sentence which is the argument of your thesis  
  • Support the argument with facts, data, and examples 
  • Give details of how they relate to the thesis.

Conclusion

  • Summarize the main points