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5
activity Finding a Topic
1. Look over the list of topics below and write two or three questions that you
have about the topics. Avoid questions that can be answered with “yes” or “no,”
such as “should cell phones be banned in schools?” Try writing questions that
reasonable people might have different opinions about. Eventually, you will select
one question that you will use throughout the rest of this workshop. Again, be sure
Changing the World
that you have some personal experiences with the questions — or their answers.
• Education
• Sports
• The environment
• Entertainment
• Local or national politics
• Technology
• Topics of your own
2. In small groups, take a few minutes to share and discuss each other’s questions.

Gathering Information

Once you’ve decided on a particular question that you have a genuine interest in, you
can begin gathering information and developing an informed opinion on the subject.
While you will certainly want to consult a wide variety of sources, including research
studies, statistics, and articles by experts, the goal here is to start with what you know.
Draw on your experiences, as well as those of others around you, to begin informing
your view on the subject. Look at this excerpt from DeRay Mckesson’s “Bully and the
Pulpit” and notice how he incorporates into his argument an anecdote about his being
bullied:
When I am most in fear of succumbing to the bully, of allowing him to redefine my space,
my world, I am reminded that the street existed before the bully did. We were free before
we were enslaved. We are born to love before we know pain.
When I was nine, I didn’t know how to challenge the bully. I thought I was alone. The
task of conquering my fear, of exposing him, loomed so large in my mind’s eye that I was
overcome by it. If I hadn’t gone to Ferguson and stood toe to toe with other protesters on
the streets calling for justice, naming our bully, and saying enough is enough, I’m not sure
I’d have the courage to confront him today.
When you have a genuine interest in the argument you plan to write, there is likely
some kind of personal experience that you (or people you know) have had with your topic.

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