Music History I: Questions to Ask When Developing a Topic

1 - Am I interested in the topic?

- you will do better on a paper about something you are interested in

- even if your exact topic isn't appropriate for the paper, see if a certain aspect is, or if can be combined with something else

2 - Does it meet the parameters of the assignment?

- obvious, but double check the assignment instructions

3- Is it feasible/manageable?

- Is the topic area one that can be addressed:

• in the time allotted (i.e. before the deadline)
• in the space allotted (i.e. page limit)
• at the appropriate depth  (undergrad paper vs. masters' thesis) 

- If the answer to any of these questions is no, think about how you can expand/narrow or deepen/pull back on your topic to make it more appropriate

- Again, the best paper is a done paper (with apologies to English grammar)

4 - (Less important at this stage) - See if there is any scholarly writing on your topic; proceed with caution if there is not.

- If your topic is so niche or so new that no one has written anything about it, you will likely want to consider widening your scope or expanding it to include something with more content for you to work with

- If your topic involves conducting interviews or extensively collecting your own data, it is probably best to modify it; you want to join a scholarly conversation, not start one from scratch (at this point, for this paper)

And always, run your ideas by your professor!