Thursday, September 3, 2009

Booth, Chapter 4: Thinking about Research Problems

Evaluate the research problems below in terms of the research problem it presents, using Booth's ideas from Chapter 4. Does the statement suggest a good research problem? Why or why not? Take your time with this blog response, really think about how you would help these student writers revise their research problems.

1. I'm studying shoes because I want to find out why shoes are so expensive in order to help my reader understand all the hidden costs involved in shoe-making.

2. I am studying alternative medicine in order to find out why people don't choose alternative medical treatments over traditional medical treatments. I want my readers to understand that there are alternatives to traditional medicine.

3. I am studying MTV because I want to show how MTV influences popular music.

4. I am studying horror films because I want to understand the role of horror films in the history of film-making in order to help my reader learn how horror films have changed the landscape of movies and have influenced Hollywood.

5. I am studying SUVs because I want to prove that SUVs are bad for the environment.


  1. 1. My initial reaction to this research problem is "so what?" Why do I need to understand all the hidden costs involved in shoe making? Will this help me be more conscious of my spending in the future? How will knowing this information help me? I think this writer needs to state the consequence of not knowing this information, and how it is important in the "bigger scheme of things." Maybe showing how uninformed the public is in the cost of goods, and how we have the power to lowering the prices would help the reader relate this to their own life.
    2. I think this writer should change what he wants his reader to understand. Instead of "that there are alternatives to traditional medicine" maybe show the benefits of alternative medicine. Comparing and contrasting alternative and traditional medical treatments would be more beneficial to the reader in my opinion. "I want my readers to understand that there are alternatives to traditional medicine, and how they can be beneficial to one's health."
    3. This topic is way too broad. Maybe trying to find out how a particular genre of music, hip-hop for example, and finding out how MTV promoted this type of music, and how it has changed our culture today. And its importance to the reader how one television station can change the future of a culture.
    4. I think that this is a very good research problem. They have a pretty specific topic, and by learning about this topic, the reader understands a larger concept that relates to their life.
    5. This topic seems a little random to me. I think that the writer needs to show how SUVs are bad for the environment and their effects on the future of our health and planet. Maybe restating their research problem as "I am studying the effects of SUV emissions on the environment because I want to understand how we as a society can alter our planet and future well-being in order to help my reader learn that everyone has the power to positively affect our environment by small alterations in their lifestyle."

    -Katie Clark

  2. 1. Initial reaction.. Who cares? I think the researcher might want to shift the question just a little bit to make it more interesting. Suggestion: I am studying the origins of certain shoes and their labor costs to explain why shoes are so expensive these days. I just don't think that they told us that anything bad would happen if we didn't read it.. they didn't give any real incentive to leaning about shoes and their hidden costs.

    2. I have to agree with Katie on this one i just think a compare and contrast of the two types of medicines would be the most beneficial here. Look at the benefits and costs of the two and then see why people are choosing traditional over alternative medicines. Maybe they could also look into success rates. Then they might see a topic worth really tackling.

    3. This one is just way to broad. Maybe they could narrow it down by selecting how MTV influenced the music of one particular artist and then after that tie it into a bigger picture. It is just way to much, it would no longer be a paper but a novel.

    4. Great topic. It is laid out exactly like Booth suggests. They say what they are going to learn about and then how it relates to a topic and then sparks interest in the reader. It was well thought out and you can tell.

    5. Yet again this topic is far to broad. I want to study fuel consumption of large SUV's and show the carbon impact that one SUV has on the environment. That is rough but it gives them a good start on how they could tie it into a bigger problem, GLobal warming and the environment. They have a start but they need to spark more interest and narrow the topic.

  3. 1. I think this research question is not important to many people. Will knowing the hidden costs of shoe making prevent people from buying expensive shoes??...Probably not. I don't understand the consequence to not knowing the answer to the research question.

    2. This research topic is going in the right direction, but I think it's kind of vague and doesn't make as big of an impact as it could. Even if there are alternatives to traditional medicine, it doesn't mean people will think that they're good alternatives. The writer should probably talk about "the pros of alternative medicine". I think this lines up with Kresten and Katie's views. The writer should make one sound more appealing than the other and not just simply say that there are other forms of medication.

    3 This topic needs to be more specific. The writer could focus on a speciific type of music or on a specific artist like previous students have said. The writer could even talk about a certain time period. Also, the writer doesn't convey the importance or significance of knowing the answer to the reasearch question. Saying what the reader would gain by reading this would be beneficial.

    4. This research topic is set up very is set up just like the textbook suggests. It compounds and let's the reader know that once you've learned the answer to the first (smaller) question, you will begin to understand the anwswer to a bigger more important one.

    5. This topic is also a bit too broad. The writer could talk about how SUV's hurt the environment in order to understand how to solve a larger problem. Also, the writer could be more specific on what type of SUV and how harmful it is to what part of the environment.

    -Andrew "A.J." Hubert

  4. 1. This could be a good practical problem if it was expanded some. They need to relate it to the reader more. Maybe they could research different types of shoes and their hidden costs so that they can tell the reader which brand of shoes will be worth the cost. People will care about a paper if it saves them money.

    2. I completely agree with the above comments on this one. The public already knows that alternative methods of medicine exist, but what needs to be researched is the benefits or disadvantages of alternative medicine verses traditional medicine.

    3. This topic is way too broad. You could find books and books of information on this problem. They need to narrow it down to one type of music or a certain artist. And it's missing one of the three parts of the problem.

    4. I don't really have any complaints about this problem. It's set up really well and is narrow enough to relate to the reader. It's a conceptual problem so it doesn't actually solve a problem for the reader, but only gives them information. I might be a little biased, but I think practical problems are more useful to the reader. Conceptual problems are still needed in society though, so I can't complain.

    5. This problem is also missing one of the three sections of a Booth problem. It doesn't relate to the reader enough. Even if the writer proves that SUVs are bad for the environment, what does that tell the reader? There are a lot of ways that something can be bad for the environment. They should narrow it down to just air pollution or how just one part of the SUV effects the environment.

  5. 1. I think this question could be good for some audiences, however I think most people wont really care. Maybe if they narrowed their topic down from just shoes to a couple of brands and compared things like quality and materials they used for their own shoes then hidden costs might be a little bit more relevant. But I would definitely not make that the main message to try and get across in an essay about shoes.

    2. I almost feel the same about this question as the first. Alternative to traditional medical treatments is just too broad in my opinion. Basically as everyone else before me said, he should just research positives and negatives of the two, or research alternative to traditional for a specific type of medical problem.

    3. I sound like a broken record but this one needs to be much more specific. First off MTV is just too broad in and of itself, pick certain aspects of MTV. Second popular music is even more broad than MTV. Narrow the topic down to specific genres of music and show positives and negatives to certain shows on MTV that played a part in their success.

    4.Finally a great topic. It is not too broad and is about something everyone can kind of relate to it. Although, I do agree with Nicole because this topic will pretty much be informative. I don't really see a problem with that, but its just different than all the others.

    5. This one is similar to the MTV problem. Besides the fact that it is too broad, the word choice of "prove that SUV's are bad " isn't the best. It would have been a better choice to say "show ways that SUV's can impact the environment." The original choice of words just seems like a one sided topic that someone should use for a debate.

    -Kevin Plath

  6. 1. Although I think it would be interesting to know cost of making shoes, I think the reader should specify what kind of shoes, where they are made, and even what brand. If there writer went on to tell us how costly it is to make high heels, while I would find that rather interesting, I doubt many male readers would. I would think that shoes made in China would differ in cost from shoes made in France, which would differ from the cost of shoes made here. If location was specified it would help narrow the research a little. Maybe comparing different brand names would interest the reader to see why the two shoes are in fact different other the name.
    2. This interested me when I read it. However, to narrow down the topic, the read could specify a disease or illness alternative medicine is used to cure or help. I think it would be interesting if they threw some cultural information in there also because, I don’t really have anything to back this up with, but I don’t think alternative medicine is a big thing here in the United States. The second sentence needs to be reworded because they just told us there are alternative medicines, I understand I just read that, so maybe if there was a why it is used and some people prefer it.
    3. I thought who cares to this one, but moreover, it is WAY too broad. The writer should specify what music, maybe even different artist. Also, what they consider “popular music” might not be appealing music for the reader, so interest would be lost there. The writer should maybe pick an era of MTV.
    4. Although the topic is set up correctly, I don’t really understand it completely. I’m left asking question, so I guess that’s a good thing and I would have to read the essay to find out the answers.
    5. This topic is very broad, if the writer typed this into google, they would be facing countless articles about why SUVs are bad. I feel like pretty much everyone knows they are bad for the environment, even the people who drive them. The writer needs be a little more specific of what they want to teach the reader.

    Erin King

  7. 1. This topic doesn't interest me too much, but I think the writer should definitely try and narrow the topic. Like someone said earlier, maybe pick a certain shoe and what type of labor goes into it because there are a lot of shoes out there and they would most likely come up with way too much information.
    2. I like this topic and I think many others would to because it would possibly benefit the reader to know this information as well. However, instead of making the reader understand that there are alternative medicines he/she should list what they are and how they are better than traditional medicine.
    3. This topic would be way too hard for the writer because it was way too broad. The writer needs to pick a certain genre of music that MTV influences, and how it affects the reader in society.
    4. I believe this is a strong topic because it is very specific, and it explains to the reader how the films we watch today have changed over the years because of horror films.
    5. My first thought is that it is way too broad, and it doesn't help the reader understand anything. Suggestion: I am studying SUVs because I want to prove that SUVs are bad for the environment to help my reader understand how they are bad and what the environment would be without SUVs.

  8. 1) I don't see why a topic must necessarily be practical or interesting to a general audience. It could well be that there are people out there interested in knowing about the costs of shoe-making for the sake of knowing about the costs of shoe-making. I do think perhaps researching what brands might be worth the cost, as Nicole suggested, would help make their topic useful to a bigger audience.

    2) If letting your reader be aware that there are alternative medicines available is your goal, researching the reasons people do not use alternative medicines is probably not the way to go about it. This person should change either their research focus or their ultimate goal such that they go together better.

    3) This person's topic is too broad. Perhaps they should focus on something more specific, such as a specific genre of music, or a specific era in MTV's history, or how MTV has affected record sales specifically, rather than “how MTV influences popular music”.

    4) I was trying to critique this one without cheating and reading other peoples' responses, but I was having trouble finding anything wrong, and ended up scrolling down. I guess I was not the only one who couldn't think of anything. It does seem a little too specific, though. This person might have trouble writing a 13-page paper.

    5) Generally when you right a research paper, you do research on a topic and draw a conclusion yourself after reading enough source material. You do not start with a conclusion and then cherry-pick research to help you support it. In addition, controversial topics of this nature may prove to be overwhelming to cover fully in one paper, and, unless you are an expert in the particular field, you will inevitably encounter arguments that are simply beyond your scope of understanding.

    -- Brandon Ross

  9. 1. After reading the statement thoroughly I was very intrigued by the research problem However, I believe the writer needs to re-word the statement to make it a little more informative. The writer needs to include why it is important to understand the cost of shoe making otherwise some readers may not be interested in reading about shoes. The writer could say “because the consumers in getting cheated” or whatever the reason maybe.
    2. When I initial read this research problem I felt that the writer repeated itself in two different sentences. The writer needs to use some of the descriptive words we discussed in class on Wednesday like contribute, benefit, etc. Also I feel that if the writer would choose a medical case where they could should how there is alternative medicine to traditional medicine
    3. This research problem is way, way to broad in my opinion. I think the problem would have a bigger impact on the reader if the problem focused on one MTV show and how it influences society.
    4. This research problem is exactly what Booth describes as a good detailed research problem. This problem is narrow enough that it seems the writer has one main point to cover, which will make it easier for the reader to understand.
    5. This research problem is similar to number 3 because it is way to broad. Different SUVs effect the environment differently: therefore, the writer should focus on one type of SUV. If the writer narrows the research problem the reader will be better informed.
    --Blanche Lambert

  10. 1. For this research problem, I thought that the topic and the bigger picture or practical significance needed work. The topic is not specific enough. The topic should have probably been "the hidden costs involved with shoe-making." The question was fine. The only missing piece is the direct significance of the article, which might be "to inform the reader how to select better priced shoes."
    2. For this research problem, the question and the significance don't quite match. If you want the public to be informed about alternative medicine, the question should be why certain citizens should consider using alternative medicine (not why alternative medicine is not used).
    3. This research problem has no explicitly stated research question. However, the practical significance really should be stated as the question: in order to find out how MTV influences popular music. Content-wise though, this topic would be really hard to tackle because their are so many things that impact popular music. Additionally, MTV would not influence all forms of popular music (like possibly country, blue grass, or jazz).
    4. The practical significance of this research problem is not focused. I believe the researcher needs to pick whether to examine how Hollywood OR the landscape of movies in general. I would preferably select how mainstream hollywood movies were impacted, because it is a little more specific and would probably yield better correlations.
    5. In this research problem there is no research question. There is a topic and a very valid practical importance, but nothing to research or study to yield important information about the impact of SUVs on the environment. A question for this topic should be like: I want to find out if SUVs produce more greenhouse gases and elements of photochemical smog. The purpose would then be to show that SUVs are harmful to the environment because of research conducted for the aforementioned topic.

  11. 1. This topic has a constricted interest base by hoping to 'out' shoe making costs. Helpful to bargain hunters and shoe researchers but I think the topic should be broader, with possible concentrations on cost to performance relationships or fashion.

    2. I'd hate to repeat what's already been mentioned in most all the other posts, but I think a paper for alternative medicine awareness wouldn't be as helpful for awareness unless there were a practical benefit for using alternative methods. Concentrate on pros and cons to treating a/some disease(s) in differing ways.

    3. What practical problem can be solved with this topic? And if there is one, how many people will benefit? If being so vague is what you want to be, then make sure the ones who were influenced can bring a large enough interest base for the work put into the paper. I don't think that's a good research topic.

    4. I'd say this is an ok topic. Well laid out with questions answered as to why the researcher went for it, but I don't see this being a practical solution to a problem. Those interested in the history of Hollywood or horror films may find this paper interesting but I'd think a more notable or interesting question would need presenting before a major audience would be drawn.

    5. Stating that you want something proven before investigating isn't such a good way to start. If restated "because I want to find how if/how SUV's affect the environment" then the researcher will be off to a better start and I'd say the topic was good, albeit a bit broad.

  12. 1. This research topic seems to be off to a good start. However, it still makes me wonder, “So what?” I also like what Nicole said about possibly researching which brands of shoes were more well-made, or even which brand the reader gets more for their money. Although this topic doesn’t really spark my interest, I think it has potential to be a good research topic. It poses a practical problem, but it needs to have a practical solution for the reader.

    2. I think this topic would be interesting to readers, and definitely informative. While I don’t see a problem-solution in this project, I think there is room for one, for sure. If the researcher would add reasons of why alternative medicine could possibly be the BETTER option for her readers, that would make the topic more interesting and also more applicable. Researching the prices of the 2 options would even take it a step further.

    3. This topic is very broad. MTV has a wide range of shows, and they could influence music in all different ways. I like the idea mentioned above that said this person could mainly focus on one particular show and how it influences popular music. As far as the “so what?” question, I think the researcher needs to go a step further with this problem. A problem has not really been stated with this research. Therefore, a solution is not present. The research needs to say something like, “I am studying (this MTV show), because I want to know how it affects music (that WE listen to) in a negative way, in order to help my readers understand that they may not want to listen to it… etc. Or something like that.

    4. “So what?” Horror films do present a problem for readers, and this researcher is interested in that. But he never says what the problem is, or what the solution could be. Maybe instead of helping readers to understand how horror films have changed Hollywood, he should help readers understand how horror films have changed PEOPLE’S lives. (i.e. have people become more violent, etc.) And if they have, what are they doing to us when we watch them? Not only would this make the topic more problem-solution centered, but it would also make it more interesting for the reader.

    5. … in order to help my readers understand…? I like this topic, I just think it is unfinished. It states a problem, it answers my “so what,” and it would be very informative for all readers. But, the researcher doesn’t say why he wants to prove it. Maybe so that readers will be more conscious of what SUVs are doing to their environment? Maybe in order to have readers STOP driving SUVs? The researcher just needs to go into a little more detail on this topic.

  13. 1. I actually don’t think this first topic is that bad of an idea. I have no particular interest in the topic, and the writer may run into a lot of “so what?” questions with a particular audience, but for the right group of people, the “so what?” questions could be answered. The topic seems to be pretty specific, but it may need some other aspect involved in it because just finding out the hidden expenses in shoe making is only an example of pure research, not applied.

    2. I think this writer has picked a very good research topic that is headed in the right direction. This topic sounds very interesting to me, and I know there can be an answer to any of my “so what?” questions that I may be able to bring up. However, I do agree with everyone about how the way the topic is stated, it doesn’t have as big of an impact as it should. By restating the topic, or making the paper a compare and contrast, like some others suggested, this could be a great topic. This topic can not only inform the reader about new information, but also give the reader solutions for some ways to actually deal with any health problems they may have to go through.

    3. I agree that this topic is way too broad. You cannot write a single essay on how MTV influenced all popular music because there is way too many artists and too many different genres. To narrow this topic krestin made a good point about focusing in on one artist and how MTV influenced him. Also, this topic may revolve mostly around pure research and not too much applied.

    4. I like how this research topic is stated the best. It is a very specific topic, and is aimed directly at one thing. Whether or not a reader has a big interest in horror films and what it has done to movies and Hollywood, their “so whats?” can still be answered. Also, there is plenty of room to put in pure and applied research for this topic.

    5. I do like the idea of this topic, but it definitely needs to be narrowed. I like krestin’s idea again here for making this a study on the fuel consumption of SUVs and why it is bad for the environment. This makes it much more practical to the reader and can probably spark their interest more, especially if they drive a SUV. This topic is also good because it can inform a reader about environmental problems, and also teach the reader something to do about the issue.

  14. 1. The writer has a good idea, and could probably write a well thought out research paper on the idea. However, I am not really interested in the topic so i would probably ask a question like "so what" or "who cares".

    2. I think that medicine is a good topic to write about, but these days many people already know about the alternative treatments. For instance, my uncle went down to Mexico to get surgery that wasn't approved in America for some reason. Even though the surgery was the best method and healed him 100%. I think that the writer could maybe go into the history a bit and how it has evolved into "traditional" medicine.

    3. The topic is definately too broad. I agree with the other comments in that the writer would need to pick a specific show or genre of music to do their research on. MTV has a whole would just be to general and I dont think the writer would be able to keep the reader interested with the abundance of information.

    4. This research topic is the most specific out of all 5. It is directly to the point and I think that the writer will have no problem being able to churn out a well written research paper.

    5. And....? I think that the topic is unfinished and that the writer needs to narrow it down a bit. Like the others have said it is more of stating a fact then proposing a research topic. I suggest the writer going into more specifics like a certain type of SUV or the effects on the environment.

    -Jordan Crawford

  15. 1. Like the other comments, my first thought is "Who cares?" The topic is too broad that it doesn't really define a specific audience of readers. The consequences of not knowing this aren't a major factor and could actually be the same as knowing the answer. It just needs more fine tuning and a practical solution for the reader for the problem it poses.

    2. The last line of this question drew my attention first. The reason of wanting the readers to "understand that there are alternative to traditional medicine" doesn't really solve much of a problem. It seems they want to compare and contrast the two types. Maybe they could find if one type was more effective than the other and use that to show the reader. This topic is also pretty vague. It would help to narrow it down to certain type of medical cases.

    3.Like everyone who posted before my has said, this topic appears way too broad. Narrowing it down to genre, artist, etc. would seem the way to approach this problem. It doesn't seem to pose a problem or question that can be answered to help the reader in a larger understanding.

    4. This topic seems to be the best topic of the set. It addresses a specific concrete text while still giving the reader a larger understanding of the topic. This is a good example of a topic that notes a conceptual problem rather than a practical problem.

    5. This like the first three is still too broad. It doesn't seem to acknowledge any audience. There is no question in this topic, but starts off with the conclusion. Like previous comments, it would help to turn the focus of the topic to a certain type of SUV or fuel consumption and its effect on the environment. It seems like this topic would just generate facts

    -Shawn Mitchel

  16. 1. Unlike most of the boys, my reaction to this one was not "Who cares?" becuase I care very deeply about shoes. However, I can see how this wouldn't relate to many audiences, even many female audiences, so the topic needs to be more adaptable to different groups of readers.

    2. I think the last part of this one threw me off. I think that people do understand that there are alternative medications, but the middle part of the idea is what should be important: why people aren't purchasing the alternatives. This should be examined further rather than just informing people that there are alternatives.

    3. I agree with everyone else in saying that this is too broad. The research paper would just become what the authors refer to as a "data dump." This topic would just include too many areas and the writer would feel obligated to pour in way too much information to cover every aspect of the idea, rather than focusing on just one important part.

    4. This is the best one in my opinion. It gives reasons for writing and although I don't really feel that horror movies relate to my life, I think that the film industry is something to which everyone can relate.

    5. I can agree with Raffael in saying that this is a practical problem, but the topic statement just isn't narrow enough. How SUV's affect the environment could encase many, many different areas. Maybe focusing on one type of affect that we can all relate to? And how the change in that characteristic of the environment relates to our every day life? Something along those lines

  17. 1. I think researching why shoes are so expensive in order to explain hidden costs in shoe-making is a strange research idea and not particularly in line with what Booth wants. The problem, I think, lies in its appeal to the general public. Should the writer be more specific and/or have a more defined goal, such as researching a specific type of shoe or brand or researching for the purposes of exploring how to decrease shoe costs, the topic would be much better understood and more interesting to readers.

    2. This is certainly an interesting topic, and I think it would be relevant to a large audience. I think the problem with the topic is the writer's approach to research. Researching why people choose traditional medical treatments over alternative medical treatments, thus basing research on the opinions and ideas of everyday people, would be a difficult way to obtain clear results. I think a more strategic way to research this topic would be to look up both types of medical treatments, explain them to readers, and allow the readers to decide for themselves which is better.

    3. I agree with everyone else: this topic is too broad. The stated idea is extremely basic and would at best be a very preliminary statement concerning the overall research area of the writer. In order to research properly, the writer would need to choose a much more specific topic. Like Shawn said, narrowing MTV's influence on popular music down to genre, artist, perhaps even time period/generation could work. In an area as broad as popular music, the more specific the topic, the better.

    4. I like this topic. The idea seems to be very well thought out, and I think it is specific enough to adequately research. Although it may not necessarily be a topic that directly affects the reader, I think it's an interesting idea that would keep any reader's attention. The steps of research are clearly stated, from what the writer will research to what he wants the reader to learn from the finished product. Booth would be completely satisfied, I think.

    5. Unlike a few others, I think this could be a very promising topic. The goal of the writer is clearly stated, which I think is always important, and I believe the topic would be of great interest to many people (i.e. car owners, potential car owners, environmentalists, anyone who cares about Earth, etc.). My problem with the topic is organizational. The writer doesn't make any mention of how he plans to research SUVs and doesn't seem to have any real direction in research, aside from his obvious goal. With the help of Booth, the writer could become much more organized in research, become a bit more specific in his topic, and end up writing a great paper that would be of concern to a wide array of people.

  18. 1. It's not really a bad topic. It doesn't really serve as an important topic to the public, but if it is important to the researcher then go for it.I would research shoe production and find out where and who makes the shoes. That seems to be a more important topic of discussion.

    2. It's a good topic, but if you are trying to do an informal comparison/ contrast paper, you have to be bias. You can't include your opinion in why you choose one type of medicine over the other. I would stick with the topic, but change the reason for the paper.

    3. This is a very broad topic. You are going to get a lot of articles when you search your topic, but the majority of the topics are going to be useless. Maybe you could change your topic to something that has to do with MTV and how it's support of voting effected the recent presidential elections.

    4. This is probably the best of all of the topics. Horror movies are very popular these days. It also looks like it's very hard to make a successful horror film as well. I think this is a great topic with a great message behind it.

    5. Everybody does a topic like this and personally nobody cares. If people really cared they would stop making them. Going green with the SUV isn't helping the environment either. With every new idea comes new consequences. My best advice would be to just change your topic and let us just watch the news to find out about this because the news talks about this almost everyday

  19. 1. This topic doesn't seem to have a problem, at least not a problem worth solving. There may be something important to discover about this topic, but the way the student approaches it doesn't give the average reader any incentive to continue reading.
    2. This topic touches on a very important topic in current events, but fails to express the importance of what alternative medicine could do for society. Given the right wording, this would be a very attractive paper to the average reader. The writer should consider who would be reading this, and what about this topic could be important to the average reader.
    3. This topic is too broad to be discussed in this type of paper. The writer could instead investigate either a specific music genre, music group, or specific music audience. In order to go to the necessary depth in this paper, the writer must choose a very specific topic that could still be appealing to a wide variety of readers.
    4. The first read of this topic is confusing and repetitive. The overall subject is relevant, but possibly too broad to be discussed in depth. The writer would have to focus more on either the horror film history, or modern horror films.
    5. This topic, although short, is almost perfect. However, one can't explore SUV's as a whole. The writer must examine a specific aspect of SUV's such as gas mileage or emmisions. Choosing something more specific will also help lengthen the topic.