What does the Unfocused Student look like? This student has a topic—either she has determined a topic to write about, or her professor has assigned the topic. She may have a draft of her paper, but her paper does not have a clear thesis and/or the thesis seems vague and generalized. Or she may be feeling overwhelmed with her topic and not know where to begin.
 

Key Idea
Most students start a writing assignment with a topic that is too general.

For example, a student might have chosen the general topic of alcoholism. But where does the student go now? She could research and find an overwhelming amount of information on alcoholism, enough to write a book. She will need to narrow and focus the topic; she will need to find a subtopic within the topic to write about.

• Initial Questions to Ask the Student about the Assignment

• Questions to Help the Student Narrow Focus

• Questions to Help the Student Move Toward the Thesis

• What Should a Good Thesis Do?