Writing research essays is definitely hard work. This is not an essay that you can write after browsing through the Internet. To write research essays, you need to do a lot of research, read a lot of books, search for references, formulate arguments and find evidence to support your argument.
Before you get down to all that, you will have to find yourself an interesting topic to research and write about. If you are not in love with your research topic, you will never take the trouble to research it thoroughly.
Most often, students are given a choice a topics from works of well-known authors, poets or dramatists, where you will be asked to analyze about a particular aspect or character. For example, the works of William Shakespeare have been subject to much research.
Here are some sample topics for research essays –
- Love and Death in Shakespeare
- How close to history was Shakespeare’s ‘Antony and Cleopatra’?
- Study in comparison of Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor in the play ‘Crucible’.
- Comparison of John Proctor of ‘Crucible’ with Shakespeare’s Hamlet
- Role of the Government in the play ‘Crucible’
If you were free to select any author or poet, it would be best to select any author or poet that you personally enjoyed or admired. Make a list of your favorite literary works and select a topic based on these works.
Here is a list of research essay topics you can try your hand on –
- Similarities between Frodo Baggins of ‘Lord of the Rings’ and Harry Potter
- How strong are male characters in Chick Lit novels?
- Sexuality in Jane Eyre
- Does the prequel Wide Sargossa Sea do justice to Jane Eyre?
- Why have the sequels of Pride and Prejudice failed so miserably?
- Sexual imagery of D.H. Lawrence
- Romance of Joseph Conrad’s ‘Lord Jim’
- Norse Mythology and Lord of the Rings
- Parallels of Second World War in ‘Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows’
- Reflection of today’s era in ‘Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows’
- True friendship in Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter Series
- Homosexuality in Harry Potter Novels
- Sexuality in ‘Pride and Prejudice’
- How tragic are the great tragedies of Shakespeare from a modern reader’s perspective?
- How true is Romeo’s love for Juliet?
Once you select the topic, you will have to read the literature in question, from the perspective of your research. As far as possible, select a topic that has a specific perspective or argument. This will help you to narrow down the points and arguments, that you wish to present in your essay.
You can also try to do a research paper on writers, poets or dramatists who are relatively new. There may not be many reference works for this type of research but then, when you successfully complete; your essay will become a reference work for other students. Students also have an advantage where new writers or poets are concerned since they are easily accessible. You can easily learn their views about the subject in hand also quote them if they agree.
