Narrow or Broaden Your Topic

An Example of Narrowing Your Topic Finding too much information may mean that you need to narrow your topic. For example Butterflies is more specific than Insects and Monarch Butterflies is more specific than Butterflies.                                        * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * An Example of Broadening Your Topic If your topic is too narrow, try selecting terms that are more general. For example, Salmon is more general than Chinook Salmon and Fish is more general than Salmon. For example, instead of asking, "What is the effect of drinking on driving?" ask: "How does substance abuse affect driving?" Once you've formulated a new question, you will have to repeat the process of picking out the significant terms and making a list of synonyms and related terms.

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