Where do topics come from?
Topics are all around you. Two good places to look:
- Yourself: your sleep, your hobbies, your study habits, a problem you solved.
- Society: problems and news in your area, such as waste in a river, a missing bus route, or safety on the road.
Write down five ideas without judging them. Then look for the ones where you and society meet, like "How does phone time affect sleep in my class?"
Test your topic with three questions
Ask these three questions and give each a score from 0 to 3:
- Do I care? If you are bored, your listeners will be too.
- Do my listeners care? Think about their age, place and needs.
- Can I find facts? A rumour with no proof is not a good topic.
A good topic scores 2 or 3 in all three. One red score means change or narrow the topic.
Make the topic small and clear
"Pollution" is too big for a five-minute talk. "Plastic bags near our market lake" is small enough. To narrow a topic, add a place, a group of people or a time. Then write it as one sentence you could say in a breath.
Collecting information
Use at least two or three different kinds of sources:
- People: ask classmates, family or an expert. A short survey with five questions is enough.
- Official data: reports from schools, local offices or science groups. These are usually the most trusted.
- Articles: newspapers and websites. Check the author and the date.
- Your own notes: what you saw yourself. Useful, but small.
Write down each fact with its source. If two sources agree, you can trust the fact more. If they disagree, say so in your talk.
Tell facts apart from opinions. "40 of 50 students sleep after 11 pm" is a fact. "Students are lazy" is an opinion.
Try it
Write five topic ideas. Give each three scores (care, listeners, facts). Use the free-play buttons in the 3D as a model. Pick the best one and narrow it to one sentence. Then list three sources you would use and write one fact from each with its source.
Key formulas and definitions
- Good topic = I care + listeners care + facts exist
- Small topic = big idea + place or group or time
- Trust a fact more when 2 or 3 different sources agree
Worked examples
1. Score the topic "A rumour I heard" using the three tests.
I may care and listeners may care, but there are no facts. So it fails the facts test and should be dropped.
2. Narrow the topic "Water".
For example "Why our school tank runs dry in May". It has a place and a time, so it is small.
3. You have a survey of 30 classmates and an official school report. How do you use them?
Use the report as the main base, and the survey as local proof. Write down both sources and mention if they agree.
Common mistakes
- Picking a topic only because it sounds big or clever.
- Choosing a topic with no facts to support it, such as a rumour.
- Using one source only, so one mistake spoils the whole talk.
- Forgetting to write down where each fact came from.