In order to choose a good topic for a term paper in college, a student should assess their strengths, weaknesses and the course they are currently enrolled in. Although some students may like to challenge themselves to write on more difficult topics, they may need to realize that they have too heavy of a course load to do so. The reverse can also be true if a student is lazy or bad at conducting research. As all students will have to write a series of term papers throughout their academic career, it is often wise to keep their term papers along the same train of thought, in order to work toward their final dissertation piece without having to start fresh without any material. Some ideas for collegiate term papers however for those still struggling are:
Depending on the format of a term paper, a student can write on their everyday experiences. If the term paper is to show that a student has mastered the art of the descriptive essay, they can write a layout of their day to day life. This can range from how they got from their youth to the current course they are in or on something major that happened to them during a vacation or holiday.
As many students have declared or have begun to decide their major in college, term papers usually fall in the realms of what they want to do with their future. Political Science majors often write about elections, local government or international relations while Sociology majors write about racial tension, group dynamics or aging populations. When a student writes about a topic along the lines of the major, they set themselves up for success when it comes to writing their final dissertation paper.
One of the easiest topics to write on is comparing one event in history to another. If a student really wants to write about the tensions between the white and Native American populations in America, but cannot gather enough material they can compare the event to how the whites in Australia treated the Aboriginal community. Sometimes seeing how different populations handle similar situations allows the individual to learn even more than expected.
A professor may direct their students to write on a specific question or topic. This allows the student to not have to rattle their brain as to what they need to write on.
The exact opposite of what was suggested prior is to walk into a library and pick a book at random. This book may end up having a European history major learn more about a battle they did not know even existed.