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Once you have identified your focus, you need to decide on your approach, that is, how you are going to investigate it. To do this, it is helpful to rewrite your focus as a question. Sometimes there are several possible questions. The type of question that you ask will determine your approach.

For example, you could write the phrase: the impact of online social networking on how adolescents form friendships as the question: Does online social networking affect how adolescents form friendships?

Glossary

notion A notion is an idea or belief about something.

This question requires you to present an argument. You need to evaluate the evidence for the notion that online social networking has an effect as well as the evidence against and come to your own conclusion.

Alternatively, you could rewrite the question as: How does online social networking affect the way adolescents form friendships?

This question assumes that there is an effect. Your task is to analyse and explain that effect.

When deciding your approach, it is helpful to consider the context of your assignment. Discuss your title with people who are familiar with your course. Do some preliminary reading to find out what sorts of questions other scholars are asking about the topic.

You may also find it useful to break your focus down into several related questions:

For example: Does online gaming affect the way children see themselves in relation to others?

If so, to what extent does online gaming affect …

In what ways does online gaming affect …

Exercise 8

Write an essay question of your own following steps 1–4 below.

1 Choose a general topic that interests you.

2 Identify your focus – write down what aspect of the topic interests you most.

3 Narrow down the topic by replacing very general words with more specific words.

4 Rewrite your focus as a question.