The Myth of the Student Hero and the “Dreaded Lit Review”

Finding a Topic

The first step on the literature review road is finding a topic. The topic is something that has already been studied. And students need to fine these published research studies. These studies—each of which contains its own literature review—will help guide students through the process of developing their own literature reviews. However, finding a topic is not an easy thing to do.

Seanna Duong’s comic represents her search for a topic to fishing, which she suggests includes an element of luck. However, this strategy turns out to be a bad idea. After a week, Seanna presents herself in the form of a skeleton, a metaphor for death. The skeleton humorously suggests death from old age. Fortunately, Seanna was able to find a topic that worked for her.

Sometimes students are able to find a topic by themselves. However, students often require help. As the teacher, I try to help them and to lead them to a topic that they might find interesting. I invite them to my office. We talk about what they find interesting, probing for possible topics. Maybe tattoos, or graffiti, or gossip, or romantic jealousy.

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