Critical writing course, academic writing course

Home

Subject Areas		Course Details			Subject Areas

In the Writing for Researchers course, you can choose one or several of the subject areas listed below, and essay topics will be given for each of the areas you select. Click on any subject area to see sample topics. When you sign up for a course, you will be given many more topics.

Life sciences and medicine

Molecular biology and genetics

Microbiology and immunology

What are the benefits derived from the body's natural flora?

Discuss the improvements in the quality of life of AIDS patients over the past ten years.

Agricultural science

Can genetically modified crops create a second "Green Revolution" in the developing world?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of multi-cropping and inter-cropping?

In the face of climate change and global warming, what can be done to protect agriculture?

Will genetic modification eliminate the use of pesticides in the future? Or will nature's pests evolve and adapt?

Epidemiology

Correlation does not imply causation: Discuss.

Should junk food advertising be banned/ controlled?

Discuss the impact of tobacco-control programs in Japan.

Orthopedics

Discuss the advances in the understanding of osteoporosis.

What are the risk factors for sports-related injuries?

Surgery

What are the reasons for LASIK failing in some cases?

Discuss the improvements in the biocompatibility of stents.

Fisheries

If implemented worldwide, can the quota system save the ocean's fish resources from over-fishing?

Will increased aquaculture destroy genetic diversity in marine species?

Should bottom-trawling be banned through international treaties?

Will increased construction of dams and reservoirs force migrating fish species into extinction?

Zoology

How are spiders and their webs beneficial for humankind?

What are the factors affecting the gradual loss of adhesiveness of lizard limbs?

How important are pheromones in reproduction?

Cryptozoology: Is it a true science?

Neurology

What are the factors affecting recovery of a patient from coma?

Discuss the contributions of computer technology in the field of neuroscience.

Physical sciences and engineering

Chemistry
Geology
Electrical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Physics
Climatology
Computer science

Humanities and social sciences

Economics

Are government subsidies to farms exacerbating the global food price increases?

After communism's collapse in the Soviet Union, India's market liberalization, and China's openness to the free-market, has capitalism become the only alternative?

Is the World Trade Organization helping the developed or the under-developed nations most?

What is the relationship between credit cards and consumer society?

Clinical psychology

Does schizophrenia have its basis in the embryonic developmental stages?

What are the differences between the outlook of psychologists and that of psychiatrists regarding treatment of depressive symptoms?

To what extent does counseling help a psychosis patients?

Literature

Discuss the influence of "magic realism" in literature.

Has the portrayal of violence changed over time in literature or is it essentially the same?

How has African-American history influenced literature?

Analyze the trend of adapting movies from books.

Political science

Which is the truest democracy: a parliamentary democracy or a constitutional republic?

Is the world more stable under the current unipolar power structure or under the multi-polar/bi-polar power structure of the Cold War?

Does the strategy of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) prevent nuclear war?

Should international bodies, such as the United Nations or NATO, forcibly enter countries facing natural or man-made catastrophes when the ruling government refuses aid?

Anthropology

How and why did the role of women change with the advent of advanced agriculture?

What is the correlation between the geographical North-South divide and the human development index?

Was the increase of agriculture and a sedentary lifestyle responsible for the formation of organized religions?

Can an outsider neutrally observe a society, or does the presence of the outsider influence the observation?

Psychology

How have video games affected children's performance in schools in Japan?

What is the difference between the grief patterns of adults and children with regard to bereavement?

Can excessive reporting of suicides by the mass-media influence someone with suicidal tendencies or suicide ideation?

What are the positive and negative outcomes of "retail therapy?"

History

In your opinion, which invention has had the highest impact in the last 1,000 years?

What impact did the Tokugawa Shogunate have on Japan's limited natural resources?

How do different nations' narratives and teaching of history to younger generations affect international relations?

Why have some of the major peace initiatives over the past 50 years been successful (i.e., Northern Ireland or Egypt-Israel) while others have failed (i.e., Israel-Palestine or the former Yugoslav republics)?

Linguistics

How have foreign words been incorporated into the English language?

Sociology

Does unemployment benefits and government welfare discourage personal motivation?

How does the rapid and widespread dissemination of information in the digital age affect how societies perceive war?

Are people or guns responsible for violent crime?

Is the increased use of pre-employment personality tests in large corporations a form of discrimination or a legitimate screening process?