I have to write a research paper for my english class. Is the Middle East Conflict a good topic?

A while ago I decided to learn more about the Middle East since it’s such an important topic and place these days. I watched some documentaries about it and learned how it’s been always a conflict zone.This is a topic that I think not many people are educated enough about and that has caused many prejudices and misconcepions about the people from that area. Besides being a topic I think people should know more about I really like history and the Middle East’s is a very interesting one. I of course could consider any other topic as I understand that this one might be too broad and it would not do it justice to just cover a part of it. I thought maybe about the role of music in todays culture and to cover the influence that different types of music such as jazz, blues, rock n roll, r&b and hip hop have had in our society since people’s behavior is sometimes influenced by the music that they listen to. Any other suggestions are welcome.

I wouldn’t try to tackle the Middle East conflict. I think it is too big, and a crucial part of a research paper is to have a debateable thesis statement. You would have to formulate some kind of a thesis about the Middle East, and “prove” it in your paper. Could you see where you might end up having problems?

Since you’re interested in it, I wouldn’t totally ditch the idea though, because it is important to pick a topic you’re interested in. You would need to work very hard to have a clear, narrow focus though.

You could write about censorship in music. It would be easy for you to take a stance on the subject, and support your stance (thesis).

Migraine Blues – Music & Lyrics by Fred Sheftell, MD