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WRIT 111 (James): Narrowing Your Topic (PP)

Make These 3 Choices First

First Choice

Which modern-day paranormal activity or belief do you want to write about? 

Second Choice

Do you want to validate/legitimize or refute/delegitimize this paranormal activity or belief?

Third Choice

Which rhetorical direction do you want to go with? Religious? Psychological? Empirical?

Religious Rhetorical Direction

Things to Think About

  • Christian approach to the paranormal in general
    • Do all Christians view the paranormal the same way?
  • Christian beliefs about your specific paranormal phenomenon (ex: ghosts)
  • How does being Christian (or a non-Christian) inform how you think about your paranormal phenomenon?

 

Helpful Background Information on this Topic

What Does the Bible Say About Ghosts? -- Relevant Magazine

Verses about the Paranormal -- Open Bible

Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches About the Unseen World - And Why It Matters -- Book by Michael S. Heiser

Psychological Rhetorical Direction

Things to Think About

  • What causes people to interpret experiences as paranormal or not?
    • Their Education? (ex: do more or less college-educated people believe in the paranormal?)
    • Their Mental Health? (ex: does someone with schizophrenia interpret their experiences as being paranormal?)
    • Their Cognitive State? (ex: high on drugs)
    • Their Location? (ex: in a "haunted house" versus their house?)

Helpful Background Information on this Topic

Why People Think They See Ghosts -- Vox

The Psychology of Paranormal Belief: A Researcher's Handbook -- book by H.J. Irwin

Empirical Rhetorical Direction

Things to Think About

  • What specific case study would you like to validate or debunk?

Helpful Background Information on This Topic

10 Ghost Stories That Will Haunt You For Life

The Science Behind Why People See Ghost (and gods, angels, demons, and aliens and why they float, fly, and travel out of their bodies) 

If You Need More Help Narrowing Your Topic or Picking a Rhetorical Direction -- Visit the ARC

Be sure to plan ahead and schedule appointments as soon as possible. The ARC schedule fills quickly, especially during busy phases of semesters, such as mid-term and finals. The quickest and surest way to schedule an ARC consultation that fits into your academic plan is to schedule through the online system, TutorTrac.