1. First of all, the topic is up to you, but you may NOT choose any of the topics on the FORBIDDEN GENERAL TOPICS LIST A. This is not meant to be an easy assignment. It’s meant to make you think on a deeper level about what really interests you. Narrow your topic down to something specific— but not too specific—about your topic. B. Once you’ve narrowed down your topic, decide the purpose of your paper and your paper’s primary pattern of organization (e.g. process, definition, chronological, comparison and contrast, classification, illustrative, persuasive, cause and effect). C. Then create a working THESIS STATEMENT. A solid thesis statement will help organize the bare bones of your overall paper. A good thesis statement will contain some sort of list of general points. Each point mentioned in the thesis statement will be each point listed (in order) within the body of the paper.