You may be interested in several topics, but the one you're passionate about will make it easier to write the paper. When you choose a topic that you know little about or have no interest in, the research and writing process becomes more like a chore. You won't do your best work because the subject doesn't excite you. Look for topics for which you have some expertise or curiosity. For example, if you love skateboarding, you would choose a topic that would give you the chance to research skateboarding. Students at Bates University are taught that one "of the better ways to choose a topic is to review material you have already studied to discover what unanswered questions you are interested in pursuing."
Sometimes, a teacher doesn't provide essay topics so you have to search for your own. Find ways to spark ideas, such as browsing your favorite subjects on search engines. Skim through search results to spark an idea for a topic. In the book, "Writing the Research Paper," Anthony Winkler suggests that students "go to the library and browse ... magazines, and newspapers," or even the "online public-access catalog (OPAC), a modern version of the card catalog, to search for ideas."
A 2,500-word paper can end up being seven to 10 typed pages. When you create a list of topics, you will want to do some preliminary research to ensure there will be enough information to write the paper without having to add filler. In the book, "The Wardsworth Guide to MLA Documentation," Linda Schwartz writes, "Make sure you have chosen a topic that you can do justice to in the number of pages your instructor has assigned. It is better to analyze a small topic thoroughly than to cover a huge topic superficially."
Even topics that you are curious or passionate about may not be the right topic for your paper. You could discover that there isn't enough to say about the subject to fill your paper. Your topic could also end up to be so broad that you can't figure out how to narrow it down. For example, marketing for small businesses is a board concept with many layers. In the book, "99 Jumpstarts for Kids' Social Studies Reports," Peggy Whitley writes, "We encourage use of mind maps or other visual aids to refine a large topic down to one that is manageable."