Another way to explore a topic is to use the 5 Ws approach. Ask yourself Who, What, Where, When and Why as a way to explore your topic more thoroughly. Below we will use the 5 Ws to explore the broad topic of tattoos.

WHO?

Is there a specific population group on which you can focus? Or should you focus on a larger group?

➝ I could focus on college students, sailors, parents, high school kids, or corporate culture.

WHAT?

What discipline or focus can help you define your topic? For example, should you take a health perspective? Or maybe an artistic perspective?

➝ I could focus on the health implications of tattoos or I could look at the history of tattoos and make an argument about what that means for tattoos today; or I could at how the art world looks at tattoos.

WHERE?

What geographic area can help you define your topic? For example, do you want to focus on the Ann Arbor area, the state of Michigan, or maybe it would be better to think about the entire country?

➝ I could look at tattoos in the U.S. or another country. I could look at tattoos at the University of Michigan.

WHEN?

On what time period should you focus? For example, do you want to think about the year 1984, the 90s, or maybe just the latter half of the 20th century?

➝ I could look at how tattoos were considered in the 50s and compare them to how we think of tattoos today. I could look at the changing views of tattoos over the last 10 years.

WHY?

Is there a specific reason why this topic is important to a specific person, in a specific place at a specific time?

➝ The topic is important because parents and their children may argue about tattoos today. It's also important because it seems like more people are getting tattoos than they used to. Also, it can be very painful to have tattoos removed.