The usual research paper or term paper topics would only involve something that already exists for a long period. Among these are manifestos, diseases, a famous person, landmark, and so on. Many writers have previously written about such topics, and as time passes, each topic becomes overused; hence, it loses some value.

Writing a research paper about a specific current event is a challenge not only due to its urgency but because current events rapidly come and go. The more challenging part in this type of coursework is highlighting the topic to make it timeless and significant.

A writer must first decide on the category. There are various categories under current events: crime or police report, expose, feature, editorial, and other categories newspapers and news programs offer. The safest and most newsworthy part is the crime since it constitutes investigation. People have long read about timeless crimes and many authors have published books about them. One approach in writing about crime is the investigation, much like the Sherlock Holmes approach.

Secondly, a writer must gather all pertinent information. This information is not only for back up; this is the core of the research paper or even term paper. The writer might need newspapers and updates, and with technology, many websites can provide videos and inside reports on the news. Remember to use the 5W’s and 1H. The paper must answer the what, when, where, who, why and possibly how of the entire news story. Check for consistency, accuracy and precision of each source, as there may be conflicts with each. Use all possible alternative sources in lieu of books and other published materials.

Third, sort the data according to chronology or depending on the nature of the news story. This will also serve as the outline or framework for the paper. The writer can prefer to state the results at the beginning of the paper and then explain the rest in the body, or do the otherwise.

Fourth, verify whether the facts are reliable and that there are no missing or misstated information in the paper. Check all citations and interviews (if there are any), and see to it that the entire body matches the general objectives of the term paper.

Keep in mind that only a few cases in the current events may be newsworthy over time. State the facts without editorializing and always avoid sensationalism. A research paper or term paper need not be attractive but informative.



Lois Bennett is an investigative reporting aficionado. Her research paper during college discussed an assassination of a famous icon. She likes to watch movies and television shoes that involve forensics and crime, and reads many books about the same topic. She is a Journalism graduate and she would like to integrate criminology with journalism.