If you’re interested in exploring your interest in the English language, its evolution over time, and its intersection with different fields but don’t know where to begin, consider writing a research paper! The time and effort you spend writing a well-constructed paper can help you build critical thinking, research, and effective communication skills. 

Engaging deeply with a topic allows you to learn more about a subject you’re interested in and builds academic skills. What’s more, writing a rigorous and well-researched paper can reflect your passion for a subject and ability to undertake challenging tasks, which reflects well on your college application!

What makes a good research paper?

Before beginning, you need to narrow down a suitable research topic that broadly addresses the following criteria:

• Relevance and originality: Does your research topic address some gap in current knowledge? The aim should be to add or build upon existing research, presenting new analyses of topics through a unique lens. Your paper should not be derivative of existing research! Original thought will make for a compelling paper that can pose even more questions, setting the foundation for future research.

• Interest: it goes without saying, but excitement and passion are necessary to do a good job! Peer reviewers and editors will pick up on disinterest in your writing.

• Feasibility: Before beginning, make sure the scope of your research topic is doable. Do you have the time, resources, and infrastructure to complete the paper? Some papers could involve collecting primary data, visiting archives, and other time-consuming tasks that cost money.  

You can brush up on the basics of independent research here. 

Here are 15 research ideas in English for high school students worth considering:

Research Category #1: Classic and Modern Literature

Choosing a topic within literature allows you to analyze and engage with important cultural texts that have deeply influenced writing over centuries. Here, you can analyze the work of writers from William Shakespeare to F. Scott Fitzgerald and even more contemporary writers like J.K. Rowling, exploring themes in their work and providing unique perspectives. Delving into these texts can also give you a deeper understanding of society and culture in different periods.

1. Examine the “tragic hero” in Shakespearean plays: Examining plays like Hamlet, Othello, and Macbeth, consider the titular heroes in these plays—how their character develops over time and the circumstances that lead to their eventual death. 

2. Symbolism in generation-defining texts: Here, you can review a text like The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald to investigate the symbolic elements in the book that contribute to the overall themes of wealth, class, and the idea of the American Dream in the early 20th century.

3. The impact of war on literature: Examine how different authors depict conflict. You could refer to Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls for its depiction of the Spanish Civil War, Erich Maria Remarque’s semi-autobiographical All Quiet on the Western Front for its depiction of trench warfare during World War I, and Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See for life under Nazi occupation. 

4. The rise of dystopian writing: You can refer to seminal works like Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and George Orwell’s 1984 to examine the authors’ inspirations to write these novels. You can connect these works to the present day by linking themes like surveillance to tech and society today.

5. Mythology in fantasy literature: Here, you can examine more modern texts like J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series, Rick Riordan’s books on Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology, and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books and see how they link mythology with modern fantasy writing.

6. The new wave of postcolonial literature: Investigate the effect writing from previously colonized countries has on the literary world today. Examine the themes these books delve into that make them a universal read. You could refer to works by Salman Rushdie, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Amitav Ghosh, Mohsin Hamid, and Chinua Achebe. 

7. Satire and social critique: How do books critique social and political issues? Use works like George Orwell’s Animal Farm to dive into these themes. How do you think such a book would critique political systems today?

Research Category #2: English Language and Linguistics

If you’ve ever wondered why English is structured the way it is, how it functions, how it has been influenced over time, and how it influences language today, then this category is for you! Pick a topic within this category and explore the history, structure, use, and evolution of English. Languages are closely related to culture and society, so you can explore how class, religion, society, gender norms, and other factors have shaped modern English. A foundation in linguistics can be especially helpful if you plan on pursuing careers related to communication, journalism, teaching, translation, and even AI.

1. Analyze accents and dialects: Focus on a particular English-speaking region (say, Scotland) and compare phonetic variations across the country. You can also conduct a historical review of how pronunciation changed in different parts of the country.

2. Examine metaphors and their cognitive bias: Understand how our brain links daily experiences with abstract concepts through metaphors.

3. English as a global language: Investigate the sociopolitical conditions behind English becoming the world’s lingua franca.

4. Influence of other languages on English: Examine the use of Latin and French in the English vocabulary. Consider the historical reasons behind this, focusing on William the Conqueror’s Norman Conquest.

5. The impact of social media on language: Focusing on English, examine how TikTok, Instagram, and other trends have led to the development of slang words that are now part of our everyday vocabulary.

Research Category #3: Writing and Rhetoric

Researching a topic within this category can give you a deeper understanding of and improve your communication and persuasion skills in spoken and written English. Topics here will cover techniques speakers and opinion writers use to make persuasive arguments, stylistic analyses, and the impact of rhetoric.

1. Using storytelling to make persuasive arguments: Examine and explain how storytelling techniques in contexts like advertisements, political speeches, and written commentaries make themes more relatable to an audience.

2. Emotional appeals (pathos) in political speeches: Examine famous speeches by politicians and activists to see how pathos is used to influence and appeal to the general public.

3. Tone and voice in persuasive writing: Compare journalism, opinion pieces, and literature to examine how different tones in each affect the message conveyed to the reader.

4. Compare persuasive speeches and writing by gender: How do the style and tone change when men and women speak about a similar topic? Examine the different literary devices they use to appeal to an audience.

5. Analyze news reporting styles: Conduct a comparative analysis of objective and subjective reporting, examining the different rhetorical strategies used and the effect they have on a reader.

One other option - the Lumiere Research Scholar Program

If you’re interested in pursuing independent research, you could also consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.

Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!

Kieran Lobo is a freelance writer from India.