This presentation discusses how to choose a topic for the Annotated Bib and Community Problem Report using stasis theory.

1. Choosing a Topic Using
Stasis Theory

2. Your Topic Should…
•
•
•
•
Interest you—see if you can find something personally, academically, or
professionally relevant.
Be an issue of substance that can carry you through a 4-6 page, research-based
report.
Make an impact in the lives of specific communities of people that you can identify
(remember that communities aren’t always geographically connected).
Contain a debatable issue (or debatable issues) that allows you to examine multiple
perspectives.

3. Don’t…
• Choose a topic you have no interest in.
• Choose a topic that has no relevance to people’s lives, and for which it is
impossible to find research, different perspectives, or proposed solutions.
• Approach this informative report as an opportunity to make a readymade
point. This assignment calls for you to genuinely engage with multiple
viewpoints.

4. Stasis Theory
• Stasis theory is a four-question, pre-writing (invention) process developed
in ancient Greece by Aristotle and Hermagoras (Brizee, 2013).
• When considering a potential topic, ask yourself what questions and
disagreements might occur in the following four categories. Will it be
possible for you to present different viewpoints in stasis?

5. Fact
• Did something happen?
• What are the facts?
• Is there a problem/issue?
• How did it begin and what are its causes?
• What changed to create the problem/issue?
• Can it be changed?
•
•
Where did we obtain our data and are these sources reliable?
How do we know they're reliable? (Brizee, 2013).

6. Definition (The Meaning or Nature of the Issue)
• What is the nature of the problem/issue?
• What exactly is the problem/issue?
• What kind of a problem/issue is it?
• To what larger class of things or events does it belong?
• What are its parts, and how are they related?
•
•
Who/what is influencing our definition of this problem/issue?
How/why are these sources/beliefs influencing our definition? (Brizee, 2013).

7. Quality (The Seriousness of the Issue)
• Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
• How serious is the problem/issue?
• Whom might it affect (stakeholders)?
• What happens if we don't do anything?
• What are the costs of solving the problem/issue?
•
•
Who/what is influencing our determination of the seriousness of this problem/issue?
How/why are these sources/beliefs influencing our determination? (Brizee, 2013).

8. Policy (The Plan of Action)
• Should action be taken?
• Who should be involved in helping to solve the problem/address the issue?
• What should be done about this problem?
• What needs to happen to solve this problem/address this issue?
•
•
Who/what is influencing our determination of what to do about this problem/issue?
How/why are these sources/beliefs influencing our determination? (Brizee, 2013).

9. Six Journalistic Questions
• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• How?

10. Achieving Stasis
• “Achieving stasis means that parties involved in a dialogue about a given
issue have reached consensus on (or agreed upon) the information and
conclusions in one or more of the stases” (Brizee, 2013).
• Consider whether potential topic choices will allow you to place different
viewpoints in stasis. If stasis problems exist, that can itself be a source of
discussion.

11. Guide to First-Year Composition
Topic Suggestions
• Border health issues, Lowering water tables, Arroyo flooding,
Domestic violence, Children’s health, Childhood poverty,
Colonias—poverty, Overpopulation of animals, Sports issues,
Mental health issues, Education issues, Off-Shore drilling (oil),
Marriage Equality, Immigration, Adolescent Cosmetic Surgery,
Racism, Separation of Church and State, Internet Addiction,
Ageism, Public School System, Access to Technology, Native
American Issues (p. 170).