Article: If you really did write down everything that came to your mind during your brainstorming session, then you’ve probably got a pretty sizable list. This is good! Now look it over and scratch off any items that don’t meet the assignment directions; any that won't allow you to learn what you determined you want to learn from this project; and any that don't interest you. This should eliminate quite a few options from your list, which is the points. The goal is to start broad and then narrow the list down until you’ve got 3 or 4 topics more specifically tailored to your desires and the needs of the assignment. This may seem obvious, but it can’t be overstated. You don’t want to spend 5 hours—let alone 5 days or 5 weeks, depending on the size of the assignment—working on a topic that bores you to tears. This will make you unhappy and result in a project that’s less than your best work.  When thinking about which of the remaining topics most interest you, consider things that overlap with your skills and hobbies, your future career, social or political areas of concern, or academic areas of strength.. If you have to do a history project on the United States in the nineteenth century, for example, and you plan to work in government, then you might choose an area such as “the Women’s Suffrage Movement.” Or if you need to do a project for photography class and you enjoy visiting the city, you might choose an area such as “urban renewal.” If none of the topics on your list seems genuinely interesting, think about how some of them can be tweaked or revised so that they more fully reflect your interests, strengths, areas you’d like to improve in, etc. Reading about your selected area online or in the library will help you to get a sense of the subject or field. It will also give you an idea of what’s already out there and what’s been done, what kind of ideas you can build on, etc. It’s important to do some research on the general area you’ve chosen before committing to a very specific topic. This way you can have a firm sense of what’s out there in terms of resources and the range of information. Though you start broad, eventually, you will want to narrow your topic down to a workable size. How specific you get will, of course, depend on the specific assignment you have been given by your teacher and your grade level, but you can’t expect to do a project about ALL of Antarctica in 2 days’ time.  It’s important to avoid project topics that are too broad and general because you will never be able to satisfyingly cover all of the relevant information, read all of the relevant sources, and so on. It’s much better to provide a detailed look at a smaller subject, something that you can speak or write (or draw) about in depth. Again, go back to your assignment sheet to determine how specific your topic should be. Your teacher may have even provided example topics that you can compare your idea against. If so, you should definitely use the examples as a guide!

What is a summary?
Eliminate items from your list. Select a topic that interests you. Read background information about your topic. Get specific.