In order to limit the topic, students must first understand the purpose of their writing. It is important to understand the scope and directions of the project. Sometimes the teacher will provide students with a limited topic:
Write a paragraph describing the process of applying for a job.
When students are provided with a limited topic, they:
• Read carefully
• Underline key words
• Look up any unfamiliar words
In this example, underlining key words helps to verify that students are being asked to write a descriptive paragraph on the process of applying for a job. At other times, students will write to a broad topic: Write a three to five paragraph narrative composition on "A Day to Remember". "A Day to Remember" is a broad topic. Students have lived many days. Their job here is to narrow the topic to on day that they can realistically write about in a multi-paragraph composition. To help limit the topic, students might choose a day they remember vividly so they can describe it well. They might consider a day that other people would find interesting to read about or learn from.

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