One week away from starting MA program - how do i choose research topic?

[Gooey]

Everything is going as planned. Got in to every school I applied for, got the TAship, and now I'm one week away from orientation and I'm worried that all the other students entering the MA in rhetoric and comp have research ideas and I won't.

Mind you, there is no dissertation in my MA program, but the requirements are classwork (obviously), teaching, presenting a 15-20 minute paper, having a publishable seminar paper, an annotated bibliography, and a statement of intent.

There is a large examination at the end of the 2 years based on what I choose to put in my annotated bibliography.

I'm a bit lost if I need to have a narrow field of research down here since most of my seminar papers will obviously be centered around the topics of classes and not off the wall stuff like Samurai death poems and the like.

So, in short should I be worried about research ideas or not?

I have trouble narrowing things down and right now my interests are very wide.

Thanks,

Gooey

[runonsentence]

I had no idea what I wanted to research when I started my master's. I had gotten as far as, "I think I want to focus on Romantic poetry," and I was vaguely thinking I wanted to connect literature to music, but nothing more specific than that. In fact, I ended up switching subfields entirely (to rhet comp).

Anyway, my point is that the master's degree is the perfect time to find narrower interests and explore options—I wouldn't worry about specifics going in. If a lack of focus makes it hard for you to find classes that interest you, that's one thing, but I think you're going to find that your first year will really change the way you think and help you find a direction.

[theregalrenegade]

I may be in history, but I had the same reservations about not having a research focus when I entered my MA program. Only now as I'm roughly halfway through is my advisor giving me the nudge to find a suitable thesis topic. I'll be writing my research prospectus in the Spring and writing my thesis in the Summer and Fall 2012. Even so, I've been told when I continue on as a PhD my interests may change as well. It's nice to know in what direction your heading, but I'm doing my part to seek that out. People on this board have put my mind at ease, giving me some great advice in taking my time to read up on my interests and find something that speaks to me.

I think you'll be fine. Just enjoy your first year and take classes that peak your interest. And read, read, read.