The Great Gatsby Research Assignment
Section One – Choosing a Topic
And Developing Your Essential Question
English 10th Pre-AP
Mrs. Chavez – 1st Period
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Review the list of topics to find one that interests you. You may propose a topic
not on the list but it must be approved by the teacher.
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Once you decide on a general topic, try to narrow it down. For example, instead
of writing a paper on World War II, write a paper that covers Pearl Harbor.
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Once you've chosen a topic, state it in the form of a question or as a problem to
be solved—the "essential question." If you were writing about Pearl Harbor, you
might try to answer the question: What happened as a result of Japan's attack on
Pearl Harbor?
The Great Gatsby and the Roaring ‘20s Research Topics
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The Roaring ‘20s, a definition and the economic social impacts
F. Scott Fitzgerald (biography, what else he wrote, etc.)
Sacco and Vanzetti
Fashion of the 1920s, especially Flappers
Bootlegging and the rise of organized crime
Sports, especially the 1919 World Series
Automobiles (types and who had them)
Prohibition and Temperance
Charles Lindbergh and Aviation
Famous People (actors, politicians, sports figures)
Art and literature (famous works, artists, authors)
Music, Entertainment, Pop Culture, and Fads
New Technology of the 1920s
Women’s Rights, especially Women’s Suffrage
The Harlem Renaissance (what it was, where was it, and who was
involved)