Hello.
I am taking English 1301 online and want to do a research paper on the Amiga.

I am having trouble coming up with a Thesis.

The thesis I want to write is, "The Commodore Amiga revolutionized the multimedia industry".

I think the teacher assistant will say this is too broad. I believe I have an idea on how to research the thesis I stated.

Any help would be appreciated.

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John 3:16

@Trekiej

Rather than delving into the technology per se, you may wish to examine how the Amiga defined multimedia as a concept and in practice.

@Snorg
Thanks, that is my problem. I am not able to narrow it down.

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John 3:16

@Trekiej

In order to get started with your paper/thesis, you need two things:

a) a topic;
b) a set of research questions related to your topic.

The topic can be quite broad and general (like the one you have suggested) whereas the research questions will specify the particular areas of your research. So for example, you can select the following topic:

"The Commodore Amiga and its contribution to the development of multimedia".

For this topic you will specify the following three research questions (just an example of course):

1) What is "multimedia"?
2) How did the Amiga help define the notion of multimedia?
3) What technologies did the Amiga bring to allow the spread of multimedia?

So it's the research questions (not the topic) that will direct your research, and the "meat" for your writing will be provided by you trying to answer these questions. The actual number of research questions you will want to specify depends on the required length of your paper/thesis but three is always a good number.

Hope this helps.

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@Trekiej

Quote:

I am having trouble coming up with a Thesis. The thesis I want to write is, "The Commodore Amiga revolutionized the multimedia industry".

Be careful, the definition of multimedia has changed a lot in the last 30 years.

Today I would call Youtube one of the biggest changes in multimedia ...

@Trekiej

How long is the paper supposed to be?

How far in depth do you want to go?

Some 25 years ago (or so) I wrote a paper for a Computer Organization course on the Amiga's chipset. If you think the multimedia angle is too broad, perhaps you could focus simply on the hardware design, whose uniqueness made the multimedia angle possible.

You could also write about the Video Toaster, which actually brought home computers into that business for the first time. That might work because VT is still around (as I understand it).

A nice narrative hook might involve asking people if they remember walking through malls 20-25 years ago and seeing the Guru Meditation on TV screens in food courts which was to be replaced about 10-15 years ago with Blue Screens of Death.

Last edited by simplex on 29-Apr-2018 at 02:34 PM.

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I've decided to follow an awful lot of people I respect and leave AmigaWorld. If for some reason you want to talk to me, it shouldn't take much effort to find me.

@Trixie

Thanks, those are the questions I have asked. I finally got a 100 on my proposal, so I can go with my research.

@simplex

Up to 1500 words.
I was able to get 850 words off the top of my head in 2 hrs. I hope that is a good sign.

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John 3:16

@Trekiej

I plan to continue to study this through the summer for the fall semester.

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John 3:16

@Trekiej

That's very cool.

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Sent from my Quantum Computer.

@Trekiej

Quote:

I was able to get 850 words off the top of my head in 2 hrs. I hope that is a good sign.

Wow. I should say so. In four hours you'll be a doctor after that effort.

@Hypex

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John 3:16

@Hypex
It is just being enthusiastic.

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John 3:16

@Trekiej

I believe when people say that they are working on their thesis I believe they're meaning is thesis statement. I believe it can be a challenge to come up with a good thesis statement.

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John 3:16

@Trekiej

I quite agree. I imagine the subjects I could write a thesis on. And how to actually come up with a title that isn't as long as a summary.