Once the student has an idea of what their professor expects, and they know what kind of essay that they need to write, students can then decide on a topic. When formatting a topic or thesis statement, students will want to make sure that the topic is general enough to find information on, yet specific enough that it can be fully developed within the scope of their essay. For example, if the professor assigns a three to five page argumentative essay on a current event, the student should not make their thesis statement "The Bush Administration’s policies are bad." This is too broad a statement to be fully developed in 3-5 pages, and it lacks a focus. Instead they should focus the topic to one issue and apply it to who the issue affects. For example: "The Bush Administration’s Social Security proposal negatively (positively) impacts retirement for millions of Americans." The student should select either the negative or positive position depending on their opinion and their ability to find verifiable supporting evidence.