Finding a focus within your topic
Within your chosen topic you need to find a Focus, a central point around which your information arranges itself with a sense of purpose. You need that because every subject is by nature very large. You have to think about what aspect of the subject you want to deal with.

By concentrating on one particular aspect of a subject, and by trying out different approaches and directions, we have already started thinking about that subject. All we have to do is stop and think aloud:

· Why am I really interested in this subject?

· How is thinking about this subject going to help me in my work?

· How does this subject relate to my view of the world, my system of beliefs?

By asking those questions and finding answers to them you will have come a long way to finding a focus. An example of a focus within the topic of Jamaican Architecture might be: “The influence of Africa on Jamaican architecture” or “Contemporary Attitudes to Colonial Buildings in the Caribbean”.

An architect tends to think about everything in relation to his art. An architect thinks about things from the point of view of what is useful to him to do his or her job properly. That would be a good way to start off developing a focus.