A List Of Popular Argumentative Essay Topics

Choosing a Topic

In order to write an argumentative essay, the writer must choose a topic that allows the reader to be strongly persuaded to agree or disagree with a central thesis. When choosing an argumentative essay topic, it is recommended that the writer select a topic with the greatest potential to elicit strong emotions, thoughts or perspectives from the reader. Popular topics for this style of writing are often highly controversial issues concerning subjects such as: religion, politics, values, morals, ethics, philosophy, legislation, or current events. Ideally, the topic selection should be one that the writer feels strongly about and is able to support with relevant, factual data. Allowing the writer’s emotional stance to overshadow the supporting evidence is a folly that must be balanced carefully. Some emotion is often effective when writing an argumentative essay. However, too much drama can sometimes interfere with presenting clear and robust illustrations of the issue’s finer points.

One way to begin the process of choosing a topic is to make a list of issues that the writer feels strongly about. Next, the writer should choose the one topic that “speaks” loudest to them. Before beginning to write, the topic must first be thoroughly researched and understood. An effective argumentative essay smoothly guides the reader towards the central theme using facts and convincing principals.

Writing the Essay

The essay should begin with an introduction that presents the main idea(s) in a succinct manner along with a thesis statement. In the body of the essay, the writer should present both sides of the issue using facts, figures, statistics or subjective stories along with convincing language designed to sway the reader’s point of view in the desired direction. The essay should conclude with a summary of the most pertinent facts and a strong position statement. An effective argumentative essay demands that the writer use a combination of research and creative writing to convey the message and it all begins with choosing a suitable topic.

Sample Topics

Below is a list of sample argumentative essay topics. Remember, the best topic will be one that the writer feels passionately about AND one that can be factually supported

• Free Will vs Destiny (Fate)
• Cremation vs Burial
• Nature vs Nurture
• The Right to Die Legislation
• The Legalization of Marijuana
• Existence of Global Warming
• Utilizing Spanking as a Parenting Technique
• Allowance vs No Allowance (as a Parenting Technique)
• Standardized Testing in the Public School System
• Mandatory Military Service for Americans