PERSUASIVE ESSAY Guidelines and Prompts
Choose an Issue The first step for writing a persuasive essay is to decide what you are trying to persuade someone to believe. Is there a compelling social issue you'd like to correct, a situation within your school that you'd like to change, an issue from history that you'd like to address, or maybe even a political condition you'd like to explore-the possibilities are endless!
Here's a list of possible topics:
Education
School Uniforms
School Choice
Bilingual Education
Locker Searches
Homework
Year Round Schooling
Computers in the Classroom/Technology in the Classroom
Online school
Mandatory Community Service before graduation
Field Trips
History
Women's Rights
Civil Rights
Vietnam War
Social and Political Issues
The Death Penalty
Cruelty to Animals
Gun Control
Cloning
Drilling Oil
Violence in the Media
Censorship
Life in the country vs. life in the city
Hunting
Censorship
Research Paper and Argument Topics | |
Race and Ethnicity | |
Should high-school history classes and social-studies curriculum be changed to reflect diversity and multicultural perspectives? How do certain television programs perpetuate racial or ethnic stereotypes? Should schools only purchase textbooks that offer revised or alternative histories of historical events? What should be done about racial disparities in the sentencing of criminals? Should the American government pay reparations and return land to Native Americans? Should hate groups have the right to distribute literature on university campuses? If research shows that certain racial or ethnic groups receive poorer medical care on average, how should this problem be corrected? Should governmental organizations have staffs that accurately reflect the racial, ethnic, and gender balance in society? | |
Gender Issues | |
What should be done to eliminate salary disparities between men and women? What should be done to create equity in executive positions for women in particular corporations and industries? Should women be allowed in military... | |
Figure 4
Figure 1
Figure 2