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Essay Writing Guide

Essay Topics

Last updated on: Dec 19, 2023

Essay Topics: 100+ Best Essay Topics for your Guidance

By: Nova A.

13 min read

Reviewed By: Rylee W.

Published on: Jan 29, 2019

Let’s face it, essay writing can be tedious and boring. Spending hours to write a good essay is difficult, and brainstorming essay topic ideas can be even more confusing.

This is what makes writing essays difficult and time-consuming. Luckily, you can learn essay writing with practice and by following some good examples. But before that, you should know how to choose a good and engaging topic for your essay.

To help you get started, we have categorized a list of a number of different types of essay topic lists.

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Argumentative Essay Topics

An argumentative essay investigates a topic in great detail, forms an argument over it, and defends it using supporting data.

Below are some good argumentative essay topic ideas to help you draft winning essays.

School students should be allowed to curate their high school curriculum.
The role of physical education in the school system.
Should the death sentence be implemented globally?
It should be illegal to use certain types of animals for experiments and other research purposes.
Should the government do more to improve accessibility for people with physical disabilities?
Do people learn the art of becoming a politician, or are they born with it?
Social media platform owners should monitor and block comments containing hateful language.
Does technology play a role in making people feel more isolated?
Will there ever be a time when there will be no further technological advancements?
It should be illegal to produce and sell tobacco.
Girls should be motivated to take part in sports.
Rape victims should abort their unborn children.
Fathers should get equal paternity leave.
Do teenagers get into trouble because they are bored?
Individuals who have failed at parenting should be punished.
Vaping is less harmful than smoking cigarettes.
Covid-19 vaccination has more cons than pros.
Social media is the real cause of teenage depression.
Is the American education system perfect for society?
Recycling should be made compulsory.

Choosing a strong topic is key to writing a great essay. Have a look at our blog to select good argumentative essay topics to impress the audience.

Persuasive Essay Topics

A persuasive essay is similar to an argumentative paper. However, in it, the writer wants to convince the readers of their point of view. Simple essay topics would make better essays as they help the students stay focused.

Below is a list of some good persuasive essay topics for you:

Energy drinks should be banned in schools and colleges.
Gambling should be banned in the United States.
Should abortions be banned worldwide?
Hunting is an immoral act.
Is it okay to use animals in a circus?
Harmful dogs should be euthanized.
Cell phones should not be allowed in schools.
Teachers should pass a professional exam, just like students.
Schools should reduce the workload on students.
Sex education should be mandatory in high schools.
Vlogging isn’t an actual profession.
Is LinkedIn helpful for finding a job?
Social media has played a big role in increasing business opportunities.
Is Java becoming obsolete?
Should employers go through the candidate’s social media profiles?
Animal testing should be banned.
Violent video games should be banned.
Parents with mental disabilities should not be allowed to adopt children.
Alcohol consumption should be legalized in Muslim countries.
Every person should get Covid-19 vaccination.

For your help, we have gathered a wide range of persuasive essay topics . Give it a read.

Descriptive Essay Topics

A descriptive essay describes a specific thing by using sensory data. It is done to engage the reader’s five senses (taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight).

The following is a list of descriptive essay topic ideas for the students.

The person who is responsible for making a difference in my life.
Describe a smartphone and its benefits to someone from the ‘60s.
The most interesting piece of art I have ever seen.
Describe the experience of falling in love.
What does a place that only exists in your imagination look like?
Describe meeting a famous person.
Describe yourself and your personality to a stranger.
What will life be like in 2050?
An experience that changed my life forever.
Your idea of the perfect day.
My first trip abroad.
The most significant event in American History.
A popular book series that disappointed you.
A look into my daily life.
A day in the life of an ER doctor.
A trip to the museum.
The most interesting movie I watched during my summer vacation.
My favorite childhood memory.
An incident that changed my life.
An incident that restored my faith in humanity.

Here are some more descriptive essay topics to help you find a good idea for your essay.

Discover Captivating Topics in a Click!

Narrative Essay Topics

In a narrative essay, your goal is to share a personal experience by telling a story. This creative form of writing depends on how strong and exciting the theme is. The article topics for students given here are carefully curated and would help the students do good in their essays.

Some examples and topics of narrative topic ideas are presented below.

The experience that taught me how looks could be deceiving.
A week without internet and technology.
The impact your first love had on your life.
How much did your teachers contribute to making you the person you are today?
An experience that made you realize your parents were or weren’t always right.
A moment when someone you didn’t like surprised you with kindness.
The influence technology has had on your hobbies and life.
An achievement outside of academic life?
Which school lesson had the biggest influence on your life?
A day when you fought procrastination.
The time you faced rejection.
The time when you stood against your parents.
An experience that left you helpless.
The time you prayed to be an only child.
An act of kindness you can never forget.
Death of a loved one.
Your biggest pet peeve.
Your definition of a perfect weekend.
The things you regret most in life.
Your first experience of an air trip.

Choosing interesting narrative essay topics is essential to make the content compelling for the readers.

Research Essay Topics

While writing a research essay, the most crucial step is choosing a topic for your essay. Select a topic that is broad enough to compose an entire research essay on it.

Below are some of the best topics for your research essay.

Effects of violent cartoons on children.
Should universities provide accommodations to disabled students?
Events and experiences I agree are causing the increase in terrorism.
How do technology and gadgets affect the studies of children?
Do children who attend preschool do better in school?
Universities are becoming business-driven.
Does college debt affect the future lives of students?
Why has the divorce rate changed in the past decade?
Schools should allow the use of smartphones in school.
Effective ways to decrease depression among our youth.
Analyze the relationship between the United States of America and North Korea.
Why did the UK decide to leave the EU?
Is it true that students learn better in a same-sex school?
How does giving kids different gadgets affect their studies?
Compare the immigration policies of two different countries.
Events that lead to World War I.
Pros and cons of studying abroad.
How has Covid-19 influenced the education system of the world?
Individual acts that lead to Global Warming.
Effectiveness of the policies made to control Covid-19.

Looking for more? We have an extensive range of research essay topics to make the audience fall in love with your work.

Expository Essay Topics

While writing an expository essay, you have to explain and clarify your topic clearly to the readers.

Below is a list of expository essay topics:

Why do teenagers commit suicide?
What is the impact of music on our youth?
What are the consequences of skipping school?
Why do teenagers use drugs?
How can pets make you happy and improve your life?
Consequences of having alcoholic drinks within a school campus.
How does drug use affect relationships?
Is global warming a cause of skin cancer?
Is sodium bad for your health?
What is the line between being overweight and being obese?
Why do you want to pursue your desired career?
Explain how advancements in science improve the quality of life for humans.
What are some unconventional ways of relieving stress?
If you could swap your lives with someone, who would it be and why?
What are some major stress factors in a teenager’s life?
Why is getting a degree important for job life?
Pros and cons of getting financial aid.
How emotional support animals help in treating mental conditions.
How does prostitution influence society?
The environmental causes of smoking.

5StarEssays.com has gathered an additional and extensive list of expository essay topics .

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Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

In a compare and contrast essay, you evaluate and analyze the similarities and differences between the two subjects. Your reader must be able to form an opinion after weighing the pros and cons you have set forth.

Below are some topics for you to choose for your compare and contrast paper:

Extroverts and introverts.
Generation Y Vs. Generation Z.
Traditional Helicopters Vs. Lifesize Drones.
Unemployed students Vs. students with a part-time job.
SAT and TOEFL.
Persuasive and argumentative essays - How are they similar?
How were the causes of World War I different from the causes of World War II?
Education vs. professional career: what is more difficult?
Real-life or spending your time daydreaming.
Consequences of earthquake and tsunami: what’s worse?
Being popular in high school or alone?
Part-time work or studying for a higher degree?
Getting married at an old age or a young age?
Fashion today Vs. twenty years ago.
Donald Trump Vs. Hillary Clinton.
Democracy Vs. Dictatorship
Vietnam War Vs. War on Terror.
Benefits of drinking tea Vs. coffee.
Greek and Roman methodologies - Similarities and differences.
Traditional Vs. distant learning.

Get more interesting compare and contrast essay topics at 5StarEssays.com to impress your instructors.

Cause and Effect Essay Topics

The cause and effect essay explains why something happens and what happens as a result of those happenings. A cause and effect essay is a type of expository essay.

Here are a few topics for your cause and effect essay:

What are the causes of eating disorders?
Effects of climate change and global warming.
The effects of the Feminism movement.
What are the causes of increasing depression among teenagers?
What are the causes of suicidal thoughts?
Is keeping a pet effective in calming your mind?
How does divorce affects children?
Why are men afraid of commitment?
Effects of social media on youth.
Has social media affected relationships among families?
Discuss the effects of homeschooling on children.
Causes of heart diseases.
Causes of sibling rivalry.
Cramming doesn't help improve test scores.
Cause and effect of depression in the workplace.
How do abusive parents influence the mental stability of a child?
Causes and effects of bullying.
Causes of obesity in teenagers.
Effects of taking a balanced diet on health?
Causes and effects of insomnia.

To get more ideas, visit our cause and effect essay topics that are remarkable and well-suited for a great essay.

Controversial Argumentative Essay Topics

Argumentative essay topics are quite popular assignments in universities. If you are a student searching for a captivating argumentative essay topic, here is a list of ideas you can consider.

Third world war should be prevented by the Russian and US governments.
Political policies and practices affecting students.
Is gun control effective in reducing crime?
Same-sex marriage and constitutional law.
Is society over-regulated?
Are leaders born or made?
No one should be above the law.
Monarchy: pros and cons.
Rules on Political Activities by Federal Employees.
The most corrupt countries in the world.
Mercy killing should be legalized in all countries of the world.
Death penalties should be abolished.
Third-world countries should be provided with education plans by the developed countries.
Muslims should not be labeled as terrorists.
Illegal immigrants should be given equal rights.
Abortions should be legalized.
Live-in relationships should be encouraged.
Professional athletes should be allowed to consume steroids.
Should physical punishments be given to children?
Smoking in public should be an offensive crime.

Funny Argumentative Essay Topics

Are you looking for some funny argumentative essay topics for your essay? If so, choose a topic from the following list.

Why do people like watching funny videos?
What your cat is really thinking.
Why spam emails should be your favorite type of email.
Why wearing braces is fun.
School dropouts are the best in our society.
Why I don't like country music.
Types of dates.
A better way to get things done.
What organic food really is.
Things guys do that girls hate.
How to annoy your friend.
Why do women pretend that they enjoy sports?
Things preventing you from completing your homework in time.
Funny things we see in wedding ceremonies.
Why are spam emails more interesting?
Why does Starbucks coffee taste better?
Why are backbenchers smarter than other students?
Clowns are scarier than funny.
Should we be maintaining social distancing even after Covid-19?
Why is watching movies better than reading books?

Informative Essay Topics for Students

Essay writing requires depth. However, you don’t have to choose a complex topic in middle school, high school, or college.

Here is a list of interesting essay topics for middle school, high school, and college students.

Essay Topics for College Students

Virtual classes cannot replace the traditional class system.
Advantages and disadvantages of online classes.
Is there a need to reform the college education system?
Assault weapons should not be legal.
People with a history of mental illness should not be allowed to purchase firearms.
The taxation system needs to be changed around the globe.
Kids should not be the target audience in advertising.
The number of calories should be mentioned with every meal.
Feminists have effectively improved the workforce for women.
Is the death penalty effective?
How to identify fake news?
How to maintain a healthy life?
How to treat PTSD naturally?
Should people be judged on their appearance?
How is technology influencing the work performance of people?
Private Vs. public schools
How to choose majors in high school?
Impact of legalizing drugs on society.
Significance of learning social values.
How to prevent bullying on campus?

Essay Topics for High School

The choice to join the armed forces should be an individual decision.
Listening to music can increase work efficiency.
Being honest has more cons than pros.
People who have been in an accident value life more than others.
Embarrassing moments help boost your confidence.
Kindness is the most valuable personal trait.
Spontaneity can improve your life.
Can hobbies help improve the richness of one’s life?
Dressing properly in the office improves work efficiency
Being organized can help in school as well as the office.
Impact of homosexuality on society.
What is feminism?
How to overcome fears and phobias?
Significance of having leadership skills in job life?
Causes and treatments for bipolar disorder.
Side effects of consuming antidepressants.
How important is mental health in succeeding professionally?
How do teaching methods influence learning abilities?
Should specially-abled people be allowed to work in offices?
Discrimination and racism in the US.

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Essay Topics for Middle School

Every child should have chores at home.
There should not be any summer classes.
Should students continue studying during summer vacation?
Parents should pay attention to the amount of time their children spend watching television.
Favorite family summer vacation.
Sports should be mandatory in every school.
Processed foods should not be part of private and public school lunch.
Do students still use newspapers for research?
Every individual should spend a year doing community service.
The weekend should be 3 days long.

Still need help choosing an essay topic? 5StarEssays is a professional essay writing service that helps you get a high quality essay. We have a team of essay writers who are professionals and can do your essay .

We also have an AI-powered paper writer for you to help you generate an essay in seconds to use as a reference!

As a Digital Content Strategist, Nova Allison has eight years of experience in writing both technical and scientific content. With a focus on developing online content plans that engage audiences, Nova strives to write pieces that are not only informative but captivating as well.

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101 Great Essay Writing Topics for Students

Before you sit down to write, you need a topic, and these essay writing topics can help you get started.

Writing an essay is an important skill for high school and college students. Essays show a writer’s ability to think through a topic, explore their point of view and persuade or inform others of that. Yet, finding essay writing topics can feel vague.

This list will help students find the right topic for a descriptive essay or argumentative essay. It outlines a number of hot topics that students can delve into in order to express their opinions and showcase their writing skills. You can use these to practice your essay writing skills or as prompts for you or students.

1. Is Climate Change Real?

2. the benefits (or drawbacks) of homework , 3. a funny childhood memory, 4. video game addiction, 5. the role of pets in our lives, 6. my summer vacation, 7. a personal victory or success, 8. what will life be like in 2050, 9. a trip to the museum, 10. describe meeting a famous person, 11. the impact of social media on tweens, 12. importance of school uniforms, 13. extracurricular activities: essential or optional, 14. favorite book and its impact, 15. the influence of celebrities on youth, 16. the significance of recreational activities, 17. if i were the principal of my school, 18. why the sale and production of tobacco should get banned, 19. should every country have the death sentence, 20. is homeschooling better or worse than public school, 21. is the us election process fair, 22. how can we reduce climate change, 23. your responsibility in climate change, 24. are you politically influenced by media, 25. feminism then and now, 26. the impact of immigration on host countries, 27. are environmentalist groups doing the wrong protests, 28. should we cancel cancel culture, 29. is artificial intelligence a boon or bane to society, 30. is genetic engineering ethical, 31. the role of social movements in social change, 32. censorship in media: necessary or suppressive, 33. is technology making education lazy, 34. are we supposed to share culture, 35. why soda should not be on fast food kids meals, 36. illegal immigrants should not be jailed, 37. breastfeeding in public should be considered normal, 38. why gun control is needed, 39. a turning point in your life, 40. should religion be taught in schools, 41. recycling should be compulsory, 42. colleges are becoming business driven, 43. the necessity of art in education, 44. the importance of space exploration, 45. the future of renewable energy, 46. fast fashion’s environmental impact, 47. social media and its influence on body image, 48. the role of social media in interpersonal relationships, 49. the consequences of cyberbullying, 50. the relevance of standardized testing today, 51. the influence of video games on youth behavior, 52. homework vs. class assignments, 53. social media vs. in-person interaction, 54. physical education vs. nutritional education, 55. life before and after the internet, 56. right side vs left side of the brian thinkers, 57. tea vs coffee, 58. fashion today vs 20 years ago, 59. ebooks vs. physical books, 60. urban vs. rural living, 61. traditional vs. digital art, 62. freelance vs. full-time employment, 63. western vs. eastern philosophies, 64. democracy vs. dictatorship, 65. introverts vs. extroverts, 66. working in your country vs. working abroad, 67. science fiction vs. fantasy, 68. public vs. private healthcare, 69. first day of school memories, 70. a memorable act of kindness, 71. your best or worst holiday, 72. an experience with peer pressure, 73. a surprising event or change of fortune., 74. your first teacher, 75. your idea of the perfect day, 76. imagine a week without the internet or technology, 77. a day you overcame rejection, 78. overcoming my fear, 79. the day i lost my first pet, 80. that someone who influenced me, 81. the most embarrassing moment, 82. the time i stood up for what i believe, 83. the invention i wish i had thought of, 84. an unexpected friendship, 85. the day that defined my future, 86. how is global warming changing the environment, 87. the causes of world war ii, 88. what is racism, and how are people sometimes unaware of it, 89. does free will exist, 90. what reading means to me, 91. the role of journalists and the media, 92. animal testing should be banned, 93. why do teenagers commit suicide, 94. the role of the united nations, 95. the history and impact of the internet, 96. why is financial literacy crucial today, 97. the importance of technology in healthcare, 98. the rise of electric vehicles, 99. an analysis of a popular tv show, 100. the value of learning a second language, 101. the stigma around mental health, a final word on the best essay writing topics, what are some topics for a persuasive essay, what are some good topics for an essay, essay writing resources, best essay writing topics for middle school students.

If you are picking an essay for a 7th or 8th-grade student, the topic needs to be something that students in that age range are interested in. This will help them want to do the research and explore their ideas. This age range will often write expository essays or narrative essays, rather than persuasive ones.

Here are some essay topics to consider:

Climate change is a hot topic with middle schoolers, and this essay topic idea lets them explore it. This essay topic can work well for a persuasive, informative, or cause-and-effect essay.

Few middle school students enjoy homework, but this can be a great way to get them to dig into why the education system relies on homework. Students can give their opinions about the need for homework or why homework should be eliminated.

Middle school students who are not ready to write on argumentative essay topics can practice their English essay writing skills by writing about a funny thing that happened as a child. This topic should focus on entertaining, engaging storytelling.

Many young students spend a lot of time playing video games, and this can translate into an essay topic. Exploring the mental health effects of too much video gameplay is a good option. Ask them to write about games they live or spend too much time playing.

Do you have a pet at home that you can’t imagine not being there when you return? How do you treat it, and do you think of your pet as a best friend? Opt for a cause-and-effect essay on the role of pets in our lives to showcase this bond. Then, include the positive effects of owning a pet. Don’t forget to talk about the responsibilities that come with it.

This is a staple choice of teachers everywhere, particularly after the summer break. All younger students can write essays easily enough about how they spent a few weeks off school and where they went. Perhaps it was time with a family member or a best friend? There is a good reason that many elementary and middle school teachers assign this as a writing assignment at the start of school.

A student could start writing this essay by writing about when they felt like all was lost. Then, they could describe how they picked themselves up off the dirt and achieved a victory.

Will we find solutions to the problems we face today, like poverty and homelessness? Will technology enrich our lives further or be the cause of new issues?

Many young students often think about the future, and this topic allows them to let their imaginations run loose.

This way, they can express their ideas on how the world will look like in a few decades. It also gives you insight into the child’s personality. Do they see the positives in everything, or are they a bit more realistic?

As children, we loved going to the museum. Even today, it’s interesting to look at historical art, sculptures, and old vehicles.

This essay topic works exceptionally well right after a school holiday. Maybe the young student just witnessed some of the best historical pieces. Writing about this topic allows them to reconnect with the emotions they felt.

In this essay, ask students what they liked most about visiting the museum, what important lessons they learned, and how they felt in the moment.

We all have favorite celebrities that we’d love to meet. This could be an actor, musician, or athlete.

In this essay topic, ask students to describe what it’s like to meet a famous person. How would they feel, what questions would the student ask them, and what activities would they do together?

By asking your student to write the essay as descriptively as possible, they’ll experience the positive emotions associated with meeting their idol.

For this prompt, your goal is to explore the balance between the good, the bad, and the unknown in social media platforms. As a middle schooler, you know better than anyone how integral social media is in your daily life. Think about it – how many people your age don’t have a phone connected to the internet?

A cause-and-effect essay on this subject will allow you to investigate how social networking systems influence people. Self-reflect and analyze how social media sites affect your feelings, friendships, and even schoolwork.

Have you ever wondered why some schools insist on their students having uniforms? This is despite other schools being more lenient and letting their students wear whatever they want. If you are, then satiate your curiosity via this prompt.

An argumentative essay will help you understand both sides of the debate. You can discuss why schools make uniforms mandatory or optional and investigate how uniforms affect students’ behavior, academic performance, and school pride.

Are you a part of your school’s sports team or another club, or do you prefer to focus your time on academics only? If you have ever wondered what extracurricular activities are for, use this prompt to write an informative essay on the importance of extracurricular activities.

Write about the exact details of the role of extracurricular activities in a student’s overall development. Explore and add the benefits and drawbacks of these activities as well. Through your essay, other students can make informed choices about how they spend their time at school.

Books are all about exploration. When you use books for school, they aim to make you more knowledgeable. But they are also doors to fantasy lands and help you learn more about yourself.

Do you have a favorite book that left a mark on you? For this prompt, write a personal narrative essay sharing that experience. Analyze why the book matters, then add how it has changed or defined you. Your essay might sway others to read your favorite book.

Celebrities and influences are everywhere – so much so that you can’t avoid them no matter how hard you try. They’re in the music you listen to, the streets you drive through, and even the boxes of your favorite cereals. For this prompt, write an argumentative essay about these celebrities and their critical influence on younger people.

Focus on celebrities’ sway on youth’s behavior, values, and aspirations. Argue whether they are positive role models or if they set unrealistic expectations. It’s best to choose celebrities everyone knows, like the Kardashians or the Bangtan Boys.

What do you do when you have time off from school? Aside from the instances you attend family events, do you like swimming, biking, or drawing? This prompt is perfect for a descriptive essay where you can detail your favored recreational activity.

Start with how you discovered the activity and why you got hooked on it. Include its significance to your life. Does it help you relax, meet new people, etc.? You can also talk about the skills you gained by doing this recreational activity regularly.

Have you ever dreamt of calling the shots at school? What about imagining being the principal? In this essay, share ideas on what parts of your school you want to keep or change. Analyze each critically and propose the improvements the school needs. Via this prompt, you can showcase your leadership skills. Remember to express your thoughts respectfully and constructively, and don’t forget to offer rational explanations for each proposed change.

Controversial Essay Writing Topics for Older Students

As they enter high school and college, students should start transitioning from informative essays to persuasive ones. Controversial essay topics are a good way to do this. They help students develop their critical thinking skills and learn how to reason an argument. The below topics the bill well:

Few people would argue about the health benefits of tobacco, yet it remains a top-selling product. This essay will explore the benefits of banning the sale of the product altogether.

The death sentence is a controversial ethical and social issue. This essay will explore whether or not it is a suitable method of punishment and deterrent for serious crimes and the benefits or drawbacks of adding it to every country across the globe.

Homeschooling is growing in popularity, and this school essay topic will explore the benefits or drawbacks of this particular school choice. It may be pulled from personal experience if the student is homeschooled.

Elections are an essential part of our lives. It gives us the power to determine who will govern our country. However, is the election process fair?

In the essay, your student will get an opportunity to voice their ideas, describe what changes they’d like to see, and how those changes will positively impact the nation.

This essay topic requires more research, and students walk away with knowledge that can help them in the long term.

Climate change is a serious topic that impacts everyone’s life. Sea levels are rising, which makes it difficult for animals like polar bears to survive.

When writing about this essay topic, students will have to research the effect of climate change, what causes it, and how to reduce its impact.

This requires logical thinking and creativity. It’ll encourage students to come up with a plan of action. Maybe they’ll limit the number of carbon emissions released by companies, promote solar power, or decrease the price of energy-efficient appliances.

Climate change has always been a controversial topic. There are many protests about it, but despite the protests, there are still no proper solutions. For this prompt, focus on what you, as a student, can do to help stop or slow down climate change. Identify your personal role in this phenomenon. Examine both your positive and negative contributions. As you write this essay, you can also discover sustainable life changes to add to your life. You can even encourage your future readers to follow your example.

Keeping up to date with world news is easy because we’re connected to the media 24/7. With this in mind, create a cause-and-effect essay and inspect the power of media in shaping your political views.

For instance, have you sided with a viewpoint because of a convincing social media post? For sure, many have experienced this once or twice. Dig deeper via your essay, analyze the media’s role and motivations, and present your findings.

If you plan to create a compare-and-contrast essay, go for this prompt. Analyze the evolution of feminist movements. Then, examine their origins, goals, and the changes they’ve brought about.

Have you ever wondered how the feminism of your grandma’s era differed from today’s? By researching this topic, you’ll not only increase your knowledge – you’ll also be able to educate others.

Are you looking at writing about globally relevant issues? If so, immigration is a complex subject you can explore—research immigration in the news, books, or even movies. You can even ask your teacher for help if you need to. For this prompt, connect your findings to the issues of the countries receiving immigrants. Make sure to differentiate the legal from illegal immigrants to relay your points better.

The environment is a sacred and essential part of our lives. And so it’s easy to understand the movements and the organizations that want to protect it. But do you think their actions will make others appreciate their cause in the long run?

This is why this controversial prompt is perfect for a persuasive essay. Talk about the recent protests. It can be the protestor’s destruction of paintings of legendary artists , glueing their hands on airport runways, or stopping people on the streets. Critique the strategies of environmental activist groups. Are they properly raising awareness? Or are their methods causing more harm than good?

Cancel culture is often based on limited evidence and incites blind hate. As an older student, you’re likely familiar with the term and its implications. In your essay, list cancel culture’s pros and cons and analyze each in depth.

Is cancel culture helpful? Is it only spreading misinformation? Is the hive mentality it encourages good? Share your thoughts on this recent societal development. Then, offer ways on how to better interact with cancel culture. For instance, you can recommend holding off judgment and thoroughly researching the issue first to make up your own mind.

Artificial intelligence is here to stay, but how helpful is it? For this prompt, create an expository essay that analyzes how AI is both a boon and a bane. For example, AI can make companies’ systems more efficient. But at the same time, it takes jobs away from writers, artists, and even tech devs.

Cite recent happenings, like the Texas A&M Commerce professor who failed his entire class to show the issue’s relevancy. As a student, you’re pretty familiar with AI developments. You might even have experienced it first-hand. Stop and think about AI’s broader implications via your essay.

Genetic engineering has always been a controversial subject. Since you’re an older student, you’ve probably had debates about this in class or with friends. To better understand the issue, construct a well-researched, argumentative essay on genetic engineering and the ethics that surround it.

As a student and a general public member, you are not just an observer of what happens in society. You are an active participant in social dynamics. So, for this prompt, opt for a cause-and-effect essay where you analyze how collective actions and thinking shape societies. Support your thoughts with evidence and share your realizations.

For this prompt, start by defining freedom of expression and comparing it with censorship. Then, present cases (preferably recent ones) to explain why censorship is necessary or repressive. This will help you create an informative essay that educates your readers.

In your essay, answer the question: “Is technology helpful or detrimental to education?” As a student, you’re at the center of this revolution. For instance, online classes are more prevalent now than some years ago. Submitting soft copies of papers online wasn’t even a thing then. Write an expository essay about whether technology aids or hampers your learning process.

If you want to write a thought-provoking descriptive essay, consider this prompt: There are unique cultures. But should these cultures remain exclusive? Think about your own culture and what it means to you. Would you like to share your culture? It’s time to share your thoughts and experiences.

In the same essay, you can also mention cultural appreciation versus cultural appropriation. Talk about these ideas’ differences and similarities.

Persuasive Essay Topics for Older Students

Persuasive essays work to convince a reader of the writer’s point of view. These topics lend themselves well to a great essay that focuses on persuasion.

Fast food kids meals target young consumers, and soda is often included. Making junk food a way of life contributes to childhood obesity, and this topic could explore alternatives to soda for these kid-centered meals.

When people enter a country illegally, putting them in jail does not solve the problem. Instead, alternative punishments or even help with attaining legal immigrant status can reduce the strain on an overloaded system while also helping these individuals become part of society.

Babies need breast milk to survive, yet many places in society frown on women feeding their babies in public. This essay will explore why this is an outdated and unhealthy idea.

The best topics for persuasive essays are ones that are a little controversial. Gun control fits the bill well, and it can be a good topic for an essay. Other topics include alcohol, drugs and, in some cases, religion. That said, it depends on the nature of your students and school.

All the students can typically point to an occasion or life event when their worldview or concept changed. Ask them to write about a defining life experience.

This essay topic is for older students and adult learners who can take a thoughtful but critical stance on the role of religion in schools today. Should it be taught or removed from schools, and why?

The average American produces 1,704 pounds of garbage per year. Most of this is thrown in landfills, which can be equally as damaging to the environment as littering. Oceans are also filled with plastic that negatively affects the lives of marine life.

However, if we can recycle all that waste, we won’t damage the environment. This essay topic encourages older students to research recycling and the pros and cons of making it mandatory.

Getting a tertiary education is essential. It allows you to learn a marketable skill that other people pay you for.

However, private colleges are becoming more common, leading people to think that these institutions are more focused on making money.

When writing about this topic, students need to research the cost of college tuition, how this high price negatively impacts their adult lives, and how the government can fix it.

Through this prompt, explore and express the value of creativity and aesthetics in one’s learning. Explain why art is essential. How does it influence your learning and perception of the world? Consider this: art is a medium of expression and critical thinking. To write this essay effectively, identify, describe, and reflect on different art forms. You can also focus on art forms that you’ve experienced.

Have you ever looked at the night sky and wondered what’s out there? Space exploration is all about the curiosity to discover the unknown. In your essay, go beyond rockets or astronauts and highlight man’s thirst for knowledge.

Start with the historical record of space exploration. Mention how it started and how it became possible. You can even include its milestone achievements. Then, move on to experts’ predictions on the future of space exploration. Discuss its benefits to humans, common challenges, and implications for our future.

Let’s now jump to another vital global discourse. Are you aware of the environmental and economic connotations of renewable energy? You may be young now, but you’re not a stranger to the problems of this planet. Through this prompt, you can become a part of the solution. In your essay, define and discuss different types of renewable energy. Underscore their potential, pros, and cons versus traditional energy sources.

Have you ever wondered where your clothes come from and where they end up? Sadly, most of us consume fast fashion. But have you considered fast fashion’s environmental consequences?

In your essay, identify facts about fast fashion. Credible sources should support these facts so readers can realize how detrimental it is to the environment. Review the lifecycle of a typical fast fashion item. Include the environmental cost at each stage. Then, look for ways to promote sustainable fashion choices.

Today, social media dominates our lives. But have you thought about how it affects how you view your body image? This is a sensitive issue, but timely nonetheless.

For this prompt, voice your experiences and insights about social media and the unrealistic body standards it presents. By doing so, you can help others navigate through the maze of internet likes and shares. Talk about how social networking services impact how people view themselves, including their self-esteem. Then, offer ways on how to circumvent these problems.

It’s a fact today that most of our relationships start and are maintained online. But does this virtual connection hamper real-life relationships?

Through your essay, explore the link between social media and interpersonal relationships. You can tell it from your perspective. How have your relationships evolved in the age of social media? Review the dynamics of online friendships, mentioning the blurred lines between the virtual and real world. It would be useful to talk to someone you know who remembers a time before mobile phones and social media, which only became prevalent in recent decades.

Sadly, the rise of social networks also gives bullies more channels to hurt others. Now, they can also hide behind screens. In your essay, define cyberbullying and its effects on the victim’s mental health. You can even include real-life cases for illustration. End your paper by presenting measures to prevent cyberbullying.

The education system needs some updating. If you want to delve into this issue, use a prompt that critiques its current methods. One of the most timely is standardized testing. What’s your take on it? Does it measure intelligence, or is it merely rote learning? List the pros and cons of standardized testing from your perspective as a student. Write as if you want to spark a conversation about educational reform.

At your age, you’ve probably experienced the evolution of video games first-hand. If you’re a gamer, have you ever questioned how it influenced your behavior? What about your peers?

For this prompt, focus on the psychological aspects of gaming. Mention the impact of different gaming genres on mental health and behavior. Don’t just talk about the adverse effects. It’s best to also consider the potential benefits of gaming as a learning tool.

Compare and Contrast Essays for Older Students

This type of essay compares two like or unlike things, drawing ways they are the same or different. It’s useful as it provides a structure for aspiring essayists that they can use to outline a longer work. Some ideas include:

Which has more value, homework or assignments completed in class? This essay topic will explore the contrast between these two types of school assignments. For fun, give it to students to complete in class… and then ask them to revise it at home.

Social media can keep people connected, but the increased push for social media connection can detract from in-person communication. This essay will explore the contrast between the two types of communication.

Both exercise and diet play a role in health. This essay will explore the impact of both through the education system.

Older students and adult learners can remember a time before we spend so much time. Is life any better now that we spend so much time connected to the Internet? This essay explores what it means to be constantly connected.

Right side of the brain thinkers are typically more creative and artistic. The left side of the brain thinkers are analytical and mathematical. What’s more valuable in today’s society? What can each type learn from its counterpart? And are you truly one type exclusively?

Caffeine is a staple for many students and workers. It gives you a boost of energy in the morning, which allows you to get more done. It also helps if you have a test coming up and need to study hard.

However, larger amounts of caffeine are known to cause heart palpitations, anxiety, and increased stress.

In this essay, students look at the benefits and drawbacks of tea and coffee. It empowers them with knowledge on when to limit their consumption.

Fashion is constantly changing. What looked cool 20 years ago might look weird today. Older students will also notice how their fashion choices changed from middle school to high school and from high school to college.

In this essay, students talk about what causes this change and how long it takes for the public to accept a specific style.

You’ve likely used ebooks and physical books for your studies and hobbies. In your essay, use your experience to analyze these different reading mediums. Are you an avid Kindle user? Or do you thrive on the feel of a physical book? Write about relevant aspects like convenience, feel, accessibility, and cost. Always support your arguments with personal anecdotes and factual data.

Do you live in the city or the outskirts? Both have pros and cons. If you’ve always been a city student, maybe you’ve wondered what life is like on the other side. If so, then this prompt lets you delve into these contrasting lifestyles.

Feel free to discuss factors such as access to amenities, social interactions, and lifestyle choices. Try to visualize and put yourself in both scenarios to offer an authentic perspective.

There’s been a divide between traditional and digital art for a long time. In this prompt, uncover the why . Consider aspects like skill set, accessibility, impact, and audience reach. Then, add your thoughts on the issue. Are you drawn to the authenticity of traditional art? Or do you admire the versatility of digital art? Bring in your observations and experiences to make your essay stand out.

You might still be a student, but you’ve thought about what your job will be like in the future, right? Then, have you ever wondered about the benefits of being your boss versus the security of a full-time job? Explore these contrasting work styles. By the end of your essay, you will also better understand what awaits you after graduation.

Talk about job stability, work-life balance, income potential, and personal growth. You can draw on real-life examples from people you know.

For a more intriguing essay, explore different philosophical frameworks. Are you drawn to Western philosophy’s empirical approach? Or do you prefer Eastern thought’s spiritual aspects? Explore themes such as the self, ethics, knowledge, and reality. Then, compare how these philosophies approach these ideas differently. This is your chance to show off your critical thinking skills.

Another complicated but interesting prompt is analyzing two contrasting political systems, democracy and dictatorship. Inspect how each system impacts citizens’ rights, economic development, social equality, and international relations. Don’t shy away from using historical and current examples to solidify your arguments.

Are you an introvert, extrovert, or something in between? Picking this topic will not only give you an exciting essay. You will also learn more about yourself. This encourages you to delve into the psychological aspects of these personality types.

In your essay, analyze how these traits affect one’s social interactions, career choices, and personal well-being. Be critical of stereotypes and delve into the potential benefits and challenges of both.

Have you ever dreamed of living and working abroad? Or do you want to stay where you are now, close to home? Here, you can explore the pros and cons of working or leaving your home country. Mention cultural exposure, career opportunities, and personal growth. Contrast it with the challenges of adapting to a new environment.

Science fiction and fantasy are both popular, even today. Why not when it opens doors to various imaginations? For your essay, dive into why these genres are favored and highlight their unique characteristics. Include their societal implications and why they appeal to certain readers.

Debate has been raging on the implications of public and private healthcare systems. These debates often concern a country’s economy and its citizens’ lives. When writing this essay, you can use your personal experience or rely on secondary research. Discuss aspects like accessibility, cost, quality of care, and efficiency. For this prompt, add real-world examples and facts to strengthen your arguments.

Narrative Essay Topics for Older Students

Sometimes, an everyday life experience can make great essay material, and writing about your own life means less risk of plagiarism. Here are some ideas:

The first day of school in a new school can be the fodder for a number of personal stories about school life and the social aspects of it. Writers can capture those emotions in this type of essay. It’s also a suitable type of essay to write as it can serve as a gateway into other types of writing, like a memoir.

If someone did something for you once that really stood out, transform that into an essay topic. You will enjoy remembering the action while creating your essay.

What you did or didn’t do on your summer vacation as a child can be a great starting point for a narrative essay. Older students can use this essay prompt to write about past experiences and reflect on them beyond simply reporting.

Peer pressure can be positive or negative, but everyone has experienced it. This essay will explore a time when peer pressure made you do something or not do something and what the effect of that decision was.

Was this change in your life for the best or the worst, and how did you respond? Describe in detail.

When you first met your mentor, teacher or guide. How did you respond to them, and what did they have to show you? Similarly, a student could also write an essay about a teacher they shunned or turned away from.

When waking up in the morning, we all strive to have the perfect day. Ask students what their perfect day will look like, what activities they’d do, and with whom.

By being as descriptive as possible, students picture the perfect day in their minds. This improves students’ storytelling skills and helps them structure events in chronological order.

This fun experiment gives students insight into how reliant they are on technology and how their lives will look without it.

By imagining this week in their heads, it’ll give them an idea of what other activities they’ll engage in. This could be working out, socializing, or learning a new skill.

Rejection is something everyone must face at some point. Few things are scarier than rejection. But when you overcome it, you get a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.

For example, this could be asking that cute guy or girl out on a date or applying for a job at your dream company.

Are you interested in writing an essay while also self-reflecting? When you use this prompt, you also demonstrate your tenacity to overcome obstacles. Think back to any fear you have had. It doesn’t matter if they’re big or small as long as they shape your character.

Begin your essay by describing the fear you had and why. Then, narrate what you did to overcome it. Remember to discuss the aftermath and the personal growth you experienced.

Losing a pet is a personal experience. How you handled your emotions at that time shows your nature. When you write your essay, paint a vivid picture of your pet by describing quirks and traits. Explain how losing a pet changed you; don’t avoid the pain. Then, talk about your grieving process and eventual acceptance.

Did someone come to mind when you read the prompt? It’s unsurprising if they did, considering that every person has that one person who left a significant impact on their life.

For your essay, choose and write about that individual who helps you appreciate life. Give specific details, such as when they made you realize something, and then connect them to how their teachings shaped you. This prompt also allows students to reflect on their character description and development.

For a fun narrative essay, share the moment you felt the most embarrassed. You don’t have to be specific about it; you can instead focus on what you felt then and how you cope during that awkward situation. You can also mention what you think of the memory now that you’re looking back at it. Is it as embarrassing as you’ve thought back then?

Here is a medium to exhibit your ethics and the strength of your convictions. For this prompt, narrate the situation and explain why you must stand up. What were your thoughts during that moment? Talk about your emotions then and the consequences you’ve faced, if any. Mention how the experience shaped your approach to similar situations.

Is there any invention that made you go, “Ah, I wish I thought of that before!” It can be because of the fame that came with it, the profit, or just the sheer genius of its inventor. Select an invention that fascinates you and explain why it interests you. Think of why you wish you’d come up with it. Talk about its impact on the world and how it aligns with your interests or passions.

Friendships often form in the most unexpected places and situations. For this prompt, highlight your openness to diverse experiences and people.

In your essay, describe the circumstances that led to this unexpected friendship. Add why you found it so surprising. Speak about the qualities you appreciate in your friend and include how this relationship has affected your life. Your objective is to encourage others to broaden their social circles.

For this prompt, share a turning point in your life that set your future course. Present a comprehensive account of the event or decision that significantly impacted your future by mentioning factors that influenced it. Add your thoughts and feelings then and how things have unfolded since then.

Informative Essay Topics for Older Students

Sometimes, the goal of an essay is not to persuade but to inform. Informative or expository essay topics need to have a lot of information behind them so students have something to write about. These topics lend themselves well to that:

Global warming has many effects, and this essay will explore those thoroughly. The goal is to inform, not persuade or create change.

Exploring the causes behind a global war, like World War II, can create a long essay. You can spin this essay topic easily enough by picking other historical events.

Racism is a hot topic today, and this essay will explore how it can often hide in someone’s way of thinking.

A popular essay topic in many philosophy and art classes, this is an open-ended subject. A student can use it to explore their personal philosophy and develop their critical thinking skills.

Check out this list for other philosophy questions .

Becoming a better writer means spending a lot of time reading great books. One of the best ways to encourage reading is asking readers and students to reflect on why they love reading what they learned from previous books. It’s good subject matter for an essay too.

Many people are skeptical and or don’t trust news produced by journalists. But are they right? Surely there is a bar between trustworthy and untrustworthy sources? In this essay, explore how to tell good journalism apart from bad journalism.

When testing products to see if it’s safe for humans, scientists will run tests on animals. However, this testing isn’t only cruel but ineffective. Animals don’t get certain diseases that humans do. This includes HIV, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and certain types of cancers.

In this essay, students must conduct research and present a case for why animal testing is unethical.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for those between the ages of 10 to 24. This is a complex topic since there could be several different factors at play. Some of these include bullying, abuse, and traumatic stress.

When writing this essay, students will be encouraged to dig deeper into the main reasons why teenagers commit suicide and how we can help them as a community. This spreads awareness and gets people to take positive action.

How much do you know about the United Nations? This prompt will test your knowledge of international relations and politics as you have to pen a paper that’s easy to understand. Include the intricacies of global leadership and peacekeeping by explaining the critical functions of the UN. Then, add how it helps society and how its efforts benefit you as a student.

Where did the internet come from? How did it develop to be what it is today? In your essay, recall the history of the World Wide Web and its profound impact on our daily lives. As an older student, you’ve lived through some of the internet’s transformative phases. How has that shaped the way you live, work, or study? Answer all of these in your paper.

Many people still get confused about handling their incomes, budgets, and expenses. In your essay, explain why many fumble their finances. Include how understanding one’s finances matters now more than ever.

For a more relatable paper, you can narrate your personal journey towards financial literacy. You can also analyze current financial trends and their implications for the average person.

Technology has revolutionized healthcare, so it’ll always be a timely topic. For this prompt, delve into the impact of technological advancements on health and medicine. It’s a brilliant way to explore subjects like telemedicine or electronic health records. You can even include the role of AI in disease diagnosis.

Have you noticed more electric vehicles on the road recently? In your essay, analyze the surge in popularity of electric vehicles. Add their environmental impact and the technological advances that have made them viable. Don’t forget to include your thoughts on a future dominated by electric vehicles.

If you have a TV show you’re fond of, then you can talk about it in your essay. Explore the show’s central themes, character developments, and narrative techniques. It might even give you an excuse to rewatch your favorite series!

Parlez-vous Français? If you have a second language or are interested in learning one someday, this prompt is for you. Remember to focus your essay on the benefits of bilingualism or multilingualism. If you have any, include your memories of learning a new language. You can also ask others who speak more than one language about their experiences. Add the challenges, triumphs, and doors it has opened for you.

Today, there is the question of whether we’re doing enough to address mental health. In your paper, be open and talk about the stigma around mental health issues. You can opt to share your personal experiences or observations. Then, don’t forget to add the consequences of ignoring mental health. It’s a powerful way to raise awareness and promote empathy.

Whether you are a high school student writing an essay for homework or you are sitting down to write a college essay as you apply for school, procrastination often occurs because you do not know what to write about. Having a list of topics handy will help.

To choose a topic, first, decide what type of essay you need to write. Then, browse this list of writing topics to find one that is interesting to you, or use the list to think of a different, similar topic. Soon, you will have an essay that is engaging and informative and can showcase your writing abilities well.

If you need more inspiration, check out our guide to the 101+ best writing prompts .

FAQs About the Best Essay Writing Topics

Persuasive essays require a controversial topic in order to give the writer the freedom to write in a persuasive manner. Some good topics for these essays include: Soda in fast food meals Breastfeeding in public Using jail to deter illegal immigrants Banning cell phones for young children

Some good topics for an essay include: Gun control Social media Personal experiences Health Social issues A life event

What is a Personal Essay?

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Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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Essay Topics – List of 500+ Essay Writing Topics and Ideas

List of 500+ essay writing topics and ideas.

Essay topics in English can be difficult to come up with. While writing essays , many college and high school students face writer’s block and have a hard time to think about topics and ideas for an essay. In this article, we will list out many good essay topics from different categories like argumentative essays, essays on technology, environment essays for students from 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grades. Following list of essay topics are for all – from kids to college students. We have the largest collection of essays. An essay is nothing but a piece of content which is written from the perception of writer or author. Essays are similar to a story, pamphlet, thesis, etc. The best thing about Essay is you can use any type of language – formal or informal. It can biography, the autobiography of anyone. Following is a great list of 100 essay topics. We will be adding 400 more soon!

But Before that you may wanna read some awesome Essay Writing Tips here .

500+ essay topics for students and children

Get the Huge list of 100+ Speech Topics here

Argumentative Essay Topics

Should plastic be banned?
Pollution due to Urbanization
Education should be free
Should Students get limited access to the Internet?
Selling Tobacco should be banned
Smoking in public places should be banned
Facebook should be banned
Students should not be allowed to play PUBG

Essay Topics on Technology

Wonder Of Science
Mobile Phone

Essay Topics on Festivals on Events

Independence Day (15 August)
Teachers Day
Summer Vacation
Children’s Day
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
Janmashtami
Republic Day

Essay Topics on Education

Education Essay
Importance of Education
Contribution of Technology in Education

Essay Topics on Famous Leaders

Mahatma Gandhi
APJ Abdul Kalam
Jawaharlal Nehru
Swami Vivekananda
Mother Teresa
Rabindranath Tagore
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Subhash Chandra Bose
Abraham Lincoln
Martin Luther King
Lal Bahadur Shashtri

Essay Topics on Animals and Birds

My Favorite Animal

Essays Topics About Yourself

My Best Friend
My Favourite Teacher
My Aim In Life
My Favourite Game – Badminton
My Favourite Game – Essay
My Favourite Book
My Ambition
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
India of My Dreams
My School Life
I Love My Family
My Favourite Subject
My Favourite Game Badminton
My Father My Hero
My School Library
My Favourite Author
My plans for summer vacation

Essay Topics Based on Environment and Nature

Global Warming
Environment
Air Pollution
Environmental Pollution
Water Pollution
Rainy Season
Climate Change
Importance Of Trees
Winter Season
Deforestation
Natural Disasters
Save Environment
Summer Season
Trees Our Best Friend Essay In English

Essay Topics Based on Proverbs

Health Is Wealth
A Stitch in Time Saves Nine
An Apple a Day Keeps Doctor Away
Where there is a will, there is way
Time and Tide wait for none

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Essay Topics for Students from 6th, 7th, 8th Grade

Noise Pollution
Environment Pollution
Women Empowerment
Time and Tide Wait for none
Science and Technology
Importance of Sports
Sports and Games
Time Management
Cleanliness is next to Godliness
Cleanliness
Rome was not Built in a Day
Unemployment
Clean India
Cow Essay In English
Describe Yourself
Festivals Of India
Ganesh Chaturthi
Healthy Food
Importance Of Water
Plastic Pollution
Value of Time
Honesty is the Best Policy
Gandhi Jayanti
Human Rights
Knowledge Is Power
Same Sex Marriage
Childhood Memories
Cyber Crime
Kalpana Chawla
Punctuality
Rani Lakshmi Bai
Spring Season
Unity In Diversity
Artificial Intelligence
Online Shopping
Indian Culture
Healthy Lifestyle
Indian Education System
Disaster Management
Environmental Issues
Freedom Fighters
Grandparents
Save Fuel For Better Environment
Importance Of Newspaper
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Raksha Bandhan
World Environment Day
Narendra Modi
What Is Religion
Charity Begins at Home
A Journey by Train
Ideal student
Save Water Save Earth
Indian Farmer
Safety of Women in India
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Capital Punishment
College Life
Natural Resources
Peer Pressure
Nature Vs Nurture
Romeo And Juliet
Generation Gap
Makar Sankranti
Constitution of India
Girl Education
Importance of Family
Importance of Independence Day
Brain Drain
A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed
Action Speaks Louder Than Words
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
Bhagat Singh
Demonetization
Agriculture
Importance of Discipline
Population Explosion
Poverty in India
Uses Of Mobile Phones
Water Scarcity
Train Journey
Land Pollution
Environment Protection
Indian Army
Uses of Internet
All that Glitters is not Gold
Balanced Diet
Blood Donation
Digital India
Dussehra Essay
Energy Conservation
National Integration
Railway Station
Sachin Tendulkar
Health And Hygiene
Importance Of Forest
Indira Gandhi
Laughter Is The Best Medicine
Career Goals
Mental Health
Save Water Save Life
International Yoga Day
Winter Vacation
Soil Pollution
Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining
Indian Culture And Tradition
Unity Is Strength
Unity is Diversity
Wildlife Conservation
Cruelty To Animals
Nelson Mandela
Of Mice And Men
Organ Donation
Life in a Big City
Democracy in India
Waste Management
Biodiversity
Afforestation
Female Foeticide
Harmful Effects Of Junk Food
Rain Water Harvesting
Save Electricity
Social Media
Social Networking Sites
Sound Pollution
Procrastination
Life in an Indian Village
Life in Big City
Population Growth
World Population Day
Greenhouse Effect
Statue of Unity
Traffic Jam
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
Importance of Good Manners
Good Manners
Cyber Security
Green Revolution
Health And Fitness
Incredible India
Make In India
Surgical Strike
Triple Talaq
A Good Friend
Importance of Friends in our Life
Should Plastic be Banned
Nationalism
Traffic Rules
Effects of Global Warming
Fundamental Rights
Solar System
National Constitution Day
Good Mother
Importance of Trees in our Life
City Life Vs Village Life
Importance of Communication
Conservation of Nature
Man vs. Machine
Indian Economy
Mothers Love
Importance of National Integration
Black Money
Greenhouse effect
Untouchability
Self Discipline
Global Terrorism
Conservation of Biodiversity
Newspaper and Its Uses
World Health Day
Conservation of Natural Resources
A Picnic with Family
Indian Heritage
Status of Women in India
Child is Father of the Man
Reading is Good Habit
Plastic Bag
Terrorism in India
Library and Its Uses
Life on Mars
Urbanization
Pollution Due to Diwali
National Flag of India
Vocational Education
Importance of Tree Plantation
Summer Camp
Vehicle Pollution
Women Education in India
Seasons in India
Freedom of the Press
Caste System
Environment and Human Health
Mountain Climbing
Depletion of Natural Resources
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Health Education
Effects of Deforestation
Life after School
Starvation in India
Jan Dhan Yojana
Impact of Privatization
Election Commission of India
Election and Democracy
Prevention of Global Warming
Impact of Cinema in Life
Subhas Chandra Bose
Dowry System
Ganesh Chaturthi Festival
Role of Science in Making India
Impact of Global Warming on Oceans
Pollution due to Festivals
Ambedkar Jayanti
Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat
Family Planning in India
Democracy vs Dictatorship
National Festivals of India
Sri Aurobindo
Casteism in India
Organ trafficking
Consequences of Global Warming
Role of Human Activities in Global Warming
Issues and Problems faced by Women in India
Role of Judiciary in the Country Today
Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan
PUBG Mobile Game Addiction
Role of Youths in Nation Building
Value of Oxygen and Water in Life/Earth
Farmer Suicides in India
Start-up India
Pollution Due to Firecrackers
Life of Soldiers
Child Labour
Save Girl Child
Morning Walk
My School Fete
Essay on Financial Literacy
Essay On Sustainable Development
Essay On Punjab
Essay On Travel
My Home Essay
Child Marriage Essay
Importance Of English Language Essay
Essay On Mass Media
Essay On Horse
Essay On Police
Essay On Eid
Essay On Solar Energy
Animal Essay
Essay On Mango
Gender Discrimination Essay
Essay On Advertisement
My First Day At School Essay
My Neighborhood Essay
True Friendship Essay
Work Is Worship Essay
Essay On Self Confidence
Essay On Superstition
Essay On Bangalore
Sex Vs Gender Essay
Essay On Social Issues
Time Is Money Essay
Essay About Grandmothers
Essay On Hard Work
First Day Of School Essay
Flowers Essay
My Favorite Food Essay
Essay on Birds
Essay on Humanity
Essay on Sun
Essay on Kargil War
Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining Essay
Francis Bacon Essays
Importance of Cleanliness Essay
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Essay Writing Guide

Essay Topics

A Catalog of 500+ Essay Topics for Students

36 min read

Essay Topics for Kids

The Benefits of Reading Books for Fun
The Most Exciting Adventure I've Ever Had
What Makes a Good Friend?
My Favorite Hobby and Why I Love It
If I Could Visit Any Place in the World, Where Would I Go?
The Importance of Being Kind to Others
My Role Model and Why I Look Up to Them
How I Would Spend a Day Without Technology
My Favorite Season and the Activities I Enjoy During It
The Best Day of My Life and Why It Was Special

Essay Topics for Grade 3

My Favorite Animal
A Day at the Amusement Park
If I Could Fly
My Best Friend
My Favorite Season
A Special Family Tradition
If I Found a Magic Wand
The Importance of Being Kind
My Dream House
A Day in the Life of a Superhero

Essay Topics for Grade 4

My Favorite Book and Why I Love It
The Importance of Saving Money
If I Could Travel Back in Time
A Day Without Electricity
My Favorite Food and How to Prepare It
How I Would Spend a Day on a Deserted Island
The Benefits of Homework and Studying

Essay Topics for Grade 5

My Dream Vacation Destination
The Impact of Technology on My Life
The Importance of Environmental Conservation
My Hobbies and Why They Matter
If I Could Change One Thing About the World
The Role of Friendship in My Life
A Memorable Family Trip
The Power of Imagination
The Benefits of Physical Exercise
A Day in the Life of My Favorite Book Character

Essay Topics for Grade 6

Let’s explore essay topics for middle school students in grade 6 here:

My Personal Hero and Their Influence on Me
The Challenges of Growing Up
The Significance of Volunteering in the Community
The Impact of Social Media on Society
The Value of Setting Goals
If I Could Invent a New Holiday
The Role of Art and Music in My Life
The Benefits of Traveling and Experiencing Different Cultures
A Time I Overcame a Fear
The Importance of Time Management

Essay Topics for Grade 7

The Role of Technology in Education
The Impact of Bullying and How to Prevent It
The Value of a Good Education
The Pros and Cons of Social Networking
The Effects of Peer Pressure
If I Could Change One Thing About My School
The Benefits of Learning a Second Language
The Importance of Financial Literacy
A Time I Faced a Difficult Decision
The Significance of Gender Equality

Essay Topics for Grade 8

The Influence of Role Models in Our Lives
The Impact of Climate Change on the Environment
The Value of Diversity and Inclusion
The Role of Technology in Shaping the Future
The Importance of Critical Thinking Skills
If I Could Travel to Any Period in History
The Ethics of Animal Testing
The Benefits of Team Sports
A Time I Learned a Valuable Life Lesson
The Significance of Freedom of Speech

Essay Topics for Grade 9

The Power of Literature to Change Lives
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Society
The Value of Civic Engagement
The Role of Education in Achieving Success
The Ethics of Genetic Engineering
If I Could Meet Any Historical Figure
The Benefits of a Healthy Lifestyle
The Importance of Financial Responsibility
A Time I Overcame a Personal Challenge
The Significance of Global Citizenship

Essay Topics for Grade 10

The Influence of Media on Public Opinion
The Impact of Climate Change Policies
The Value of Ethical Leadership
The Role of Science in Solving Global Challenges
The Importance of Mental Health Awareness
If I Could Change One Aspect of Society
The Benefits of Learning a Third Language
The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace
A Time I Faced an Ethical Dilemma
The Significance of Cultural Exchange Programs

Essay Topics for Grade 11

The Role of Technology in Shaping the Job Market
The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health
The Value of College Education in Career Development
The Ethics of Bioengineering and Genetic Modification
The Importance of Ethical Business Practices
If I Could Travel to the Future
The Benefits of Entrepreneurship
The Significance of Political Engagement among Youth
A Time I Challenged a Deeply Held Belief
The Role of Art in Social Change

Essay Topics for Grade 12

The Influence of Literature on Social Change
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employment
The Value of Critical Thinking in Decision-Making
The Ethics of Privacy in the Digital Age
The Importance of Environmental Sustainability
If I Could Leave a Legacy for Future Generations
The Benefits of Internships and Work Experience
The Significance of Advocacy for Human Rights
A Time I Took a Stand for a Cause
The Role of Education in Shaping Values and Beliefs

Essay Topics for High School Students

Have a look at the following topics for high school essays to come up with your own ideas.

Does the fashion industry need to change the way they advertise?
Do beauty pageants carry any benefits for women?
Should women get plastic surgery?
What instigated World War 2?
What do people mean when they say “Fake news?”
Can constant use of drugs cause brain damage?
Can gun control help in regulating crime?
Is summer school designed to help children?
Methods that are used by professionals to get their dream job.
The ways to deal with on-campus violence.

Best College Essay Topics

Role of Modern Media in contributing to eating disorders.
Is technology turning people into zombies?
Is censorship on the internet necessary?
Will there be a 3rd World War?
Should every student have the right to choose the discipline they are interested in?
What does it take to become a politician?
The reasons behind high unemployment rates.
The aftermath of earthquakes.
Which countries have the most corruption?
Should there be a restriction on the sales and production of tobacco?

Essay Topics for University Students

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Job Market.
The Ethical Dilemmas of Human Gene Editing.
The Role of Social Media in Shaping Political Movements.
The Influence of Climate Change on Global Security.
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Online Education.
The Intersection of Technology and Mental Health.
The Economic Implications of Renewable Energy Adoption.
The Future of Space Exploration and Colonization.
The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare.
The Cultural Significance of Contemporary Art Movements.

Essay Topics for Different Types of Essays

For writing an essay, the first step is to decide on the topic.

Here, you can find interesting topics and ideas for different types of essays to help you get started.

Controversial Argumentative Essay Topics

Is Climate Change Primarily Caused by Human Activities?
Should Affirmative Action Policies be Continued in College Admissions?
Is Universal Healthcare a Viable Option for the United States?
Should Euthanasia be Allowed for Severely Disabled Newborns?
Is Genetic Engineering Ethical in Humans?
Should the Voting Age be Lowered to 16?
Is Internet Censorship Necessary to Protect National Security?
Should Hate Speech be Protected as Free Speech?
Does asking someone to reduce weight equate to body shaming?
Should kids be allowed to adopt e-gaming as a progressive career?

Funny Argumentative Essay Topics

Is pizza a proper breakfast food, and why should it be?
Should cats be considered superior to dogs as household pets?
Is it ethical for a sock to vanish in the laundry, and where do they go?
Are aliens avoiding Earth because they fear our reality TV shows?
Can you survive a zombie apocalypse using only office supplies?
Is procrastination an art form, and how can you perfect it?
Should kids' cartoons be considered educational for adults?
Can you convince your boss that napping at work increases productivity?
Is laughter truly the best medicine, and can it cure anything?
Can you convince your roommate that washing dishes is an ancient martial art?

In need of more debatable essay topics? We have a comprehensive list of more excellent argumentative essay topics to assist you.

Persuasive Essay Topics

Should Recycling Be Mandatory in Every Household?
Is Single-Use Plastic a Menace to the Environment, and Should It Be Banned?
Should Schools Implement Uniform Dress Codes to Promote Equality?
Is Standardized Testing an Effective Measure of Student Knowledge?
Is Online Learning as Effective as Traditional Classroom Education?
Should Vaccinations Be Mandatory for All Children to Ensure Public Health?
Is Animal Testing Justified in the Name of Scientific Progress?
Should Governments Impose Higher Taxes on Junk Food and Sugary Drinks?
Is Social Media Detrimental to Mental Health, and Should It Be Regulated?
Should College Athletes Be Paid for Their Participation in Sports?

Read our comprehensive guide to persuasive essay topics to find a trending topic or a good idea for your paper.

Cause and Effect Essay Topics

Causes and Effects of Stress in Modern Society
The Consequences of Bullying on Mental Health
Environmental Pollution: Causes, Effects, and Solutions
The Influence of Parental Divorce on Children's Well-being
The Causes and Effects of Obesity in Developed Countries
The Causes and Effects of Economic Inequality
The Causes and Consequences of Academic Procrastination
The Impact of Social Pressure on Teenagers' Decision-Making
The Causes and Effects of Drug Addiction
The Influence of Early Education on a Child's Future Success

Check out this comprehensive guide on 100+ cause and effect essay topics for more ideas.

Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

Comparison of High School vs. College Life
Contrast of Traditional Education vs. Online Learning
Comparison of Two Major Religions: Christianity vs. Islam
Contrasting the Novels of Jane Austen vs. Emily Brontë
Comparing Two Art Movements: Renaissance vs. Baroque
Contrasting Classical Music vs. Jazz
Comparing Two Smartphone Brands: iPhone vs. Android
Contrast of Two Political Systems: Democracy vs. Authoritarianism
Comparison of Traditional Medicine vs. Modern Medicine
Comparing the Characters of Romeo and Juliet vs. West Side Story

If you need more ideas, here are some interesting compare contrast essay topics for your help.

Narrative Essay Topics

My First Day of School: A Memorable Experience
The Day I Overcame My Greatest Fear
The Most Important Lesson I Learned from a Family Member
The Time I Achieved a Personal Goal, I Never Thought Possible
The Day I Discovered My Passion for a Hobby or Interest
The Impact of a Life-Altering Event on My Perspective
The Story Behind My Most Prized Possession
My Experience as a Volunteer or in Community Service
The Day I Realized the Power of Kindness
A Special Bond I Share with a Childhood Friend

Need more topics? Check out this extensive blog on narrative essay topics for your next assignment.

Expository Essay Topics

The Impact of Technology on Society: Past, Present, and Future
The Process of Photosynthesis and Its Importance in Nature
The History and Significance of the Industrial Revolution
Understanding the Basics of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Technology
The Role of Education in Shaping Future Career Success
The Significance of Cultural Diversity in a Globalized World
Exploring the Psychology of Human Behavior and Decision-Making
The Process of How a Bill Becomes a Law in Government
The Role of Renewable Energy Sources in Combating Climate Change
Understanding the History and Culture of a Specific Country or Region

Here are some more intriguing expository essay topics to assist you.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

Evaluating the Persuasive Strategies in a Self-Help Book or Article
Examining the Rhetoric of a Famous Political Campaign Ad
Analyzing the Persuasive Techniques in a TED Talk of Your Choice
Analyzing the Rhetoric of a Controversial News Article
Evaluating the Persuasive Techniques in a Super Bowl Commercial
Examining the Rhetorical Appeals in a Famous Courtroom Speech
Evaluating the Use of Rhetorical Devices in a Political Debate
Analyzing the Persuasive Strategies in a Feminist Manifesto
Evaluating the Rhetorical Appeals in a Social Justice Speech
Examining the Rhetorical Techniques in a Historical Letter or Document

Check out this extensive blog on 100+ rhetorical analysis essay topics for more topics.

Analytical Essay Topics

The impact of Martin Luther King's speech “I have a dream” on modern American politics
The significance of Pablo Picasso's artwork “The Old Guitarist”
Important characteristics of Denzel Washington Speech at the University Of Pennsylvania
Impact of the psychoanalytic theory on modern psychology
The impact of Romeo and Juliet on the modern concept of love
The significance of national security strategy 2018 on great power politics
How does the author's treatment of the subject matter in “The Catcher in the Rye” differ from that in “The Great Gatsby”?
How are the characters in “To Kill a Mockingbird” used to illustrate different aspects of racial prejudice in America during the 1930s?
How is the treatment of love different in Shakespeare's “Romeo and Juliet” and “Othello”?
How does the author use symbolism to develop the theme of good vs. evil in “The Scarlet Letter”?

Explore the blog to get some more ideas about interesting analytical essay topics .

Descriptive Essay Topics

A Walk Through a Peaceful Forest in Autumn
A Vibrant Farmers' Market on a Saturday Morning
A Day at the Beach: Sun, Sand, and Waves
The Serene Beauty of a Starry Night Sky
A Memorable Childhood Christmas Morning
The Sights and Sounds of a Carnival or Fair
The First Day of Spring: Nature's Reawakening
A Visit to a Historical Landmark or Museum
A Gourmet Dining Experience at Your Favorite Restaurant
The Excitement of a Music Concert or Festival

Check out this extensive list of descriptive essay topics ideas for your help.

Informative Essay Topics

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Job Market
The History and Cultural Significance of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics
The Benefits and Risks of Gene Editing Technology
Exploring Renewable Energy Sources: Solar, Wind, and Hydroelectric Power
The Effects of Climate Change on Polar Ice Caps and Wildlife
A Comprehensive Guide to Effective Time Management
Exploring the Role of Nutrition in Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle
The Significance of Space Exploration: Past, Present, and Future
The Origins and Cultural Significance of a Traditional Festival
A Guide to Sustainable Farming and Agriculture Practices

Here’s a comprehensive list of interesting, 100+ informative essay topics .

Definition Essay Topics

The Meaning of "Success" in Modern Society
Defining the Concept of "Love" in All Its Forms
The True Definition of "Friendship"
The Ever-Changing Meaning of "Freedom"
Exploring the Notion of "Happiness"
Defining "Cultural Diversity" and Its Importance
The Multifaceted Definition of "Beauty"
The Various Interpretations of "Justice"
Understanding "Mental Health" and Its Stigma
Defining "Leadership" and Its Qualities
The Meaning of "Sustainability" in Environmental Contexts
Exploring the Concept of "Feminism"
Defining "Social Media" and Its Impact
The True Definition of "Equality"
Exploring the Meaning of "Art" in Contemporary Culture

Problem Solution Essay Topics

How to prevent social media bullying?
How to help a depressed person?
How texting affects face-to-face relationships?
How to prevent injuries in sports?
How can parents teach their children about time management?
How to deal with manipulative and dominating people?
How can schools and colleges be made safer?
How to prevent deaths due to drunk driving?
How to help families with a child with mental illness?
How to stop violence in schools?

Personal Essay Topics

A person you admire the most.
Are you addicted to games?
How did you learn to draw?
What is your life’s goal?
Things you hate the most?
Why do I prefer online shopping?
Your biggest achievement.
What does success mean to you?
What annoys you the most?
Why is volunteering important?

Proposal Essay Topics

Promoting Sustainable Transportation
Enhancing Cybersecurity Education
Implementing Recycling Programs in Schools
Reducing Plastic Waste in the Community
Supporting Small Local Businesses
Improving Mental Health Support in Schools
Implementing Renewable Energy Initiatives
Enhancing Campus Sustainability Efforts
Combating Food Insecurity in Underserved Communities
Promoting Gender Equality in the Workplace

Evaluation Essay Topics

Evaluate the effectiveness of online learning compared to traditional classroom education.
Evaluate the impact of social media on interpersonal relationships and communication.
Assess the quality and impact of a recent movie or television series.
Evaluate the effectiveness of a specific diet or nutrition plan for weight loss.
Assess the environmental impact of electric vehicles compared to traditional gasoline-powered cars.
Evaluate the performance and features of a popular smartphone or electronic gadget.
Assess the impact of a particular social or political policy on society.
Evaluate the effectiveness of a marketing campaign for a well-known brand.
Assess the impact of a recent technological advancement on daily life.
Evaluate the quality and impact of a famous work of literature or art.

Process Analysis Essay Topics

How to Plan and Organize a Successful Study Group.
The Process of Making Homemade Pizza from Scratch.
Steps to Mastering a Musical Instrument.
How to Write a Winning College Application Essay.
The Process of Brewing Your Own Craft Beer.
Steps to Launching a Small Business Online.
How to Effectively Manage Time and Prioritize Tasks.
The Art of DIY Home Renovation.
The Process of Creating a Stunning Piece of Art.
How to Cook a Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner.

Check out some other process analysis essay topics for inspiration!

Illustration Essay Topics

Illustrate the Impact of Technology on Everyday Life.
Illustrate the Traits of a Successful Leader.
The Role of Music in Shaping Emotions and Moods.
Illustrate the Benefits of a Healthy Lifestyle.
The Influence of Social Media on Personal Relationships.
Illustrate the Impact of Cultural Diversity in a Community.
The Importance of Effective Communication in the Workplace.
Illustrate the Evolution of Fashion Trends Over the Decades.
The Characteristics of a Memorable Family Vacation.
Illustrate the Process of Achieving a Personal Goal.

Here’s a list of some more creative and engaging illustration essay topics .

Exploratory Essay Topics

Exploring the Causes and Effects of Climate Change.
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Job Market: An Exploration.
Exploring the Role of Media in Shaping Public Opinion.
The Influence of Nature vs. Nurture on Human Behavior.
An Exploration of the Ethics of Genetic Engineering.
The Effects of Social Media on Mental Health: An In-Depth Examination.
Exploring the Challenges and Benefits of Online Education.
An Exploration of the Implications of Universal Basic Income.
The Dynamics of Family Relationships: An In-Depth Analysis.
Exploring the Impact of Literature and Art on Society.

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Classification Essay Topics

Types of Pet Owners: A Classification.
Classification of Musical Genres: From Classical to Hip-Hop.
Types of Travelers: Exploring the Adventurer, Relaxer, and Culture Enthusiast.
Classifying Different Types of Social Media Users.
Types of Students in a Classroom: From the Overachiever to the Laid-Back.
Classifying Different Styles of Fashion: Bohemian, Classic, and Trendy.
Types of Moviegoers: The Action Lover, Rom-Com Fan, and Film Buff.
Classifying Different Forms of Exercise: Yoga, Weightlifting, and Cardio.
Types of Foodies: From Gourmet Enthusiasts to Fast Food Lovers.
Classifying Various Types of Vehicles: Cars, Motorcycles, and Bicycles

Check out other compelling classification essay topics for more ideas.

Synthesis Essay Topics

The Electoral College as a tool to determine the outcome of Presidential elections.
Predicting animal adaptation by examining various evolutionary theories.
A side-by-side analysis of the theories behind JFK's shooting
Economic and social impacts of proposed legislation by Donald Trump
Comparing plans to attract more visitors and create business opportunities.
Examining crime rates in urban locations and the countryside
Analysis of different theories on the causes of the Great Depression
An account of the American Civil War from historical texts
A synthesis of different theories of motivation to create behavioral change
A unified approach to managing diabetes by examining global research from around the world
The scientific method as a means of acquiring knowledge

Explore the blog for some more synthesis essay topics .

Essay Topics by Subjects

Students are often asked by teachers to write essays on a variety of topics related to a particular subject.

The sheer number of discussion areas can be overwhelming for students, making it difficult to choose a good essay topic.

This list of essay topics by subject can help you narrow down your choices and find a topic that is both interesting and relevant to your studies.

Essay Topics on Languages

The change of language over time.
The use of text messages has ruined the modern language: is it true?
How to explore new languages.
Neuro-linguistic programming and how it works.
Physical communication or verbal communication: which is effective?
Explore the ways in which people can communicate.
Benefits of learning a second language.
Explain how learning languages work.
Is learning a new language in high school important?
Why is English important?

Essay Topics on Social Media

Influence of social media on youth.
What are the cons of social media?
Should texting and driving be illegal?
The impact of social media on the life of teenagers.
How does social media affect the relationship between parents and children?
Does social media like Pinterest should be used in the classrooms?
How to handle the problem of being bullied through social media?
What rules should students follow when posting to social media?

Essay Topics on Technology

Technology and the global economy.
The positives and effects of technology.
The role of 3-D printing in Medicine.
What science has to offer to disabled people?
Face detection software and the problem of identity theft.
Adding connectivity to our home devices: is it helpful or not?
Cloud computing and artificial intelligence
How has technology changed our life?
Life without technology
Technology has its own rules

Essay Topics on Current Affairs

The Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Lessons Learned.
Climate Change and Its Effects on Biodiversity and Weather Patterns.
The Role of Social Media in Shaping Modern Political Discourse.
Cybersecurity Threats in the Digital Age and Strategies for Protection.
The Influence of Artificial Intelligence on the Future of Work.
The Refugee Crisis: Challenges, Solutions, and Global Responsibility.
Racial and Social Justice Movements in the 21st Century.
The Geopolitical Impact of China's Belt and Road Initiative.
The Rise of Populism and Nationalism in Western Democracies.
The Implications of Space Exploration and Colonization for Humanity.

Essay Topics on Corruption

The Impact of Corruption on Economic Development
The Relationship Between Corruption and Inequality
The Role of the Media in Combating Corruption
The Impact of Corruption on Political Stability
The Relationship Between Corruption and Crime
The Use of Technology in Combating Corruption
International Cooperation in Combating Corruption
The Private Sector and Combating Corruption
Civil Society and Combating Corruption
The Causes of Corruption

Essay Topics on Climate Change

The effects of climate change on human health
The impact of climate change on global food security
The economic impacts of climate change
The role of the media in communicating the risks of climate change
The ethical implications of climate change
The Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture
The Impacts of Climate Change on Wildlife
The Potential Solutions to Climate Change
The Challenges in Implementing Solutions to Climate Change
The Role of the Individual in Solving Climate Change

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The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health and Well-being.
Social Media's Role in Shaping Political Discourse and Activism.
The Effects of Social Media on Interpersonal Relationships.
Cyberbullying and Online Harassment: Challenges and Solutions.
Privacy Concerns in the Age of Social Media: Balancing Sharing and Security.
Social Media Influencers: Their Influence and Responsibilities.
The Use of Social Media in Education: Pros and Cons.
Social Media Marketing: Strategies, Trends, and Ethics.
Fake News and Misinformation on Social Media: The Role of Fact-Checking.
The Future of Social Media: Emerging Trends and Technologies.

Essay Topics on Democracy

The Evolution of Democracy: From Ancient Greece to Modern Times.
The Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century.
The Role of Media in Sustaining a Healthy Democracy.
Democracy and Its Implications for Economic Development.
Electoral Systems: Comparing First-Past-The-Post and Proportional Representation.
The Influence of Money in Politics and Its Impact on Democracy.
Direct vs. Representative Democracy: Which Is More Effective?
The Role of Civil Society in Strengthening Democracy.
The Importance of Civic Education in Sustaining Democracy.
Threats to Democracy: Populism, Authoritarianism, and Erosion of Institutions.

Essay Topics on Covid-19

The current COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on families
Coronavirus and its medication
How does coronavirus damage a person's health?
How did the world change after the coronavirus?
Negative side effects of Covid-19
Everything you need to know about the coronavirus
How did Covid-19 impact businesses?
What medicines are good for coronavirus?
How does covid-19 lead to cabin fever and anxiety symptoms?

Essay Topics on Social Issues

The Impact of Social Media on Social Isolation and Loneliness.
Homelessness in Urban Centers: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions.
Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System: Analyzing the Data.
Gender Inequality in the Workplace: Progress and Challenges.
The Opioid Epidemic: Root Causes and Approaches to Combat It.
Environmental Racism: Communities at Risk.
Access to Healthcare: A Basic Human Right or a Privilege?
Bullying in Schools: Strategies for Prevention and Intervention.
Immigration Policies and Their Effects on Society.
Aging Population: Challenges and Opportunities in an Aging Society

Essay Topics on Current Issues

The Global Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned and Future Preparedness.
Climate Change and the Urgency for Sustainable Solutions.
Cybersecurity Threats in the Modern World: Protecting Digital Assets.
Vaccine Hesitancy and Public Health: Addressing Misinformation.
The Role of Big Tech in Shaping the Digital Landscape.
Refugee Crises Around the World: Seeking Global Solutions.
Income Inequality: The Wealth Gap and Its Social Implications.
Political Polarization and Its Impact on Governance.
Food Security: Feeding the World's Growing Population.
The Ethics of AI and Automation in the Workforce.

Essay Topics About Mental Health

The prevalence of mental health disorders in the United States.
The impact of mental health disorders on individuals and society.
The causes of mental health disorders.
The treatments available for mental health disorders.
The challenges faced by individuals with mental health disorders.
CBT for obsessive compulsive disorders
Role of Antidepressants in treating Depression
Impact of noise pollution on mental health
Social media use leads to negative self-esteem
Attachment issues in adults are related to childhood parenting issues

Essay Topics about Music

The Influence of Music on Mood and Emotions.
The Evolution of Hip-Hop Culture.
The Impact of Music on Social Movements.
The Role of Music in Different Cultures.
The Connection Between Music and Memory.
The Influence of Music on Fashion and Style.
Music and Its Effects on Brain Development in Children.
The Significance of Music Festivals in Modern Culture.
Music Therapy: Healing through Sound.
The Impact of Technology on the Music Industry.

Essay Topics About Love

The Different Types of Love: Exploring Romantic, Familial, and Platonic Love.
The Impact of Love on Mental and Physical Health.
Love in Literature: Analyzing Famous Love Stories in Classic Novels.
The Role of Love in Shaping Our Personal Identities.
Unconditional Love: Examining the Bonds Between Parents and Children.
The Evolution of Love in the Digital Age: Online Dating and Relationships.
Love and Self-Esteem: How Our Self-Perception Affects Our Ability to Love.
The Connection Between Love and Empathy in Human Relationships.
Love and Attachment Styles: Understanding How We Form Connections.
The Cultural Variations in Expressing and Experiencing Love.

Essay Topics About Yourself

Introduce yourself in a unique way that captures your reader's attention.
Discuss an accomplishment that you are proud of, and how it has shaped who you are today.
Describe a time when you faced a challenge, and how you overcame it.
Share an experience that has helped to shape your values and beliefs.
What are your hobbies and interests?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
What are your career aspirations?
Describe a time when you faced a challenge and how you coped with it.
Tell us about a time when you were proud of yourself and why.
What are your plans for the future?

Essay Topics About the Environment

The Impact of Climate Change on Global Weather Patterns.
Deforestation and Its Effects on Biodiversity.
The Role of Renewable Energy Sources in Combating Climate Change.
Plastic Pollution: Analyzing the Impact on Marine Ecosystems.
The Importance of Environmental Education in Schools.
Urbanization and Its Environmental Consequences.
Sustainable Agriculture: Balancing Food Production and Environmental Conservation.
The Significance of Wildlife Conservation and Preservation.
The Ethics of Animal Testing in Scientific Research.
Environmental Justice: Addressing Disparities in Environmental Quality.

General Essay Topics

The Impact of Video Games on College Students.
The Importance of Physical Education in Schools.
Social Media Platforms and their Influence.
Negative Impact of Social Media on Students.
Public Schools vs. Private Schools: A Comparative Analysis.
Analyzing College Students' Point of View on Video Game Addiction.
Persuading for Environmental Conservation.
The Role of Social Media in Modern Marketing.
The Impact of Technology on the Job Market.
Analyzing Point of View in a Legal Context.

Tips for Choosing the Best Topic

Choosing the right topic for your essay is a critical step in the essay writing process. It sets the tone for your work and can greatly impact your ability to engage your readers. Here are some tips to help you select the best topic:

Consider Your Interests

Start by thinking about your own interests and passions. Writing about a topic you're enthusiastic about will make the entire process more enjoyable and may result in a more engaging piece.

Narrow or Broad

Decide whether you want a broad or narrow topic. Broad topics allow for a wide range of discussion, while narrow ones allow for deeper exploration of specific aspects. Your choice depends on your assignment and word limit.

Consider the relevance of the topic to your audience and context. Is it something your readers will find interesting or valuable? Is it aligned with the purpose of your essay, whether it's informative, persuasive, or analytical?

Research Availability

Ensure there's enough research material available on the topic. If you're writing a research-based essay, it's crucial to have access to credible sources to support your arguments.

Audience Considerations

Tailor your topic to your target audience. Consider their interests, knowledge level, and preferences when choosing a subject that will resonate with them.

Current Events

If it's appropriate for your essay type, explore current events and trending topics. They can add relevance and timeliness to your writing.

Brainstorming

Spend some time brainstorming ideas. Create lists, mind maps, or free-write to generate a variety of potential topics. Don't censor yourself during this process; just let the ideas flow.

In conclusion, selecting the best topic for your essay is a pivotal decision that can significantly impact the quality and engagement level of your writing.

By considering your interests, you can set yourself up for success in crafting an exceptional essay.

At MyPerfectWords.com, we understand that the journey of essay writing begins with choosing the right topic.

Moreover, our team of experienced writers is here to assist you at every stage of the writing process, from topic selection to the final polished draft. Visit our essay writing service now and take the first step toward academic excellence.

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Essay Topics: 450+ Awesome Picks

Ever wondered about the magic behind an essay that grabs your attention and won't let go? Let's spice up your writing journey with some cool topics! Imagine exploring time travel, digging into the stories of your favorite characters, or debating the future of tech. How about pouring your heart into a letter to your dream destination or uncovering the mysteries of history? Excited to make your essays stand out? Come along as we dive into these college essay topic ideas and take your writing to the next level!

Struggling to find the perfect essay topic? EssayPro offers a plethora of choices to spark your creativity. From academic to personal, we have topics that will ignite your writing passion and help you produce exceptional essays.

How to Choose a Topic for an Essay

Selecting the right topic is like the secret sauce to crafting a standout essay, and it's surprising how many students breeze past this crucial step. Your essay's quality often hinges on the topic you choose, making it the make-or-break moment in your writing journey. Fear not, though! Our college paper writing service is here to make this process a breeze, offering some pro tips to ensure your essay topics are as remarkable as your writing.

Tap into Current Affairs: Keep your finger on the pulse of current events. Choose a topic that relates to contemporary issues or ongoing debates. Not only does this make your essay timely and relevant, but it also showcases your awareness of the world around you.
Seek Unconventional Angles: Don't be afraid to approach common topics from unconventional angles. Look for fresh perspectives or unique aspects that haven't been explored extensively. It's the unexpected twists that can turn a standard essay into something extraordinary.
Consider Personal Experiences: Reflect on your own experiences and observations. Is there a personal story or moment that connects with your essay's theme? Sharing your perspective can add authenticity and depth to your writing, making it more relatable for your audience.
Connect with Your Audience: Think about your target audience and what matters to them. Choosing a topic that resonates with your readers creates an immediate connection. Whether it's a shared interest, concern, or passion, this connection enhances the impact of your essay.
Test the Waters: Before committing to a topic, test it out. Write a brief outline or a paragraph to see how comfortable and excited you are about exploring it further. This preliminary step helps you gauge your interest and ensures you have enough material to develop a compelling essay.

Ideas for Essay by Category

In the diverse landscape of academic writing, your study area might throw various essay types your way. However, let's zero in on four common categories that could very well become your writing companions, especially as you navigate through your undergraduate coursework.

Persuasive Writing

Imagine you're on a mission to persuade others. That's the essence of persuasive essays. Here, the goal is crystal clear—to sway your reader. It's a challenge that demands not just compelling arguments but also a touch of reason. Unlike expository essays, where facts reign supreme, persuasive essay topics thrive on opinion-based writing, allowing you to craft a narrative that hinges less on specific facts and more on convincing rhetoric.

Expository Writing

Switch gears to expository essays, where facts take the lead. These essays ask you to dig into research, analyze a topic, and present a position based on factual data without adding your personal opinions. Expository essay topics become a platform for showcasing your logical thinking and navigating through scientific articles.

Descriptive Writing

Now, picture yourself creating a vivid image with words. That's what descriptive writing is all about. When working on descriptive essay topics, you'll dive into your subject, using lots of descriptive words. It could be a person, a place, an event, or even a feeling – your goal is to vividly convey it without using first-person language.

Narrative Writing

For those drawn to the allure of storytelling, narrative essays beckon. These essays aim not just to inform but to captivate by weaving a tale spun from personal experiences. Following the standard essay structure of introduction, body, and conclusion, narrative essay topics introduce characters, describe actions, and always have a central theme.

Now that we've covered these essay types, get ready for a bunch of cool essay topic ideas coming your way to spark inspiration for your next writing assignment.

Topics for Technology Essay

In today's environment, technology is the driving force. Both cultural changes and technological improvements have significantly influenced the growth of human civilization. Thus, picking good essay topics about technology will provide you with plenty of material to draw on. Let's explore some effective essay topics recommended by our custom essay writing service.

The Ethical Implications of Quantum Computing: A New Era in Information Security.
Neuromorphic Engineering: Mimicking the Human Brain in Silicon.
The Role of 5G in Revolutionizing Telemedicine and Remote Healthcare.
The Environmental Impact of Cryptocurrency Mining: Beyond Energy Consumption.
Bioinformatics and the Future of Personalized Medicine.
Blockchain and the Decentralization of Social Media Platforms.
The Potential of Swarm Robotics in Disaster Relief and Search & Rescue.
Human Augmentation and the Ethical Dilemmas of Cyborg Technology.
Advancements in Brain-Computer Interfaces: Bridging the Gap Between Mind and Machine.
The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Predicting and Preventing Wildfires.
3D Printing Organs: A Revolution in Transplant Medicine.
Quantum Internet: Unbreakable Security and the Future of Communication.
The Dark Side of Smart Cities: Privacy Concerns in the Age of IoT.
Space Debris: Challenges and Solutions for Managing Earth's Orbital Junkyard.
The Intersection of Virtual Reality and Therapy: Healing Through Immersion.
The Rise of Drone Swarms: Applications and Ethical Concerns.
The Impact of 3D Holography in Education and Training.
Bioluminescent Technology: Illuminating the Path to Sustainable Lighting.
The Evolution of Self-Replicating Nanobots in Medicine and Industry.
Innovations in Sound Technology: From Bone Conduction to Sonic Weapons.
Quantum Cryptography: Unhackable Communication for the Digital Age.
The Future of Food Tech: Lab-Grown Meat and Sustainable Agriculture.
Machine Learning in Judicial Systems: Bias, Fairness, and Accountability.
Cryonics and Digital Immortality: Freezing Bodies and Uploading Consciousness.
The Holographic Universe Theory: Exploring the Nature of Reality through Technology.

Cause and Effect Essay Ideas

To write on cause and effect essay topics, you should primarily identify a situation in which an action has effects or consequences. The next step is for you to describe what happened. If you're having trouble coming up with interesting essay topics, have a look through this list.

The Ripple Effect of Kindness: How Small Acts Can Create Lasting Changes.
Silent Killers of the Ocean: The Causes and Effects of Ocean Acidification.
Echo Chambers in the Digital Age: How Online Algorithms Shape Our Beliefs and Behaviors.
From Pixels to Insomnia: How Screen Blue Light Affects Sleep Patterns.
The 'IKEA Effect': Psychological Causes and Economic Consequences of DIY Furniture Assembly.
Antibiotic Overuse: Creating Resistant Superbugs and Impacts on Human Health.
Lost in Light: How Light Pollution Affects Astronomy and Biodiversity.
The Influence of Social Media on Political Polarization: Causes and Effects.
Urban Sprawl: Causes, Consequences, and the Decline of Green Spaces.
The Domino Effect of Misinformation: From Social Media to Real-World Consequences.
The Butterfly Effect of Climate Change: Small Actions with Global Consequences.
The Psychology of Color in Marketing: How Hues Impact Consumer Choices.
The 'Joy of Missing Out' (JOMO): Causes and Effects in the Age of FOMO.
The 'Viral' Effect of Social Media Challenges: Causes and Impacts on Youth Behavior.
The High Cost of Cheap Fashion: Environmental and Ethical Consequences.
Overparenting: Causes and Effects on Child Development and Independence.
The Power of Habit: How Routines Shape Our Lives and Goals.
The 'Gig Economy' Phenomenon: Causes and Effects on Job Security.
The Paradox of Choice: How an Abundance of Options Impacts Decision-Making.
Digital Nomads: Causes and Consequences of a Remote Work Lifestyle.
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): Causes and Effects on Mental Well-Being.
'Helicopter Parenting': Its Origins and Effects on Children's Independence.
The Psychological Impact of Personalized Advertising: Causes and Consequences.
The Decline of Bookstores: Digitalization's Effects on Reading Habits.
The Influence of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity: Causes and Consequences.
Perfectionism in the Digital Age: Causes and Impacts on Mental Health.
The 'Selfie Culture': Its Origins and Effects on Self-Esteem.
The Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Function: Causes and Consequences.
The Psychology of Hoarding: Causes and Effects on Mental Health and Relationships.
'Cancel Culture': Causes and Impacts on Free Speech and Public Figures.

Problem Solution Essay Topics

One of their strongest features is that the problem-solution essay topic has a very obvious format. You must state the issue, discuss its significance, outline your proposed fix, and justify why it is the best option. Our essay writer will help you in your writing endeavors by compiling a list of things to write about.

Addressing the Loneliness Epidemic in the Digital Age: Strategies for Connection.
Combating Fake News: Solutions for Media Literacy and Information Verification.
Overcoming the Mental Health Stigma: Promoting Open Conversations and Resources.
Sustainable Transportation: Solving the Urban Congestion and Emissions Problem.
Closing the Gender Pay Gap: Policy Reforms and Corporate Initiatives.
Reshaping Education for a Digital World: Integrating Technology and Reducing Disparities.
Tackling Youth Unemployment: Job Training and Apprenticeship Programs.
Combating Childhood Obesity: Promoting Healthy Lifestyles in Schools and Communities.
Revitalizing Dying Rural Communities: Strategies for Economic Growth and Well-Being.
Solving the Plastic Pollution Crisis: Alternatives and Recycling Initiatives.
Reducing Food Waste: Strategies for Sustainable Consumption and Distribution.
Addressing Cybersecurity Threats: Strengthening Online Privacy and Defenses.
Bridging the Digital Divide: Expanding Internet Access to Underserved Communities.
Fighting Corruption: Promoting Transparency and Accountability in Government.
Climate Change Mitigation: Implementing Green Energy Solutions and Policies.
Curbing the Opioid Epidemic: Comprehensive Approaches to Addiction and Recovery.
Ensuring Affordable Healthcare: Reforms to Make Medical Treatment Accessible to All.
Sustainable Agriculture: Promoting Organic Farming and Reducing Pesticides.
Preventing Bullying in Schools: Anti-Bullying Programs and Supportive Environments.
Enhancing Water Conservation: Solutions to Address Scarcity and Pollution.
Promoting Renewable Energy: Encouraging Solar, Wind, and Hydroelectric Power.
Curbing Gun Violence: Gun Control Measures and Mental Health Initiatives.
Affordable Housing Solutions: Addressing the Housing Crisis in Urban Areas.
Improving Air Quality: Measures to Reduce Pollution in Urban Environments.
Reducing Prescription Drug Costs: Strategies for Affordable Medication.
Revamping the Criminal Justice System: Addressing Mass Incarceration and Rehabilitation.
Combating Human Trafficking: Support Services and Legal Reforms.
Solving the Global Water Crisis: Access to Clean Water and Sanitation.
Curbing Drunk Driving: Promoting Responsible Alcohol Consumption and Transportation Alternatives.
Addressing Elderly Isolation: Community Support and Inclusion Programs.

Informative Essay Topics

You may demonstrate your knowledge by writing informative essays. They all focus on educating the reader without attempting to convince or express an opinion. Let's look at some good essay topics catering to all age groups and preferences.

The Surprising World of Mycorrhizal Fungi: Underground Networks in Nature.
The Art of Bonsai: Cultivating Miniature Trees and Their History.
Hidden Gems of the Deep Sea: Bioluminescent Creatures and Their Adaptations.
The Lost City of Atlantis: Myth, Legend, and Scientific Exploration.
The Forgotten Languages: Exploring Endangered and Undocumented Dialects.
The History of Cartography: How Maps Have Shaped Human Understanding.
The Science of Laughter: Why We Laugh and How It Benefits Us.
Mysterious Crop Circles: Unraveling the Enigma of Their Origins.
The Wonders of Tardigrades: Microscopic Creatures that Can Survive Extreme Conditions.
The Art of Japanese Tea Ceremony: Tradition, Ritual, and Philosophy.
The Enigma of Stonehenge: Ancient Megaliths and Their Purpose.
The World of Competitive Lock Picking: Skills, Strategies, and Ethics.
The Secret Language of Flowers: Symbolism and Communication Through Floriography.
The Mystery of D.B. Cooper: The Unsolved Disappearance and Aerial Heist.
The Science of Dreams: Understanding Sleep and Unconscious Mind Processes.
The Art of Forensic Odontology: Solving Crimes through Dental Records.
The Ingenious World of Rube Goldberg Machines: Complex Simplicity in Action.
The Unusual World of Extreme Ironing: Ironing in the Most Unexpected Places.
The Enigmatic Voynich Manuscript: A Book of Untranslatable Symbols and Plants.
The Cultural Significance of Masquerade and Carnival Celebrations Worldwide.
The Origins of Mythical Creatures: Dragons, Griffins, and the Imagination.
The Art and Science of Glassblowing: Crafting Beautiful and Functional Glass Objects.
The History and Cultural Significance of Hieroglyphics in Ancient Egypt.
The Beauty of Bioluminescent Algae: Natural Light Shows in Oceans and Lakes.
The Science of Taste: Exploring the Complexities of Flavor and Palate.
The World of Competitive Whistling: Techniques, Styles, and Competitions.
The Ancient Art of Origami: Paper Folding as a Cultural and Mathematical Practice.
The Fascinating World of Coral Reefs: Ecosystems, Threats, and Conservation.
The Art of Archery: Historical Development and Modern Sporting Aspects.
The Psychology of Superstitions: Origins, Beliefs, and Cultural Variations.

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Research Essay Topics

You may not be aware of the sheer volume of responsibilities you will likely have throughout college. When it comes to delivering research papers on time, it could leave you feeling overloaded and drained. Thankfully, our dissertation writing help provided you with excellent research essay topics.

The Impact of Microplastics on Human Health: A Comprehensive Study.
Quantum Entanglement and Its Implications for Secure Communication.
The Origins and Implications of Fermi Paradox in Astrophysics.
The Role of Gut Microbiota in Mental Health and Cognitive Function.
The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories: Motivations and Spread.
The Intersection of Art and Artificial Intelligence: Creative Machines.
Dark Matter: Unraveling the Mysterious Cosmic Enigma.
The Anthropocene Era: Human Impact on Earth's Geological History.
Memory Manipulation Techniques: Ethical Considerations and Applications.
The Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript: A Multidisciplinary Approach.
The Origins of the Universe: Big Bang Theory and Alternatives.
The Cognitive Science of Language Evolution: How Did Language Begin?
AI in Healthcare: Diagnosing Diseases and Predicting Outcomes.
Quantum Computing and Cryptography: The Threats and Safeguards.
The Ecology of Urban Rooftop Gardens: Benefits and Sustainability.
Deep Learning in Autonomous Vehicles: Challenges and Innovations.
The Pale Blue Dot: Prospects for Human Colonization of Mars.
The Psychology of Decision-Making: Cognitive Biases and Rationality.
The Interplay of Music and Memory: How Does Music Affect Recall?
The Connection Between Sleep and Memory Consolidation: Neurological Insights.
Synthetic Biology and the Creation of Artificial Life Forms.
The Socioeconomic Impact of Universal Basic Income: Case Studies.
Digital Privacy in the Age of Social Media: Risks and Protections.
The Archaeology of Shipwrecks: Discoveries, Preservation, and Insights.
The Evolution of Human Consciousness: Theories and Neuroscientific Findings.
The Use of CRISPR Technology in Gene Editing: Ethical and Legal Issues.
Predictive Policing and Crime Prevention: Efficacy and Ethical Concerns.
The Mathematics of Fractals: Application in Natural Phenomena.
The Global Impact of Rare Earth Elements: Mining and Sustainability.
Brain-Computer Interfaces and the Future of Human-Machine Interaction.

Education Essay Topics

Certain themes always seem to come up while writing an essay on education. Some people find the constant discussion about education and schools to be a bit much, and when you're engaged in a topic, it may be challenging to come up with the ideal essay topic. Yet, to assist you in your quest for knowledge, we have compiled a list of ideas because of the importance of educational essay writing.

Good College Essay Topics

The Art of Resilience: How Overcoming Challenges Shaped My Perspective.
My Curious Connection with Quantum Physics: A Journey of Discovery.
Embracing the Imperfections: Lessons from a Quirky Hobby.
Exploring Hidden Histories: Uncovering Forgotten Voices in Local Archives.
Discovering Cultural Identity: Navigating My Heritage in a Global World.
Dive into the Underwater World: Lessons from My Scuba Adventures.
Through the Lens of a Microscope: My Fascination with the Minuscule.
The Puzzle of Language: How Learning Mandarin Opened Doors.
Lost in Translation: Navigating Cross-Cultural Misunderstandings.
Journey of Empathy: My Experiences Volunteering with Refugees.
Living off the Grid: A Year of Sustainability and Self-Reliance.
The Soundtrack of My Life: How Music Has Shaped My Identity.
Finding Beauty in the Mundane: Photography as a Personal Journey.
The Science of Gastronomy: Exploring Food as a Cultural Experience.
The Written Universe: My Love Affair with Literature and Storytelling.

Essay On School

Fostering Critical Thinking: How Schools Can Encourage Independent Thought.
Beyond Grades: Rethinking Assessment Methods in Modern Education.
The Influence of School Architecture on Learning and Creativity.
The Psychology of Bullying: Understanding and Preventing School Bullying.
Cultivating Digital Citizenship: Teaching Responsibility in the Internet Age.

Student Life Essay

Exploring the Impact of Student-Teacher Relationships on Academic Success.
The Art of Time Management: Balancing Study, Work, and Social Life.
Navigating Campus Diversity: Building Bridges and Fostering Inclusivity.
The Power of Mentorship: How Student Mentorship Programs Shape Futures.
The Digital Student: How Technology Is Reshaping Learning and Socializing.
Facing the Freshman Fears: Overcoming Anxiety and Adjusting to College Life.
Living Off-Campus: The Pros and Cons of Commuting vs. On-Campus Housing.
Student Activism: Channeling Passion into Social and Political Change.
Learning Beyond the Classroom: The Role of Student Clubs and Organizations.
The Art of Self-Care: Prioritizing Mental and Physical Well-Being in Student Life.

Personal essay topics explore your lifestyle, ideas, and encounters. Readers will gain insight into your most private life events and thoughts from this kind of paper. The secret to success is to try to merge viewpoints and storytelling. The ideas listed below might serve as inspiration for you.

Essay About YourselfEssay About Yourself

The Unexpected Influences: People and Experiences That Shaped My Identity.
The Art of Self-Reflection: Discovering My Strengths and Weaknesses.
Beyond the Comfort Zone: How Challenging Experiences Define Me.
My Multifaceted Passions: Exploring the Diverse Hobbies That Make Me Who I Am.
My Personal Growth Journey: Transformative Moments and Lessons Learned.
My Cultural Mosaic: How My Background and Heritage Influence My Life.
The Soundtrack of My Life: Songs and Lyrics That Speak to My Soul.
My Creative Universe: Exploring My Artistic Expression and Inspirations.
From Words to Worlds: How Writing Has Shaped My Thoughts and Perspective.
The Road Less Traveled: My Unique Travel Experiences and Their Impact.

My Hobby Essay

Exploring the Art of Watercolor Painting: A Creative Escape.
Percussion Passion: How Drum Circles Became My Rhythm of Life.
History Unearthed: Metal Detecting for Hidden Treasures and Stories.
Wild at Heart: Bird Watching and the World of Ornithology.
The Zen of Bonsai: Cultivating Miniature Trees as a Relaxing Hobby.
Culinary Adventures: The Joy of Experimental Cooking and Food Exploration.
My Green Sanctuary: Urban Gardening and Cultivating a Miniature Oasis.
The Dance of Words: How Poetry Became My Expressive Outlet.
Beyond the Lens: Capturing Moments and Emotions Through Photography.
Riding the Waves: Surfing as a Lifestyle and Connection with Nature.

Childhood Memories

The Magic of My Childhood Hideaway: Exploring My Secret Garden.
Through the Lens of Nostalgia: A Photo Journey of My Early Years.
The Treasure Box of Childhood: Forgotten Trinkets and Their Stories.
From Chalk to Chalkboard: A Walk Down Memory Lane in My First School.
Ice Cream Truck Melodies: A Sweet Soundtrack to My Summer Memories.
Games We Played: Recreating the Fun and Friendships of My Youth.
Sunday Morning Cartoon Rituals: Exploring My Weekend Escape.
When Dinosaurs Roamed: My Fascination with Prehistoric Childhood Adventures.
Blanket Forts and Imaginary Worlds: The Power of Childhood Creativity.
Grandma's Kitchen: The Aromas, Tastes, and Lessons of My Early Years.

My Best Friend Essay

A Lifelong Friendship: The Story of My Best Friend and Me.
Kindred Spirits: How My Best Friend and I Found Each Other.
Through Thick and Thin: The Unbreakable Bond with My Best Friend.
Adventures with My Partner in Crime: Tales from My Best Friend.
A Friendship Forged in Childhood: Growing Up with My Best Friend.
The Soundtrack of Our Friendship: Songs, Memories, and Shared Moments.
Beyond Words: How My Best Friend Understands Me Like No One Else.
Travel Companions: Exploring the World with My Best Friend by My Side.
Challenges and Triumphs: How My Best Friend and I Overcame Obstacles Together.
Lessons in Friendship: What My Best Friend Has Taught Me About Life.

Personal Essay Topics

Essay about yourself, ideas for an opinion essay.

You may think of topics for an opinion essay as types of sentences that sum up the entire piece. The same holds true for any piece of writing that expresses a viewpoint. Excellent discussion topics should relate to the core subjects and the student's strongest competencies. A good opinion essay poses an issue, formulates a question, and then makes a statement. Below are some inspirational opinion topic examples for essay writing.

The Impact of AI on Human Creativity: Friend or Foe?
The Role of Humor in Political Satire: Effectiveness and Boundaries.
The Future of Space Exploration: Public vs. Private Initiatives.
The Influence of Social Media on Democracy: A Blessing or a Curse?
Exploring the Appeal of Dystopian Fiction: Insights into Our Society.
The Ethics of Gene Editing: Should We Play with Our DNA?
The Future of Remote Work: Balancing Flexibility and Human Connection.
The Necessity of Renewable Energy: Is Fossil Fuel a Thing of the Past?
Cryptocurrency and Traditional Banking: Can They Coexist or Compete?
The Influence of Pop Culture on Body Image: The Power of Media.
The Debate on Universal Basic Income: A Solution to Income Inequality?
The Role of Art in Times of Crisis: Expression, Reflection, or Protest?
The Paradox of Internet Privacy: Convenience vs. Surveillance.
The Changing Landscape of Education: Traditional vs. Online Learning.
Cultural Appropriation in Fashion: Where Do We Draw the Line?
The Impact of Virtual Reality on Empathy and Desensitization.
The Controversy of Fast Fashion: Environmental Consequences and Alternatives.
The Ethics of Animal Testing in Scientific Research: Necessity or Cruelty?
The Value of Philosophy in the Modern World: Pragmatism or Idealism?
The Future of Work: Automation, Job Displacement, and the Human Touch.

Ideas for Nature Essay

Nature essay topics may examine how human activity affects the environment or how nature affects people. There are several directions that nature essays might go in. Ones that describe how beautiful nature is might motivate readers. On the other hand, an essay on pollution can be thought-provoking and encourage one to act. You may also use an informative essay on environmental pollution to explain how people harm the environment. Let's explore the next areas of nature essay ideas for more details.

Environment Essay

Eco-Anxiety and Climate Change: Navigating the Psychological Impact.
Rewilding Urban Landscapes: Restoring Biodiversity in the Concrete Jungle.
The Ecological Importance of Bees: Beyond Honey Production.
The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Sustainable Environmental Management.
The Sounds of Nature: How Noise Pollution Affects Ecosystems and Wildlife.
Marine Permaculture: Seaweed Farming and Carbon Sequestration.
Biomimicry in Design: Learning from Nature to Solve Environmental Problems.
Waste-to-Energy Innovations: Turning Trash into Renewable Resources.
Mycorrhizal Networks: The Wood Wide Web and Its Impact on Forest Health.
Eco-Friendly Funeral Practices: Sustainable Farewell to Loved Ones.
The Art of Upcycling: Transforming Trash into Treasure in the Circular Economy.
The Silence of the Night: Light Pollution's Effects on Nocturnal Environments.
Vanishing Water Bodies: Investigating the Disappearing Lakes and Rivers.
The Secret Lives of Trees: How Forests Communicate and Support Each Other.
Food Forests: Nourishing Communities Through Permaculture.
Silent Spring Revisited: Pesticides, Wildlife, and Ecosystem Resilience.
The Plight of Pollinators: Bee Decline and Impacts on Food Security.
E-Waste Recycling Challenges: Addressing the Electronic Waste Problem.
Desertification and Land Degradation: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions.
The Environmental Impact of Space Exploration: Beyond the Stars and Back to Earth.

Essay on Deforestation

Deforestation's Ripple Effect: Impact on Global Climate Patterns.
The Role of Indigenous Communities in Combating Deforestation.
Deforestation in the Amazon: Implications for Biodiversity and Indigenous Rights.
Deforestation and Food Security: The Link Between Forest Loss and Agriculture.
Urbanization and Deforestation: The Unseen Consequences of Rapid Development.
The Timber Trade: Addressing the Drivers of Illegal Logging and Deforestation.
Deforestation in Southeast Asia: Palm Oil Production and Its Environmental Costs.
Deforestation and Water Resources: How Forests Play a Critical Role in Watershed Protection.
Reversing Deforestation: Reforestation Initiatives and their Potential.
Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Forest Management: Lessons from Traditional Practices.

Pollution Essay

Air Pollution in Urban Environments: Impacts on Health and Well-Being.
Plastic Pollution in Oceans: The Silent Threat to Marine Life.
Noise Pollution: Unheard Consequences on Human Health and Wildlife.
Soil Contamination: The Effects of Pollutants on Agriculture and Ecosystems.
Light Pollution: Its Impact on Astronomy, Wildlife, and Human Circadian Rhythms.
Radioactive Pollution: Chornobyl, Fukushima, and the Long-Term Consequences.
Microplastics in the Food Chain: How Pollution Enters Our Diets.
Industrial Pollution: Case Studies of Notable Environmental Disasters.
E-Waste and Electronic Pollution: The Global Challenge of Discarded Electronics.
Emerging Pollutants: Exploring the Environmental Impact of Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals.

Water Pollution Essay

The Impact of Industrial Effluents on Water Quality and Aquatic Life.
From Source to Sea: Tracing the Path of Water Pollution in Rivers.
The Role of Agriculture in Water Pollution: Pesticides, Runoff, and Sustainable Practices.
Water Pollution in Developing Nations: Access, Contamination, and Health Impacts.
The Dead Zones: Causes and Consequences of Oxygen-Depleted Waters in Oceans.
Water Pollution and Endocrine Disruptors: Understanding the Hormonal Effects.
Groundwater Pollution: Sources, Contamination, and Remediation Efforts.
The Flint Water Crisis: Lessons in Drinking Water Contamination and Public Health.
Microplastics in Water: Tiny Pollutants, Big Environmental Concerns.
Innovative Technologies for Water Pollution Control and Treatment.

My Favorite Season

The Season of Blossoms: Why Spring Holds a Special Place in My Heart.
Embracing the Heat: Summer's Sun, Fun, and Adventures.
Fall's Fiery Colors: The Beauty of Autumn's Changing Leaves.
Cozy Winter Days: Celebrating the Chilly Season with Warmth and Comfort.
Seasonal Sensations: A Journey Through My Favorite Time of the Year.
My Ideal Season: Exploring the Allure of My Chosen Season.
Seasonal Delights: Savoring the Flavors and Culinary Traditions of My Favorite Time of the Year.
Nature's Beauty Unveiled: Capturing the Essence of My Beloved Season.
Seasonal Hobbies and Pastimes: The Activities That Define My Favorite Season.
A Season of Memories: Recollections and Experiences That Make It My Favorite.

A Raining Day Essay

The Serenity of Rainy Days: A Mood-Enhancing Experience.
Rain-Soaked Moments: Finding Beauty in Wet Weather.
A Day for Cozy Comfort: Embracing Rainy Weather as an Opportunity.
Rainy Day Adventures: Making the Most of Indoor Activities.
Refreshing Rain: Exploring the Positive Aspects of a Wet Day.

Psychology Topics for Essay

The Power of Human Memory: How We Remember and Forget.
Nature vs. Nurture: The Debate on Genetic and Environmental Influences.
Cognitive Development in Children: Piaget's Stages of Learning.
The Mind-Body Connection: Understanding the Impact of Mental Health on Physical Health.
Abnormal Behavior: Exploring Mental Disorders and Treatment Approaches.
Attachment Theory and Relationships: The Impact of Early Bonds on Adulthood.
The Halo Effect: How Physical Attractiveness Influences Perception.
The Placebo Effect: Unraveling the Mind's Role in Healing.
Emotional Intelligence: How Understanding and Managing Emotions Impacts Success.
The Obedience Experiments: Milgram's Shocking Insights into Human Behavior.
Positive Psychology: The Science of Well-Being and Happiness.
The Social-Cognitive Theory: How Observational Learning Shapes Behavior.
The Power of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies: How Expectations Influence Outcomes.
Understanding Motivation: Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Factors.
Cognitive Dissonance: Exploring the Tension Between Belief and Action.
Personality Theories: Freud, Jung, and the Complexities of Individual Differences.
The Role of Mirror Neurons in Empathy and Social Understanding.
Coping Mechanisms: How Individuals Adapt to Stress and Adversity.
The Stages of Grief: Kubler-Ross's Model of Emotional Response to Loss.
The Influence of Color on Emotions and Behavior.
Groupthink: The Dangers of Conformity in Decision-Making.
The Effect of Music on Mood and Cognitive Performance.
Understanding Sleep Disorders: From Insomnia to Sleep Apnea.
Parenting Styles: How Different Approaches Impact Child Development.
The Dark Triad of Personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy.
The Role of Dopamine in Reward and Addiction.
The Zone of Proximal Development: Vygotsky's Theory of Learning.
The Power of Cognitive Biases: How Mental Shortcuts Affect Decision-Making.
The Uncanny Valley: The Intersection of Robots, Humanoids, and Human Emotion.
Sports Psychology: The Mental Aspects of Athletic Performance and Competition.

As psychology has several subfields, you must be aware of which ones to focus on while writing a strong essay. If you need ideas, have a look at the following psychological topics for essay:

Gender Equality Essay

There are many different concerns in the field of gender studies. Nonetheless, you must select an original gender equality essay topic from among them, such as the salary gap, the bias against women in the classroom, women empowerment essay topics, etc. Here are a few pointers that may help you choose an excellent topic.

Gender Equality in STEM Fields: Overcoming the Gender Gap.
Women in Leadership: Breaking the Glass Ceiling in Corporate America.
The Impact of Gender Equality on Economic Growth and Development.
Men and Mental Health: Destigmatizing Vulnerability and Seeking Help.
Gender Equality in Sports: Equal Pay, Opportunities, and Recognition.
The Intersection of Gender and Race: Understanding and Addressing Double Discrimination.
Parental Leave Policies: Supporting Both Genders in Balancing Work and Family.
Gender Equality in Education: Encouraging Girls to Pursue STEM and Boys to Embrace the Arts.
Gender-Neutral Language: Promoting Inclusive Communication and Representation.
LGBTQ+ Rights and Gender Identity: A Fight for Inclusivity and Acceptance.
Women's Rights in Conflict Zones: Addressing Gender-Based Violence and Displacement.
The Role of Men as Allies in the Fight for Gender Equality.
Gender Equality and the Aging Workforce: Challenging Ageism and Sexism.
Gender Equality and Technology: Bridging the Digital Gender Divide.
Gendered Marketing and Consumer Culture: Promoting Fair Representation.
Gender Stereotypes in Media: How Entertainment Shapes Perceptions.
Maternal Health and Gender Equality: Ensuring Safe Motherhood Worldwide.
Gender Equality and Aging: Examining Retirement Disparities and Social Support.
Gender and Environmental Sustainability: Women's Roles in Climate Change Mitigation.
Transgender Rights: Advocating for Legal Protections and Social Inclusion.

Proposal Essay Topics

Proposals can be prepared for a scholarly audience like your teacher or students or a broader audience like a government entity or corporation. Everyone studying in high school or college will find our list of proposal essay topics helpful; if you find one you like, feel free to take it and begin researching.

Implementing a Universal Basic Income: Addressing Income Inequality.
Creating Inclusive Curriculum: Promoting Diversity in Education.
A Sustainable Fashion Initiative: Reducing the Environmental Impact of Clothing.
Expanding Mental Health Services in Schools: Fostering Student Well-Being.
Promoting Green Transportation: Incentives for Electric and Sustainable Vehicles.
Combatting Food Deserts: Strategies for Accessible and Affordable Nutrition.
Enhancing Cybersecurity in Small Businesses: Protecting Against Digital Threats.
Restorative Justice Programs in Schools: Reducing Disciplinary Measures.
Encouraging Community Gardening: Promoting Urban Agriculture and Sustainability.
Implementing a Four-Day Workweek: Balancing Productivity and Employee Well-Being.
Developing Sustainable Housing Solutions for Homeless Individuals.
The Adoption of Renewable Energy in Public Buildings: Lowering Carbon Emissions.
Establishing a Plastic Tax: Reducing Single-Use Plastic Consumption.
Expanding Telemedicine Services: Increasing Access to Healthcare in Remote Areas.
Promoting Financial Literacy in Schools: Equipping Students for Financial Success.
Enhancing Disaster Preparedness at the Community Level: A Call for Resilience.
A Zero-Waste Policy for Restaurants: Reducing Food and Packaging Waste.
Promoting Civic Engagement Among Youth: Strategies for Active Participation.
Encouraging Companies to Invest in Employee Well-Being Programs.
The Implementation of Green Roofs: Improving Urban Sustainability and Cooling.

Process Analysis Essay Topics

Outstanding process analysis essay topics are necessary for crafting a decent paper. Process essay topics allow you to format your piece effectively and offer your ideas to the target audience in a way they can grasp. Let's go through the list for inspiration:

Mastering the Art of Sourdough Bread Baking: A Step-by-Step Guide.
From Coffee Beans to Espresso: Crafting the Perfect Cup of Coffee.
DIY Home Brewing: Creating Your Signature Craft Beer.
The Process of Composting: Turning Food Scraps into Nutrient-Rich Soil.
Becoming a Minimalist: Simplifying Your Life, One Step at a Time.
Mastering the Art of Public Speaking: Overcoming Stage Fright and Captivating Your Audience.
From Sketch to Canvas: Creating a Stunning Oil Painting.
Starting Your Own Podcast: A Step-by-Step Guide to Podcast Production.
The Journey of Creating a Homemade Candle: Aromatic Creations at Home.
The Science of Chocolate Making: From Cacao Bean to Mouthwatering Bar.
Upcycling Old Furniture: Transforming Trash into Treasure.
The Art of Time Management: Strategies for Boosting Productivity and Efficiency.
Perfecting Your Yoga Practice: Aligning Mind, Body, and Breath.
Mastering the Art of Sushi Rolling: Crafting Delicious Japanese Cuisine at Home.
From Idea to Published Book: Navigating the Writing and Publishing Process.
Learning the Basics of Photography: Capturing Stunning Moments with Your Camera.
A Beginner's Guide to Gardening: Growing Your Own Vegetables and Herbs.
The Process of Making Homemade Ice Cream: Delicious Flavors in Your Kitchen.
Creating a Stunning Flower Arrangement: Designing Floral Beauty.
The Journey to a Digital Detox: Unplugging and Finding Balance in the Digital Age.

Essay Ideas on Stereotypes

Because stereotypes are such a pervasive societal problem, educators often encourage students to reflect on them. The only way to create stereotype topics for essays is to identify the societal and daily thought patterns, trace their links, and record them in writing. After learning how to create a stereotype essay, you can look for the ideal topic examples for essay. So, let's explore them together:

Stereotyping in the Workplace: Challenges and Solutions.
Cultural Stereotypes: Impact on Cross-Cultural Communication.
Media Portrayal of Villains: Unraveling the Stereotypical Archetypes.
Gender Stereotypes in Children's Toys and Their Consequences.
The Stereotype Threat: How Prejudice Affects Performance.
The Role of Education in Breaking Stereotypes: Curriculum and Beyond.
The Impact of Stereotypes on Mental Health: Addressing Stigma.
Breaking Racial Stereotypes: Stories of Resilience and Change.
Deconstructing the 'Lazy' Stereotype: Understanding the Socioeconomic Factors.
The Role of Language in Reinforcing Stereotypes: Linguistic Discrimination.
Disability Stereotypes: Shifting Perspectives on Abilities and Inclusion.
Stereotypes and the Elderly: Challenging Ageism in Society.
The Unseen Stereotypes of the LGBTQ+ Community: Hidden Biases and Myths.
The Role of Stereotypes in Political Discourse: Influences on Public Opinion.
Religious Stereotypes: Impact on Tolerance, Acceptance, and Interfaith Dialogue.
Beyond Beauty: The Stereotyping of Physical Appearance and Self-Esteem.
Counter Stereotyping: Strategies for Change and Empowerment.
Stereotypes in Literature and Pop Culture: Analyzing Subversion and Reinforcement.
The Role of Social Media in Perpetuating or Debunking Stereotypes.
Stereotypes in the Digital Age: The Consequences of Online Prejudice.

Ideas on Essay about COVID-19

The Coronavirus has overrun the planet, which has kept us indoors. Life, as we know it, has transformed. As a result, leaving us with far more questions than solutions. As the epidemic has affected practically every aspect of our lives, it is crucial to comprehend it by composing interesting essay topics on this matter:

The 'Infodemic': Analyzing the Impact of Misinformation during the Pandemic.
The Psychological Toll of Lockdowns: Examining Mental Health Challenges.
COVID-19 and the Global Economy: Economic Consequences and Recovery Strategies.
Pandemic Parenting: Balancing Work, Childcare, and Remote Learning.
The Vaccine Rollout: Successes, Challenges, and Equity Issues.
The Ethical Dilemmas of Vaccine Passports: Balancing Privacy and Public Health.
The Role of Telemedicine in Pandemic Healthcare: Opportunities and Limitations.
The Influence of COVID-19 on Climate Change: Lessons in Environmental Resilience.
COVID-19's Impact on Education: The Digital Divide and Future Learning Trends.
The Role of NGOs and Volunteerism in Pandemic Relief Efforts.
Pandemic-Induced Tech Acceleration: The Long-Term Effects on Digital Transformation.
Healthcare Disparities Exposed: Examining COVID-19's Impact on Vulnerable Communities.
Contact Tracing and Privacy Concerns: Balancing Surveillance and Public Health.
The Role of Artists in Documenting and Responding to the Pandemic.
COVID-19 Long Haulers: Exploring the Experiences of Prolonged Symptoms.
The Pandemic and Democracy: Lessons in Governance, Transparency, and Trust.
The Cultural Shifts Triggered by the Pandemic: Changes in Social Norms and Behavior.
The Future of Work: Remote Work, Hybrid Models, and Office Spaces Post-Pandemic.
COVID-19 and Global Travel: Balancing Tourism and Public Health.
The Ethical and Legal Implications of Pandemic Response: Balancing Civil Liberties and Public Safety.

Topics for Essay Based on Proverbs

Proverbs are a powerful tool for writing that may increase the impact of your points and assist your readers in believing you when you employ them. Let's examine some sayings that will make powerful topics for essays:

The Power of Actions: Examining the Real-Life Significance of 'Actions Speak Louder Than Words.'
The Art of Financial Decision-Making: A Deep Dive into 'Penny Wise, Pound Foolish.'
Risk and Reward: Exploring 'Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket' in Modern Investment Strategies.
Silver Linings in Hard Times: How 'Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining' Applies to Resilience.
Causality and Consequences: Analyzing 'You Reap What You Sow' in Various Aspects of Life.

Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

Identifying and evaluating the distinctions and patterns between two subjects that fall under the same category is the focus of a compare and contrast essay. If you've been assigned to write such a paper, you should seek engaging comparative essay topics. So, take a look at some related essay questions examples created by our essay help platform:

The Surrealist Art of Salvador Dali vs. the Abstract Expressionism of Jackson Pollock.
The Novels of Jane Austen vs. the Novels of the Brontë Sisters: Themes and Characters.
The Harlem Renaissance vs. the Civil Rights Movement: Cultural and Political Impact.
Hinduism vs. Buddhism: Philosophical Differences and Spiritual Practices.
The French Revolution vs. the American Revolution: Causes and Outcomes.
Impressionist Painting vs. Pointillism: Techniques and Artistic Movements.
The Poetry of Langston Hughes vs. Maya Angelou: Themes and Styles.
The Victorian Era vs. the Edwardian Era: Social Norms and Fashion.
Realism in Literature vs. Magical Realism: Narrative Approaches and Themes.
The Films of Alfred Hitchcock vs. Stanley Kubrick: Cinematic Styles and Techniques.
Greek Mythology vs. Roman Mythology: Gods, Stories, and Cultural Influence.
Renewable Energy vs. Nuclear Energy: Environmental Impact and Sustainability.
Classical Music vs. Jazz: Origins, Instruments, and Musical Composition.
The Leadership Styles of Mahatma Gandhi vs. Nelson Mandela: Methods and Impact.
The Symbolism in William Faulkner's Works vs. Toni Morrison's Novels: Literary Analysis.
Gothic Architecture vs. Art Deco Architecture: Aesthetic Characteristics and Historical Context.
The Italian Renaissance vs. the Northern Renaissance: Artistic Techniques and Influences.
The Philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche vs. Jean-Paul Sartre: Existentialism and Morality.
The Writings of Edgar Allan Poe vs. H.P. Lovecraft: Horror Genre and Literary Themes.
The Classical Ballet vs. Contemporary Dance: Choreography and Expression.

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Student Opinion

Over 1,000 Writing Prompts for Students

Compiled by Michael Gonchar

April 12, 2018

Note: We have 300 new argumentative writing prompts to add to this list.

Of all the resources we publish on The Learning Network, perhaps it’s our vast collection of writing prompts that is our most widely used resource for teaching and learning with The Times.

We’ve published iterations of this post in the past — 200 , 401 and even 650 prompts — but never before have we gathered all our prompts, for both personal and argument writing, into one categorized list.

Admittedly, the list is huge. In fact, there are 1,219 questions below on everything from video games and fashion to smartphones and parenting, and each prompt links to a Times article as well as to additional subquestions that can encourage deeper thinking.

To help you navigate this page, here’s an index of topics:

Technology (1-74): Social Media • Smartphones • Internet & Tech Arts & Entertainment (75-248): Music • Television • Video Games • Movies & Theater • Books & Reading • Writing • The Arts • Language & Speech School & Career (249-449): School • Learning & Studying • Education Tech • Teachers & Grading • School Rules & Student Life • College • Work & Careers Identity & Family (450-828): Parenting • Family • Childhood Memories • Growing Up • Overcoming Adversity • Your Personality • Religion & Morality • Role Models • Gender • Race & Ethnicity • Neighborhood & Home • Money & Social Class • What If... Social Life & Leisure Time (829-1,059): Friendship • Dating & Sex • Looks & Fashion • Food • Sports & Games • Travel • Holidays & Seasons • Shopping & Cars Science & Health (1,060-1,140): Science & Environment • Animals & Pets • Exercise & Health Civics & History (1,141-1,219): Guns & the Justice System • Government Policy • History & News

So dive into the hundreds of writing prompts below — and let us know in the comments how you might use them in your classroom.

Social Media

1. Is Social Media Making Us More Narcissistic? 2. Are You the Same Person on Social Media as You Are in Real Life? 3. How Young Is Too Young to Use Social Media? 4. What Advice Do You Have for Younger Kids About Navigating Social Media? 5. How Do You Use Facebook? 6. What Is Your Facebook Persona? 7. How Real Are You on Social Media? 8. What Memorable Experiences Have You Had on Facebook? 9. Does Facebook Ever Make You Feel Bad? 10. Does Facebook Need a ‘Dislike’ Button? 11. Has Facebook Lost Its Edge? 12. Would You Consider Deleting Your Facebook Account? 13. Would You Quit Social Media? 14. Do You Have ‘Instagram Envy’? 15. Who Is Your Favorite Social Media Star? 16. What’s So Great About YouTube? 17. What Has YouTube Taught You? 18. What Are Your Favorite Viral Videos? 19. What Are Your Favorite Internet Spoofs? 20. What Would You Teach the World in an Online Video? 21. Do You Ever Seek Advice on the Internet? 22. Would You Share an Embarrassing Story Online? 23. Do You Use Twitter? 24. Is Snapchat a Revolutionary Form of Social Media? 25. Why Do You Share Photos? 26. How Do You Archive Your Life? 27. What Ordinary Moments Would You Include in a Video About Your Life? 28. Are Digital Photographs Too Plentiful to Be Meaningful? 29. Do You Worry We Are Filming Too Much? 30. Have You Ever Posted, Emailed or Texted Something You Wish You Could Take Back? 31. Would You Want Your Photo or Video to Go Viral? 32. Do You Worry Colleges or Employers Might Read Your Social Media Posts Someday? 33. Will Social Media Help or Hurt Your College and Career Goals? 34. Should What You Say on Facebook Be Grounds for Getting Fired? 35. Are Anonymous Social Media Networks Dangerous? 36. Should People Be Allowed to Obscure Their Identities Online? 37. Are Parents Violating Their Children’s Privacy When They Share Photos and Videos of Them Online? 38. Would You Mind if Your Parents Blogged About You?

Smartphones

39. Are You Distracted by Your Phone? 40. Are You Distracted by Technology? 41. Does Technology Make Us More Alone? 42. Is Your Phone Love Hurting Your Relationships? 43. How Has the iPhone Affected Your Life? 44. How Young Is Too Young for an iPhone? 45. Do You Always Have Your Phone or Tablet at Your Side? 46. Do Screens Get in the Way of the Rest of Your Life? 47. Do You Experience FOMO When You Unplug? 48. How Much of Your Day is Voluntarily Spent Screen-Free? 49. Does Your Digital Life Have Side Effects? 50. Do You Think Teenagers Are Replacing Drugs With Smartphones? 51. Are You ‘Addicted’ to Texting? 52. How Many Text Messages Are Too Many? 53. Can a GIF Work Better Than Words? 54. Have You Ever Sent an Odd Message Because of Auto-Correct? 55. Do You Spend Too Much Time on Smartphones Playing ‘Stupid Games’? 56. Do Apps Help You or Just Waste Your Time? 57. What Makes HQ Trivia So Popular? 58. Is Pokémon Go a Positive Cultural Force? Or Is it Just Another Excuse for People to Stare at Their Phones?

Internet & Tech

59. Is the Internet Broken? 60. How Do You Protect Your Personal Information From Hackers? 61. How Careful Are You Online? 62. What Story Does Your Personal Data Tell? 63. Do You Worry About the Lack of Anonymity in the Digital Age? 64. Do You Wish You Had More Privacy Online? 65. Would You Be Willing to Pay for Facebook or Google in Exchange for Your Privacy? 66. Have You Ever Been Scammed? 67. Whom Would You Share Your Passwords With? 68. What Tech Tools Play the Biggest Role in Your Life? 69. What New Technologies or Tech Toys Are You Most Excited About? 70. To What Piece of Technology Would You Write a ‘Love Letter’? 71. Do Machines Represent a Threat to Humans? 72. Do You Think Recreational Drones Are Safe? 73. What Role Will Robots Play in Our Future? 74. Will Wearable Technology Ever Really Catch On?

Arts & Entertainment

75. What Songs Are on Your Favorite Playlist? 76. What Are You Listening To? 77. What Musicians or Bands Mean the Most to You? 78. What Music Inspires You? 79. Who in Your Life Introduces You to New Music? 80. Do You Think You’ve Already Forged Your Lifelong Taste in Music? 81. How Much Is Your Taste in Music Based on What Your Friends Like? 82. What Are Your Earliest Memories of Music? 83. Will Musical Training Make You More Successful? 84. What Role Does Hip-Hop Play in Your Life? 85. Which Pop Music Stars Fascinate You? 86. Who Is Your Favorite Pop Diva? 87. What’s Your Karaoke Song? 88. Which Artists Would You Like to See Team Up? 89. How Closely Do You Listen to Lyrics? 90. What Song Lyrics Do You Consider Literature? 91. What Current Musicians Do You Think Will Stand the Test of Time? 92. What Artists or Bands of Today Are Destined for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? 93. What Musician, Actor or Author Should Be a Superstar, but Hasn’t Quite Made It Yet? 94. What Artists Do You Believe Are the Future of Music? 95. What Can You Predict About the Future of the Music Industry? 96. What Artists Do You Consider ‘Sellouts’? 97. How Much Can an Artist Borrow From Earlier Musicians Before It Becomes Stealing? 98. Who Does Hip-Hop Belong To?

99. What Are Your Favorite TV Shows? 100. What Are the Best Things You’ve Watched, Read, Heard or Played This Year? 101. What Are Your TV Habits? 102. Do Your Television Viewing Habits Include ‘Binge-Watching’? 103. What Role Does Television Play in Your Life and the Life of Your Family? 104. What Television Shows Have Mattered to You? 105. How Often Do You Watch a Television Show When It Originally Airs? 106. Have You Fallen Into ‘Friends’ or Any Other Older Television Shows? 107. What Old Television Shows Would You Bring Back? 108. Why Do We Like Reality Shows So Much? 109. What Ideas Do You Have for a Reality Show? 110. What Reality TV Show Would You Want to Be a Guest Star On? 111. Should Children Be Allowed to Compete on TV? 112. What Are Your Favorite Cartoons? 113. What Are Your Favorite Commercials? 114. What Makes a Good Commercial? 115. How Much Are You Influenced by Advertising? 116. Does Reality TV Promote Dangerous Stereotypes? 117. Do TV Shows Like ‘16 and Pregnant’ Promote or Discourage Teenage Pregnancy? 118. Is ‘13 Reasons Why’ Raising Awareness About Teenage Suicide, or Glamorizing It? 119. Do You Watch Hollywood Awards Ceremonies? 120. Why Do We Like to Watch Rich People on TV and in the Movies? 121. Should the Private Lives of Famous People Be Off Limits? 122. Should We Be Privy to the Lives of Celebrities’ Children? 123. Do You Think Child Stars Have It Rough? 124. Does TV Capture the Diversity of America Yet? 125. Is TV Too White? 126. What Stereotypical Characters Make You Cringe? 127. What Makes a Good TV Show Finale?

Video Games

128. Should Video Games Be Considered a Sport? 129. What Have You Learned Playing Video Games? 130. What Are Your Favorite Video Games? 131. Do You Play Violent Video Games? 132. Should Stores Sell Violent Video Games to Minors? 133. Do Violent Video Games Make People More Violent in Real Life? 134. When Should You Feel Guilty for Killing Zombies? 135. Who Are Your Opponents in Online Gaming? 136. Do You Like Watching Other People Play Video Games? 137. How Excited Are You About the Possibilities of Virtual Reality? 138. Can a Video Game Be a Work of Art? 139. What Game Would You Like to Redesign? 140. How Sexist Is the Gaming World?

Movies & Theater

141. What Are Your Favorite Movies Ever? 142. What Were the Best Movies You Saw in the Past Year? 143. What Movies Do You Watch, or Reference, Over and Over? 144. What Movies, Shows or Books Do You Wish Had Sequels, Spinoffs or New Episodes? 145. What Have You Learned From Movies? 146. Do You Like Horror Movies? 147. Are ‘Dark’ Movies O.K. for Kids? 148. What Is Your Favorite Comedy? 149. Are There Topics That Should Be Off Limits to Comedy? 150. What Is Your Favorite Sports Movie? 151. Who Are Your Favorite Movie Stars? 152. Would You Pay Extra for a 3-D Movie? 153. Where, and How, Do You Watch Movies? 154. What Are the Best Live Theatrical Performances You’ve Ever Seen? 155. Have You Ever Stumbled Upon a Cool Public Performance? 156. Have You Ever Performed for an Audience or Shared Creative Work With Others? 157. Does Live Theater Offer Something You Just Can’t Get Watching Movies or TV? 158. Is Hollywood Becoming More Diverse? 159. What — if Anything — Does the Current Hollywood Film Industry Lack?

Books & Reading

160. What Are the Best Books You’ve Read? 161. Read Any Good Books Lately? 162. What Are Your Favorite Young Adult Novels? 163. What Do You Want to Read This Summer? 164. What Books Do You Think Every Teenager Should Read? 165. What Role Have Books Played in Your Life? 166. Do You Read for Pleasure? 167. Do You Have a Favorite Novelist? 168. To What Writer Would You Award a Prize? 169. Has a Book, Movie, Television Show, Song or Video Game Ever Inspired You to Do Something New? 170. When Have You Seen Yourself and Your Life Reflected in a Book or Other Media? 171. Who Are the Characters That Authors Should Be Writing About? 172. Do You Prefer Your Children’s Book Characters Obedient or Contrary? 173. How Much Power Do Books Have to Teach Young People Tolerance of Others? 174. Do You Read E-Books? 175. Are Paper Books Better Than E-Books? 176. Would You Trade Your Paper Books for Digital Versions? 177. Does Reading a Book Count More Than Listening to One? 178. What Childhood Classic Would You Like to See Turned Into a Movie or TV Show? 179. Are Shortened Versions of Classic Adult Literature Right for Young Children? 180. Is There Any Benefit to Reading Books You Hate? 181. Do You Read or Write Poetry? 182. What Memorable Poetry Have You Ever Read or Heard? 183. What Magazines Do You Read, and How Do You Read Them? 184. Do You Enjoy Reading Tabloid Gossip? 185. Are There Books That Should Be Banned From Your School Library? 186. Do We Still Need Libraries?

187. What Purpose Does Writing Serve in Your Life? 188. Why Do You Write? 189. Are You a Good Storyteller? 190. What’s Your Favorite Joke? 191. Do You Keep a Diary or Journal? 192. Do You Have a Blog? 193. Do You Want to Write a Book? 194. When Do You Write by Hand? 195. Do You Write in Cursive? 196. Do You Write in Your Books? 197. What Is Your Most Memorable Writing Assignment? 198. Do You Ever Write About Challenges You Face in Life? 199. What ‘Mundane Moments’ From Your Life Might Make Great Essay Material? 200. What Would You Write in a Letter to the Editor? 201. If You Had a Column in The New York Times, What Would You Write About? 202. Would You Ever Write Down a Secret and Bury It in the Ground?

203. What Is Your Favorite Type of Art? 204. What Are Your Favorite Works of Art? 205. What Work of Art Has Changed Your Life? 206. What Are the Most Memorable Works of Visual Art You Have Seen? 207. Which Photograph Stays In Your Memory? 208. What’s the Coolest Thing You’ve Ever Seen in a Museum? 209. Do We Need Art in Our Lives? 210. How Important Is Arts Education? 211. What Has Arts Education Done For You? 212. Can Graffiti Ever Be Considered Art? 213. Should Graffiti Be Protected? 214. Can You Separate Art From the Artist? 215. Is It Possible to Separate Art From the Artist Who Created It? 216. Are There Subjects That Should Be Off-Limits to Artists, or to Certain Artists in Particular? 217. Should Society Support Artists and Others Pursuing Creative Works? 218. Should Displays of Art Be Welcome in All Public Spaces? 219. Does Pop Culture Deserve Serious Study? 220. What Do You Think of the Obamas’ Portrait Choices?

Language & Speech

221. What Words Do You Hate? 222. What Words or Phrases Do You Think Are Overused? 223. How Much Slang Do You Use? What Are Your Favorite Words? 224. What Current Slang Words and Expressions Do You Think Will Endure? 225. What Words or Phrases Do You Think Are Overused? 226. What Words or Phrases Should Be Retired? 227. Why Do So Many People Say ‘Like’ and ‘Totally’ All the Time? 228. Do You Say ‘Kind of, Sort of’ More Than You Realize? 229. How Much Do You Curse? 230. Have Curse Words Become So Common They Have Lost Their Shock Value? 231. Do Laws That Ban Offensive Words Make the World a Better Place? 232. How Good Are You at Coming Up With Witty Comebacks? 233. When Did You Last Have a Great Conversation? 234. What Makes a Great Conversation? 235. How Often Do You Have ‘Deep Discussions’? 236. Do You Wish Your Conversations Were Less Small Talk and More ‘Big Talk’? 237. Are We Losing the Art of Listening? 238. How Do You Greet Your Friends and Family? 239. When Do You Choose Making a Phone Call Over Sending a Text? 240. How Much Information Is ‘Too Much Information’? 241. What Does Your Body Language Communicate? 242. Do You Sometimes ‘Hide’ Behind Irony? 243. How Good Is Your Grammar? 244. Does Punctuation in Text Messages Matter? 245. When Do You Remember Learning a New Word? 246. Where Do You Find the Meanings of Unfamiliar Words? 247. Do You Speak a Second, or Third, Language? 248. Should Everyone Learn at Least One Other Language?

School & Careers

249. Should the School Day Start Later? 250. Would a Later School Start Time Increase Student Success? 251. Is Your School Day Too Short? 252. Should Schools Cancel Summer Vacation? 253. Do You Think a Longer School Calendar Is a Good Idea? 254. Should the Dropout Age Be Raised? 255. Should We Rethink How Long Students Spend in High School? 256. Should Students Be Allowed to Skip Senior Year of High School? 257. Should Kids Head to College Early? 258. Do You Like School? 259. Are You Stressed About School? 260. Are High School Students Being Worked Too Hard? 261. What Are You Really Learning at School? 262. What Are You Looking Forward To, or Dreading, This School Year? 263. Would You Rather Attend a Public or a Private High School? 264. How Much Does It Matter to You Which High School You Attend? 265. Are Small Schools More Effective Than Large Schools? 266. Would You Want to Go to a School Like This One? 267. What Kind of Education System Do You Think Is Best? 268. How Would You Grade Your School? 269. What Can Other Schools Learn — and Copy — From Your School? 270. What Would You Miss if You Left Your School? 271. What Do You Hope to Get Out of High School? 272. Should High Schools Do More to Prepare You for Careers? 273. Would You Want to Be Home-Schooled? 274. Should Home-Schoolers Be Allowed to Play Public School Sports? 275. Should All Children Be Able to Go to Preschool? 276. What Is the Purpose of Preschool? 277. Should Kindergarten Be More About Play or Literacy?

Learning & Studying

278. Do Teachers Assign Too Much Homework? 279. Does Your Homework Help You Learn? 280. Do You Need a Homework Therapist? 281. Do You Participate in Class? 282. What Is the Right Amount of Group Work in School? 283. What Do You Think of Grouping Students by Ability in Schools? 284. Does Class Size Matter? 285. What Is Your Best Subject? 286. What’s the Most Challenging Assignment You’ve Ever Had? 287. What Is the Most Memorable Concept You’ve Learned in Science Class, and How Did You Learn It? 288. What Memorable Experiences Have You Had in Learning Science or Math? 289. Are You Afraid of Math? 290. Do We Need a Better Way to Teach Math? 291. Is Shakespeare Too Hard? 292. What Are the Best Ways to Learn About History? 293. How Would You Do on a Civics Test? 294. Does Geography Skill Make You a Better Citizen? 295. What Career or Technical Classes Do You Wish Your School Offered? 296. Does Gym Help Students Perform Better in All Their Classes? 297. Should Reading and Math Be Taught in Gym Class Too? 298. Do You Learn Better After Moving Around? 299. Do Kids Need Recess? 300. What Was Your Favorite Field Trip? 301. What Are Your Best Tips for Studying? 302. Do You Use Study Guides? 303. Is Everything You’ve Been Taught About Study Habits Wrong? 304. What Would You Like to Have Memorized? 305. Should Schools Be Teaching, and Evaluating, Social-Emotional Skills Like ‘Grit’? 306. Should Schools Teach You How to Be Happy? 307. Should Schools Teach Children How to Cook? 308. What ‘Pop-Up’ Classes Do You Wish Your School Offered? 309. Do Schools Provide Students With Enough Opportunities to Be Creative? 310. Does the Way Your Classroom Is Decorated Affect Your Learning? 311. How Much Does Your Life in School Intersect With Your Life Outside School?

Teachers & Grading

312. What Do You Wish Your Teachers Knew About You? 313. When Has a Teacher Inspired You? 314. Has a Teacher Ever Changed Your Mind-Set? 315. What Teacher Would You Like to Thank? 316. What Makes a Good Teacher? 317. Class Time + Substitute = Waste? 318. Should Students Be Able to Grade Their Teachers? 319. How Formal Should Students Be When Interacting with their Teachers and Professors? 320. Have You Ever Been Humiliated by a Teacher? How Did it Affect You? 321. Have Your Teachers or Textbooks Ever Gotten It Wrong? 322. Do You Feel Your School and Teachers Welcome Both Conservative and Liberal Points of View? 323. Do You Have a Tutor? 324. How Important Are Parent-Teacher Conferences? 325. Should Students Be Present at Parent-Teacher Conferences? 326. How Should Parents Handle a Bad Report Card? 327. Does Your School Hand Out Too Many A’s? 328. Do Girls Get Better Grades Than Boys in Your School? 329. How Well Do You Think Standardized Tests Measure Your Abilities? 330. How Seriously Should We Take Standardized Tests? 331. Do You Spend Too Much Time Preparing for Standardized Tests? 332. Should Schools Offer Cash Bonuses for Good Test Scores? 333. Do Your Test Scores Reflect How Good Your Teachers Are? 334. Should Discomfort Excuse Students From Having to Complete an Assignment? 335. Should Schools Give Students ‘Body’ Report Cards?

Education Tech

336. Are the Web Filters at Your School Too Restrictive? 337. Does Technology in the Classroom Ever Get in the Way of Learning? 338. Do Your Teachers Use Technology Well? 339. Should Tablet Computers Become the Primary Way Students Learn in Class? 340. Can Cellphones Be Educational Tools? 341. Should Students Be Barred From Taking Cellphones to School? 342. Should Teachers and Professors Ban Student Use of Laptops in Class? 343. How Do You Use Wikipedia? 344. Should There Be More Educational Video Games in School? 345. Is Online Learning as Good as Face-to-Face Learning? 346. Would You Like to Take a Class Online? 347. Is Live-Streaming Classrooms a Good Idea? 348. How Would You Feel About a Computer Grading Your Essays? 349. Who Should Be Able to See Students’ Records? 350. Does Your School Offer Enough Opportunities to Learn Computer Programming? 351. Does Your School Value Students’ Digital Skills? 352. Do You Know How to Code? Would You Like to Learn?

School Rules & Student Life

353. Are School Dress Codes a Good Idea? 354. How Does Your School Deal With Students Who Misbehave? 355. Can Students at Your School Talk Openly About Their Mental Health Issues? 356. What Role Should the Police Have in Schools? 357. What Are the Best Teaching Methods for Getting Students to Behave Well in Class? 358. Should Schools Be Allowed to Use Corporal Punishment? 359. Is Cheating Getting Worse? 360. Do You Know People Who Cheat on High-Stakes Tests? 361. Is a ‘Regret Clause’ a Good Idea for Cases of Academic Dishonesty? 362. Should Schools Put Tracking Devices in Students’ ID Cards? 363. How Should Schools Handle Unvaccinated Students? 364. How Big a Problem Is Bullying or Cyberbullying in Your School or Community? 365. How Should Schools Address Bullying? 366. How Should Schools Address Cyberbullying? 367. What Should the Punishment Be for Acts of Cyberbullying? 368. When Do Pranks Cross the Line to Become Bullying? 369. How Should Schools Respond to Hazing Incidents? 370. How Do You Feel About Proms? 371. Is Prom Worth It? 372. Do You Want to Be ‘Promposed’ To? 373. Is Prom Just an Excuse to Drink? 374. What’s the Best Party You’ve Ever Been To? 375. What Role Do School Clubs and Teams Play in Your Life? 376. Should All Students Get Equal Space in a Yearbook? 377. Should Yearbooks Include Political News? 378. Should School Newspapers Be Subject to Prior Review? 379. Should More Student Journalists Have Independent Editorial Control? 380. What Are Your Thoughts on Riding the School Bus?

381. How Necessary Is a College Education? 382. Is College Overrated? 383. How Prepared Are You For College? How Well Do You Think You’ll Do? 384. What Worries Do You Have About College? 385. Where Do You Want to Go to College? 386. Does It Matter Where You Go to College? 387. Do College Rankings Really Matter? 388. Do Other People Care Too Much About Your Post-High School Plans? 389. What Are Your Sources for Information About Colleges and Universities? 390. Should Colleges Find a Better Way to Admit Students? 391. Is the College Admissions Process Fair? 392. Should Colleges Use Admissions Criteria Other Than SAT Scores and Grades? 393. Do You Support Affirmative Action in College Admissions? 394. Are Early-Decision Programs Unfair? Should Colleges Do Away With Them? 395. What Criteria Should Be Used in Awarding Scholarships for College? 396. Should Engineers Pay Less for College Than English Majors? 397. What Is the Perfect Number of College Applications to Send? 398. What Role Has Community College Played in Your Life or the Life of Someone You Know? 399. How Much Do You Worry About Taking the SAT or ACT? 400. What Personal Essay Topic Would You Assign to College Applicants? 401. What Qualities Would You Look For in a College Roommate? 402. Would You Want to Take a Gap Year After High School? 403. What Specialty College Would You Create? 404. What Makes a Graduation Ceremony Memorable? 405. Should a College Education be Free? 406. Is Student Debt Worth It? 407. Are Lavish Amenities on College Campuses Useful or Frivolous? 408. Do Fraternities Promote Misogyny? 409. Should Fraternities Be Abolished? 410. Is a Sorority a Good Place for a Feminist? 411. Should Colleges Offer Degrees in Sports? 412. Should ‘Despised Dissenters’ Be Allowed to Speak on College Campuses?

Work & Careers

413. What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? 414. Do You Have a Life Calling? 415. What’s Your Dream Job? 416. What Jobs Are You Most Curious About? 417. What Are Your Longtime Interests or Passions? 418. Do You Think You Will Have a Career That You Love? 419. How Can You Ensure That Your Future Career is Right for You? 420. What Do You Want More From a Career: Happiness or Wealth? 421. What Investment Are You Willing to Make to Get Your Dream Job? 422. Would You Consider Moving Overseas for a Job? 423. What Do You Hope to Be Doing the Year After You Graduate From College? 424. What Would You Choose to Do If You Had Unlimited Free Time and No Restrictions? 425. Is ‘Doing Nothing’ a Good Use of Your Time? 426. Where Do You See Yourself in 10 Years? 427. Would You Like to Be Famous? 428. Would You Consider a Nontraditional Occupation? 429. Would You Rather Work From Home or in an Office? 430. Would You Want to Be a Teacher? 431. Would You Like to Be a Fashion Model? 432. What Hidden Talents Might You Have? 433. What ‘Back-to-the-Land’ Skills Do You Have, or Wish You Had? 434. Would You Like to Be a Farmer? 435. What Skill Could You Teach in Two Minutes? 436. What Have You Made Yourself? 437. What Would You Like to Learn to Make by Hand? 438. What Idea Do You Have That Is Ahead of Its Time? 439. Do You Have an Idea for a Business or App? 440. What Would You Create if You Had Funding? 441. How Did You Start Doing Something You Love? 442. Did You Ever Take a Break From Doing Something You Love? 443. What Have You Done to Earn Money? 444. Do You Have a Job? 445. Is It O.K. to Use Family Connections to Get a Job? 446. Should All High School Students Be Able to Get a Summer Job if They Want One? 447. Would You Quit if Your Values Did Not Match Your Employer’s? 448. Should Employers Be Able to Review Job Applicants’ SAT Scores? 449. How Important Is Related Experience in Doing a Job?

Identity & Family

450. How Close Are You to Your Parents? 451. How Are You and Your Parents Alike and Different? 452. Will You Follow in Your Parents’ Footsteps? 453. Are You Being Raised to Pursue Your Dreams? 454. Do You Have Helicopter Parents? 455. Do Your Parents Spy on You? 456. How Permissive Are Your Parents? 457. How Much Freedom Have Your Parents Given You? 458. At What Age Should Children Be Allowed to Go Places Without Adult Supervision? 459. Should Children Be Allowed to Wear Whatever They Want? 460. How Do Your Parents Teach You to Behave? 461. How, and by Whom, Should Children Be Taught Appropriate Behavior? 462. How Should Parents Discipline Their Kids? 463. When Does Discipline Become Child Abuse? 464. Should Parents Bribe Their Children? 465. Should Parents Make Their Children Clean Their Room? 466. How Do You Make Parenting Difficult for Your Parents? 467. How Often Do You Fight With Your Parents? 468. What Advice Would You Give to Your Mom, Dad or Guardian on How to Be a Better Parent? 469. Do Your Parents Try Too Hard to Be Cool? 470. Do You Ever Feel Embarrassed by Your Parents? 471. Do Your Parents Support Your Learning? 472. Do You Talk About Report Cards With Your Parents? 473. Do You Want Your Parents to Stop Asking You ‘How Was School?’ 474. How Much Do Your Parents Help With Your Homework? 475. Have Your Parents and Teachers Given You Room to Create? 476. How Closely Do Your Parents Monitor Your App Use? 477. Should Parents Limit How Much Time Children Spend on Tech Devices?

478. Who Is Your Family? 479. How Do You Define ‘Family’? 480. What Have You and Your Family Accomplished Together? 481. What Events Have Brought You Closer to Your Family? 482. How Has Your Family Helped or Hindered Your Transition to a New School? 483. What’s Your Role in Your Family? 484. Have You Ever Changed a Family Member’s Mind? 485. How Well Do You Get Along With Your Siblings? 486. Is Your Family Stressed, Tired and Rushed? 487. What Are Your Family Stories of Sacrifice? 488. What Possessions Does Your Family Treasure? 489. What Hobbies Have Been Passed Down in Your Family? 490. What’s the Story Behind Your Name? 491. What Are Your Favorite Names? 492. How Have You Paid Tribute to Loved Ones? 493. What Does the World Need to Know About an Important Person in Your Life? 494. What Do You Know About Your Family’s History? 495. Did Your Parents Have a Life Before They Had Kids? 496. What Family Traditions Do You Want to Carry On When You Get Older?

Childhood Memories

497. What Is Your Earliest Memory? 498. What Was Your Most Precious Childhood Possession? 499. What Is Your Most Prized Possession? 500. What Objects Tell the Story of Your Life? 501. What Do You Collect? 502. What Were Your Favorite Childhood Shows and Characters? 503. Do You Have Childhood Memories of Being Read Aloud To? 504. What Were Your Favorite Picture Books When You Were Little? 505. What Things Did You Create When You Were a Child? 506. What Places Do You Remember Fondly From Childhood? 507. What Food or Flavor Do You Remember Tasting for the First Time? 508. What Do You Wish You Could See, Hear, Read or Experience for the First Time All Over Again? 509. What Childhood Rules Did You Break? 510. Have You Ever Felt Embarrassed by Things You Used to Like? 511. Do You Wish You Could Return to Moments From Your Past? 512. Was There a Toy You Wanted as a Child but Never Got? 513. What’s the Best Gift You’ve Ever Given or Received? 514. Have You Ever Given, or Received, a Perfect Gift? 515. What’s the Most Memorable Thing You Ever Got in the Mail? 516. Have You Ever Lost (or Found) Something Valuable? 517. What Nicknames Have You Ever Gotten or Given? 518. What Are Your Best Sleepover Memories? 519. What Old, Worn Out Thing Can You Just Not Part With?

520. Is It Harder to Grow Up in the 21st Century Than It Was in the Past? 521. Is Modern Culture Ruining Childhood? 522. Are Adults Hurting Young Children by Pushing Them to Achieve? 523. Is Childhood Today Too Risk-Free? 524. Do We Give Children Too Many Trophies? 525. What Have You Learned in Your Teens? 526. What Do You Remember Best About Being 12? 527. What Personal Achievements Make You Proud? 528. What Are You Grateful For? 529. What Are Some Recent Moments of Happiness in Your Life? 530. What Rites of Passage Have You Participated In? 531. What Advice Would You Give Younger Kids About Middle or High School? 532. What Have You Learned From Older People? 533. What Have You Learned From a Younger Person — and What Have You Taught An Older Person? 534. What Can Older People Learn From Your Generation? 535. What Do Older Generations Misunderstand About Yours? 536. Do You Recognize Yourself in Descriptions of ‘Generation Z’? 537. What Should We Call Your Generation? 538. When Do You Become an Adult? 539. Do You Have ‘Emerging Adult’ Skills? 540. When You Are Old Enough to Vote, Will You? 541. When Should You Be Able to Buy Cigarettes, Drink Alcohol, Vote, Drive and Fight in Wars? 542. Does Your Generation Have Too Much Self-Esteem? 543. Is Your Generation More Self-Centered Than Earlier Generations? 544. Do You Think Anxiety Is A Serious Problem Among Young People? 545. Is Our Culture of Online Shaming Out of Control? 546. Do ‘Shame and Blame’ Work to Change Teenage Behavior? 547. Do You Think Teenagers Can Make a Difference in the World?

Overcoming Adversity

548. What Challenges Have You Overcome? 549. What Are Your Secret Survival Strategies? 550. What Do You Do When You Encounter Obstacles to Success? 551. When Have You Failed? What Did You Learn From It? 552. When Have You Ever Succeeded When You Thought You Might Fail? 553. What Life Lessons Has Adversity Taught You? 554. Does Suffering Make Us Stronger and Lead to Success? 555. Which Is More Important: Talent or Hard Work? 556. Are You Hopeful About the Future? 557. When Have You Reinvented Yourself? 558. What Work Went Into Reaching Your Most Difficult Goals? 559. Is Struggle Essential to Happiness? 560. How Often Do You Leave Your ‘Comfort Zone’? 561. What Do You Gain From Pursuing Something You Do Really, Really Badly? 562. When Was the Last Time You Did Something That Scared or Challenged You? 563. What Are You Afraid Of? 564. What Are Your Fears and Phobias? 565. What Are Your Personal Superstitions? 566. Do You Like Being Alone? 567. How Often Do You Cry? 568. Do You Ever Feel Overlooked and Underappreciated? 569. How Have You Handled Being the ‘New Kid’? 570. How Do You Deal With Haters? 571. How Do You React When Provoked? 572. What Good Can Come from Disagreements? 573. When Should You Compromise? 574. Have You Ever Changed Your Mind About a Hot-Button Issue? 575. What Role Does Stress Play in Your Life? 576. Does Stress Affect Your Ability to Make Good Decisions? 577. How Do You Relieve Stress? 578. How Important Is Keeping Your Cool? 579. Is ‘Be Yourself’ Bad Advice? 580. Do People Complain Too Much? 581. What’s Your Favorite Mood Booster? 582. How Do You Find Peace in Your Life? 583. Does Your Life Leave You Enough Time to Relax? 584. Do You Set Rules for Yourself About How You Use Your Time? 585. What Did You Once Hate but Now Like? 586. What Kind of Feedback Helps You Improve? 587. Is Trying Too Hard to Be Happy Making You Sad? 588. Does Achieving Success Always Include Being Happy? 589. Do Adults Who Are ‘Only Trying to Help’ Sometimes Make Things Worse? 590. Have You Ever Felt Pressured by Family or Others in Making an Important Decision About Your Future?

Your Personality

591. What Makes You Happy? 592. What Motivates You? 593. What Are You Good At? 594. What Is Your Personal Credo? 595. When in Your Life Have You Been a Leader? 596. Are You More of a Leader or a Follower? 597. Do Great Leaders Have to Be Outgoing? 598. How Well Do You Perform Under Pressure? 599. How Well Do You Take Criticism? 600. Are You Hard or Easy on Yourself? 601. How Full Is Your Glass? 602. Do You Have a Hard Time Making Decisions? 603. How Much Self-Control Do You Have? 604. How Good Are You at Waiting for What You Really Want? 605. What Role Does Procrastination Play in Your Life? 606. How Good Are You at Time Management? 607. What Kind of Time Management Skills Are You Learning from the Adults in Your Life? 608. How Do You Remember What You Need to Remember? 609. How Productive and Organized Are You? 610. Under What Conditions Do You Do Your Best Work? 611. How Do You Express Yourself Creatively? 612. Can Creativity Be Scheduled? 613. Are You a Good Listener? 614. When and For What Reasons Do You Seek Silence? 615. Are You a Perfectionist? 616. How Competitive Are You? 617. Do You Perform Better When You’re Competing or When You’re Collaborating? 618. Has Modesty Ever Prevented You From Celebrating an Achievement? 619. How Emotionally Intelligent Are You? 620. How Stoic Are You? 621. How Do You Cope With Grief? 622. How Good Are You at Saying Goodbye? 623. Do You Take More Risks When You Are Around Your Friends? 624. Do You Unknowingly Submit to Peer Pressure? 625. Have You Ever Felt Pressured to Betray Your Beliefs? 626. How Easy — or Hard — Is It for You to Say No When You Want To? 627. How Do You Handle Fear? 628. Do You Think You’re Brave? 629. How Much of a Daredevil Are You? 630. What Activities Make You Feel Most Alive? 631. What Pranks, Jokes, Hoaxes or Tricks Have You Ever Fallen For or Perpetrated? 632. How Impulsive Are You? 633. Are You a Novelty-Seeker? 634. How Do You Deal With Boredom? 635. How Often Do You Talk to Yourself? 636. What Annoys You? 637. Do You Apologize Too Much? 638. Do You Know How to Say ‘I’m Sorry?’ 639. Do You Have Good Manners? 640. How Materialistic Are You? 641. Are You a Saver or a Tosser? 642. Are You a Hoarder or a Minimalist? 643. Are You an Introvert or an Extrovert? 644. Are You Popular, Quirky or Conformist? 645. Are You a Nerd or a Geek? 646. What Would Your Personal Mascot Be? 647. What Assumptions Do People Make About You? 648. How Strong Is Your Sense of Smell? 649. What Animal Are You Most Like?

Religion & Morality

650. What Is the Role of Religion or Spirituality in Your Life? 651. How Important Is Your Spiritual Life? 652. Do You Believe That Everything Happens for a Reason? 653. How Much Control Do You Think You Have Over Your Fate? 654. Can You Be Good Without God? 655. Are You Less Religious Than Your Parents? 656. Can You Pass a Basic Religion Test? 657. What Can You Learn From Other Religions? 658. Do You Believe That Everything Happens for a Reason? 659. How Important Do You Think It Is to Marry Someone With the Same Religion? 660. How Trustworthy Are You? 661. How Comfortable Are You With Lying? 662. When Do You Lie? 663. Have You Ever Lied to Your Parents or Done Something Behind Their Backs? 664. Can You Spot a Liar? 665. What Ethical Dilemmas Have You Faced? 666. Have You Ever Had to Make a Sacrifice to Help Someone You Care About? 667. Have You Ever Donated Your Time, Talents, Possessions or Money to Support Anyone in Need? 668. When Is the Last Time You Did Something Nice for a Stranger? 669. Do Bystanders Have a Responsibility to Intervene When There is Trouble? 670. Do Leaders Have Moral Obligations? 671. Have You Ever ‘Paid It Forward’? 672. Can Kindness Become Cool? 673. What Acts of Kindness Have You Witnessed or Participated In? 674. Is Teenage ‘Voluntourism’ Wrong? 675. Have You Ever Taken Something You Weren’t Supposed To? 676. When Is Looting Morally O.K.? 677. Do You Ever Eavesdrop? 678. How Much Do You Gossip?

Role Models

679. Who Are the People – Famous or Not – You Admire Most? 680. Who Are Your Heroes? 681. What Is a Hero? 682. Do We Need More Diverse Superheroes? 683. Who Is Your Role Model? 684. Who Inspires You? 685. What Makes Someone a Great Leader? 686. What Acts of Bravery Have You Witnessed? 687. What’s the Best Advice You’ve Gotten? 688. What Are Some ‘Words of Wisdom’ That Guide Your Life? 689. Who Outside Your Family Has Made a Difference in Your Life? 690. If You Had Your Own Talk Show, Whom Would You Want to Interview? 691. To Whom, or What, Would You Like to Write a Thank-You Note? 692. What Leader Would You Invite to Speak at Your School? 693. What Six People, Living or Dead, Would You Invite to Dinner? 694. Who’s Your ‘Outsider Role Model’?

695. Have You Ever Been Told You Couldn’t Do Something Because of Your Gender? 696. Do Parents Have Different Hopes and Standards for Their Sons Than for Their Daughters? 697. How Do Your Parents Share the Responsibilities of Parenting? 698. How Do Male and Female Roles Differ in Your Family? 699. Do You Consider Yourself a Feminist? 700. What Does Feminism Mean to You? 701. What Have You Learned From the Women in Your Life? 702. What Experiences Have You Had With Gender Bias in School? 703. Is School Designed More for Girls Than Boys? 704. Why Do Boys Lag Behind Girls in Reading? 705. Does Separating Boys and Girls Help Students Perform Better in School? 706. Is Single-Sex Education Still Useful? 707. What Does it Mean to Be ‘a Real Man’? 708. Do We Need to Teach Boys and Men to Be More Emotionally Honest? 709. What Have Been Your Experiences With Catcalling or Other Kinds of Street Harassment? 710. What Should We Do to Fight Sexual Violence Against Young Women? 711. How Should the Problem of Sexual Assault on Campuses Be Addressed? 712. What Is Your Reaction to the #MeToo Movement? 713. Why Aren’t There More Girls in Leadership Roles? 714. Do Professional Women Need a ‘Girls’ Lounge’? 715. Why Aren’t More Girls Choosing to Pursue Careers in Math and Science? 716. Why Aren’t More Girls Pursuing Careers in Computing and Tech Fields? 717. Now That Women Can Serve in All Combat Roles in the U.S. Military, Should They Also Be Required to Register for the Draft? 718. Do Female Athletes Get Short Shrift? 719. Should Sports Be Coed? 720. Should the Boy Scouts Be Coed? 721. Do You Believe in Equal Rights for Women and Men? 722. Does the U.S. Constitution Need an Equal Rights Amendment? 723. Is It Harder Being a Girl? 724. Do We Need New Ways to Identify Gender and Sexuality? 725. Should Toys Be More Gender-Neutral? 726. Should There Be More Boy Dolls? 727. What Rules Should Apply to Transgender Athletes When They Compete? 728. Are Women Better at Compromising and Collaborating? 729. Do Boys Have Less Intense Friendships Than Girls?

Race & Ethnicity

730. Is America ‘Backsliding’ on Race? 731. Why Is Race So Hard to Talk About? 732. How Often Do You Interact With People of Another Race or Ethnicity? 733. Do You Ever Talk About Issues of Race and Class With Your Friends? 734. What Is Your Racial and Ethnic Identity? 735. Have You Ever Tried to Hide Your Racial or Ethnic Identity? 736. Have You Experienced Racism or Other Kinds of Discrimination in School? 737. Is Your Generation Really ‘Postracial’? 738. What’s the Racial Makeup of Your School? 739. Does Your School Seem Integrated? 740. Should Schools Strive for Racial Diversity Among Teachers? 741. How Should Parents Teach Their Children About Race and Racism? 742. Is ‘Black Panther’ a ‘Defining Moment’ for the United States — and Particularly for Black America?

Your Neighborhood & Home

743. How Much Does Your Neighborhood Define Who You Are? 744. What’s Special About Your Hometown? 745. What Marketing Slogan Would You Use for Your Town or City? 746. What Would You Name Your Neighborhood? 747. Who Are the ‘Characters’ That Make Your Town Interesting? 748. Who Is the ‘Mayor’ of Your School or Neighborhood? 749. What Do the Types of Dogs in Your Neighborhood Say About Where You Live? 750. What Would a TV Show About Your Town Spoof? 751. What ‘Urban Legends’ Are There About Places in Your Area? 752. Do You Know Your Way Around Your City or Town? 753. How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors? 754. What Is Your Favorite Place? 755. What’s Your Favorite Neighborhood Joint? 756. What Is Your Favorite Street? 757. Do You Hang Out in the Park? 758. How Much Time Do You Spend in Nature? 759. How Do You Get Your Nature Fix? 760. What Small Things Have You Seen and Taken Note Of Today? 761. What Buildings Do You Love? What Buildings Do You Hate? 762. What Are the Sounds That Make Up the Background Noise in Your Life? 763. What Sounds Annoy You? 764. What Public Behavior Annoys You Most? 765. Have You Ever Interacted With the Police? 766. What Local Problems Do You Think Your Mayor Should Try to Solve? 767. What Ideas Do You Have for Enhancing Your Community? 768. Where Do You Think You Will Live When You Are an Adult? 769. Do You Think That in Your 20s You Will Live in a City? 770. Would You Most Want to Live in a City, a Suburb or the Country? 771. Do You Think You Might Like Communal Living When You’re an Adult? 772. What Would Your Ideal City Look Like? 773. What City or Town Most Captures Your Imagination? 774. Would You Want a Bike Share Program for Your Community? 775. Is Your Bedroom a Nightmare? 776. What is Your Favorite Place in Your House? 777. What’s Your Favorite Room? 778. How Important Is Keeping a Clean House? 779. Do You Need to De-Clutter Your Life? 780. Does Keeping a Messy Desk Make People More Creative? 781. Do You Plan on Saving Any of Your Belongings for the Future? 782. With Your Home in Danger, What Would You Try to Save? 783. What Would You Grab in a Fire? 784. What Would You Put in Your Emergency ‘Go-Bag’? 785. Who Lived Long Ago Where You Live Now? 786. What Would Your Dream Home Be Like?

Money & Social Class

787. What Are Your Expectations About Earning, Saving and Spending Money? 788. What Choices Do You Make About Money Every Day? 789. Are You a Saver or a Spender? 790. What Have Your Parents Taught You About Money? 791. Do You Expect Your Parents to Give You Money? 792. How Much Financial Help Do You Expect From Your Parents in the Future? 793. How Important a Role Has Money, Work or Social Class Played in Your Life? 794. Do You See Great Disparities of Wealth in Your Community? 895. Is It Possible to Start Out Poor in This Country, Work Hard and Become Well-Off? 896. Should Rich People Have to Pay More Taxes? 897. Do We Need a Higher Minimum Wage? 898. Can Money Buy You Happiness? 899. Does Buying and Accumulating More and More Stuff Make Us Happier? 800. What Are the Best Things in Life and Are They Free? 801. What Causes Should Philanthropic Groups Finance? 802. Should Charities Focus More on America? 803. What Organizations Do You Think People Should Give to This Holiday Season? 804. Whom, or What, Would You Want to Help With a Crowdfunding Campaign? 805. Do Poor People ‘Have It Easy’? 806. Should People Give Money to Panhandlers? 8

807. What Would You Do if You Won the Lottery? 808. What Superpower Do You Wish You Had? 809. What Era Do You Wish You Had Lived In? 810. Would You Want to Be a Tween or Teen Star? 811. Would You Want to Be a Child Prodigy? 812. Would You Want to Grow Up in the Public Eye? 813. What Kind of Robot Would You Want? 814. What Fantasy Invention Would You Want to Exist in Reality? 815. What Would You Outsource if You Could? 816. What Would You Like to Learn on Your Own? 817. What Would You Be Willing to Wait in a Really Long Line For? 818. If You Were a Super Rich Philanthropist, What Causes Would You Support? 819. What Would You Do if You Were President? 820. What Famous Person Would You Like to Visit Your School? 821 Who Would Be the Ideal Celebrity Neighbor? 822. What Do You Want to Be Doing When You’re 80? 823. Do You Want to Live to 100? 824. What Do You Want Your Obituary to Say? 825. What Do You Want to Be Known for After Your Death? 826. Would You Like to Be Cryogenically Preserved (Frozen!) Upon Your Death? 827. If the World Was Ending, What Would You Want to Say? 828. What Items Would You Place in a Time Capsule for Future Generations?

Social Life & Leisure Time

829. Do You Spend Enough Time With Other People? 830. How Often Do You Spend One-on-One Time With Your Closest Friends? 831. Do You Have a Best Friend? 832. Do You Find It Easier to Make New Friends Online or In Person? 833. How Good a Friend Are You? 834. Do You Like Your Friends? 835. What Fads Are You and Your Friends Into Right Now? 836. How Have You Helped a Friend in a Time of Need? 837. Do You Have Any Unlikely Friendships? 838. How Do You Feel About Introducing Friends from Different Parts of Your Life? 839. Do You Ever ‘Mix It Up’ and Socialize With Different People at School? 840. Is Competitiveness an Obstacle to Making or Keeping Friendships? 841. How Should You Handle the End of a Friendship? 842. Have You Ever Felt Left Out?

Dating & Sex

843. Have You Ever Been in Love? 844. What Advice Would You Give to Somebody Who Just Started Dating? 845. Are You Allowed to Date? 846. Is Dating a Thing of the Past? 847. How Do You Think Technology Affects Dating? 848. What Are the Basic ‘Rules’ for Handling Breakups? 849. What’s the Best Way to Get Over a Breakup? 850. What’s the Best Way to Heal a Broken Heart? 851. What Are the Most Meaningful Relationships in Your Life? 852. What Are Your Beliefs About Marriage? 853. Should Couples Live Together Before Marriage? 854. Should Your Significant Other Be Your Best Friend? 855. Could Following These Directions Make You Fall in Love With a Stranger? 856. How Should Children Be Taught About Puberty and Sex? 857. Is Hookup Culture Leaving Your Generation Unhappy and Unprepared for Love? 858. Are Affirmative Consent Rules a Good Idea? 859. Should Birth Control Pills Be Available to Teenage Girls Without a Prescription? 860. Should the Morning-After Pill Be Sold Over the Counter to People Under 17? 861. How Big of a Problem Is Sexting? 862. What Advice Should Parents and Counselors Give Teenagers About Sexting? 863. How Should Parents Address Internet Pornography? 864. Do You Think Porn Influences the Way Teenagers Think About Sex? 865. How Did You Learn About Sex?

Looks & Fashion

866. Are Models Too Skinny? 867. Is There Too Much Pressure on Girls to Have ‘Perfect’ Bodies? 868. How Much Pressure Do Boys Face to Have the Perfect Body? 869. Have You Inherited Your Parents’ Attitudes Toward Their Looks? 870. Has Anyone Ever Said That You Look Like Someone Famous? 871. What Is Your All-Time Favorite Piece of Clothing? 872. Do You Have a Signature Clothing Item? 873. What’s Your Favorite T-Shirt? 874. Do You Care What You Wear? 875. Does What You Wear Say Anything About You as a Person? 876. Should You Always Have the Right to Wear What You Want? 877. What Does Your Hairstyle Say About You? 878. What’s on Your Fashion Shopping List? 879. Are You a Sneaker Head? 880. How Far Would You Go for Fashion? 881. Should You Care About the Health and Safety of Those Making Your Clothing? 882. What Are the Hot Fashion Trends at Your School Right Now? 883. What Current Trends Annoy You? 884. Do ‘Saggy Pants’ Mean Disrespect? 885. Would You Ever Consider Getting a Tattoo? 886. Who Should Decide Whether a Teenager Can Get a Tattoo or Piercing? 887. What Are Your Opinions on Cosmetic Surgery? 888. Do Photoshopped Images Make You Feel Bad About Your Own Looks? 889. Doctored Photos: O.K. or Not? 890. How Important Is It to Be Attractive in Our Society?

Meals & Food

891. What Foods Bring Up Special Memories for You? 892. What Are the Most Memorable Meals You’ve Ever Had? 893. What’s Your Favorite Holiday Food Memory? 894. What’s Your Comfort Food? 895. What Are Your Favorite Junk Foods? 896. What’s Your Favorite Candy? 897. What’s Your Favorite Sandwich? 898. What Convenience Foods Make You Happy? 899. Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, a Picky Eater? 900. What Are Your ‘Food Rules’? 901. What Messages About Food and Eating Have You Learned From Your Family? 902. How Often Does Your Family Eat Together? 903. How Much Food Does Your Family Waste? 904. Have You Ever Experienced Food Insecurity? 905. Is Breakfast Really the Most Important Meal of the Day? 906. Do You Prefer Your Tacos ‘Authentic’ or ‘Appropriated’? 907. What Food Would You Like to Judge in a Taste-Off? 908. Do You Cook? 909. What Would You Most Like to Learn to Cook or Bake? 910. What Do You Eat During the School Day? 911. Do You Eat Cafeteria Food? 912. Is School Lunch Really All That Bad? 913. Do You Think a Healthier School Lunch Program Is a Lost Cause? 914. Should French Fries and Pizza Sauce Count as Vegetables? 915. Are Your Eating Habits Healthy? 916. How Concerned Are You About Where Your Food Comes From? 917. Is It Ethical to Eat Meat? 918. Do You Pay Attention to Calorie Counts for Food? 919. Do You Pay Attention to Nutrition Labels on Food? 920. Should Sugary Drinks Be Taxed? 921. Should the Government Limit the Size of Sugary Drinks? 922. Should Teenagers Think Twice Before Downing Energy Drinks? 923. Do You Eat Too Quickly? 924. Are Manners Important? 925. What Are Your Favorite Restaurants? 926. What Restaurant Would You Most Like to Review? 927. How Long Is It O.K. to Linger in a Cafe or Restaurant? 928. Should Restaurants Do Away With Tipping?

Sports & Games

929. What’s the Most Impressive Sports Moment You’ve Seen? 930. Who Is Your Favorite Athlete, and Why? 931. Who Are Your Sports Heroes? 932. What Sports Teams Do You Root For? 933. When Has a Sports Team Most Disappointed You? 934. Do You Participate in March Madness? 935. Does Being a Fan Help Define Who You Are? 936. How Far Would You Go to Express Loyalty to Your Favorite Teams? 937. How Much Should Fans Be Allowed to Distract Opposing Teams? 938. What Fan Memorabilia Would You Pay Big Bucks For? 939. Are You a Fair-Weather Fan? 940. Are You a Football Fan? 941. Do You Watch the Super Bowl? 942. Should Parents Let Their Children Play Football? 943. Should High Schools Drop Football Because Too Many Players Are Getting Injured? 944. If Football Is So Dangerous to Players, Should We Be Watching It? 945. Are Some Youth Sports Too Intense? 946. Does a Championship Game Always Need to Have a Winner (and a Loser)? 947. Should There Be Stricter Rules About How Coaches Treat Their Players? 948. Do Fans Put Too Much Pressure on Their Favorite Professional Athletes? 949. Does Better Sports Equipment Unfairly Improve Athletic Ability? 950. Should Technology in Sports Be Limited? 951. What Extreme Sports Interest You Most? 952. Are Some Extreme Sports Too Extreme? 953. Is Cheerleading a Sport? 954. Should Cheerleading Be an Olympic Sport? 955. Has Baseball Lost Its Cool? 956. Do Sports Teams Have a Responsibility to Hold Players to a Standard for Their Personal Conduct? 957. Should Athletes Who Dope Have to Forfeit Their Titles and Medals? 958. How Big a Deal Is It That an N.B.A. Player Came Out as Gay? 959. Should Women’s Basketball Lower the Rims? 960. Should College Football Players Get Paid? 961. Should Colleges Fund Wellness Programs Instead of Sports? 962. Where Should Colleges and Sports Teams Draw the Line in Selling Naming Rights? 963. Is ‘Redskins’ an Offensive Name for a Team? 964. Is It Offensive for Sports Teams to Use Native American Names and Mascots? 965. What Are Your Thoughts on Sports Betting? 966. Should Sports Betting Be Legal Everywhere? 967. How Young Is Too Young to Climb Mount Everest? 968. Should Girls and Boys Sports Teams Compete in the Same League? 969. Why Do You Play Sports? 970. What Kinds of Games and Puzzles Do You Like? 971. Do You Enjoy Playing Games or Solving Puzzles? 972. What Are Your Favorite Board Games? 973. What Are Your Favorite Games? 974. What Rules Would You Like to See Changed in Your Favorite Sports? 975. How Would You Change Your Favorite Sport? 976. What Game Would You Like to Redesign?

977. Where Do You Want to Travel? 978. What Is Your Fantasy Vacation? 979. What Would Your Fantasy Road Trip Be Like? 980. What Crazy Adventure Would You Want to Take? 981. What Local ‘Microadventures’ Would You Like to Go On? 982. How Would You Spend Your Ideal Family Vacation? 983. How Has Travel Affected You? 984. What Kind of Tourist Are You? 985. What Are the Best Souvenirs You’ve Ever Collected While Traveling? 986. What Famous Landmarks Have You Visited? 987. What’s the Coolest Thing You’ve Ever Seen in Nature? 988. What Do You Think You Would Learn From Traveling to All 50 States? 989. How Much Do You Know About the Rest of the World? 990. Would You Like to Live in Another Country? 991. Would You Want to Be a Space Tourist? 992. If You Could Time-Travel, Where Would You Go? 993. How Good Is Your Sense of Direction?

Holidays & Seasons

994. How Do You Celebrate Your Birthday? 995. Should the United States Celebrate Columbus Day? 996. A Short Fall Break, but What Should We Call It? 997. Will You Be Wearing a Halloween Costume This Year? 998. When Does a Halloween Costume Cross the Line? 999. Should Halloween Costumes Portray Only ‘Positive Images’? 1,000. Dressing Up Like Creepy Clowns: Freedom of Expression or Public Nuisance? 1,001. Do You Like Scary Movies and Books? 1,002. What Is the Scariest Story You Have Ever Heard? 1,003. Do You Believe in Ghosts? 1,004. Do You Believe in Astrology? 1,005. What Are Your Thanksgiving Traditions? 1,006. Will Your Family Members Disagree With Each Other About Politics This Thanksgiving? 1,007. What Has Been Your Most Memorable Thanksgiving? 1,008. What Do You Look Forward to Most – and Least – During the Holiday Season? 1,009. What Are Your Tips for Enjoying the Holiday Season? 1,010. How Will You Spend the Holiday Break? 1,011. What Does Santa Claus Mean to You? 1,012. Do You Look Forward to New Year’s Eve? 1,013. Do You Make New Year’s Resolutions? 1,014. How Do You Fight the Winter Blues? 1,015. What Would You Do on a Snow Day? 1,016. What Are Your Experiences With Severe Weather? 1,017. How Do You Feel About Valentine’s Day? 1,018. How Do You Celebrate Spring? 1,019. What Would Your Fantasy Spring Break Be Like? 1,020. What Are You Looking Forward to This Summer? 1,021. What Would Your Ideal Summer Camp Be Like? 1,022. What Are Your Favorite Summer Hangouts? 1,023. What’s Your Favorite Summer Food? 1,024. What Is Your Favorite Summer Movie? 1,025. What’s on Your Summer Reading List? 1,026. Do You Have a Summer Job? 1,027. What Did This Summer Teach You? 1,028. Do You Choose Summer Activities to Look Good on Applications? 1,029. What Are the Best Things You Did This Summer? 1,030. How Do You Prepare to Go Back to School? 1,031. How Can People Make the Most of Long Holiday Weekends? 1,032. What’s Your Sunday Routine? 1,033. What Work, Sport or Pastime Do You Like to Do at Night? 1,034. Would Life Be Better Without Time Zones?

Shopping & Cars

1,035. Do You Ever Hang Out at the Mall? 1,036. How Would You Make Over Your Mall? 1,037. Do You Shop at Locally Owned Businesses? 1,038. What’s Your Favorite Store? 1,039. To What Company Would You Write a Letter of Complaint or Admiration? 1,040. To What Business Would You Like to Give Advice? 1,041. Do Politics Ever Influence How or Where You Shop? 1,042. Do Companies Have a Responsibility to Contribute Positively to Society? 1,043. Should We Think Twice Before Buying Online? 1,044. Is Amazon Becoming Too Powerful? 1,045. How Much Do You Trust Online Reviews? 1,046. Should Companies Collect Information About You? 1,047. Could You Stop Shopping for an Entire Year? 1,048. What Are the Best Things You’ve Acquired Secondhand? 1,049. Did You Take Part in Any Post-Thanksgiving Shopping? 1,050. What Time Should Black Friday Sales Start? 1,051. How Important Is It to Have a Driver’s License? 1,052. Are You a Good Driver? 1,053. Do You Have a Dream Car? 1,054. Would You Like to Ride in a Car That Drives Itself? 1,055. Should Distracted Driving Be Punished Like Drinking and Driving? 1,056. Should Texting While Driving Be Illegal in Every State? 1,057. Is Drinking and Driving Still a Problem for Teenagers? 1,058. If Teenagers Are Such Bad Drivers, Should They Be Allowed to Drive? 1,059. Are Self-Driving Vehicles the Wave of the Future?

Science & Health

Science & Environment

1,060. How Green Are You? 1,061. How Do You Try to Reduce Your Impact on the Environment? 1,062. Do You Ever Feel Guilty About What, or How Much, You Throw Away? 1,063. What Could You Live Without? 1,064. Should Single-Use Plastic Shopping Bags Be Banned? 1,065. What Are Your Thoughts About Wind Power? 1,066. Do We Crank Up the A.C. Too High? 1,067. How Concerned Are You About Climate Change? 1,068. How Should Nations and Individuals Address Climate Change? 1,069. If You Were President, What Would You Do About Climate Change? 1,070. Should Schools Teach About Climate Change? 1,071. How Do You Celebrate Earth Day? 1,072. Should Developers Be Allowed to Build in and Near the Grand Canyon? 1,073. Should Scientists Try to Help People Beat Old Age So We Can Live Longer Lives? 1,074. Should Extinct Animals Be Resurrected? If So, Which Ones? 1,075. How Do You Think Dinosaurs Went Extinct? 1,076. Given Unlimited Resources, What Scientific or Medical Problem Would You Investigate? 1,077. What Are the Five Greatest Inventions of All Time? 1,078. What Would You Invent to Make the World a Better Place? 1,079. When Is It O.K. to Replace Human Limbs With Technology? 1,080. Should Fertilized Eggs Be Given Legal ‘Personhood’? 1,081. Do You Think Life Exists — or Has Ever Existed — Somewhere Besides Earth? 1,082. Do You Believe in Intelligent Alien Life? 1,083. Will Humans Live on Mars Someday? 1,084. Would You Want to Be a Space Tourist? 1,085. What Would You Name a New Star or Planet?

Animals & Pets

1,086. How Do You Feel About Zoos? 1,087. Do Gorillas Belong in Zoos? 1,088. Is It Unethical for a Zoo to Kill a Healthy Giraffe? 1,089. Should Farm Animals Have More Legal Protections? 1,090. Is It Wrong to Focus on Animal Welfare When Humans Are Suffering? 1,091. Is It Ethical to Genetically Engineer Animals? 1,092. When Is Animal Testing Justified? 1,093. Should Certain Animals Have Some of the Same Legal Rights As People? 1,094. Should Circuses Be Animal Free? 1,095. Is This Exhibit Animal Cruelty or Art? 1,096. Should You Go to Jail for Kicking a Cat? 1,097. Should You Feel Guilty About Killing Spiders, Ants or Other Bugs? 1,098. Should Emotional Support Animals Be Allowed on College Campuses? 1,099. Are Emotional-Support Animals a Scam? 1,100. What Are the Animals in Your Life? 1,101. What’s Your Relationship Like With Your Pet? 1,102. How Well Do You Know Your Pet? 1,103. Should We Be Concerned With Where We Get Our Pets? 1,104. What Does a President’s Choice of Pet — or Choice Not to Have a Pet at All — Say About Him? 1,105. What Have You Learned From Animals? 1,106. What Are Your Thoughts on Cats? 1,107. Would You Want to Hang Out at a Cat Cafe? 1,108. Why Do We Love Watching Animal Videos So Much? 1,109. What Are Your Most Memorable Stories About Wildlife?

Exercise & Health

1,110. Do You Like to Exercise? 1,111. Do You Get Enough Exercise? 1,112. How Has Exercise Changed Your Health, Your Body or Your Life? 1,113. How Much Do You Think About Your Weight? 1,114. How Often Do You Engage in ‘Fat Talk’? 1,115. What Are Your Healthy Habits? 1,116. What Health Tips Have Worked for You? 1,117. What Rules Do You Have for Staying Healthy? 1,118. What Habits Do You Have, and Have You Ever Tried to Change Them? 1,119. Do You Have Any Bad Health Habits? 1,120. How Careful Are You in the Sun? 1,121. Do We Worry Too Much About Germs? 1,122. How Well Do You Sleep? 1,123. What Are Your Sleep Habits? 1,124. How Much of a Priority Do You Make Sleep? 1,125. Do You Get Enough Sleep? 1,126. Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered? 1,127. Should the Legal Age to Purchase Tobacco Be Raised From 18 to 21? 1,128. Should E-Cigarettes Be Banned for Teenagers? 1,129. Do You Vape? Is Smoking Still a Problem Among Teenagers? 1,130. Are Antismoking Ads Effective? 1,131. Should Marijuana Be Legal? 1,132. Should Students Be Required to Take Drug Tests? 1,133. Should Middle School Students Be Drug Tested? 1,134. How Common Is Drug Use in Your School? 1,135. If You Drink or Use Drugs, Do Your Parents Know? 1,136. Is Your School a ‘Party School’? 1,137. Have You Been To Parties That Have Gotten Out of Control? 1,138. Why Is Binge Drinking So Common Among Young People in the United States? 1,139. Should Universities Work to Curtail Student Drinking? 1,140. Would You Ever Go Through Hazing to Be Part of a Group?

Civics & History

Guns & the Justice System

1,141. What Are Some Answers to America’s Gun Violence? 1,142. What Should Lawmakers Do About Guns and Gun Violence? 1,143. Can High School Students Make a Real Impact on the Problem of Gun Violence in the United States? 1,144. What Do You Think of the #WalkUpNotOut Movement? 1,145. How Should We Prevent Future Mass Shootings? 1,146. Are We Becoming ‘Numb’ to School Shootings? 1,147. Would You Feel Safer With Armed Guards Patrolling Your School? 1,148. Should Teachers Be Armed With Guns? 1,149. Should Guns Be Permitted on College Campuses? 1,150. Would Arming College Students Help Prevent Sexual Assaults on Campus? 1,151. Where Do You Stand on Unconcealed Handguns? 1,152. What Is Your Relationship With Guns? 1,153. What Should Be the Purpose of Prison? 1,154. Should Prisons Offer Incarcerated People Education Opportunities? 1,155. Should Felons Be Allowed to Vote After They Have Served Their Time? 1,156. Should the United States Stop Using the Death Penalty? 1,157. What Do You Think of the Police Tactic of Stop-and-Frisk? 1,158. When Should Juvenile Offenders Receive Life Sentences? 1,159. Do Rich People Get Off Easier When They Break the Law? 1,160. Should All Police Officers Wear Body Cameras? 1,161. Should Prostitution Be Legal? 1,162. Should Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal in Every State? 1,163. Should Terminally Ill Patients Be Allowed to Die on Their Own Terms?

Government Policy

1,164. How Strong Is Your Faith in American Democracy? 1,165. Is America Headed in the Right Direction? 1,166. What Do American Values Mean to You? 1,167. Do You Think It Is Important for Teenagers to Participate in Political Activism? 1,168. How Would You Like to Help Our World? 1,169. What Cause Would Get You Into the Streets? 1,170. Have Your Ever Taken Part in a Protest? 1,171. What Would You Risk Your Life For? 1,172. When Have You Spoken Out About Something You Felt Had to Change? 1,173. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? 1,174. Should Voting Be Mandatory? 1,175. Does Voting for a Third-Party Candidate Mean Throwing Away Your Vote? 1,176. Do You Consider Yourself a Republican, Democrat or Independent? 1,177. If You Were Governor of Your State, How Would You Spend a Budget Surplus? 1,178. What Local Problems Do You Think Your Mayor Should Try to Solve? 1,179. Should the United States Care That It’s Not No. 1? 1,180. Do You Trust Your Government? 1,181. What Do You Think of President Trump’s Use of Twitter? 1,182. What Do You Think the Role of the First Lady — or First Spouse — Should Be Today? 1,183. What Is More Important: Our Privacy or National Security? 1,184. When Is the Use of Military Force Justified? 1,185. When Should Countries Negotiate With Their Traditional Enemies? 1,186. Should the U.S. Be Spying on Its Friends? 1,187. Should Countries Pay Ransoms to Free Hostages Held by Terrorists? 1,188. What Responsibility Do We Have to Take In Refugees From Global Humanitarian Crises? 1,189. Should Millions of Undocumented Immigrants Be Allowed to Live in the U.S. Without Fear of Getting Deported? 1,190. Should the Government Allow ‘Dreamers’ to Stay in the U.S. Without Fear of Being Deported? 1,191. Are Children of Illegal Immigrants Entitled to a Public Education? 1,192. What Do We Owe Our Veterans?

History & News

1,193. What Event in the Past Do You Wish You Could Have Witnessed? 1,194. What Are the Most Important Changes, in Your Life and in the World, in the Last Decade? 1,195. What National or International Events That You Lived Through Do You Remember Best? 1,196. What Famous Figure From the Past Fascinates You Most? 1,197. What Does Dr. King’s Legacy Mean to You? 1,198. Who Do You Think Has Been ‘Overlooked’ By History? 1,199. What Recent Events Will Most Likely Be Featured in History Museums Someday? 1,200. Why Should We Care About Events in Other Parts of the World? 1,201. What News Stories Are You Following? 1,202. How Do You Get Your News? 1,203. Are You Having More Conversations With Friends and Family About Politics? 1,204. What Is Your Reaction to the Recent Flood of Breaking Political News? 1,205. Do You Ever Get the ‘Bad News Blues’? 1,206. Are We Being Bad Citizens If We Don’t Keep Up With the News? 1,207. Is Your Online World Just a ‘Filter Bubble’ of People With the Same Opinions? 1,208. Do Your Friends on Social Media All Have the Same Political Opinions You Do? 1,209. How Do You Know if What You Read Online Is True? 1,210. Do You Think You Can Tell When Something Is ‘Fake News’? 1,211. Do You Believe in Online Conspiracy Theories? 1,212. What Are Your Experiences With Internet-Based Urban Legends? 1,213. Are Political Memes Dangerous to Democracy? 1,214. Should National Monuments Be Protected by the Government? 1,215. Should Confederate Statues Be Removed or Remain in Place? 1,216. What Supreme Court Cases, Now or in the Past, Interest You Most? 1,217. Should Free Speech Protections Include Self Expression That Discriminates? 1,218. Is It O.K. to Refuse to Serve Same-Sex Couples Based on Religious Beliefs? 1,219. What Will You Remember About President Obama and His Legacy?

Many of the questions above are still open to comment, though not all.

A few questions have been removed from this list since it was originally published.

Teachers, please let us know in the comments how you use this list, or any of our previous prompts lists, in your classes.

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 113 perfect persuasive essay topics for any assignment.

General Education

Do you need to write a persuasive essay but aren’t sure what topic to focus on? Were you thrilled when your teacher said you could write about whatever you wanted but are now overwhelmed by the possibilities? We’re here to help!

Read on for a list of 113 top-notch persuasive essay topics, organized into ten categories. To help get you started, we also discuss what a persuasive essay is, how to choose a great topic, and what tips to keep in mind as you write your persuasive essay.

What Is a Persuasive Essay?

In a persuasive essay, you attempt to convince readers to agree with your point of view on an argument. For example, an essay analyzing changes in Italian art during the Renaissance wouldn’t be a persuasive essay, because there’s no argument, but an essay where you argue that Italian art reached its peak during the Renaissance would be a persuasive essay because you’re trying to get your audience to agree with your viewpoint.

Persuasive and argumentative essays both try to convince readers to agree with the author, but the two essay types have key differences. Argumentative essays show a more balanced view of the issue and discuss both sides. Persuasive essays focus more heavily on the side the author agrees with. They also often include more of the author’s opinion than argumentative essays, which tend to use only facts and data to support their argument.

All persuasive essays have the following:

Introduction: Introduces the topic, explains why it’s important, and ends with the thesis.
Thesis: A sentence that sums up what the essay be discussing and what your stance on the issue is.
Reasons you believe your side of the argument: Why do you support the side you do? Typically each main point will have its own body paragraph.
Evidence supporting your argument: Facts or examples to back up your main points. Even though your opinion is allowed in persuasive essays more than most other essays, having concrete examples will make a stronger argument than relying on your opinion alone.
Conclusion: Restatement of thesis, summary of main points, and a recap of why the issue is important.

What Makes a Good Persuasive Essay Topic?

Theoretically, you could write a persuasive essay about any subject under the sun, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should. Certain topics are easier to write a strong persuasive essay on, and below are tips to follow when deciding what you should write about.

It’s a Topic You Care About

Obviously, it’s possible to write an essay about a topic you find completely boring. You’ve probably done it! However, if possible, it’s always better to choose a topic that you care about and are interested in. When this is the case, you’ll find doing the research more enjoyable, writing the essay easier, and your writing will likely be better because you’ll be more passionate about and informed on the topic.

You Have Enough Evidence to Support Your Argument

Just being passionate about a subject isn’t enough to make it a good persuasive essay topic, though. You need to make sure your argument is complex enough to have at least two potential sides to root for, and you need to be able to back up your side with evidence and examples. Even though persuasive essays allow your opinion to feature more than many other essays, you still need concrete evidence to back up your claims, or you’ll end up with a weak essay.

For example, you may passionately believe that mint chocolate chip ice cream is the best ice cream flavor (I agree!), but could you really write an entire essay on this? What would be your reasons for believing mint chocolate chip is the best (besides the fact that it’s delicious)? How would you support your belief? Have enough studies been done on preferred ice cream flavors to support an entire essay? When choosing a persuasive essay idea, you want to find the right balance between something you care about (so you can write well on it) and something the rest of the world cares about (so you can reference evidence to strengthen your position).

It’s a Manageable Topic

Bigger isn’t always better, especially with essay topics. While it may seem like a great idea to choose a huge, complex topic to write about, you’ll likely struggle to sift through all the information and different sides of the issue and winnow them down to one streamlined essay. For example, choosing to write an essay about how WWII impacted American life more than WWI wouldn’t be a great idea because you’d need to analyze all the impacts of both the wars in numerous areas of American life. It’d be a huge undertaking. A better idea would be to choose one impact on American life the wars had (such as changes in female employment) and focus on that. Doing so will make researching and writing your persuasive essay much more feasible.

List of 113 Good Persuasive Essay Topics

Below are over 100 persuasive essay ideas, organized into ten categories. When you find an idea that piques your interest, you’ll choose one side of it to argue for in your essay. For example, if you choose the topic, “should fracking be legal?” you’d decide whether you believe fracking should be legal or illegal, then you’d write an essay arguing all the reasons why your audience should agree with you.

Arts/Culture

Should students be required to learn an instrument in school?
Did the end of Game of Thrones fit with the rest of the series?
Can music be an effective way to treat mental illness?
With e-readers so popular, have libraries become obsolete?
Are the Harry Potter books more popular than they deserve to be?
Should music with offensive language come with a warning label?
What’s the best way for museums to get more people to visit?
Should students be able to substitute an art or music class for a PE class in school?
Are the Kardashians good or bad role models for young people?
Should people in higher income brackets pay more taxes?
Should all high school students be required to take a class on financial literacy?
Is it possible to achieve the American dream, or is it only a myth?
Is it better to spend a summer as an unpaid intern at a prestigious company or as a paid worker at a local store/restaurant?
Should the United States impose more or fewer tariffs?
Should college graduates have their student loans forgiven?
Should restaurants eliminate tipping and raise staff wages instead?
Should students learn cursive writing in school?
Which is more important: PE class or music class?
Is it better to have year-round school with shorter breaks throughout the year?
Should class rank be abolished in schools?
Should students be taught sex education in school?
Should students be able to attend public universities for free?
What’s the most effective way to change the behavior of school bullies?
Are the SAT and ACT accurate ways to measure intelligence?
Should students be able to learn sign language instead of a foreign language?
Do the benefits of Greek life at colleges outweigh the negatives?
Does doing homework actually help students learn more?
Why do students in many other countries score higher than American students on math exams?
Should parents/teachers be able to ban certain books from schools?
What’s the best way to reduce cheating in school?
Should colleges take a student’s race into account when making admissions decisions?
Should there be limits to free speech?
Should students be required to perform community service to graduate high school?
Should convicted felons who have completed their sentence be allowed to vote?
Should gun ownership be more tightly regulated?
Should recycling be made mandatory?
Should employers be required to offer paid leave to new parents?
Are there any circumstances where torture should be allowed?
Should children under the age of 18 be able to get plastic surgery for cosmetic reasons?
Should white supremacy groups be allowed to hold rallies in public places?
Does making abortion illegal make women more or less safe?
Does foreign aid actually help developing countries?
Are there times a person’s freedom of speech should be curtailed?
Should people over a certain age not be allowed to adopt children?

Government/Politics

Should the minimum voting age be raised/lowered/kept the same?
Should Puerto Rico be granted statehood?
Should the United States build a border wall with Mexico?
Who should be the next person printed on American banknotes?
Should the United States’ military budget be reduced?
Did China’s one child policy have overall positive or negative impacts on the country?
Should DREAMers be granted US citizenship?
Is national security more important than individual privacy?
What responsibility does the government have to help homeless people?
Should the electoral college be abolished?
Should the US increase or decrease the number of refugees it allows in each year?
Should privately-run prisons be abolished?
Who was the most/least effective US president?
Will Brexit end up helping or harming the UK?

What’s the best way to reduce the spread of Ebola?
Is the Keto diet a safe and effective way to lose weight?
Should the FDA regulate vitamins and supplements more strictly?
Should public schools require all students who attend to be vaccinated?
Is eating genetically modified food safe?
What’s the best way to make health insurance more affordable?
What’s the best way to lower the teen pregnancy rate?
Should recreational marijuana be legalized nationwide?
Should birth control pills be available without a prescription?
Should pregnant women be forbidden from buying cigarettes and alcohol?
Why has anxiety increased in adolescents?
Are low-carb or low-fat diets more effective for weight loss?
What caused the destruction of the USS Maine?
Was King Arthur a mythical legend or actual Dark Ages king?
Was the US justified in dropping atomic bombs during WWII?
What was the primary cause of the Rwandan genocide?
What happened to the settlers of the Roanoke colony?
Was disagreement over slavery the primary cause of the US Civil War?
What has caused the numerous disappearances in the Bermuda triangle?
Should nuclear power be banned?
Is scientific testing on animals necessary?
Do zoos help or harm animals?
Should scientists be allowed to clone humans?
Should animals in circuses be banned?
Should fracking be legal?
Should people be allowed to keep exotic animals as pets?
What’s the best way to reduce illegal poaching in Africa?
What is the best way to reduce the impact of global warming?
Should euthanasia be legalized?
Is there legitimate evidence of extraterrestrial life?
Should people be banned from owning aggressive dog breeds?
Should the United States devote more money towards space exploration?
Should the government subsidize renewable forms of energy?
Is solar energy worth the cost?
Should stem cells be used in medicine?
Is it right for the US to leave the Paris Climate Agreement?
Should athletes who fail a drug test receive a lifetime ban from the sport?
Should college athletes receive a salary?
Should the NFL do more to prevent concussions in players?
Do PE classes help students stay in shape?
Should horse racing be banned?
Should cheerleading be considered a sport?
Should children younger than 18 be allowed to play tackle football?
Are the costs of hosting an Olympic Games worth it?
Can online schools be as effective as traditional schools?
Do violent video games encourage players to be violent in real life?
Should facial recognition technology be banned?
Does excessive social media use lead to depression/anxiety?
Has the rise of translation technology made knowing multiple languages obsolete?
Was Steve Jobs a visionary or just a great marketer?
Should social media be banned for children younger than a certain age?
Which 21st-century invention has had the largest impact on society?
Are ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft good or bad for society?
Should Facebook have done more to protect the privacy of its users?
Will technology end up increasing or decreasing inequality worldwide?

Tips for Writing a Strong Persuasive Essay

After you’ve chosen the perfect topic for your persuasive essay, your work isn’t over. Follow the three tips below to create a top-notch essay.

Do Your Research

Your argument will fall apart if you don’t fully understand the issue you’re discussing or you overlook an important piece of it. Readers won’t be convinced by someone who doesn’t know the subject, and you likely won’t persuade any of them to begin supporting your viewpoint. Before you begin writing a single word of your essay, research your topic thoroughly. Study different sources, learn about the different sides of the argument, ask anyone who’s an expert on the topic what their opinion is, etc. You might be tempted to start writing right away, but by doing your research, you’ll make the writing process much easier when the time comes.

Make Your Thesis Perfect

Your thesis is the most important sentence in your persuasive essay. Just by reading that single sentence, your audience should know exactly what topic you’ll be discussing and where you stand on the issue. You want your thesis to be crystal clear and to accurately set up the rest of your essay. Asking classmates or your teacher to look it over before you begin writing the rest of your essay can be a big help if you’re not entirely confident in your thesis.

Consider the Other Side

You’ll spend most of your essay focusing on your side of the argument since that’s what you want readers to come away believing. However, don’t think that means you can ignore other sides of the issue. In your essay, be sure to discuss the other side’s argument, as well as why you believe this view is weak or untrue. Researching all the different viewpoints and including them in your essay will increase the quality of your writing by making your essay more complete and nuanced.

Summary: Persuasive Essay Ideas

Good persuasive essay topics can be difficult to come up with, but in this guide we’ve created a list of 113 excellent essay topics for you to browse. The best persuasive essay ideas will be those that you are interested in, have enough evidence to support your argument, and aren’t too complicated to be summarized in an essay.

After you’ve chosen your essay topic, keep these three tips in mind when you begin writing:

Do your research
Make your thesis perfect
Consider the other side

What's Next?

Need ideas for a research paper topic as well? Our guide to research paper topics has over 100 topics in ten categories so you can be sure to find the perfect topic for you.

Thinking about taking an AP English class? Read our guide on AP English classes to learn whether you should take AP English Language or AP English Literature (or both!)

Deciding between the SAT or ACT? Find out for sure which you will do the best on . Also read a detailed comparison between the two tests .

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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How To Write An Essay

Essay Topics

Amazing Essay Topics & Ideas for Your Next Project (2024)

19 min read

Published on: Jan 25, 2021

Last updated on: Jan 30, 2024

Good Essay Topics for Students

A good essay topic will make your writing phase easy and help you get good grades from the teacher. When you pick the essay topic, make sure it is interesting and meets your teacherâs requirements.

We compiled some simple essay topics that will help you in creating a great essay.

Essay Topics for Kids

Describe your worst nightmare.
Football vs. baseball.
Why is math hard?
How to help animals?
If I Could Fly.
Benefits of drinking tea Vs. Coffee.
Is your school day too short?
Our school library.
What do you like best about winter?
Christmas Eve with family and friends.

Essay Topics for Grade 3

My Favorite Season
My Best Friend
If I Were a Superhero
A Place I Like to Visit
My Dream Job
The Best Day of My Life
My Favorite Animal
The Importance of Kindness
My Favorite Book

Essay Topics for Grade 4

My last summer vacation.
What is the funniest thing you've ever seen?
How to prevent bullying?
Why is it important to be honest and not lie?
What do you like about how you look?
What is your favorite television show, and why?
Can you live without television?
How are we affecting the environment?
Importance of recycling.
If I Could Have a Superpower

Essay Topics for Grade 5

Write a poem about your favorite season.
Skating and running have a lot in common.
Who is your hero, and why?
What if the president were a kid?
Being rich vs. being famous.
Cereal is not a healthy breakfast.
A random act of kindness.
Are boys too dominating?
The rainy season.
The Value of Honesty

Essay Topics for Middle School Students

What is your favorite childrenâs literature?
From your point of view, what factors contribute to a good movie?
Write about a vacation that you will never forget.
Should people be allowed to keep exotic animals like chimpanzees or tigers?
Should sports marketing professionals earn more money?
Difference between effects of books and video games on morals.
How many friends do teens need to have?
How do online high schools compare to traditional education?
What are the best informative essay topics?
Should students be able to pick their teachers?

Essay Topics for Grade 6

Tom and Jerry are the best cartoons.
Reading is more important than math.
A field trip that your class took.
Annual day in my school.
How to deal with a bully
A world where dogs take over.
Should boys and girls be in separate classes?
Describe your future life.
How should parents be an example to their children?
Technology and education.

Essay Topics for Grade 7

The value of volunteerism
The impact of social media on relationships
A good diet means good health.
Zoos are unsafe for young children.
My favorite academic writing website.
Why is it important to set goals?
What is the best decision you ever made?
Schools and colleges should minimize the fees.
Effects of social media on youth.
How fair is our election process?

Essay Topics for Class 8

The importance of financial literacy
Exploring gender equality.
Technology makes people's lives better.
Is the death penalty right?
Youth activism
The power of literature
Do you prefer weekdays or weekends?
The matter of age in a relationship.
Do your teachers use technology well?
Do you make friends slowly or quickly?

Essay Topics for Class 9

The impact of social media on young people's mental health
Should school uniforms be mandatory? Why or why not?
How can we reduce bullying in schools?
The importance of physical exercise for students
Is homeschooling a better option than traditional schooling?
The benefits and drawbacks of online learning
The impact of technology on communication skills
The impact of fast food on public health
The effects of climate change on the environment
The importance of conserving natural resources for future generations

Essay Topics for Class 10

The impact of chemical fertilizers on the environment
The role of mathematics in daily life
The importance of vaccines in preventing diseases
The physics of roller coasters
The impact of social media on mental health
The benefits of learning a second language
The impact of computers on modern society
The role of art and music in promoting mental health
The history and significance of the Indian Constitution
The impact of globalization on Indian economy

Essay Topics for O levels

Why is education important for personal and societal development?
How has social media changed the way we communicate and interact with one another?
How can sports help individuals develop discipline, teamwork, and leadership skills?
What are some of the drawbacks of technological advancements in our daily lives?
What can individuals and governments do to promote sustainable development?
How has globalization affected cultural diversity and individual identity?
Why is it important to prioritize mental health?
Should animals be used for scientific research?
How have historical events shaped the world we live in today?
How can volunteerism and community service benefit both individuals and society?

Essay Topics for High School Students

Does social media negatively impact teenagersâ social lives?
Do you always have your phone or tablet at your side?
Should children be punished for inappropriate behavior?
What is the most important thing in the world to you?
Is there a connection between real-life violence and video games?
Ways to deal with insomnia and other sleeping disorders.
Do advancements in modern technologies ruin childhood?
The implementation of capital punishment should be adopted universally.
Methods of preventing excessive air pollution from factories.
Pros and cons of getting admission to an expensive university.

Essay Topics for Grade 12

The Benefits and Challenges of Online Learning
The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
The Role of Social Media in Politics
The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
The Impact of Climate Change on Global Health
The Ethics of Genetic Engineering
The Pros and Cons of Universal Basic Income
The Future of Space Exploration
The Value of Intercultural Competence
The Role of Art and Culture in Society

Essay Topics for College Students

What are the advantages the US educational system offers to international students?
Explain the possible consequences of dropping out of college.
Social media has played a big role in increasing business opportunities.
What is one thing you want to accomplish in college?
How would you feel about a computer grading your essays?
What is an extracurricular activity that has been meaningful to you?
Professional athletes are overpaid.
Do you know the secret to Taylor Swift's popularity?
The day you decided to change your life.
Can you succeed in life working in the field of art?

Essay Topics for University Level

The Ethics of Human Cloning
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employment
The Role of Mass Media in Shaping Public Opinion
The Relationship between Technology and Privacy
The Pros and Cons of Renewable Energy
The Future of Healthcare
The Impact of Globalization on Economic Inequality
The Ethics of Animal Rights
The Importance of Cultural Diversity in Education
The Role of Government in Addressing Climate Change

COVID-19 Topics

As the world continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic, it's worth examining some of the topics that emerged during this unprecedented time.

Here are some potential COVID-19 topics to reflect on:

How does the current situation compare with other major outbreaks in history?
What steps need to be taken now, or soon inaction might lead?
How do you get COVID-19?
Where do coronaviruses come from?
School life during COVID-19
How is coronavirus diagnosed?
Mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic
Pros and cons of self-isolation
The effects of Covid-19 on business
A person or special friend you lost due to COVID-19

Essay Topics by Category

Here are some essay topics that can be categorized into different types of essays.

Good Argumentative Essay Topics

An argumentative essay presents arguments for and against an issue. You have to show both sides of the issue, but you only need to focus on the side that you support the most.

Some good argumentative essay topics are below:

What should be done to reduce income inequality?
Should self-driving cars be legal?
Should companies market to children?
Is it still important to teach English in schools?
Are emojis beneficial or destructive to communication?
Should women be allowed to fight on the front lines alongside men?
Is cheese a good enough substitute for milk?
Should the United States have one official language?
Are the public school policies reasonable?
The sales and production of tobacco should be made illegal.

Controversial Argumentative Essay Topics

Essay topics are sometimes controversial. For your help, check this list that gives you ideas for a great essay.

Are hot dogs bad for you?
Should euthanasia be illegal?
Paper books vs. E-books.
Are school uniforms advantageous?
Should torture be acceptable?
Sports make you a good student.
Is bottled water safe?
Monarchy: pros and cons.
Is prostitution a crime?
Should gym classes be required?

Funny Argumentative Essay Topics

Do you want to make your essay more interesting? Why not try a funny topic? Humor is a great way to get your reader's attention and keep them interested in what you have to say.

Look at the below-mentioned interesting essay topics and write a great one.

Why is wearing braces fun?
Why are dogs, irreplaceable friends?
Can a diamond be a girlâs best friend?
Does Google make us smart?
Things your mother is always saying.
How to deal with breakups?
Is music class necessary?
Why do women like evening outs?
Can I join your family?
How not to sleep?

If there's a specific topic or type of writing that interests you, be sure to check more argumentative essay topics .

Persuasive Essay Topics

A persuasive essay is a type of writing that you are often asked to do in high school, college, and university. It shows how well you can persuade people with facts and logic.

Here are some topics that you can use for your help.

Should healthcare be universal?
Should students learn cursive writing in school?
School should take place in the evenings.
What is the funniest movie youâve ever seen?
Do hobbies help people with their careers?
How does it benefit nature to reduce human paper consumption?
Dreamers must obtain permission to stay in the US.
Schools should have playtime in between classes.
Churches should pay taxes too.
Is solar energy worth the cost?

Continue reading our blog persuasive essay topics and get some more interesting topics.

Narrative Essay Topics

A narrative essay is a type of writing that tells the writer's story and experiences. The writer's point of view and life events entertain the audience in this essay type.

Below are some good narrative essay topics for your help.

The story of how you got your first pet.
How did you write your first essay?
The beginning of a friendship or relationship.
What I remember most about my childhood.
The best songwriters of modern times.
Write about a time when you felt on top of the world.
Growing up in New York.
How much time do you spend alone?
A day in the life of a flight attendant.
Did you like any particular subject when in school?

You can also get more interesting narrative essay topics and choose the one that suits your needs.

Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

In a compare and contrast essay , you show how two things are similar and different. This essay type is easy to write because you donât need to use facts, but you have to express your thoughts.

The following are the topics for your ease.

Mobile healthcare units or stationary clinics.
Formulas of two different chemical reactions.
Public vs. private transportation.
Chocolate and marmalade candies.
How do education and employment compare?
British colonization and Spanish colonization.
Eating fast food against consuming healthy meals.
African countries vs. European countries.
Differences and similarities: Writing emails and letters.
Plagiarizing content vs. cheating on exams.

You can also check more compare and contrast essay topics an d get ideas for your next essay.

Cause and Effect Essay Topics

It is fascinating to discuss the effects and causes of two subjects in an essay. An essay that discusses the effects and causes of two subjects enhances the studentsâ creative and analytical skills.

Take a look at the below topics and choose the best one for your essay.

How happy relationships affect a person.
Coke and Pepsi: Their influence on our health.
What causes social media sites to lose popularity?
Why would you mix Coke and Pepsi at breakfast?
How does college differ from university?
Explain the outcomes of low social status.
Microplastic in food damages human health.
What are the main reasons couples get divorced?
What are the consequences of drinking and driving?
How does social media help in overcoming shyness?

Choose from the best cause and effect essay topics for your academic assignment.

Informative Essay Topics

An informative essay is a type of essay that provides detailed information to the readers. This type of essay requires good research skills.

Check out the below topics for your informative essay assignment.

Kindness is the utmost personal trait.
Things that cause eating disorders.
What is the importance of oxygen?
How can tanning be dangerous for your skin?
The events that led up to World War II.
Trump presidency outcomes.
The important human health vitamins.
How to clean your room?
Eating Maggi destroys your health.
Importance of vitamin C.

You can also get more informative essay topics from our blog for your essay assignment.

Research Essay Topics

When you write a research essay, you present an issue based on the work of scholars and scientists.

Here are some interesting research essay topics that you can use or alter according to your teacherâs requirements:

What is the future of religion?
Effects of homeschooling.
What are the pros and cons of cloud computing?
How does a search engine work?
Should prayer be a part of high school?
Can bullying be a cause for murder?
Effects of vaccination.
How do behavioral patterns develop?
The importance of mental health.
Explain the art of Ancient Egypt.

Expository Essay Topics

An expository essay's main goal is to explain a process or a cause-and-effect relationship. You have to use facts and research to support what you say. The biggest difference between an expository essay and other types of essays is that the point you are trying to argue is based on analysis, not just your opinion.

Some good expository essay topics below for your essay assignment:

Explain why teens do drugs.
How would you stop racism?
How was your first day at school?
Explain how a seed becomes a plant?
Describe the state of the cure for cancer
What makes a good friend?
Explain how tobacco companies target teenagers.
How to become a leader?
Why do kids lie?
Autocorrect could ruin your life.

Explore more expository essay topics and begin your essay with ease!

Definition Essay Topics

In a definition essay , the essay writer gives a clear and concise definition of a term. In most cases, these essays are about terms that are not concrete and which can have different meanings depending on the culture or personal perspective.

Here are some excellent topics for a definition essay:

Does money matter?
Is one friend enough?
What is honesty?
Social media
Define smelly cats/
What is college for you?
What is physics?
Are bananas fruit?
Explain the word âagility.â

Get more outstanding definition essay topics from our blog and make your topic selection process easy.

Descriptive Essay Topics

A descriptive essay focuses on describing details of a particular person, place, event, etc. Descriptive essays are usually about personal experiences or things that are vivid in the writer's memory.

Any topic can be used for a descriptive essay. For your help, we gathered some great topics, so take a look at them and pick the best one.

Describe a lucky object.
The best singer
My first flight
My favorite singer
Going fishing.
The traffic signal
An inspiring view
Best summer vacation
Piece of art

If you're looking for more great descriptive essay topics , check out this blog.

Personal Essay Topics

A personal essay is a story about your life. It should be written in a friendly, intimate tone. The essay should reflect your character and examine the emotions you have felt because of certain events that have happened to you.

Here is a great list of topics for your help.

Your biggest loss
What makes you a good coworker or friend?
How did you get hurt?
What was your most precious childhood possession?
Why do people like karaoke?
Your bucket list of wishes
Why do some people avoid vaccines?
Child discipline
Your family traditions.
Why donât I smoke?

Problem Solution Essay Topics

A problem-solution essay is a persuasive type of writing. It presents a problem and then describes it in detail. The writer must show how to fix the problem, and they must be convincing. The essay must have strong evidence and arguments that prove that the given solution is the best.

Below are some topics that can make your essay great.

What obstacles prevent people from getting help?
Should college athletes be paid?
How can schools promote tolerance?
Educating women on self-defense
Helping young people create a healthy family.
What are the ways of avoiding cheating?
The films are just not very good
Cyberbullying
Business problems
Rising costs of bills

Classification Essay Topics

A classification essay is a formal piece of writing that shows how you group things together. You might put things with similar characteristics together or with things that are different.

Check out some great essay topics.

Types of Music Genres
Healthy breakfast foods
Types of fashion brands.
Reasons why graffiti is an art form.
Types of lectures
Portable music players
Types of Food Cuisines
Types of therapies
Examples of women
Types of internet commerce

Proposal Essay Topics

A proposal essay is a type of essay where you propose an idea and try to convince the reader why it is a good or bad idea.

You can pick any of the topics from the below-mentioned list and write a great essay.

Can vaccines cause autism?
The impact of gender roles in Roman society.
A program for attracting more men nurses.
What tests should be eliminated?
Offer simple ways to deal with stray animals.
Best ways to handle overbearing parents.
Do statistical arguments in sports help?
Turning points in personal life
Should teens have jobs?
How to decrease the number of smokers?

Essay Topics on Technology

The impact of blockchain technology on supply chain management
The ethics of using drones in military operations
The role of technology in promoting sustainable agriculture
The use of biometrics in modern security systems
The impact of technology on the music industry
The benefits and drawbacks of self-driving cars
The potential of nanotechnology in medical research
The impact of technology on modern art
The role of artificial intelligence in improving cybersecurity
The impact of technology on the gig economy

Tips for Choosing the Best Topics

Choosing the perfect essay topic is one of those things you really should do before starting your essay. If it's not something that interests or excites you, then how will anyone else find any passion in reading about it?

A good backbone for an interesting essay starts with a strong idea. For your help, we gathered some tips that will help you in choosing a good essay topic.

Identify your interests: Choose a topic that you are interested in or passionate about. This will make the research and writing process more enjoyable and engaging for you.
Consider your audience: Think about who will be reading your essay. Choose a topic that is relevant and interesting to your audience.
Research your options: Do some preliminary research on your topic options. Ensure that there is enough information available to write a comprehensive essay.
Narrow your focus: If a topic seems too broad or general, try to narrow it down to a specific aspect or angle that you can explore in more detail.
Brainstorm multiple ideas: Generate a list of potential essay topics and then narrow down the options based on your interests, research, and audience.
Be creative: Don't be afraid to explore unique or unconventional topics that may not have been covered extensively before. This can help your essay stand out and capture the reader's attention.

Now, you get a list of several essay topics for your college essay assignment. You can experiment with generating new topics using an AI essay writer as well. However, if you need help in the essay writing phase, simply consult CollegeEssay.org .

Our professional essay writers will help you in writing top-notch essays. So, place your " write my essay " request now and get an experienced writerâs help for your assignments.

Barbara P (Literature, Marketing)

Barbara is a highly educated and qualified author with a Ph.D. in public health from an Ivy League university. She has spent a significant amount of time working in the medical field, conducting a thorough study on a variety of health issues. Her work has been published in several major publications.

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Essay Topics & Ideas

You’ve made it to the perfect article! After reading this you’ll not just know how to come up with an idea for an essay, but have over 300 examples to inspire you.

Why Essay Ideas and Great Essay Topics are Vital

The difference between having fun while writing an interesting, high scoring essay, and struggling to finish an essay the night before it’s due has less to do with how well you write and more to do with the topic you choose. A topic you feel passionate about will make you more excited to actually do the writing and will make the writing process easier and the end product better. Don’t get carried away though! Think about the audience you’re writing for and choose a topic that they would find at least somewhat interesting. Another useful way to help decide between several topics you’re passionate about is choosing one that you already have a lot of information about. This will cut down on your research time, making your writing flow, weaving facts and references into the narrative.

300+ Essay Topic Ideas

You’ll find over 300 topic ideas divided into various categories down below. Put your own spin on any of these ideas and take the first step in writing a fun, high scoring essay. Keep in mind - these are topic ideas, not titles!

Essay Topics for Kids

Some really simple questions to inspire young children to come up with a fun topic!

Who is your favorite superhero and why?

What do you like the most about your parents?

What is your favorite season?

What do you like the most about Christmas?

What have you learned from cartoons?

What does your brother or sister do for fun?

Do you like vegetables? Why or why not!

How was your first day of school?

What is your favorite thing to eat?

Essay Topics for Middle School

Some slightly more complicated questions to help middle schoolers find a great topic.

Who is your best friend and why?

What are you the best at?

What’s your favorite cuisine?

Who’s your role model?

What do you think about social media?

Explain what friendship means to you

Choose a science term you love and write about it

What do you want to be when you’re older?

What was it like losing your first tooth?

What do you like the most about school?

Essay Topics for College

Some complicated question to ignite the imaginations of sophisticated college students.

What were the driving factors behind your choice of major?

How did you deal with homesickness?

What new clubs and activities did you start enjoying in college?

Does a college degree seem worth it so far?

Is independence everything you thought it would be?

What would you change about your college experience?

What is a course that you found yourself enjoying despite hating it in high school?

How different is socializing in college compared to high school?

Would you have preferred to have gone to a larger or smaller college and why?

Do you think you’ve managed your time well?

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Essay Topics by Essay Type

This section will cover the 4 main types of essays you will be asked to write in your academic career.

Expository writing asks the writer to do some research and explain concepts and ideas. These include Informative, Cause & Effect, and Research essays.
Persuasive writing is all about trying to convince the reader to come to your side of an issue. These include Persuasive, Argumentative, and Rhetorical Analysis essays.
Descriptive writing allows for more creativity, painting an experience with words that explain ideas and convey emotions. These include Descriptive and Definition essays.
Narrative writing is about sharing experiences through storytelling. These include Narrative, Personal, Reflective, and Process essays. ‍

Informative Essay Topics

Pretty straightforward, do some research and present the facts. Keep your opinions out of it!

The history of bathing culture in ancient China

Why salt used to be worth its weight in gold

The impact of prohibition on modern attitudes towards alcohol

An in-depth critique of your favorite book or movie

Why a little bit of stress is a good thing

The story of how a chocolate bar gets made

The top 10 richest people in the world

The best videogames of each decade

How to get out of a bad relationship

The evolution of the internet

Cause and Effect Essay Topics

Explore how one thing impacts the other, also known as reason and result essays.

The impact of Young Adult fiction on teenagers

How the Marvel Cinematic Universe brought the world closer together

Dealing with a cross-cultural relationship

Wearing school uniforms reduces bullying

The effects of having a toxic parent

Why there’s a rise in eating disorders amongst young people today

Ways to lead a healthier lifestyle and why it’s important

The impact of going to college on earning potential

Why everyone needs a vacation once every 6 months

The impact of group sports on an individuals psychology

Research Essay Topics

More in-depth analysis usually requiring scientific research. Sometimes you just collect and synthesize information, sometimes you may be asked to give an opinion.

The extent of child labor in the fast fashion industry

Has science fiction driven scientific discovery and if so, what can we expect from the future?

The impact of climate change on migratory wildlife

How do transfats differ from healthy fats and why they are bad?

Is there a connection between social media usage and reported happiness?

How have film industries around the world shaped and influenced each other?

Which country is going to be the next superpower?

An analysis of modern pop music lyrics

Themes and motifs in anime that are similar to Shakespeare’s works

What type of underwear is best for different weather conditions

Persuasive Essay Topics

Using emotions to convince someone that your perspective on an issue is correct.

What does the term “Globalist” actually means

The responsibility for sex and drug education lies with parents

Why veganism is the only morally justifiable diet

Should there be limits on freedom of speech?

Students should be allowed to listen to music when they take exams

Why some words should not be used regardless of context

Should alternative and homeopathic medicine come with warning labels?

There needs to be a minimum age for social media use

Online friends are just as valuable as offline friends

Instagram is bad for the body image of young adults

Argumentative Essay Topics

Using logic and facts to convince somebody that your perspective on an issue is correct.

Is cancel culture a good way for groups to police people?

Should celebrities have public opinions about politics?

Why is ok to eat plants but not animals?

Should everyone be forced to take vaccines?

What are the lasting impacts of internment camps in the USA?

Should animals have the same rights as humans?

Is it justifiable to spend billions getting to Mars when children still die of starvation on Earth?

Why video games should be considered sports

Should countries be allowed to censor movies?

Is health care a basic human right?

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

A specific type of essay that focuses less on what the content is and more on how the author goes about writing it.

The Picture of Dorian Gray: A peek into the mind of Oscar Wilde

The movie versions of famous books

A scientific speech given by a Nobel prize winner

Your favorite Superbowl commercial

A stand up special by a comedian

A speech given by your principal

A particularly excellent billboard you came across

A speech by an activist like Greta Thunberg

A monologue by your favorite talk show host

A rant by your favorite social media personality

Descriptive Essay Topics

Detail rich writing that conveys intangible things like ambiance and emotion.

How would an alien reporting back to the mothership explain humans?

The feeling of a beautiful sunset on the beach

What’s special about your favorite homecooked meal

Holding a baby for the first time

The most embarrassing moment of your life

If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would it be

Why your favorite city in the world is the best

Your favorite childhood outfit

What is your mental happy place?

What it’s like to be in love

Definition Essay Topics

Defining an interesting term that has an imprecise meaning or a meaning that differs from culture to culture.

Why anybody can be privileged in one way or another

Is communism really as bad as people think?

The importance of slang (choose any slang word like yeet, lit, snack)

Teleportation and why it’s impossible

The difference between being smart and being clever

Making fun or being in awe of modern art

If you’re born after the year 2000 is the internet a basic right?

Why I love my dog differently than my romantic partner

Does mental health mean different things in different cultures?

The World Wide Web: What WWW really means

Find out more ideas of definition essay topics in or guides.

Narrative Essay Topics

An academic form of storytelling that is full of details and action. Usually drawn from the writer’s own experiences. Feel feel to use personal pronouns!

Why a certain phrase became your motto

A time when you were convinced to change your mind about something

A random act of kindness you witnessed

What time period you would go to if time travel were possible

A time you panicked because you thought you lost your phone

The first time you felt butterflies in your stomach

Your most disappointing birthday

A conversation that impacted the way you approach life

What it would be like to have a twin

A day in the life of a goat

We collected 150 ideas of nurrative essay topics in another article!

Personal Essay Topics

A style of writing close to journaling. It should feel friendly and comfortable and can be as personal as you want.

What are some of the challenges you have overcome in your life?

How important is spending time in nature to you?

What your YouTube channel would be about

Which of your favorite movies would you want a sequel for?

What you wish people would know about you before meeting for the first time

What is the most rebellious thing you’ve done?

Would you be ok in a nontraditional occupation?

How much does being a sports fan define you?

Why certain items of clothing have special meaning to you

Why you still believe or don’t believe in ghosts

Reflective Essay Topics

Another personal style that allows the writer to express how they felt at certain moments and how certain things impacted them.

When was the last time you laughed with someone so hard you couldn’t stop?

Are certain people and certain places forever linked in your memory?

The worst punishment you have endured

A time when you helped someone in need and why it was important to you

Your first time failing at something and what it taught you

The joys of playing with a pet

The feeling of walking in warm rain

What it was like moving back to a city you left

Reconnecting with old friends because of social media

What it felt like getting lost

Process Essay Topics

A step by step guide on how to make something happen.

How to teach an old person to use a smartphone

How to find better friends

How to become a better writer

How to build followers of social media

How to say no to people without hurting their feelings

How to make the sweetest handmade gifts

How to impress everyone in a room with just a few words

How to take a comprehensive two-minute shower

How to choose the tastiest fruits

How to get over an ex

Did you like our inspiring Essay Topics & Ideas?

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Essay Topic Idea by Category

In this section, you’ll find 10 topics per popular category. Search for the category that’s most related to your class or find something you like personally. Any of these topics can be used as extended essay topics, just write more than usual!

Psychology Essay Topics

Some ideas to inspire your essay about the mind.

How much control do you have over your own thoughts?

How does society define what “crazy” is?

Knowing someone who has a mental disorder

Your own experiences with mental health

Mental health is just as important as physical health

The difference between confidence and arrogance

Pick an interesting psychology concept and define it

The different attitudes towards therapy in different socio-economic groups

The effects of Disney movies on the concept of love

Diagnose your favorite superhero with their most likely disorder

Philosophy Essay Topics

Ideas for the deep thinkers.

The changing importance of philosophy in the 2020s

Is philosophy the same as religion? Why or why not?

Compare Plato’s Allegory of Cave to The Matrix Trilogy

Utilitarian philosophy in Star Trek

Do video games promote escapism and if, isn’t that the point of technology?

Should a majority force a minority to follow their wishes?

How do you find the line between free speech and harassment?

Is there such a thing as being too nice?

Would you date somebody who held very different beliefs than you?

Choose a concept by a famous philosopher and define it.

Technology Essay Topics

Fascinating ideas to explore for the tech-savvy.

What the next big leap in technology is going to be

Can humans already be considered cyborgs?

How is artificial intelligence going to affect jobs in the future?

Do big technology companies have too much power?

If robots achieved sentience, should they be given the same rights as humans?

Compare and contrast the changes in computing power in the last 20 years

Explain how the internet actually works

Analyze historical technological advancements like the steam engine or light bulb

Would you be willing to be a Mars colonist?

Make predictions about the technology of the future

Ethics Essay Topics

Explore right and wrong with these topic ideas.

What is the difference between morals and laws?

Is justice an objective concept or is it determined by the majority?

Is it ok for parents to have a favorite child or for children to have a favorite parent?

Would you save your own pet over a human life?

Should people be allowed to not wear masks if it is against their beliefs?

Is it morally wrong to be in a polygamous relationship?

Loyalty is considered a good thing, but people have done terrible things because of it.

What is the best way to punish criminals?

Should there be laws that are enforceable everywhere in the world?

Who has the most responsibility to take care of the environment?

Health Essay Topics

Write about being in tune with your body and how to lead a better life.

How to be healthy without dieting

Compare how your body feels now to 5 years ago

Choose a health buzz word like superfoods and explain what it means

Should governments provide free mental healthcare?

How to stay positive during the lockdown

What are the most unhealthy fast food burgers?

What are the impacts of good nutrition on energy levels?

Are vitamin supplements worth it?

Explain the difference between good bacteria and bad bacteria

Does being thinner automatically mean you are healthier?

History Essay Topics

Ideas to inspire the history buffs out there.

What was the impact of the 2007 financial crisis on your family?

Which time period was it the best to be a common person?

Trace your family history as far back as you can

What are the biggest lessons learned from history?

Choose your favorite hobby and trace its origins

Who was the richest person in all of human history?

What did people think of fossils before humans understood dinosaurs?

Compare and contrast the first great human civilizations

Why was India such an important destination in the middle ages?

What is the impact of the slave trade in modern Africa?

Education Essay Topics

Educate your readers about education.

Should students have more freedom in choosing what classes they take?

Who has the responsibility to educate children about religion?

What are the other forms of education and are they effective?

Trace the history of the modern educational system

Does language affect how well you score on exams?

Does separating people based on standardized testing make sense?

What is the best way to reward excellent teachers?

Why can some countries provide free university education?

What are the biggest challenges you have faced academically?

Should there be a Nobel Prize for education?

Music Essay Topics

Ideas that will inspire music lovers.

What is the first song that you can remember?

Do different kinds of music affect how well you can study?

Could listening to music be considered a form of meditation?

Do musicians appreciate music more than nonmusicians?

What is the best genre of music in your opinion?

Could you be good friends with someone who has completely opposite music tastes?

What instrument would you like to be amazing at

Compare and contrast classical music with modern pop hits

Have lyrics actually gotten better or worse over the decades?

What is the future of music going to be like?

Environment Essay Topics

Share your love of mother Earth with these topic ideas.

How can global warming lead to colder temperatures in some places?

What you personally do to help save the environment

Explore one of the worst pollution disasters in history

Should rich countries help poorer countries with carbon emission goals?

How have plate tectonics and volcanoes shaped our world

What would be the impact of rising sea levels

Why are invasive species so dangerous?

What was the Earth’s climate like in the past?

What are the biggest specific threats to the environment?

Research the history behind finding medicines in nature

Sociology Essay Topics

Write about the behavior of humans and groups.

What is groupthink and does social media make it worse?

Do groups of people make better decisions than individuals?

Explore a subculture that you’re unfamiliar with

What did you learn on your first trip abroad?

What can humans learn from animal social groups?

Why are people so different around the world?

What are the key factors of attraction?

What will future generations look back on in 2020 that they would find repulsive?

What is your favorite festival from another culture?

Why did different places in the world develop different cuisines?

Economics Essay Topics

Ideas to write about the money side of things.

What is the effect of cryptocurrency on traditional money systems?

What is your first memory of earning any money?

Should wealthier people be taxed more than poorer people?

What percentage of GDP should be spent on education?

Should businesses do more corporate social responsibility?

Choose an economics term and explain it

Trace the origins of money

How companies create artificial shortages to increase prices

How can a government control how much its money is worth

What is the role of the World Bank?

More Fun & Interesting Essay Topics

Some weird, crazy, topic ideas to set the inner creative free

What is the meaning of life?

How would you make friends with an alien

What would your supervillain plan to take over the world be?

Which fictional character would you like to be?

How many tears does the ocean hold?

A day in the life of a library book

The journey of a meme

How to destroy an influencer

A time you felt like you were in a movie

What music genre are you?

Which Disney movie do you relate to the most?

How would you survive on 5 dollars a day?

A time you were convinced you were living in the matrix

Gaming for 24 hours straight

Having crushes on multiple people

The sneakiest thing you’ve ever done

What kind of rich person would you be?

What would you do in a zombie apocalypse?

How to get rid of an earworm

Your favorite weird food combination

Wrapping It Up

The team of experts at Studyfy offers professional essay writing services , dissertation writing services , research paper writing services , as well as help with writing admission essays. They have vast experience and knowledge in different fields of study, and can provide you with top-quality academic help to ensure that you succeed in your studies. Contact them today and take the first step towards achieving your academic goals!

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Writing Tips

50 Argumentative Essay Topics for Students

4-minute read

11th June 2022

The goal of an argumentative essay is to persuade the reader to understand and support your position on an issue by presenting your reasoning along with supporting evidence. It’s important to find the right balance between giving your opinions and presenting established research.

These essays discuss issues around a range of topics, including science, technology, politics, and healthcare. Whether you’re a teacher looking for essay topics for your students or a student tasked with developing an idea of your own, we’ve compiled a list of 50 argumentative essay topics to help you get started!

● Does texting hinder interpersonal communication skills?

● Should there be laws against using devices while driving?

● Do violent video games teach or encourage people to behave violently?

● Should social media sites be allowed to collect users’ data?

● Should parents limit how long their children spend in front of screens?

● Is AI helping or hurting society?

● Should cyber-bullying carry legal consequences?

● Should Supreme Court justices be elected?

● Is war always a political decision?

● Should people join a political party?

● Is capitalism ethical?

● Is the electoral college an effective system?

● Should prisoners be allowed to vote?

● Should the death penalty be legal?

● Are governments around the world doing enough to combat global warming?

● Is healthcare a fundamental human right?

● Should vaccinations be mandated for children?

● Are there any circumstances under which physician-assisted suicides should be legal?

● Should parents be able to choose specific genetic modifications of their future children?

● Should abortion be legal?

● Is it ethical to perform medical experiments on animals?

● Should patients who lead unhealthy lifestyles be denied organ transplants?

● Should doctors be able to provide medical care to children against their parents’ wishes?

Mental Healthcare

● What causes the stigma around mental health?

● Discuss the link between insufficient access to mental health services and the high suicide rates among veterans.

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● Should cannabis be used as a treatment for patients with mental disorders?

● Is there a link between social media use and mental disorders?

● Discuss the effect of physical activity on mental health.

● Should sports be segregated by gender?

● Should male and female athletes be given the same pay and opportunities?

● Are professional athletes overpaid?

● Should college athletes be paid?

● Should sports betting be legal?

● Should online access to art such as music be free?

● Should graffiti be considered art or vandalism?

● Are there any circumstances under which books should be banned?

● Should schools be required to offer art courses?

● Is art necessary to society?

● Should schools require uniforms?

● Should reciting the Pledge of Allegiance be required in schools?

● Do standardized tests effectively measure intelligence?

● Should high school students take a gap year before pursuing higher education?

● Should higher education be free?

● Is there too much pressure on high school students to attend college?

● Are children better off in two-parent households?

● Should LGBTQ+ partners be allowed to adopt?

● Should single people be able to adopt children as easily as couples?

● Is it okay for parents to physically discipline their children?

● Does helicopter parenting help or hurt children?

● Should parents monitor their children’s Internet use?

Proofreading & Editing

An argument could also be made for the importance of proofreading your essay ! The reader can focus more on your message when your writing is clear, concise, and error-free, and they won’t question whether you’re knowledgeable on the issues you’re presenting. Once you have a draft ready, you can submit a free trial document to start working with our expert editors!

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Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers

P LANNING, PARAGRAPHING AND POLISHING: FINE-TUNING THE PERFECT ESSAY

Essay writing is an essential skill for every student. Whether writing a particular academic essay (such as persuasive, narrative, descriptive, or expository) or a timed exam essay, the key to getting good at writing is to write. Creating opportunities for our students to engage in extended writing activities will go a long way to helping them improve their skills as scribes.

But, putting the hours in alone will not be enough to attain the highest levels in essay writing. Practice must be meaningful. Once students have a broad overview of how to structure the various types of essays, they are ready to narrow in on the minor details that will enable them to fine-tune their work as a lean vehicle of their thoughts and ideas.

In this article, we will drill down to some aspects that will assist students in taking their essay writing skills up a notch. Many ideas and activities can be integrated into broader lesson plans based on essay writing. Often, though, they will work effectively in isolation – just as athletes isolate physical movements to drill that are relevant to their sport. When these movements become second nature, they can be repeated naturally in the context of the game or in our case, the writing of the essay.

THE ULTIMATE NONFICTION WRITING TEACHING RESOURCE

essay writing | nonfiction writing unit | Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers | literacyideas.com

270 pages of the most effective teaching strategies
50+ digital tools ready right out of the box
75 editable resources for student differentiation
Loads of tricks and tips to add to your teaching tool bag
All explanations are reinforced with concrete examples.
Links to high-quality video tutorials
Clear objectives easy to match to the demands of your curriculum

Planning an essay

essay writing | how to prepare for an essay | Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers | literacyideas.com

The Boys Scouts’ motto is famously ‘Be Prepared’. It’s a solid motto that can be applied to most aspects of life; essay writing is no different. Given the purpose of an essay is generally to present a logical and reasoned argument, investing time in organising arguments, ideas, and structure would seem to be time well spent.

Given that essays can take a wide range of forms and that we all have our own individual approaches to writing, it stands to reason that there will be no single best approach to the planning stage of essay writing. That said, there are several helpful hints and techniques we can share with our students to help them wrestle their ideas into a writable form. Let’s take a look at a few of the best of these:

BREAK THE QUESTION DOWN: UNDERSTAND YOUR ESSAY TOPIC.

Whether students are tackling an assignment that you have set for them in class or responding to an essay prompt in an exam situation, they should get into the habit of analyzing the nature of the task. To do this, they should unravel the question’s meaning or prompt. Students can practice this in class by responding to various essay titles, questions, and prompts, thereby gaining valuable experience breaking these down.

Have students work in groups to underline and dissect the keywords and phrases and discuss what exactly is being asked of them in the task. Are they being asked to discuss, describe, persuade, or explain? Understanding the exact nature of the task is crucial before going any further in the planning process, never mind the writing process .

BRAINSTORM AND MIND MAP WHAT YOU KNOW:

Once students have understood what the essay task asks them, they should consider what they know about the topic and, often, how they feel about it. When teaching essay writing, we so often emphasize that it is about expressing our opinions on things, but for our younger students what they think about something isn’t always obvious, even to themselves.

Brainstorming and mind-mapping what they know about a topic offers them an opportunity to uncover not just what they already know about a topic, but also gives them a chance to reveal to themselves what they think about the topic. This will help guide them in structuring their research and, later, the essay they will write . When writing an essay in an exam context, this may be the only ‘research’ the student can undertake before the writing, so practicing this will be even more important.

RESEARCH YOUR ESSAY

The previous step above should reveal to students the general direction their research will take. With the ubiquitousness of the internet, gone are the days of students relying on a single well-thumbed encyclopaedia from the school library as their sole authoritative source in their essay. If anything, the real problem for our students today is narrowing down their sources to a manageable number. Students should use the information from the previous step to help here. At this stage, it is important that they:

● Ensure the research material is directly relevant to the essay task

● Record in detail the sources of the information that they will use in their essay

● Engage with the material personally by asking questions and challenging their own biases

● Identify the key points that will be made in their essay

● Group ideas, counterarguments, and opinions together

● Identify the overarching argument they will make in their own essay.

Once these stages have been completed the student is ready to organise their points into a logical order.

WRITING YOUR ESSAY

There are a number of ways for students to organize their points in preparation for writing. They can use graphic organizers , post-it notes, or any number of available writing apps. The important thing for them to consider here is that their points should follow a logical progression. This progression of their argument will be expressed in the form of body paragraphs that will inform the structure of their finished essay.

The number of paragraphs contained in an essay will depend on a number of factors such as word limits, time limits, the complexity of the question etc. Regardless of the essay’s length, students should ensure their essay follows the Rule of Three in that every essay they write contains an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Generally speaking, essay paragraphs will focus on one main idea that is usually expressed in a topic sentence that is followed by a series of supporting sentences that bolster that main idea. The first and final sentences are of the most significance here with the first sentence of a paragraph making the point to the reader and the final sentence of the paragraph making the overall relevance to the essay’s argument crystal clear.

Though students will most likely be familiar with the broad generic structure of essays, it is worth investing time to ensure they have a clear conception of how each part of the essay works, that is, of the exact nature of the task it performs. Let’s review:

Common Essay Structure

Introduction: Provides the reader with context for the essay. It states the broad argument that the essay will make and informs the reader of the writer’s general perspective and approach to the question.

Body Paragraphs: These are the ‘meat’ of the essay and lay out the argument stated in the introduction point by point with supporting evidence.

Conclusion: Usually, the conclusion will restate the central argument while summarising the essay’s main supporting reasons before linking everything back to the original question.

ESSAY WRITING PARAGRAPH WRITING TIPS

essay writing | 1 How to write paragraphs | Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers | literacyideas.com

● Each paragraph should focus on a single main idea

● Paragraphs should follow a logical sequence; students should group similar ideas together to avoid incoherence

● Paragraphs should be denoted consistently; students should choose either to indent or skip a line

● Transition words and phrases such as alternatively , consequently , in contrast should be used to give flow and provide a bridge between paragraphs.

HOW TO EDIT AN ESSAY

essay writing | essay editing tips | Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers | literacyideas.com

Students shouldn’t expect their essays to emerge from the writing process perfectly formed. Except in exam situations and the like, thorough editing is an essential aspect in the writing process.

Often, students struggle with this aspect of the process the most. After spending hours of effort on planning, research, and writing the first draft, students can be reluctant to go back over the same terrain they have so recently travelled. It is important at this point to give them some helpful guidelines to help them to know what to look out for. The following tips will provide just such help:

One Piece at a Time: There is a lot to look out for in the editing process and often students overlook aspects as they try to juggle too many balls during the process. One effective strategy to combat this is for students to perform a number of rounds of editing with each focusing on a different aspect. For example, the first round could focus on content, the second round on looking out for word repetition (use a thesaurus to help here), with the third attending to spelling and grammar.

Sum It Up: When reviewing the paragraphs they have written, a good starting point is for students to read each paragraph and attempt to sum up its main point in a single line. If this is not possible, their readers will most likely have difficulty following their train of thought too and the paragraph needs to be overhauled.

Let It Breathe: When possible, encourage students to allow some time for their essay to ‘breathe’ before returning to it for editing purposes. This may require some skilful time management on the part of the student, for example, a student rush-writing the night before the deadline does not lend itself to effective editing. Fresh eyes are one of the sharpest tools in the writer’s toolbox.

Read It Aloud: This time-tested editing method is a great way for students to identify mistakes and typos in their work. We tend to read things more slowly when reading aloud giving us the time to spot errors. Also, when we read silently our minds can often fill in the gaps or gloss over the mistakes that will become apparent when we read out loud.

Phone a Friend: Peer editing is another great way to identify errors that our brains may miss when reading our own work. Encourage students to partner up for a little ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’.

Use Tech Tools: We need to ensure our students have the mental tools to edit their own work and for this they will need a good grasp of English grammar and punctuation. However, there are also a wealth of tech tools such as spellcheck and grammar checks that can offer a great once-over option to catch anything students may have missed in earlier editing rounds.

essay writing | Perfect essay writing for students | Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers | literacyideas.com

Putting the Jewels on Display: While some struggle to edit, others struggle to let go. There comes a point when it is time for students to release their work to the reader. They must learn to relinquish control after the creation is complete. This will be much easier to achieve if the student feels that they have done everything in their control to ensure their essay is representative of the best of their abilities and if they have followed the advice here, they should be confident they have done so.

WRITING CHECKLISTS FOR ALL TEXT TYPES

ESSAY WRITING video tutorials

essay writing | essay writing tutorial28129 | Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers | literacyideas.com

70 “How To” Essay Topics

Referred to by names such as process essay or process analysis essay, the How-To essay details the steps to complete an assigned task in the most efficient way possible.

What Are the Key Steps to Writing a “How To” Essay?

How-to essays are pretty straightforward in their writing process, but there are a few key things to remember to ensure that the reader understands the steps involved.

The most important part of writing a How-To essay is ensuring that every necessary step is included in the writing – especially in the order they must be carried out.

This means that the writer shouldn’t avoid any steps, skip around, or leave out key details.

Secondly, it is essential to be concise when writing a How-To essay. Avoid detailing unnecessary steps or processes not related to the essay’s main topic.

Finally, must use sequential phrasing to denote the order of the steps. Phrases such as “first,” “second,” and “third” are helpful when writing a How-To essay.

By following these key steps, the writer can ensure that their How-To essay is clear, concise, and easy to follow!

Steps for Writing a “How To” Essay

When it comes to writing a How-To essay, the following formatting structure will ensure that the essay is easy to follow for the reader.

Introductory Paragraph

The introductory paragraph should briefly introduce the topic of the essay and provide a general overview of the steps involved. It should also introduce the main point of each individual step.

To engage the reader better, be sure to open with an attractive hook statement that will capture the reader’s attention. For example, if you are writing a How-To essay about cooking pasta, you might open with the line “Nothing beats a hot plate of mac and cheese” to grab the reader’s attention.

The introduction paragraph should also end with a thesis statement that details the essay’s main point. For example, in the case of the pasta cooking example, the thesis statement would be, “This essay will outline the steps necessary to cook a perfect plate of pasta from start to finish.”

Pro tip: Your thesis statement shouldn’t simply detail the benefits of following the steps in the essay. For example, the pasta cooking thesis statement could be rewritten as “This essay will outline the steps necessary to cook a perfect plate of pasta, which will not only save you time and money but will also taste better than if you had ordered it from a restaurant.”

Body Paragraphs

Each body paragraph should detail one step in the overall process. The individual steps should be written sequentially, not skipping any steps and providing all necessary details.

The body paragraphs should each follow the same structure:

1st Sentence: A topic sentence that briefly discusses the step in the process.
2nd Sentence: A transitional sentence that details when this step should be completed in relation to the other steps in the process
3rd Sentence: A detailed explanation of how to complete this step, based on a combination of research and common sense.
4th Sentence: A concluding sentence that briefly restates the step.

This formula should be repeated for each and every step in the process being detailed. This may only require a few paragraphs for how-to essays describing simple processes. However, for more complicated topics, this may require many sections to ensure that every step has been covered and every necessary detail included.

Concluding Paragraph

The concluding paragraph should summarize the steps outlined in the essay and restate any key points. It can also include a brief discussion of why following these steps is beneficial or potential pitfalls when skipping certain steps.

In order to avoid any confusion, the concluding paragraph should also summarize the thesis statement for the essay. For the pasta cooking example, this would be “In conclusion, this essay has outlined the steps necessary to cook a perfect plate of pasta from start to finish. By following these steps, you will ensure that your pasta is cooked perfectly every time.”

Pro tip: If you’re feeling stuck, try outlining the steps for your essay on a piece of paper. This will help you see the process as a whole and better understand where each step should fit in.

How-To essays can be a great way to teach or inform the reader about a specific topic. By following the key steps detailed above, you can ensure that your How-To essay is written with maximum clarity and follows the proper format.

70 “How To” Essay Topics

When writing a How-To essay, the biggest challenge can be choosing a topic. Essay topics too broad or general can be too difficult to cover in a single essay. On the other hand, essay topics that are too specific can be too difficult for the writer, who might accidentally leave out critical steps or details.

In order to make it easier for you to choose a topic, we have compiled a list of 70 How-To Essay topics that can be broken down into a variety of categories. While this list is by no means exhaustive, it should give you a good starting point for your essay.

How-To Essay Topics About Life Skills

How to make a bed properly
How to pack for a trip
How to study for a test
How to write a resume
How to network
How to interview for a job
How to give a presentation
How to deal with stress
How to make a budget
How to save money
How to cook a basic meal
How to do laundry
How to change a tire
How to use public transportation
How to ask for a raise
How to deal with difficult people
How to deal with passive-aggressive behavior
How to make a good impression
How to write a thank you letter
How to speak in public
How to make friends as an adult
How to ace a job interview
How to manage your time
How to be an effective leader

How-To Essay Topics About Technology

How to set up a wireless network at home
How to download music legally online
How to reset your browser’s homepage
How to navigate social media sites like Facebook and Twitter
How to use your phone’s camera
How to set up a Bluetooth device
How to use Zoom effectively
How to use a VPN
How to set up an email account
How to use Siri on your iPhone

How-To Essay Topics About Fitness and Health

How to get rid of belly fat
How to lose weight fast
How to do crunches properly
How to do squats
How to run faster
How to jump higher
How to stretch
How to prevent sports injuries
How to deal with pain
How to improve your diet
How to get in shape for summer
How to lower blood pressure

How-To Essay Topics About Home Improvement

How to paint a room
How to hang curtains
How to unclog a drain
How to patch a hole in the wall
How to fix a broken doorknob
How to install crown molding
How to install laminate flooring
How to clean hardwood floors properly
How to have an eco-friendly home
How to decorate your home on a budget
How to choose paint colors for your home
How to make your home more energy-efficient

How To Essay Topics About Science

How to make a volcano
How to make a model of the solar system
How to grow crystals
How to make a simple electrical circuit
How to make slime
How to extract DNA from a strawberry
How to make a terrarium
How to make a potato battery
How to measure pH level
How to write a lab report
How to identify different species of flora & fauna

Using these how-to writing prompts, students can have a great start to writing their own How-To essays. Remember to keep each step of the process for a smooth transition from one to another.

125 Reflective Essay Topics
135 US History Essay Topics
100 Mental Health Essay Topics
140 Hamlet Essay Topics
160 Satire Essay Topics

Testimonials

Generating Ideas for Your Paper

Introduction

Good writing requires good ideas—intriguing concepts and analysis that are clearly and compellingly arranged. But good ideas don’t just appear like magic. All writers struggle with figuring out what they are going to say. And while there is no set formula for generating ideas for your writing, there is a wide range of established techniques that can help you get started.

This page contains information about those techniques. Here you’ll find details about specific ways to develop thoughts and foster inspiration. While many writers employ one or two of these strategies at the beginning of their writing processes in order to come up with their overall topic or argument, these techniques can also be used any time you’re trying to figure out how to effectively achieve any of your writing goals or even just when you’re not sure what to say next.

What is Invention?

Where do ideas come from? This is a high-level question worthy of a fascinating TED Talk or a Smithsonian article , but it also represents one of the primary challenges of writing. How do we figure out WHAT to write?

Even hundreds of years ago, people knew that a text begins with an idea and that locating this idea and determining how to develop it requires work. According to classical understandings of rhetoric, the first step of building an argument is invention. As Roman thinker Cicero argued, people developing arguments “ought first to find out what [they] should say” ( On Oratory and Orators 3.31). Two hundred years before Cicero, the Greek philosopher Aristotle detailed a list of more than two dozen ideas a rhetor might consider when figuring out what to say about a given topic ( On Rhetoric , 2.23). For example, Aristotle suggested that a good place to start is to define your key concepts, to think about how your topic compares to other topics, or to identify its causes and effects. (For ideas about using Aristotle’s advice to generate ideas for your own papers, check out this recommended technique .)

More recently, composition scholar Joseph Harris has identified three values important for writers just starting a project. Writers at early stages in their writing process can benefit from being: Receptive to unexpected connections You never know when something you read or need to write will remind you of that movie you watched last weekend or that anthropology theory you just heard a lecture about or that conversation you had with a member of your lab about some unexpected data you’ve encountered. Sometimes these connections will jump out at you in the moment or you’ll suddenly remember them while you’re vacuuming the living room. Harris validates the importance of “seizing hold of those ideas that do somehow come to you” (102). While you can’t count on these kinds of serendipities, be open to them when they occur. Be ready to stop and jot them down! Patient Harris supports the value of patience and “the usefulness of boredom, of letting ideas percolate” (102). It can take time and long consideration to think of something new. When possible, give yourself plenty of time so that your development of ideas is not stifled by an immediate due date. Compelled by the unknown According to Harris, “a writer often needs to start not from a moment of inspiration ( eureka! ) but from the need to work through a conceptual problem or roadblock. Indeed, I’d suggest that most academic writing begins with such questions rather than insights, with difficulties in understanding rather than moments of mastery” (102). Sometimes a very good place to begin is with what you don’t know, with the questions and curiosities that you genuinely want resolved.

In what follows, we describe ten techniques that you can select from and experiment with to help guide your invention processes. Depending on your writing preferences, context, and audience, you might find some more productive than others. Also, it might be useful to utilize various techniques for different purposes. For example, brainstorming might be great for generating a variety of possible ideas, but looped freewriting might help you develop those ideas. Think of this list as a collection of recommended possibilities to implement at your discretion. However, we think the first technique described below—“Analyzing the Assignment or Task”—is a great starting point for all writers.

Any of these strategies can be useful for generating ideas in connection to any writing assignment. Even if the paper you’re writing has a set structure (e.g., scientific reports’ IMRAD format or some philosophy assignments’ prescribed argumentative sequence), you still have to invent and organize concepts and supporting evidence within each section. Additionally, these techniques can be used at any stage in your writing process. Your ideas change and develop as you write, and sometimes when you’re in the middle of a draft or when you’re embarking on a major revision, you find yourself rethinking key elements of your paper. At these moments, it might be useful to turn to some of these invention techniques as a way to slow down and capture the ephemeral thoughts and possibilities swirling around your writing tasks. These practices can help guide you to new ideas, questions, and connections. No matter what you’re writing or where you are in the process, we encourage you to experiment with invention strategies you may not have tried before. Mix and match. Be as creative and adventurous with how you generate ideas just as you are creative and adventurous with what ideas you generate.

Some Invention Techniques

Analyzing the assignment or task.

What do I do? If you are writing a paper in response to a course instructor’s assignment, be sure to read the prompt carefully while paying particular attention to all of its requirements and expectations. It could be that the assignment is built around a primary question; if so, structure your initial thoughts around possible answers to that question. If it isn’t, use your close consideration of this assignment to recast the prompt as a question.

The following list of questions are ones that you can ask of the assignment in order to understand its focus and purpose as well as to begin developing ideas for how to effectively respond to its intensions. You may want to underline key terms and record your answers to these questions:

When is this due?
How long is supposed to be?
Is the topic given to me?
If I get to choose my topic, are there any stipulations about the kind of topic and I can choose?
What am I expected to do with this topic? Analyze it? Report about it? Make an argument about it? Compare it to something else?
Who is my audience and what does this audience know, believe, and value about my topic?
What is the genre of this writing (i.e., a lab report, a case study, a research paper, a reflection, a scholarship essay, an analysis of a work of literature or a painting, a summary and analysis of a reading, a literature review, etc.), and what does writing in this genre usually look like, consist of, or do?

Why is this technique useful? Reading over the assignment prompt may sound like an obvious starting point, but it is very important that your invention strategies are informed by the expectations your readers have about your writing. For example, you might brainstorm a fascinating thesis about how Jules Verne served as a conceptual progenitor of the nuclear age, but if your assignment is asking you to describe the differences between fission and fusion and provide examples, this great idea won’t be very helpful. Before you let your ideas run free, make sure you fully understand the boundaries and possibilities provided by the assignment prompt.

Additionally, some assignments begin to do the work of invention for you. Instructors sometimes identify specifically what they want you to write about. Sometimes they invite you to choose from several guiding questions or a position to support or refute. Sometimes the genre of the text can help you identify how this kind of assignment should begin or the order your ideas should follow. Knowing this can help you develop your content. Before you start conjuring ideas from scratch, make sure you glean everything you can from the prompt.

Finally, just sitting with the assignment and thinking through its guidelines can sometimes provide inspiration for how to respond to its questions or approach its challenges.

Reading Again

What do I do? When your writing task is centered around analyzing a primary source, information you collected, or another kind of text, start by rereading it. Perhaps you are supposed to develop an argument about an interview you conducted, an article or short story you read, an archived letter you located, or even a painting you viewed or a particular set of data. In order to develop ideas about how to approach this object of analysis, read and analyze this text again. Read it closely. Be prepared to take notes about its interesting features or the questions this second encounter raises. You can find more information about rereading literature to write about it here and specific tips about reading poetry here .

Why is this technique useful? When you first read a text, you gain a general overview. You find out what is happening, why it’s happening, and what the argument is. But when you reread that same text, your attention is freed to attend to the details. Since you know where the text is heading, you can be alert to patterns and anomalies. You can see the broader significance of smaller elements. You can use your developing familiarity with this text to your advantage as you become something of a minor expert whose understanding of this object deepens with each re-read. This expertise and insight can help lead you towards original ideas about this text.

Brainstorming/Listing

What do I do? First, consider your prompt, assignment, or writing concern (see “Analyzing the Assignment or Task”). Then start jotting down or listing all possible ideas for what you might write in response. The goal is to get as many options listed as possible. You may wish to develop sub-lists or put some of your ideas into different categories, but don’t censor or edit yourself. And don’t worry about writing in full sentences. Write down absolutely everything that comes to mind—even preposterous solutions or unrealistic notions. If you’re working on a collaborative project, this might be a process that you conduct with others, something that involves everyone meeting at the same time to call out ideas and write them down so everyone can see them. You might give yourself a set amount of time to develop your lists, or you might stretch out the process across a couple of days so that you can add new ideas to your lists whenever they occur to you.

Why is this technique useful? The idea behind this strategy is to open yourself up to all possibilities because sometimes even the most seemingly off-the-wall idea has, at its core, some productive potential. And sometimes getting to that potential first involves recognizing the outlandish. There is time later in your writing process to think critically about the viability of your options as well as which possibilities effectively respond to the prompt and connect to your audience. But brainstorming or listing sets those considerations aside for a moment and invites you to open your imagination up to all options.

Freewriting

What do I do? Sit down and write about your topic without stopping for a set amount of time (i.e., 5-10 minutes). The goal is to generate a continuous, forward-moving flow of text, to track down all of your thoughts about this topic, as if you are thinking on the page. Even if all you can think is, “I don’t know what to write,” or, “Is this important?” write that down and keep on writing. Repeat the same word or phrase over again if you need to. If you’re writing about an unfamiliar topic, maybe start by writing down everything you know about it and then begin listing questions you have. Write in full sentences or in phrases, whatever helps keep your thoughts flowing. Through this process, don’t worry about errors of any kind or gaps in logic. Don’t stop to reread or revise what you wrote. Let your words follow your thought process wherever it takes you.

Why is this technique useful? The purpose of this technique is to open yourself up to the possibilities of your ideas while establishing a record of what those ideas are. Through the unhindered nature of this open process, you are freed to stumble into interesting options you might not have previously considered.

Invisible Writing

What do I do? In this variation of freewriting, you dim your computer screen so that you can’t see what you’ve written as you type out your thoughts.

Why is this technique useful? This is a particularly useful technique if while you are freewriting you just can’t keep yourself from reviewing, adjusting, or correcting your writing. This technique removes that temptation to revise by eliminating the visual element. By temporarily limiting your ability to see what you’ve written, this forward-focused method can help you keep pursuing thoughts wherever they might go.

Looped Freewriting

What do I do? This is another variation of freewriting. After an initial round of freewriting or invisible writing, go back through what you’ve written and locate one idea, phrase, or sentence that you think is really compelling. Make that the starting point for another round of timed freewriting and see where an uninterrupted stretch of writing starting from that point takes you. After this second round of freewriting, identify a particular part of this new text that stands out to you and make that the opening line for your third round of freewriting. Keep repeating this process as many times as you find productive.

Why is this technique useful? Sometimes this technique is called “mining” because through it writers are able to drill into the productive bedrock of ideas as well as unearth and discover latent possibilities. By identifying and expanding on concepts that you find particularly intriguing, this technique lets you focus your attention on what feels most generative within your freewritten text, allowing you to first narrow in and then elaborate upon those ideas.

Talking with Someone

What do I do? Find a generous and welcoming listener and talk through what you need to write and how you might go about writing it. Start by reading your assignment prompt aloud or just informally explaining what you are thinking about saying or arguing in your paper. Then be open to your listener’s reactions, curiosities, suggestions, and questions. Invite your listener to repeat in his or her own words what you’ve been saying so that you can hear how someone else is understanding your ideas. While a friend or classmate might be able to serve in this role, writing center tutors are also excellent interlocutors. If you are a currently enrolled UW-Madison student, you are welcome to make an appointment at our main writing center, stop by one of our satellite locations , or even set up a Virtual Meeting to talk with a tutor about your assignment, ideas, and possible options for further exploration.

Why is this technique useful? Sometimes it’s just useful to hear yourself talk through your ideas. Other times you can gain new insight by listening to someone else’s understanding of or interest in your assignment or topic. A genuinely curious listener can motivate you to think more deeply and to write more effectively.

Reading More

Sometimes course instructors specifically ask that you do your analysis on your own without consulting outside sources. When that is the case, skip this technique and consider implementing one of the others instead.

What do I do? Who else has written about your topic, run the kind of experiments you’ve developed, or made an argument like the one you’re interested in? What did they say about this issue? Do some internet searches for well-cited articles on this concept. Locate a book in the library stacks about this topic and then look at the books that are shelved nearby. Read where your interests lead you. Take notes about things other authors say that you find intriguing, that you have questions about, or that you disagree with. You might be able to use any of these responses to guide your developing paper. (Make sure you also record bibliographic information for any texts you want to incorporate in your paper so that you can correctly cite those authors.)

Why is this technique useful? Exploring what others have written about your topic can be a great way to help you understand this issue more fully. Through reading you can locate support for your ideas and discover arguments you want to refute. Reading about your topic can also be a way of figuring out what motivates you about this issue. Which texts do you want to read more of? Why? Capitalize on and expand upon these interests.

Visualizing Ideas

Mindmapping, clustering, or webbing.

What do I do? This technique is a form of brainstorming or listing that lets you visualize how your ideas function and relate. To make this work, you might want to locate a large space you can write on (like a whiteboard) or download software that lets you easily manipulate and group text, images, and shapes (like Coggle , FreeMind , or MindMapple ). Write down a central idea then identify associated concepts, features, or questions around that idea. If some of those thoughts need expanding, continue this map, cluster, or web in whatever direction is productive. Make lines attaching various ideas. Add and rearrange individual elements or whole subsets as necessary. Use different shapes, sizes, or colors to indicate commonalities, sequences, or relative importance.

Why is this technique useful? This technique allows you to generate ideas while thinking visually about how they function together. As you follow lines of thought, you can see which ideas can be connected, where certain pathways lead, and what the scope of your project might look like. Additionally, by drawing out a map of you may be able to see what elements of your possible paper are underdeveloped and may benefit from more focused brainstorming.

The following sample mindmap illustrates how this invention technique might be used to generate ideas for an environmental science paper about Lake Mendota, the Wisconsin lake just north of UW-Madison. The different branches and connections show how your mind might travel from one idea to the next. It’s important to note, that not all of these ideas would appear in the final draft of this eventual paper. No one is likely to write a paper about all the different nodes and possibilities represented in a mindmap. The best papers focus on a tightly defined question. But this does provide many potential places to begin and refine a paper on this topic. This mindmap was created using shapes and formatting options available through PowerPoint.

Notecarding

What do I do? This technique can be especially useful after you’ve identified a range of possibilities but aren’t sure how they might work together. On individual index cards, post-its, or scraps of paper, write out the ideas, questions, examples, and/or sources you’re interested in utilizing. Find somewhere that you can spread these out and begin organizing them in whatever way might make sense. Maybe group some of them together by subtopic or put them in a sequential order. Set some across from each other as conflicting opposites. Make the easiest organization decisions first so that the more difficult cards can be placed within an established framework. Take a picture or otherwise capture the resulting schemata. Of course, you can also do this same kind of work on a computer through software like Prezi or even on a PowerPoint slide.

Why is this technique useful? This technique furthers the mindmapping/clustering/webbing practice of grouping and visualizing your thoughts. Once ideas have been generated, notecarding invites you to think and rethink about how these ideas relate. This invention strategy allows you to see the big picture of your writing. It also invites you to consider how the details of sections and subsections might connect to each other and the surrounding ideas while giving you a sense of possible sequencing options.

The following example shows what notecarding might look like for a paper being written on the Clean Lakes Alliance—a not-for-profit organization that promotes the improvement of water quality in the bodies of water around Madison, Wisconsin. Key topics, subtopics, and possible articles were brainstormed and written on pieces of paper. These elements were then arranged to identify possible relationships and general organizational structures.

What do I do? Take the ideas, possibilities, sources, and/or examples you’ve generated and write them out in the order of what you might address first, second, third, etc. Use subpoints to subordinate certain ideas under main points. Maybe you want to identify details about what examples or supporting evidence you might use. Maybe you just want to keep your outline elements general. Do whatever is most useful to help you think through the sequence of your ideas. Remember that outlines can and should be revised as you continue to develop and refine your paper’s argument.

Why is this technique useful? This practice functions as a more linear form of notecarding. Additionally, outlines emphasize the sequence and hierarchy of ideas—your main points and subpoints. If you have settled on several key ideas, outlining can help you consider how to best guide your readers through these ideas and their supporting evidence. What do your readers need to understand first? Where might certain examples fit most naturally? These are the kinds of questions that an outline can clarify.

Asking Questions

Topoi questions.

In the introduction, we referenced the list that Aristotle developed of the more than two dozen ideas a person making an argument might use to locate the persuasive possibilities of that argument. Aristotle called these locations for argumentative potential “topoi.” Hundreds of years later, Cicero provided additional advice about the kinds of questions that provide useful fodder for developing arguments. The following list of questions is based on the topoi categories that Aristotle and Cicero recommended.

What do I do? Ask yourself any of these questions regarding your topic and write out your answers as a way of identifying and considering possible venues for exploration. Questions of definition: What is ____? How do we understand what ____ is? What is ____ comprised of?

Questions of comparison: What are other things that ____ is like? What are things that are nothing like ____?

Questions of relationship: What causes ____? What effects does ____ have? What are the consequences of ____?

Questions of circumstances: What has happened with ____ in the past? What has not happened with ____ in the past? What might possibly happen with ____ in the future? What is unlikely to happen with ____ in the future?

Questions of testimony: Who are the experts on ____ and what do they say about it? Who are people who have personal experience with ____ and what do they think about it?

If any of these questions initiates some interesting ideas, ask follow-up questions like, “Why is this the case? How do I know this? How might someone else answer this question differently?”

Why is this technique useful? The questions listed above draw from what both Aristotle and Cicero said about ways to go about inventing ideas. Questions such as these are tried-and-true methods that have guided speakers and writers towards possible arguments for thousands of years.

Journalistic Questions

What do I do? Identify your topic, then write out your answers in response to these questions: Who are the main stakeholders or figures connected to ____? What is ____? Where can we find ____? Where does this happen? When or under what circumstances does ____ occur? Why is ____ an issue? Why does it occur? Why is it important? How does ____ happen?

Why is this technique useful? This line of questioning is designed to make sure that you understand all the basic information about your topic. Traditionally, these are the kinds of questions that journalists ask about an issue that they are preparing to report about. These questions also directly relate to the Dramatistic Pentad developed by literary and rhetorical scholar Kenneth Burke. According to Burke, we can analyze anyone’s motives by considering these five parts of a situation: Act ( what ), Scene ( when and where ), Agent ( who ), Agency ( how ), and Purpose ( why ). By using these questions to identify the key elements of a topic, you may recognize what you find to be most compelling about it, what attracts your interest, and what you want to know more about.

Particle, Wave, Field Questions

One way to start generating ideas is to ask questions about what you’re studying from a variety of perspectives. This particular strategy uses particles, waves, and fields as metaphorical categories through which to develop various questions by thinking of your topic as a static entity (particle), a dynamic process (wave), and an interrelated system (field).

What do I do?

Ask yourself these questions about your issue or topic and write down your responses:

In what ways can this issue be considered a particle, that is, a discrete thing or a static entity?
How is this issue a wave, that is, a moving process?
How is this issue a field, that is, a system of relationships related to other systems?

Why is this technique useful?

This way of looking at an issue was promoted by Young, Becker, and Pike in their classic text Rhetoric: Discovery and Change . The idea behind this heuristic is that anything can be considered a particle, a wave, and a field, and that by thinking of an issue in connection to each of these categories you’ll able to develop the kind of in-depth questions that experts ask about a topic. By identifying the way your topic is a thing in and of itself, an activity, and an interrelated network, you’ll be able to see what aspects of it are the most intriguing, uncertain, or conceptually rich.

The following example takes the previously considered topic—environmental concerns and Lake Mendota—and shows how this could be conceptualized as a particle, a wave, and a field as a way of generating possible writing ideas.

Particle: Consider Lake Mendota and its environmental concerns as they appear in a given moment. What are those concerns right now? What do they look like? Maybe it’s late spring and an unseasonably warm snap has caused a bunch of dead fish to wash up next to the Tenney Lock. Maybe it’s a summer weekend and no one can go swimming off the Terrace because phosphorous-boosted blue-green algae is too prevalent. Pick one, discrete environmental concern and describe it. Wave: Consider environmental concerns related to Lake Mendota as processes that have changed and will change over time. When were the invasive spiny water fleas first discovered in Lake Mendota? Where did they come from? What has been done to respond to the damage they have caused? What else could be proposed to resolve this problem. How is this (or any other environmental concern) a dynamic process? Field: Consider Lake Mendota’s environmental concerns as they relate to a range of disciplines, populations, and priorities. What recent limnology findings would be of interest to ice fishing anglers? How could the work being done on agricultural sustainability connect to the discoveries being made by chemists about the various compounds present in the water? What light could members of the Ho-Chunk nation shed on Lake Mendota’s significance? Think about how environmental and conservation concerns associated with this lake are interconnected across different community members and academic disciplines.

Moving Around

Get away from your desk and your computer screen and do whatever form of movement feels comfortable and natural for you. Get some fresh air, take a walk, go jogging, get on your bike, go for a swim, or do some yoga. There is no correct degree or intensity of movement in this process; just do what you can and what you’re most likely to enjoy. While you’re moving, you may want to zone out and give yourself a strategic break from your writing task. Or you might choose to mull your tentative ideas for your paper over in your mind. But whether you’re hoping to think of something other than your paper or you need to generate a specific idea or resolve a particular writing problem, be prepared to record quickly any ideas that come up. If bringing along paper or a small notebook and a pen is inconvenient, just texting yourself your new idea will do the trick. The objective with this technique is both to distance yourself from your writing concerns and to encourage your mind to build new connections through engaging in physical activity.

Numerous medical studies have found that aerobic exercise increases your body’s concentration of the proteins that help nerves grow in the parts of your brain where learning and higher thinking happens (Huang et al.). Similarly, from their review of the literature about how yoga benefits the brain, Desei et al. conclude that yoga boosts overall brain activity. Which is to say that moving physiologically helps you think.

Dr. Bonnie Smith Whitehouse, an associate professor of English at Belmont University and an alum of UW-Madison’s graduate program in Composition and Rhetoric Program and a former assistant director of Writing Across the Curriculum at UW-Madison, investigates the writerly benefits of walking. She provides a full treatment of how this particular form of movement can productively support writing in her book Afoot and Lighthearted: A Mindful Walking Log . In the following passage, she argues for a connection between creative processes and walking, but much of what she suggests is equally applicable to the beneficial value of other forms of movement.

A walk stimulates creativity after a ramble has concluded, when you find yourself back at your desk, before your easel, or in your studio. In 2014, Stanford University researchers Marily Opprezzo and Daniel L. Schwarz confirmed that walking increases creative ideation in real time (while the walker walkers) and shortly after (when the walker stops and sits down to create). Specifically, they found that walking led to an increase in “analogical creativity” or using analogies to develop creative relationships between things that may not immediately look connected. So when ancient Greek physician Hippocrates famously declared that walking is “the best medicine,” he seems to have had it right. When we walk, blood and oxygen circulate throughout the body’s organs and stimulate the brain. Walking’s magic is in fact threefold: it increases physical activity, boosts creativity, and brings you into the present moment.

Similarly, in her post about writing and jogging for the UW-Madison Writing Center’s blog, Literary Studies PhD student Jessie Gurd has explained:

What running allows me to do is clear my head and empty it of a grad student’s daily anxieties. Listening to music or cicadas or traffic, I can consider one thing at a time and turn it over in my mind. It’s a groove I hit after a couple of miles; I engage with the problem, question, or task I choose and roll with it until my run is over. In this physical-mental space, I sometimes feel like my own writing instructor as I tackle some stage of the writing process: brainstorming, outlining, drafting.

While Bonnie Smith Whitehouse walks as an important part of her writing process and Jessie Gurd runs to write, what intentional movement looks like for you can be adapted according to your interests, preferences, and abilities. Whether it’s strolling, jogging, doing yoga, or participating in some other form of movement, these physical activities allow you to take a purposeful break that can help you concentrate your mind and even generate new conceptual connections.

All aspects of writing require hard work. It takes work to develop organizational strategies, to sequence sentences, and to revise paragraphs. And it takes work to come up with the ideas that will fill these sentences and paragraphs in the first place. But if you feel burdened by the necessity to develop new concepts, the good news is that you’re not the first writer who’s had to begin responding to an assignment from scratch. You are backed by a vast history of other writers’ experiences, a history that has shaped a collective understanding of how to get started. So, use the experience of others to your advantage. Try a couple of these techniques and maybe even develop some other methods of your own and see what new ideas these old strategies can help you generate!

Works Cited

Aristotle. On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse . Edited and translated by George Kennedy, Oxford University Press, 1991.

Burke, Kenneth. A Grammar of Motives . University of California Press, 1969.

Cicero, Marcus Tullius. On Oratory and Orators . Edited and translated by J.S. Watson, Southern Illinois University Press, 1986.

Desai, Radhika, et al. “Effects of Yoga on Brain Waves an Structural activation: A review.” Complementary Therapies in clinical Practice ,vol, 21, no, 2, 2015, pp. 112-118.

Gurd, Jessie. “Writing Offstage.” Another Word , The Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 7 October 2013, https://writing.wisc.edu/blog/writing-offstage/ . Accessed 5 July 2018.

Harris, Joseph. Rewriting: How to Do Things with Texts . Utah State University Press, 2006.

Huang, T. et al. “The Effects of Physical Activity and Exercise on Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Healthy Humans: A Review.” Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports , vol. 24, no. 1, 2013. Wiley Online Library , https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.12069 .

Oppezzo, Marily, and Daniel L. Schwartz. “Give Your Ideas Some Legs: The Positive Effect of Walking on Creative Thinking.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition , vol. 40, no. 4, 2014, pp. 1142-52.

Smith Whitehouse, Bonnie, email message to author, 19 June 2018.

Young, Richard E., Alton L. Becker, and Kenneth L. Pike. Rhetoric: Discovery and Change . Harcourt College Publishing, 1970.

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Example of a great essay | Explanations, tips & tricks

Example of a Great Essay | Explanations, Tips & Tricks

Published on February 9, 2015 by Shane Bryson . Revised on July 23, 2023 by Shona McCombes.

This example guides you through the structure of an essay. It shows how to build an effective introduction , focused paragraphs , clear transitions between ideas, and a strong conclusion .

Each paragraph addresses a single central point, introduced by a topic sentence , and each point is directly related to the thesis statement .

As you read, hover over the highlighted parts to learn what they do and why they work.

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Other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about writing an essay, an appeal to the senses: the development of the braille system in nineteenth-century france.

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

In France, debates about how to deal with disability led to the adoption of different strategies over time. While people with temporary difficulties were able to access public welfare, the most common response to people with long-term disabilities, such as hearing or vision loss, was to group them together in institutions (Tombs, 1996). At first, a joint institute for the blind and deaf was created, and although the partnership was motivated more by financial considerations than by the well-being of the residents, the institute aimed to help people develop skills valuable to society (Weygand, 2009). Eventually blind institutions were separated from deaf institutions, and the focus shifted towards education of the blind, as was the case for the Royal Institute for Blind Youth, which Louis Braille attended (Jimenez et al, 2009). The growing acknowledgement of the uniqueness of different disabilities led to more targeted education strategies, fostering an environment in which the benefits of a specifically blind education could be more widely recognized.

Several different systems of tactile reading can be seen as forerunners to the method Louis Braille developed, but these systems were all developed based on the sighted system. The Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris taught the students to read embossed roman letters, a method created by the school’s founder, Valentin Hauy (Jimenez et al., 2009). Reading this way proved to be a rather arduous task, as the letters were difficult to distinguish by touch. The embossed letter method was based on the reading system of sighted people, with minimal adaptation for those with vision loss. As a result, this method did not gain significant success among blind students.

Louis Braille was bound to be influenced by his school’s founder, but the most influential pre-Braille tactile reading system was Charles Barbier’s night writing. A soldier in Napoleon’s army, Barbier developed a system in 1819 that used 12 dots with a five line musical staff (Kersten, 1997). His intention was to develop a system that would allow the military to communicate at night without the need for light (Herron, 2009). The code developed by Barbier was phonetic (Jimenez et al., 2009); in other words, the code was designed for sighted people and was based on the sounds of words, not on an actual alphabet. Barbier discovered that variants of raised dots within a square were the easiest method of reading by touch (Jimenez et al., 2009). This system proved effective for the transmission of short messages between military personnel, but the symbols were too large for the fingertip, greatly reducing the speed at which a message could be read (Herron, 2009). For this reason, it was unsuitable for daily use and was not widely adopted in the blind community.

Nevertheless, Barbier’s military dot system was more efficient than Hauy’s embossed letters, and it provided the framework within which Louis Braille developed his method. Barbier’s system, with its dashes and dots, could form over 4000 combinations (Jimenez et al., 2009). Compared to the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, this was an absurdly high number. Braille kept the raised dot form, but developed a more manageable system that would reflect the sighted alphabet. He replaced Barbier’s dashes and dots with just six dots in a rectangular configuration (Jimenez et al., 2009). The result was that the blind population in France had a tactile reading system using dots (like Barbier’s) that was based on the structure of the sighted alphabet (like Hauy’s); crucially, this system was the first developed specifically for the purposes of the blind.

While the Braille system gained immediate popularity with the blind students at the Institute in Paris, it had to gain acceptance among the sighted before its adoption throughout France. This support was necessary because sighted teachers and leaders had ultimate control over the propagation of Braille resources. Many of the teachers at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth resisted learning Braille’s system because they found the tactile method of reading difficult to learn (Bullock & Galst, 2009). This resistance was symptomatic of the prevalent attitude that the blind population had to adapt to the sighted world rather than develop their own tools and methods. Over time, however, with the increasing impetus to make social contribution possible for all, teachers began to appreciate the usefulness of Braille’s system (Bullock & Galst, 2009), realizing that access to reading could help improve the productivity and integration of people with vision loss. It took approximately 30 years, but the French government eventually approved the Braille system, and it was established throughout the country (Bullock & Galst, 2009).

Although Blind people remained marginalized throughout the nineteenth century, the Braille system granted them growing opportunities for social participation. Most obviously, Braille allowed people with vision loss to read the same alphabet used by sighted people (Bullock & Galst, 2009), allowing them to participate in certain cultural experiences previously unavailable to them. Written works, such as books and poetry, had previously been inaccessible to the blind population without the aid of a reader, limiting their autonomy. As books began to be distributed in Braille, this barrier was reduced, enabling people with vision loss to access information autonomously. The closing of the gap between the abilities of blind and the sighted contributed to a gradual shift in blind people’s status, lessening the cultural perception of the blind as essentially different and facilitating greater social integration.

The Braille system also had important cultural effects beyond the sphere of written culture. Its invention later led to the development of a music notation system for the blind, although Louis Braille did not develop this system himself (Jimenez, et al., 2009). This development helped remove a cultural obstacle that had been introduced by the popularization of written musical notation in the early 1500s. While music had previously been an arena in which the blind could participate on equal footing, the transition from memory-based performance to notation-based performance meant that blind musicians were no longer able to compete with sighted musicians (Kersten, 1997). As a result, a tactile musical notation system became necessary for professional equality between blind and sighted musicians (Kersten, 1997).

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

Bullock, J. D., & Galst, J. M. (2009). The Story of Louis Braille. Archives of Ophthalmology , 127(11), 1532. https://doi.org/10.1001/archophthalmol.2009.286.

Herron, M. (2009, May 6). Blind visionary. Retrieved from https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2009/05/blind-visionary/.

Jiménez, J., Olea, J., Torres, J., Alonso, I., Harder, D., & Fischer, K. (2009). Biography of Louis Braille and Invention of the Braille Alphabet. Survey of Ophthalmology , 54(1), 142–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.survophthal.2008.10.006.

Kersten, F.G. (1997). The history and development of Braille music methodology. The Bulletin of Historical Research in Music Education , 18(2). Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/40214926.

Mellor, C.M. (2006). Louis Braille: A touch of genius . Boston: National Braille Press.

Tombs, R. (1996). France: 1814-1914 . London: Pearson Education Ltd.

Weygand, Z. (2009). The blind in French society from the Middle Ages to the century of Louis Braille . Stanford: Stanford University Press.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

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If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Bryson, S. (2023, July 23). Example of a Great Essay | Explanations, Tips & Tricks. Scribbr. Retrieved April 1, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/example-essay-structure/

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The War at Stanford

I didn’t know that college would be a factory of unreason.

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ne of the section leaders for my computer-science class, Hamza El Boudali, believes that President Joe Biden should be killed. “I’m not calling for a civilian to do it, but I think a military should,” the 23-year-old Stanford University student told a small group of protesters last month. “I’d be happy if Biden was dead.” He thinks that Stanford is complicit in what he calls the genocide of Palestinians, and that Biden is not only complicit but responsible for it. “I’m not calling for a vigilante to do it,” he later clarified, “but I’m saying he is guilty of mass murder and should be treated in the same way that a terrorist with darker skin would be (and we all know terrorists with dark skin are typically bombed and drone striked by American planes).” El Boudali has also said that he believes that Hamas’s October 7 attack was a justifiable act of resistance, and that he would actually prefer Hamas rule America in place of its current government (though he clarified later that he “doesn’t mean Hamas is perfect”). When you ask him what his cause is, he answers: “Peace.”

I switched to a different computer-science section.

Israel is 7,500 miles away from Stanford’s campus, where I am a sophomore. But the Hamas invasion and the Israeli counterinvasion have fractured my university, a place typically less focused on geopolitics than on venture-capital funding for the latest dorm-based tech start-up. Few students would call for Biden’s head—I think—but many of the same young people who say they want peace in Gaza don’t seem to realize that they are in fact advocating for violence. Extremism has swept through classrooms and dorms, and it is becoming normal for students to be harassed and intimidated for their faith, heritage, or appearance—they have been called perpetrators of genocide for wearing kippahs, and accused of supporting terrorism for wearing keffiyehs. The extremism and anti-Semitism at Ivy League universities on the East Coast have attracted so much media and congressional attention that two Ivy presidents have lost their jobs. But few people seem to have noticed the culture war that has taken over our California campus.

For four months, two rival groups of protesters, separated by a narrow bike path, faced off on Stanford’s palm-covered grounds. The “Sit-In to Stop Genocide” encampment was erected by students in mid-October, even before Israeli troops had crossed into Gaza, to demand that the university divest from Israel and condemn its behavior. Posters were hung equating Hamas with Ukraine and Nelson Mandela. Across from the sit-in, a rival group of pro-Israel students eventually set up the “Blue and White Tent” to provide, as one activist put it, a “safe space” to “be a proud Jew on campus.” Soon it became the center of its own cluster of tents, with photos of Hamas’s victims sitting opposite the rubble-ridden images of Gaza and a long (and incomplete) list of the names of slain Palestinians displayed by the students at the sit-in.

Some days the dueling encampments would host only a few people each, but on a sunny weekday afternoon, there could be dozens. Most of the time, the groups tolerated each other. But not always. Students on both sides were reportedly spit on and yelled at, and had their belongings destroyed. (The perpetrators in many cases seemed to be adults who weren’t affiliated with Stanford, a security guard told me.) The university put in place round-the-clock security, but when something actually happened, no one quite knew what to do.

Conor Friedersdorf: How October 7 changed America’s free speech culture

Stanford has a policy barring overnight camping, but for months didn’t enforce it, “out of a desire to support the peaceful expression of free speech in the ways that students choose to exercise that expression”—and, the administration told alumni, because the university feared that confronting the students would only make the conflict worse. When the school finally said the tents had to go last month, enormous protests against the university administration, and against Israel, followed.

“We don’t want no two states! We want all of ’48!” students chanted, a slogan advocating that Israel be dismantled and replaced by a single Arab nation. Palestinian flags flew alongside bright “Welcome!” banners left over from new-student orientation. A young woman gave a speech that seemed to capture the sense of urgency and power that so many students here feel. “We are Stanford University!” she shouted. “We control things!”

“W e’ve had protests in the past,” Richard Saller, the university’s interim president, told me in November—about the environment, and apartheid, and Vietnam. But they didn’t pit “students against each other” the way that this conflict has.

I’ve spoken with Saller, a scholar of Roman history, a few times over the past six months in my capacity as a student journalist. We first met in September, a few weeks into his tenure. His predecessor, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, had resigned as president after my reporting for The Stanford Daily exposed misconduct in his academic research. (Tessier-Lavigne had failed to retract papers with faked data over the course of 20 years. In his resignation statement , he denied allegations of fraud and misconduct; a Stanford investigation determined that he had not personally manipulated data or ordered any manipulation but that he had repeatedly “failed to decisively and forthrightly correct mistakes” from his lab.)

In that first conversation, Saller told me that everyone was “eager to move on” from the Tessier-Lavigne scandal. He was cheerful and upbeat. He knew he wasn’t staying in the job long; he hadn’t even bothered to move into the recently vacated presidential manor. In any case, campus, at that time, was serene. Then, a week later, came October 7.

The attack was as clear a litmus test as one could imagine for the Middle East conflict. Hamas insurgents raided homes and a music festival with the goal of slaughtering as many civilians as possible. Some victims were raped and mutilated, several independent investigations found. Hundreds of hostages were taken into Gaza and many have been tortured.

This, of course, was bad. Saying this was bad does not negate or marginalize the abuses and suffering Palestinians have experienced in Gaza and elsewhere. Everyone, of every ideology, should be able to say that this was bad. But much of this campus failed that simple test.

Two days after the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Stanford released milquetoast statements marking the “moment of intense emotion” and declaring “deep concern” over “the crisis in Israel and Palestine.” The official statements did not use the words Hamas or violence .

The absence of a clear institutional response led some teachers to take matters into their own hands. During a mandatory freshman seminar on October 10, a lecturer named Ameer Loggins tossed out his lesson plan to tell students that the actions of the Palestinian “military force” had been justified, that Israelis were colonizers, and that the Holocaust had been overemphasized, according to interviews I conducted with students in the class. Loggins then asked the Jewish students to identify themselves. He instructed one of them to “stand up, face the window, and he kind of kicked away his chair,” a witness told me. Loggins described this as an effort to demonstrate Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. (Loggins did not reply to a request for comment; a spokesperson for Stanford said that there were “different recollections of the details regarding what happened” in the class.)

“We’re only in our third week of college, and we’re afraid to be here,” three students in the class wrote in an email that night to administrators. “This isn’t what Stanford was supposed to be.” The class Loggins taught is called COLLEGE, short for “Civic, Liberal, and Global Education,” and it is billed as an effort to develop “the skills that empower and enable us to live together.”

Loggins was suspended from teaching duties and an investigation was opened; this angered pro-Palestine activists, who organized a petition that garnered more than 1,700 signatures contesting the suspension. A pamphlet from the petitioners argued that Loggins’s behavior had not been out of bounds.

The day after the class, Stanford put out a statement written by Saller and Jenny Martinez, the university provost, more forcefully condemning the Hamas attack. Immediately, this new statement generated backlash.

Pro-Palestine activists complained about it during an event held the same day, the first of several “teach-ins” about the conflict. Students gathered in one of Stanford’s dorms to “bear witness to the struggles of decolonization.” The grievances and pain shared by Palestinian students were real. They told of discrimination and violence, of frightened family members subjected to harsh conditions. But the most raucous reaction from the crowd was in response to a young woman who said, “You ask us, do we condemn Hamas? Fuck you!” She added that she was “so proud of my resistance.”

David Palumbo-Liu, a professor of comparative literature with a focus on postcolonial studies, also spoke at the teach-in, explaining to the crowd that “European settlers” had come to “replace” Palestine’s “native population.”

Palumbo-Liu is known as an intelligent and supportive professor, and is popular among students, who call him by his initials, DPL. I wanted to ask him about his involvement in the teach-in, so we met one day in a café a few hundred feet away from the tents. I asked if he could elaborate on what he’d said at the event about Palestine’s native population. He was happy to expand: This was “one of those discussions that could go on forever. Like, who is actually native? At what point does nativism lapse, right? Well, you haven’t been native for X number of years, so …” In the end, he said, “you have two people who both feel they have a claim to the land,” and “they have to live together. Both sides have to cede something.”

The struggle at Stanford, he told me, “is to find a way in which open discussions can be had that allow people to disagree.” It’s true that Stanford has utterly failed in its efforts to encourage productive dialogue. But I still found it hard to reconcile DPL’s words with his public statements on Israel, which he’d recently said on Facebook should be “the most hated nation in the world.” He also wrote: “When Zionists say they don’t feel ‘safe’ on campus, I’ve come to see that as they no longer feel immune to criticism of Israel.” He continued: “Well as the saying goes, get used to it.”

Z ionists, and indeed Jewish students of all political beliefs, have been given good reason to fear for their safety. They’ve been followed, harassed, and called derogatory racial epithets. At least one was told he was a “dirty Jew.” At least twice, mezuzahs have been ripped from students’ doors, and swastikas have been drawn in dorms. Arab and Muslim students also face alarming threats. The computer-science section leader, El Boudali, a pro-Palestine activist, told me he felt “safe personally,” but knew others who did not: “Some people have reported feeling like they’re followed, especially women who wear the hijab.”

In a remarkably short period of time, aggression and abuse have become commonplace, an accepted part of campus activism. In January, Jewish students organized an event dedicated to ameliorating anti-Semitism. It marked one of Saller’s first public appearances in the new year. Its topic seemed uncontroversial, and I thought it would generate little backlash.

Protests began before the panel discussion even started, with activists lining the stairs leading to the auditorium. During the event they drowned out the panelists, one of whom was Israel’s special envoy for combatting anti-Semitism, by demanding a cease-fire. After participants began cycling out into the dark, things got ugly.

Activists, their faces covered by keffiyehs or medical masks, confronted attendees. “Go back to Brooklyn!” a young woman shouted at Jewish students. One protester, who emerged as the leader of the group, said that she and her compatriots would “take all of your places and ensure Israel falls.” She told attendees to get “off our fucking campus” and launched into conspiracy theories about Jews being involved in “child trafficking.” As a rabbi tried to leave the event, protesters pursued him, chanting, “There is only one solution! Intifada revolution!”

At one point, some members of the group turned on a few Stanford employees, including another rabbi, an imam, and a chaplain, telling them, “We know your names and we know where you work.” The ringleader added: “And we’ll soon find out where you live.” The religious leaders formed a protective barrier in front of the Jewish students. The rabbi and the imam appeared to be crying.

scenes from student protest; row of tents at Stanford

S aller avoided the protest by leaving through another door. Early that morning, his private residence had been vandalized. Protesters frequently tell him he “can’t hide” and shout him down. “We charge you with genocide!” they chant, demanding that Stanford divest from Israel. (When asked whether Stanford actually invested in Israel, a spokesperson replied that, beyond small exposures from passive funds that track indexes such as the S&P 500, the university’s endowment “has no direct holdings in Israeli companies, or direct holdings in defense contractors.”)

When the university finally said the protest tents had to be removed, students responded by accusing Saller of suppressing their right to free speech. This is probably the last charge he expected to face. Saller once served as provost at the University of Chicago, which is known for holding itself to a position of strict institutional neutrality so that its students can freely explore ideas for themselves. Saller has a lifelong belief in First Amendment rights. But that conviction in impartial college governance does not align with Stanford’s behavior in recent years. Despite the fact that many students seemed largely uninterested in the headlines before this year, Stanford’s administrative leadership has often taken positions on political issues and events, such as the Paris climate conference and the murder of George Floyd. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Stanford’s Hoover Tower was lit up in blue and yellow, and the school released a statement in solidarity.

Thomas Chatterton Williams: Let the activists have their loathsome rallies

When we first met, a week before October 7, I asked Saller about this. Did Stanford have a moral duty to denounce the war in Ukraine, for example, or the ethnic cleansing of Uyghur Muslims in China? “On international political issues, no,” he said. “That’s not a responsibility for the university as a whole, as an institution.”

But when Saller tried to apply his convictions on neutrality for the first time as president, dozens of faculty members condemned the response, many pro-Israel alumni were outraged, donors had private discussions about pulling funding, and an Israeli university sent an open letter to Saller and Martinez saying, “Stanford’s administration has failed us.” The initial statement had tried to make clear that the school’s policy was not Israel-specific: It noted that the university would not take a position on the turmoil in Nagorno-Karabakh (where Armenians are undergoing ethnic cleansing) either. But the message didn’t get through.

Saller had to beat an awkward retreat or risk the exact sort of public humiliation that he, as caretaker president, had presumably been hired to avoid. He came up with a compromise that landed somewhere in the middle: an unequivocal condemnation of Hamas’s “intolerable atrocities” paired with a statement making clear that Stanford would commit to institutional neutrality going forward.

“The events in Israel and Gaza this week have affected and engaged large numbers of students on our campus in ways that many other events have not,” the statement read. “This is why we feel compelled to both address the impact of these events on our campus and to explain why our general policy of not issuing statements about news events not directly connected to campus has limited the breadth of our comments thus far, and why you should not expect frequent commentary from us in the future.”

I asked Saller why he had changed tack on Israel and not on Nagorno-Karabakh. “We don’t feel as if we should be making statements on every war crime and atrocity,” he told me. This felt like a statement in and of itself.

In making such decisions, Saller works closely with Martinez, Stanford’s provost. I happened to interview her, too, a few days before October 7, not long after she’d been appointed. When I asked about her hopes for the job, she said that a “priority is ensuring an environment in which free speech and academic freedom are preserved.”

We talked about the so-called Leonard Law—a provision unique to California that requires private universities to be governed by the same First Amendment protections as public ones. This restricts what Stanford can do in terms of penalizing speech, putting it in a stricter bind than Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, or any of the other elite private institutions that have more latitude to set the standards for their campus (whether or not they have done so).

So I was surprised when, in December, the university announced that abstract calls for genocide “clearly violate Stanford’s Fundamental Standard, the code of conduct for all students at the university.” The statement was a response to the outrage following the congressional testimony of three university presidents—outrage that eventually led to the resignation of two of them, Harvard’s Claudine Gay and Penn’s Liz Magill. Gay and Magill, who had both previously held positions at Stanford, did not commit to punishing calls for the genocide of Jews.

Experts told me that Stanford’s policy is impossible to enforce—and Saller himself acknowledged as much in our March interview.

“Liz Magill is a good friend,” Saller told me, adding, “Having watched what happened at Harvard and Penn, it seemed prudent” to publicly state that Stanford rejected calls for genocide. But saying that those calls violate the code of conduct “is not the same thing as to say that we could actually punish it.”

Stanford’s leaders seem to be trying their best while adapting to the situation in real time. But the muddled messaging has created a policy of neutrality that does not feel neutral at all.

When we met back in November, I tried to get Saller to open up about his experience running an institution in turmoil. What’s it like to know that so many students seem to believe that he—a mild-mannered 71-year-old classicist who swing-dances with his anthropologist wife—is a warmonger? Saller was more candid than I expected—perhaps more candid than any prominent university president has been yet. We sat in the same conference room as we had in September. The weather hadn’t really changed. Yet I felt like I was sitting in front of a different person. He was hunched over and looked exhausted, and his voice broke when he talked about the loss of life in Gaza and Israel and “the fact that we’re caught up in it.” A capable administrator with decades of experience, Saller seemed almost at a loss. “It’s been a kind of roller coaster, to be honest.”

He said he hadn’t anticipated the deluge of the emails “blaming me for lack of moral courage.” Anything the university says seems bound to be wrong: “If I say that our position is that we grieve over the loss of innocent lives, that in itself will draw some hostile reactions.”

“I find that really difficult to navigate,” he said with a sigh.

By March, it seemed that his views had solidified. He said he knew he was “a target,” but he was not going to be pushed into issuing any more statements. The continuing crisis seems to have granted him new insight. “I am certain that whatever I say will not have any material effect on the war in Gaza.” It’s hard to argue with that.

P eople tend to blame the campus wars on two villains: dithering administrators and radical student activists. But colleges have always had dithering administrators and radical student activists. To my mind, it’s the average students who have changed.

Elite universities attract a certain kind of student: the overachieving striver who has won all the right accolades for all the right activities. Is it such a surprise that the kids who are trained in the constant pursuit of perfect scores think they have to look at the world like a series of multiple-choice questions, with clearly right or wrong answers? Or that they think they can gamify a political cause in the same way they ace a standardized test?

Everyone knows that the only reliable way to get into a school like Stanford is to be really good at looking really good. Now that they’re here, students know that one easy way to keep looking good is to side with the majority of protesters, and condemn Israel.

It’s not that there isn’t real anger and anxiety over what is happening in Gaza—there is, and justifiably so. I know that among the protesters are many people who are deeply connected to this issue. But they are not the majority. What really activates the crowds now seems less a principled devotion to Palestine or to pacifism than a desire for collective action, to fit in by embracing the fashionable cause of the moment—as if a centuries-old conflict in which both sides have stolen and killed could ever be a simple matter of right and wrong. In their haste to exhibit moral righteousness, many of the least informed protesters end up being the loudest and most uncompromising.

Today’s students grew up in the Trump era, in which violent rhetoric has become a normal part of political discourse and activism is as easy as reposting an infographic. Many young people have come to feel that being angry is enough to foment change. Furious at the world’s injustices and desperate for a simple way to express that fury, they don’t seem interested in any form of engagement more nuanced than backing a pure protagonist and denouncing an evil enemy. They don’t, always, seem that concerned with the truth.

At the protest last month to prevent the removal of the sit-in, an activist in a pink Women’s March “pussy hat” shouted that no rape was committed by Hamas on October 7. “There hasn’t been proof of these rape accusations,” a student told me in a separate conversation, criticizing the Blue and White Tent for spreading what he considered to be misinformation about sexual violence. (In March, a United Nations report found “reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence,” including “rape and gang rape,” occurred in multiple locations on October 7, as well as “clear and convincing information” on the “rape and sexualized torture” of hostages.) “The level of propaganda” surrounding Hamas, he told me, “is just unbelievable.”

The real story at Stanford is not about the malicious actors who endorse sexual assault and murder as forms of resistance, but about those who passively enable them because they believe their side can do no wrong. You don’t have to understand what you’re arguing for in order to argue for it. You don’t have to be able to name the river or the sea under discussion to chant “From the river to the sea.” This kind of obliviousness explains how one of my friends, a gay activist, can justify Hamas’s actions, even though it would have the two of us—an outspoken queer person and a Jewish reporter—killed in a heartbeat. A similar mentality can exist on the other side: I have heard students insist on the absolute righteousness of Israel yet seem uninterested in learning anything about what life is like in Gaza.

I’m familiar with the pull of achievement culture—after all, I’m a product of the same system. I fell in love with Stanford as a 7-year-old, lying on the floor of an East Coast library and picturing all the cool technology those West Coast geniuses were dreaming up. I cried when I was accepted; I spent the next few months scrolling through the course catalog, giddy with anticipation. I wanted to learn everything.

I learned more than I expected. Within my first week here, someone asked me: “Why are all Jews so rich?” In 2016, when Stanford’s undergraduate senate had debated a resolution against anti-Semitism, one of its members argued that the idea of “Jews controlling the media, economy, government, and other societal institutions” represented “a very valid discussion.” (He apologized, and the resolution passed.) In my dorm last year, a student discussed being Jewish and awoke the next day to swastikas and a portrait of Hitler affixed to his door.

David Frum: There is no right to bully and harass

I grew up secularly, with no strong affiliation to Jewish culture. When I found out as a teenager that some of my ancestors had hidden their identity from their children and that dozens of my relatives had died in the Holocaust (something no living member of my family had known), I felt the barest tremor of identity. After I saw so many people I know cheering after October 7, I felt something stronger stir. I know others have experienced something similar. Even a professor texted me to say that she felt Jewish in a way she never had before.

But my frustration with the conflict on campus has little to do with my own identity. Across the many conversations and hours of formal interviews I conducted for this article, I’ve encountered a persistent anti-intellectual streak. I’ve watched many of my classmates treat death so cavalierly that they can protest as a pregame to a party. Indeed, two parties at Stanford were reported to the university this fall for allegedly making people say “Fuck Israel” or “Free Palestine” to get in the door. A spokesperson for the university said it was “unable to confirm the facts of what occurred,” but that it had “met with students involved in both parties to make clear that Stanford’s nondiscrimination policy applies to parties.” As a friend emailed me not long ago: “A place that was supposed to be a sanctuary from such unreason has become a factory for it.”

Readers may be tempted to discount the conduct displayed at Stanford. After all, the thinking goes, these are privileged kids doing what they always do: embracing faux-radicalism in college before taking jobs in fintech or consulting. These students, some might say, aren’t representative of America.

And yet they are representative of something: of the conduct many of the most accomplished students in my generation have accepted as tolerable, and what that means for the future of our country. I admire activism. We need people willing to protest what they see as wrong and take on entrenched systems of repression. But we also need to read, learn, discuss, accept the existence of nuance, embrace diversity of thought, and hold our own allies to high standards. More than ever, we need universities to teach young people how to do all of this.

F or so long , Stanford’s physical standoff seemed intractable. Then, in early February, a storm swept in, and the natural world dictated its own conclusion.

Heavy rains flooded campus. For hours, the students battled to save their tents. The sit-in activists used sandbags and anything else they could find to hold back the water—at one point, David Palumbo-Liu, the professor, told me he stood in the lashing downpour to anchor one of the sit-in’s tents with his own body. When the storm hit, many of the Jewish activists had been attending a discussion on anti-Semitism. They raced back and struggled to salvage the Blue and White Tent, but it was too late—the wind had ripped it out of the ground.

The next day, the weary Jewish protesters returned to discover that their space had been taken.

A new collection of tents had been set up by El Boudali, the pro-Palestine activist, and a dozen friends. He said they were there to protest Islamophobia and to teach about Islam and jihad, and that they were a separate entity from the Sit-In to Stop Genocide, though I observed students cycling between the tents. Palestinian flags now flew from the bookstore to the quad.

Administrators told me they’d quickly informed El Boudali and his allies that the space had been reserved by the Jewish advocates, and offered to help move them to a different location. But the protesters told me they had no intention of going. (El Boudali later said that they did not take over the entire space, and would have been “happy to exist side by side, but they wanted to kick us off entirely from that lawn.”)

When it was clear that the area where they’d set up their tents would not be ceded back to the pro-Israel group willingly, Stanford changed course and decided to clear everyone out in one fell swoop. On February 8, school officials ordered all students to vacate the plaza overnight. The university was finally going to enforce its rule prohibiting people from sleeping outside on campus and requiring the removal of belongings from the plaza between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. The order cited the danger posed by the storm as a justification for changing course and, probably hoping to avoid allegations of bias, described the decision as “viewpoint-neutral.”

That didn’t work.

About a week of protests, led by the sit-in organizers, followed. Chants were chanted. More demands for a “river to the sea” solution to the Israel problem were made. A friend boasted to me about her willingness to be arrested. Stanford sent a handful of staff members, who stood near balloons left over from an event earlier in the day. They were there, one of them told me, to “make students feel supported and safe.”

In the end, Saller and Martinez agreed to talk with the leaders of the sit-in about their demands to divest the university and condemn Israel, under the proviso that the activists comply with Stanford’s anti-camping guidelines “regardless of the outcome of discussions.” Eight days after they were first instructed to leave, 120 days after setting up camp, the sit-in protesters slept in their own beds. In defiance of the university’s instructions, they left behind their tents. But sometime in the very early hours of the morning, law-enforcement officers confiscated the structures. The area was cordoned off without any violence and the plaza filled once more with electric skateboards and farmers’ markets.

The conflict continues in its own way. Saller was just shouted down by protesters chanting “No peace on stolen land” at a Family Weekend event, and protesters later displayed an effigy of him covered in blood. Students still feel tense; Saller still seems worried. He told me that the university is planning to change all manner of things—residential-assistant training, new-student orientation, even the acceptance letters that students receive—in hopes of fostering a culture of greater tolerance. But no campus edict or panel discussion can address a problem that is so much bigger than our university.

At one rally last fall, a speaker expressed disillusionment about the power of “peaceful resistance” on college campuses. “What is there left to do but to take up arms?” The crowd cheered as he said Israel must be destroyed. But what would happen to its citizens? I’d prefer to believe that most protesters chanting “Palestine is Arab” and shouting that we must “smash the Zionist settler state” don’t actually think Jews should be killed en masse. But can one truly be so ignorant as to advocate widespread violence in the name of peace?

When the world is rendered in black-and-white—portrayed as a simple fight between colonizer and colonized—the answer is yes. Solutions, by this logic, are absolute: Israel or Palestine, nothing in between. Either you support liberation of the oppressed or you support genocide. Either Stanford is all good or all bad; all in favor of free speech or all authoritarian; all anti-Semitic or all Islamophobic.

At January’s anti-anti-Semitism event, I watched an exchange between a Jewish attendee and a protester from a few feet away. “Are you pro-Palestine?” the protester asked.

“Yes,” the attendee responded, and he went on to describe his disgust with the human-rights abuses Palestinians have faced for years.

“But are you a Zionist?”

“Then we are enemies.”

7 Surefire Signs That ChatGPT Has Written an Essay Revealed

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have revealed the seven telltale signs that a piece of written content was generated by ChatGPT , after carefully analyzing more than 150 essays written by high school students and undergraduates.

They found that ChatGPT loves an Oxford Comma, repeats phrases and spits out tautological statements practically empty of meaning at a much higher frequency than humans.

While the findings are interesting, the sample size is quite small. There's also no guarantee that the linguistic habits and techniques identified couldn’t and wouldn't be used by a human. What’s more, AI content detection tools are largely unreliable; there’s still no way to know for certain that any given written content is AI-generated.

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The 7 Telltale Signs Content is AI-Generated

The researchers at Cambridge analyzed 164 essays written by high school students with four essays written with a helping hand from ChatGPT.

The ChatGPT-assisted essays were generally more information-heavy and had more reflective elements, but the markers at Cambridge found that they lacked the level of comparison and analysis typically found in human-generated content.

According to UK-based publication The Telegraph , which broke the story, the researchers identified seven key indicators of AI content:

Frequent use of Latin root words and “vocabulary above the expected level”
Paragraphs starting with singular words like “however”, and then a comma
Lots of numbered lists with colons
Unnecessary clarificatory language (e.g. “true fact”)
Tautological language (“Lets come together to unite”)
Repetition of the same word or phrase twice
Consistent and frequent use of Oxford commas in sentences

Are There Any Other Ways to Spot ChatGPT Plagiarism?

Yes and no. There are many tools online that claim to be able to detect AI content, but when I tested a wide range of them last year, I found many to be wildly inaccurate.

For instance, OpenAI’s own text classifier – which was eventually shut down because it performed so poorly – was unable to identify that text written by ChatGPT (effectively itself) was AI-generated.

Even Turnitin has been using automated processes to detect plagiarized content in academic work for years, and they’ve also developed a powerful AI content checker. The company has always maintained that verdicts arrived at by their tools should be treated as an indication, not a cast-iron accusation.

“Given that our false positive rate is not zero” Turnitin explains in a blog post discussing its AI content detection capabilities.

“You as the instructor will need to apply your professional judgment, knowledge of your students, and the specific context surrounding the assignment”.

None of these tools are infallible – and worse still, many of the free ones you’ll find lurking at the top of the Google Search results are completely and utterly useless.

Is It Wrong to Use AI for School or College Work?

While asking AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini to write you an essay isn’t quite “plagiarism” in the same way copying content written by other people and passing it off as your own is, it’s certainly not advised.

Whether it’s objectively plagiarism or not is likely irrelevant – the educational institution you’re enrolled in has probably created guidelines explicitly banning generative AI. Many universities have already taken a similar approach to peer review and other academic processes.

Besides, the whole point of writing an essay is to consider the range of ideas and views on the topic you’re writing about and evaluate them using your head. Getting an AI to do it for you defeats the whole point of writing the essay in the first place.

Our advice – considering the consequences of being accused of plagiarism while at university – is to stick to the rules. Who knows – you might learn something while you're at it!

We're sorry this article didn't help you today – we welcome feedback, so if there's any way you feel we could improve our content, please email us at [email protected]

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