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Question

I am looking for a topic or topics I can choose from for a Persuasive speech. All the help is welcome.
I appreciate it.

Answer 1

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Persuasive Topics
For help choosing a topic, go to the Choosing a Topic worksheet at the bottom of this page.
Abortion * Acid Rain * Adoption * Advertising * Affirmative Action * An Aging Population * Aids * Alcohol * American Foreign Policy * American History * Animal Rights * Birth Control * Body Art * Business * Capital Punishment * Censorship * Child Abuse * Byron School Referendum * Cloning * Consumerism * Cosmetic Surgery * Crime and Criminals * Discrimination * Divorce * Dress Codes * Driver's License Requirements * Dropouts * Drug Abuse * Drunk Driving * Eating and Food * Education * Elections * Environmental Protection * Euthanasia * Evolution * Foreign Languages * Flu Shots * Gambling * Genetics * Gun Control * Hate Crimes * Health Care and Insurance * High School Graduation Requirements * Holidays * Homeless * Homosexuality * Hunting * Immigration * Land Use * Marijuana * Media * Military * Motorcycles * Music * National Language * Parenting * Police Brutality * Pornography * Premarital Sex * Prescription Drugs * Prisons * Prostitution * Religion * Reproduction * Right to Privacy * Rights of Children and Teenagers * School Year * School Safety * Sex Education * Sex Roles * Smoking * Snowmobiling * Special Education * Sports * Stem Cell Research * Steroids * Street Racing * Suicide * Tanning * Terrorism * Transplants * Video Games * War in Iraq *
Abortion
Should abortion be legal?
Acid Rain
Adoption
Should adoption rulings be reversed (i.e. Baby Richard)?
Should interracial adoption be allowed?
Should single parents or gays be allowed to adopt?
Should adoption records remain sealed?
When is a parent too old to adopt?
Should the orphanage system be reestablished?
Should foreign adoptions be encouraged?
Advertising
Should beer advertising be banned from television?
Affirmative Action
An Aging Population
Will an aging population be harmful to America?
Should Social Security be rescued?
Is the outlook for retirees bleak?
Are nursing homes beneficial?
Aids
Alcohol
Should the health benefits of alcohol be promoted?
Is advertising liquor on television and radio irresponsible?
Do television liquor ads promote underage drinking?
Is Alcoholics Anonymous effective?
Do children of alcoholics benefit from recovery groups?
American Foreign Policy
Should the United States force democracy upon other nations?
Does United States foreign aid harm other nations and/or the U.S.?
Should a permanent UN military force be established?
Should China be condemned as a violator of human rights?
Did the Persian Gulf War weaken the U.S.?
American History
Are women and African Americans treated fairly in American history textbooks?
Was the Salem Witchcraft hysteria caused by a fear of women?
Was the Mexican War an exercise in American imperialism?
Have historians overemphasized the slavery issue as a cause of the Civil War?
Was the New Deal an effective answer to the Great Depression?
Was it necessary to drop the atomic bomb at the end of WWII?
Did the antiwar movement prolong the war in Vietnam?
Was Christopher Columbus a hero?
Animal Rights
Should animals be used for experimentation and research?
Should pets be neutered?
Is eating meat detrimental?
Is hunting animals morally acceptable?
Do zoos preserve endangered species?
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Birth Control
Should condoms be distributed by schools?
What is the truth about RU-486? (Birth control pill)
Body Art
Business
Are CEO's paid too much?
Byron School Referendum
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Capital Punishment
Death Penalty - Yes or No?
Should executions be televised?
Censorship
Can a city ban offensive art?
Should flag burning be banned?
Are stronger child pronography laws needed?
Should hate speech be tolerated?
Should government funding of the arts be restricted?
Are movie ratings effective in curbing violence?
Should video games be censored?
Should internet pornography be censored?
Should television programs be censored?
Child Abuse
Is child testimony in abuse cases generally credible?
Can orphanages be beneficial for needy children?
Is spanking detrimental to children?
Cloning
Is cloning of humans ethical?
Consumerism
Is consumerism killing the earth?
Are Americans becoming too materialistic?
Has the increase of large chain stores such as Walmart been beneficial to consumers and their communities?
Crime and Criminals
Does community-based policing prevent crime?
Should violent juvenile criminals be tried as adults?
Can prison boot camps reform young criminals?
Do victims' rights threaten defendants' rights?
Should tough laws target gangs?
Is juvenile crime a serious problem in the schools?
Does television violence contribute to juvenile crime?
Are curfews effective and constitutional?
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Discrimination
Reverse Discrimination
Is affirmative action unnecessary and divisive?
Are women victims of discrimination in the workplace?
Have middle-class blacks overcome discrimination?
Is Hispanic poverty caused by racism?
Are Asian Americans a model minority?
Divorce
Does divorce help or hurt children?
Should it be more difficult to obtain a divorce?
Dress Codes
Are student dress codes a violation of civil rights?
Do student uniforms affect the culture of a school?
Cosmetic Surgery
Is cosmetic surgery a good or bad thing?
How old should you be to get cosmetic surgery?
Driver's License Requirements
Should school dropouts lose their driver's licenses?
Should the age requirement for driving be raised to 18?
Dropouts
Should students be allowed to dropout from school?
Drug Abuse
Should pregnant addicts be prosecuted?
Should the war on drugs be abandoned?
Should employees be tested for drugs?
Are the D.A.R.E. programs and other anti-drug programs effective?
Should students' lockers and belongings be searched for drugs?
Should student athletes be drug tested?
Drunk Driving
How should drunk drivers be punished?
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Eating and Food
Are Americans eating themselves to death?
Is vegetarianism a healthier way of life?
Is eating meat a moral way of life?
Is milk consumption harmful?
Are vitamin suplements beneficial?
Does our culture support eating disorders?
Education
Should the government offer school vouchers?
Does tenure help or hurt the educational system?
Are teachers paid enough?
Should school start later in the day?
Is it more important to desegregate schools or have neighborhood schools?
Should students be allowed to choose the school they attend?
Should tracking and ability grouping be eliminated?
Is home schooling an effective method of education?
Should we have year-round school?
Elections
What happened in the 2000 Presidential election?
Should the electoral system be replaced?
Environmental Preservation
Is consumerism killing the earth?
Should recycling be required?
Is global warming a serious threat?
Are electric cars a good strategy for reducing air pollution?
Is America's drinking water safe?
Is nuclear power a viable energy source?
Is the EPA effective?
Euthanasia
The case for or against assisted suicide
Do people have the right to die?
Do hospices provide the best care for the dying?
Are living wills beneficial?
Should physician-assisted suicide be legalized?
Evolution vs. Creationism
Should evolution be taught in schools?
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Flu Shots
Are flu shots necessary?
Who's fault is the flu shot shortage?
Foreign Languages
Why is it important to study foreign languages in school?
Gambling
Is compulsive gambling an uncontrollable disease?
Should casino gambling be prohitibed?
Genetics
Should genetically altered foods be sold?
Could genetic screening of embryos harm society?
Will genetically altered animals benefit humankind?
Is DNA fingerprinting reliable?
Gun Control
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Hate Crimes
Should there be special laws against hate crimes?
Should hate speech be tolerated?
Health Care and Insurance
Should the government provide health coverage for everyone?
Has managed care hurt patients' rights?
Should health care be so expensive?
Are mental disorders the same as other diseases and should they be funded equally?
Is plastic surgery safe or necessary?
Are there too many specialist physicians in the health care system?
Is alternative medicine safe and effective?
Can chiropractors help heal many ailments?
Can mental attitude affect biological disease?
High School Graduation Requirements
Should students be required to fulfill community service before graduating?
Should states require a minimum competency test for high school graduation?
Holidays
Should we celebrate Columbus Day? Did he really discover America?
Should we celebrate Halloween?
Can we sing Christmas carols in school?
Homeless
Is the extent of homelessness exaggerated?
Can shelters help the homeless?
Should the homeless be banned from cities?
Homosexuality
Should gays be allowed to marry?
Should gays be allowed in the military?
Should school programs stress the acceptance of homosexuality?
Can sexual orientation be changed?
Is there a biological influence on male homosexuality?
Hunting
Is hunting animals morally acceptable?
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Immigration
Are illegal immigrants harming America?
Should America admit all immigrants?
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Land Use
Are we losing too much farmland to development?
Are wetland regulations fair to property owners?
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Marijuana
Should marijuana be legalized?
Should doctors be able to prescribe marijuana for severely ill patients?
Media
Does the press exploit private tragedy? (Princess Di, John F. Kennedy, Jr., etc.)
Is there too much violence in the media?
Are movie ratings effective in curbing violence?
Does television violence contribute to juvenile crime?
Military and Defense
Should we reinstate the draft?
Should women be allowed to go to war?
Should gays be allowed in the miliary?
Should the U.S. retain a significant nuclear arsenal?
Motorcycles
Should people riding motorcycles be legally required to wear helmets?
Music
Does popular music teach immoral values?
Should Napster be legal?
Why is music and fine arts education so important?
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National Language
Should English be the National Language in the U.S.?
Does bilingual education hold back a student's progress in the U.S.?
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Parenting
Should parents be held accountable for the actions of their children?
Should parents spank their children? (Corporal punishment)
Should male circumcision be commonplace?
Do working mothers harm children?
Does day care harm children?
Police Brutality
Pornography
Are stronger child pornography laws needed?
Does pornography harm children?
Should internet pornography be censored?
Who decides what material is pornographic or not?
Premarital Sex
Prescription Drugs
Should we be able to get prescription drugs from Canada?
Is the FDA reliable and efficient?
Are the drug companies running up the cost of health care?
Prisons
Should prisons rehabilitate criminals?
Do prisons create a criminal personality?
Will building more prisons solve prison overcrowding?
Can prison boot camps reform young criminals?
Prostitution
Should prostitution be legalized?
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Religion
Should women be allowed to be priests?
Should priests be allowed to marry?
Should we be strict about the separation of church and state?
Should the words "under God" be in the Pledge of Alligiance?
Reproduction
How old is too old for a woman to give birth to a child?
What are the rights of a father in an artificial insemination?
Should pregnant mothers who smoke, drink and use drugs be prosecuted?
Is surrogate mothering a valuable service?
Right to Privacy
Is the government infringing on our rights to privacy?
Rights of Children and Teenagers
Should children be allowed to divorce their parents?
Should parents be informed of college students' grades or behavior?
Should students' lockers and belongings be searched for drugs?
Should student athletes be drug tested?
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School Safety
School safety - how much is too much?
Is juvenile crime a serious problem in the schools?
School Year
Should we have year-round school?
Sex Education
Should we have sex education in schools?
Should schools provide condoms?
Can sex education programs prevent teenage pregnancy?
Sex Roles
Is growing up tougher for boys than girls?
Should men and women share domestic responsibilties?
Has women's increased participation in the work force harmed society?
Are women victims of discrimination in the workplace?
Smoking
Should smoking be banned in all restaurants?
Snowmobiling
Special Education
Should disabled children be mainstreamed?
Sports
Should professional athletes be looked at as role models?
Can competitive sports be unhealthy?
Should college athletic programs be reformed?
Has athletes' greed marred professional sports?
Should steroids be banned from sports?
Are professional athletes paid too much?
Stem Cell Research
Steroids
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Street Racing
Should street racing be legalized?
Suicide
Tanning
Should tanning be banned for teenagers?
Terrorism
Transplants
Should we allow people to sell their organs for transplants?
Should humans be allowed to receive animal organ transplants?
Should newborns without brains be used as organ donors?
Video Games
Do violent video games cause violence in people?
Should video games be censored?
War in Iraq
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Choosing a Topic
Choosing a topic is oftentimes the hardest part of writing a paper. Remember, your purpose is to use information you gather to persuade someone to agree with you about something. Do you have a strong opinion about something?
Have you argued with someone about something or read about anything in the news that you either agreed with or disagreed with? List a topic that you have heard people disagree about recently. Write the topic, the controversy, and your opinion below:

Topic:

Controversy:

Opinion:

Another approach is to think of a subject you already know more about or something you're already interested in, such as something you've learned at school, a hobby, sports, friendships or everyday life. Is there anything controversial about the topic? Is there anything unfair about the subject? Are there any laws or rules that are unfair or controversial about the topic?

Interest:

Controversy:

Opinion:

Another way to find a topic is to research something you've always wanted to know more about but didn't have the time to find out about. Are there any controversies or problems you can find out about this topic? Do you have an opinion about it?

Curiosity:

Controversy:

Opinion:

A last way to think of a topic is to list your favorite things. Choose one and develop it into a research idea. Is thre anything controversial about it? Why do you like it? Why don't other people like it?

Favorite thing:

Controversy:

Opinion:

Once you've chosen your topic, be ready to be flexible. Once you've started researching your topic, you may change your opinion, and that's ok. Sometimes we need to get the facts in order to have a good opinion. But remember, you must really believe in what you're talking about in order to have a good persuasive paper or speech.

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Copyright 2001-2004 Susan O'Neil
Last updated 1/27/2005

Answer 2

Find a topic that you're passionate about, and would like others to know about.

For that matter do the above and exercise yourself by taking the opposite side of the issue. Some would say this would help you be more 'tolerant' of others.

Use your imagination, -and skip the obvious crap like save the rain forest. Go with re-designating US state borders, drilling to the center of the earth. The crazier it is and the more persuasive you can be, - I'd think the better.

Answer 3

Nicci, there are many excellent topics to pick from. For example, should Bush pull our troops from overseas? Have we helped or hindered the progress of Democracy over seas? Why are American children obese? How are modern cartoons affecting our children---negatively or positively? Should teens carry cell phones? Hope this helps.

Answer 4

It seems you really like this guy and care about him. Is there a reason his previous gf didn't do anything, does it make him embarrassed bc of the extra attention. I thing what you have is great dont over do it leave some for next year and dont build up his expectations too much.

Answer 5

Why is education and parents failing students?
Why don't teacher's get paid enough, for molding young minds?
Why is teaching a dieing field?

Answer 6

Call me within the next 5 mins & I might be able to help u.!!!

Answer 7

Try righting about the goverment

Answer 8

Speak on the theme of culture, different cultures, stereotypes.