101 Persuasive Essay and Speech Topics
By: Mr. Morton
Whether you are a student in need of a persuasive essay topic, or a teacher looking to assign a persuasive essay, this list of 101 persuasive essay topics is a great resource. I taxed my brain to create this huge list of persuasive essay topics relevant to today’s society, but I believe it was worth the effort. Additionally, any of these topics could be applied to a persuasive speech project as well. I appreciate any and all comments or feedback. Thank you for visiting!
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- Should students be allowed to have phones in elementary and high schools?
- Should students have to wear uniforms?
- Should college athletes be paid for playing?
- Should the elderly receive free bus rides?
- Should state colleges be free to attend?
- Should all American citizens have to complete a year of community service?
- Should students be required to take Spanish classes?
- Should marijuana be legal for medicinal purposes?
- Should the voting age be lowered to thirteen?
- Should the driving age be raised to twenty-one?
- Should students be paid for having good grades?
- Should illegal immigrants be allowed to get drivers licenses?
- Should not wearing a seat-belt be illegal?
- Should student’s textbooks be replaced by notebook computers or tablets?
- Should students have to pass a basic skills test to graduate high school?
- Should schools raise money by selling candy and sugary soft drinks to students?
- Should schools serve french-fries and fried potato products to students at lunch?
- Should students’ grades in gym affect their grade point averages?
- Should girls be allowed to play on boys sports teams?
- Should teens be able to buy violent video games?
- Should boys and girls be in separate classes?
- Should teenage girls be allowed to get birth control without the permission of their parents?
- Should our country have free health care?
- Should immigration laws be reformed?
- Should the federal government recognize civil unions?
- Should people who download music and movies illegally be punished?
- Should school athletes have to be on the honor roll to play in games?
- Should music with curse words be allowed at school dances?
- Should public schools begin the day with a silent prayer time?
- Should students be able to listen to music on headphones during study hall?
- Should schools offer fast food options like McDonald’s or Taco Bell?
- Should smoking be allowed at parks and other outdoor public venues?
- Should cities offer free public Wi-Fi?
- Should the government place a tax on junk food and fatty snacks?
- Should the 2nd amendment give citizens the right to own assault weaponry?
- Should people traveling in airplanes have to undergo intensive security screenings?
- Should genetically modified foods be sold with a warning label?
- Should teachers have to pass a basic skills test every ten years to renew their certification?
- Should people be allowed to keep exotic animals like chimpanzees or tigers?
- Should people be allowed to keep pit-bull dogs?
- Should the city offer a bike sharing program?
- Should there be an ordinance citing people who fail to recycle $50?
- Should there be an ordinance citing people who play music too loudly $50?
- Should prostitution be legalized and regulated by the government?
- Should celebrities who break the law face stricter penalties?
- Should the government increase spending on the space program?
- Should larger passengers have to pay for two plane or movie theater tickets?
- Should children have to use booster seats in cars?
- Should people have to get a license to become parents?
- Should there be tougher federal restrictions for content on the internet?
- Should people be allowed to curse on daytime television?
- Should owners be legally accountable for clearing snow from sidewalks on their property?
- Should sexual education be taught in public schools?
- Should students be able to get free condoms at school?
- Should students who commit cyber-bullying be suspended from school?
- Should corporations be allowed to advertise in schools?
- Should students be allowed to eat during class?
- Should more be done to protect and preserve endangered animals?
- Is it appropriate for students and teachers to be friends on Facebook?
- Should students have open campus lunch periods?
- Should abortions be legal?
- Should abortions be legal in cases of rape and incest?
- Should the death penalty be used to punish violent criminals?
- Should students learn about world religions in public schools?
- Should schools start later in the morning?
- Should the USA end overseas military operations?
- Should politicians be allowed to accept campaign contributions from corporate lobbyists?
- Should people with terminal illnesses have the right to doctor assisted suicides?
- Should Puerto Rico become a state?
- Should stem cell researchers be able to use stem cells from aborted babies to cure diseases?
- Should school athletes have to take drug tests?
- Should professional athletes have to take drug tests?
- Should America convert to the metric system?
- Should high school students have to complete community service hours to graduate?
- Should teens over 13 years of age be allowed into R rated movies?
- Should state tests be given in other languages for ESL students?
- Should scientists be allowed to test products intended for human use on animals?
- Should unhealthy fast food products be sold with a warning label?
- Should there be a tariff or tax on products manufactured outside of the country?
- Should students or teachers receive money for scoring well on standardized tests?
- Should everyone under the age of 17 have a 9:00 PM curfew?
- Should schools with low scores on standardized tests be closed?
- Should minors be allowed to drink alcoholic beverages in their homes with their parents’ consent?
- Should students be allowed to drop out before they turn 18 years old?
- Should alcohol manufacturers be allowed to advertise on television?
- Should students as young as fourteen be allowed to hold jobs?
- Should American families have a two child max rule to limit population growth?
- Should children younger than thirteen be allowed to watch MTV or music videos?
- Should people who are caught driving drunk lose their licenses for a year?
- Should students who fail their classes be retained and have to repeat the grade?
- Should large businesses and corporations be required to employ a number of minorities proportionate to the population?
- Should female construction workers earn the same wages as males?
- Should children in temporary living situations with a 3.0 GPA earn free college tuition?
- Should gambling and sports-betting be illegal or should the government regulate it?
- Should children who commit violent crimes be tried as adults?
- Should the government be allowed to detain suspected terrorists without trial?
- Should the government censor internet content deemed inappropriate?
- Should teachers have to wear uniforms or have a dress code?
- Should teachers be allowed to have cell phones in the classroom?
- Should the state execute dogs that have bitten someone?
- Should talking on a phone without a hands-free device while driving be illegal?
These essay topics ought to be enough to get you started.
Looking For Something Else?
How to Write Persuasive Essays
How to Write Narrative Essays
Narrative Essay Topics
Research Paper Topics
Parisgirl27
/ December 7, 2015This was really helpful. I couldn’t think of many topics for my persuasive speech essay and then I found something on here that I could talk about while even adding some of my own personal information. I live with hypoglycemia and have to eat every three hours to regulate my blood sugar. Hypoglycemia is the opposite of diabetes (hyperglycemia) and is low blood sugar. Ever since I was little everyone stared at me while I ate because I was the only one doing so and so I would stop eating and would suffer from my hypoglycemic attacks of shaking, dry heaving, and tiredness. Eating in class would be highly beneficial in my mind because I feel better when I eat and the foods you eat, like gum, can help you to remember things on a test. Like if you chew peppermint gum during a teacher’s lesson and then chewing the same gum during a test, can help you to remember the concept from that lesson. So if you eat the same food, the same trigger can be applied. Although some foods are loud and some have sweet, spicy, or even nauseating scents, this typically isn’t a problem. Most students eat snack foods with very little scent. Apples are one of the strongest snacks I can think of. Other than that, there are things like goldfish, crackers, and granola bars which don’t produce a lot of scent. And I’m so sorry for this long comment (if you do read this) but thank you. This is a topic I feel strongly about. (Also, there can be days and times that teachers can request students not to eat such as the first ten minutes of class or lab days in science.)
Mr. Morton
/ December 7, 2015You definitely have a good reason to eat in class, and it sounds like you’ve got some good points for your essay.
Best wishes and thank you for sharing your ideas and experiences.
Rodio (screen name)
/ November 30, 2015Amazing list. I’ve decided to base my persuasive essay on “Should students be allowed to have cell phones in elementary/high schools?”. I’ve already found many ways to support each argument… I’m having trouble staying creative though, I feel like my text has already been done before… Not enough originally, y’know?
Any advice?
Mr. Morton
/ November 30, 2015Most things have been done before. You’ll just have to do it better if you want to innovate. Nobody’s ever done it exactly the way that you’re going to do it.
Jeremiah
/ November 18, 2015Thankyou this helped
Sarah
/ November 16, 2015Thank you!
64riversong
/ November 11, 2015Thank you soooooooooo much!!!!!!
Random
/ November 4, 2015I love this pleasant website. thx
walace
/ October 4, 2015I want to do a speech in front of the class that is both persuasive and a very funny topic; any ideas?
Sierra Venturella
/ October 1, 2015this is a really helpful website.
elijah
/ September 30, 2015Thx this helped alot.:)
Jaymie
/ September 29, 2015I’m going to do my speech on whether or not if kids should be allowed to have their cell phones during school. I can’t decide if I’m for it or against it. there are good reasons to both. Please help me out, Thanks.
Mr. Morton
/ October 1, 2015Make a T-chart with “pros” on one side and “cons” on the other. Whichever one produces arguments that you are more eager to develop should be the side that you choose. Best wishes!
D$
/ September 24, 2015#94 all I could think of was Pete Rose
Ashley s
/ August 31, 2015I’m doing should students be paid for having good grades
hayley 007
/ August 7, 2015Hi I’m just wondering do you have any sport or environment
thormaline
/ August 4, 2015I am studying education and we are asked to write an essay title that is in line with what I’m studying.
Can you help me?
Mini
/ August 2, 2015What is an argumentative essay?
Mr. Morton
/ March 30, 2017It’s a persuasive essay. You state a position on a topic and support it with a few well-developed arguments.
Jaya
/ June 30, 2015I am doing a persuasive speech on ‘are zoos a force of good or a pain cruel’ so I am against the zoos . can you help me start the introduction . Thanks
Mr. Morton
/ June 30, 2015I don’t write for students, but reading this may help: http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/writing/writing-persuasive-essays/#introductory-paragraphs
Gary Roberts
/ June 7, 2015Do aliens really exist?????!?
Gary Roberts
/ June 7, 2015Sorry I meant they disimproved my results. My apologies Mr. jk! 🙂
You sir are a genius!!!
Dude
/ June 4, 2015This was really awesome,, thanks so much because of this I got the highest grade, Excellence. Many grateful thanks:)
Mr.jk
/ May 31, 2015about eat during classes//shouldn’t students be allowed to eat during classes for many reasons firstly,if all students eat the smells of food mixed and make bad smell. If students eat no body can understand the lesson because they are eating. If students have a quiz they will say we don’t know this point and this lesson and they will get bad mark in the quite so I advise students don’t eat during classes
Gary Roberts
/ June 7, 2015I very strongly agree with you. I remember in my days when we could eat in class and it greatly improved my results. I told my grandson to do this topic based on your argument.
Kahitu Monicah K
/ May 20, 2015Thanks very much for these topics. You made my day as an examiner
Mr.truman
/ May 13, 2015the school should start at 11:00
Mr.Valentin
/ January 26, 2016Same.
Ousna
/ April 27, 2015The “Should female construction workers earn the same wages as males?” debate is absolutely sexist and there should be no debate about that sort of thing. Women should be treated the same way as men. They aren’t useless objects. In fact, if all men killed every woman alive the humans would be extinct unless men could somehow clone people.
matthew
/ April 29, 2015its not the fact of them being treated equal its if they can handle the same amount of work as a man…. and honestly the answer is no
Devon
/ May 5, 2015So if the average male can move bricks faster than the average female, (no sexism, just common knowledge) they should still get the same pay? Regardless of the work they get done due to genetics?
Tyler
/ May 13, 2015Also if every man would be extinct there would be no woman either unless they can clone themselves.
Maya
/ June 11, 2015Therefore meaning that men and women are both equally as important.
Aissata
/ November 13, 2015I know this is like November and you posted that comment in May but even if we were to kill all men women would be able to reproduce. Scientist are finding new ways for women to have babies without the help of men so it is possible for women to clone themselves in a way.
Random
/ June 30, 2015Even if men were somehow able to clone people they would have to start with a baby, which would have to be born from a woman. (Unless men were aw to have children which they aren’t) this is because they would have to clone their DNA they can’t cline the perosn themselves. Let’s say they wanted to clone a 40 year old. The clone wouldn’t automatically come out 40 it would have to steer in the womb.
Noah
/ April 7, 2016ACTUALLY most women in the field of construction shouldn’t be paid as much as a man in the same field. It is a fact than most women cannot physically compete with men doin the same job and mostly, if anything, just slow down the process
Aubrey
/ May 8, 2018I know that this is an older comment, but I just find it funny that everyone arguing with you is a man.
bill
/ April 21, 2015what is a persuasive essay
Mr. Morton
/ April 27, 2015Persuasive Essays
someone
/ February 16, 2016wow, thanks for the help. i was at a major block where thinking for 50 minutes wasn’t enough. thank you for these ideas!!! 😀
Autumn
/ April 20, 2015thanks for the ideas
layne
/ April 14, 2015dogs should not be executed for bitting people
diego
/ February 24, 2016i strongly agree…
Nya
/ March 31, 2015I’m doing, Should boys and girls be in separate classes? Any ideas for my paragraphs? Thank you 😀
Taby Wehry
/ March 31, 2015Thank you so much for all your help. I really found this site really useful. I was stuck wondering what I was going to do for this long speech and so I googled Persuasive essays and your website came across! I can’t thank you enough.
Torrence
/ March 30, 2015Thanks it’s really helpful
char
/ March 23, 2015I am doing should a parent be a childs best friend will this offend people?
Mr. Morton
/ March 27, 2015Maybe: it depends on your position. But, I find that the best persuasive topics are controversial, so don’t be afraid to ruffle a few feathers.
Maria
/ March 12, 2015Thank you for a very helpful list of daily topics!!!!
nevaeh
/ March 9, 2015This site was so helpful. It helped me find some persuasive topics.
Katie
/ March 6, 2015What are the cons of having a pitbull? I have one and he is really sweet
Partik
/ March 4, 2015If I am supporting the topic, what could an example of my thesis statement and Do I need to show the opposing view of the argument in the speech?
CLEnfinger
/ February 27, 2015Thanks for the list; recently re-entered the classroom and didn’t have a lot of my former “lists” and resources. Very helpful!
Ruby
/ March 11, 2015I am doing a essay on “why kids should get pocket money should I be with that or not with that. and please give me some ideas I could add in my presentation. and tell me if I would be able to persuade my audience with that topic if not give me a new one
Partik
/ February 25, 2015I am doing a persuasive speech on “Should Public schools teach world religions?”.
-Should I support it or go against?
-Should I talk about importance of teaching it only or should I talk both about importance and unimportance.
– How would I persuade my audience?
Any help would be highly appreciated.
Mr. Morton
/ March 2, 2015It doesn’t matter to me which side you choose.
Either is defendable, though I think arguing for it would make for an easier case.
Whichever side you choose, focus only on your side of the argument. Do not waiver in your case.
You persuade your audience with logical or emotional arguments.
research
/ October 28, 2015I agree, however as I was taught, you should start with your weakest argument, then continue on with your strongest argument
Mr. Morton
/ October 28, 2015Both approaches have their merit.
Rhea
/ January 9, 2016I think that it should be taught since it’s just education. Maybe not fully taught but students should know the basics about a religion.
christiane cooper
/ February 25, 2015thanks but there should be fashion persuasive topics for some kids and for other people that don’t have fashion
annie
/ February 24, 2015this was so helpful thank you whoever made this
Shayne
/ February 24, 2015This is so educational and cool;)
Philip
/ February 24, 2015Those were some really good ideas
📝📝📝📝📝📝📝📝
Will
/ February 18, 2015WOW great info thanks this helps tons
great for essays highly recommmend
Jenny
/ February 18, 2015WOW! 11 and 9 fascinated me!!! i cannot wait to write about these topics!!!
Tracy Norton
/ February 14, 2015Thank you so much for putting together such an extensive list of topics! I have my 6th graders write persuasive essays each year, in addition to performing debates. I’m always looking for more up to date topics to cover. I will use this list for my srudents, but will delete some of the more advanced topics that are better suited for older students.
Thanks again!
Mr. Morton
/ March 2, 2015I love how you are using it. Best wishes!
makenzie
/ February 9, 2015some awesome topic, I wrote my essay on makeup industries and how they lie to get money. I managed to get 36/40 which is an A3 but I really want an A1 what should I do!!!!!
Mr. Morton
/ March 2, 2015While your metrics are foreign to me, I’m sure that you can improve your writing grade if your teacher allows you to revise your work.
justin
/ February 5, 2015thank u for making this site i got A+ for my speech thanks a lot
Lilya
/ February 4, 2015i liked most of it besides #40 and #100. I used to have a Pit Bull, and yes, i did write an opinion essay about pit bulls. But really? “Should the state execute dogs that have bitten someone?” My dog has bitten me, but not hard. I dont know what you were talking about, like, “Killed people” Or something, but no. Other than that, keep it up! 🙂
Mr. Morton
/ March 2, 2015It is a controversial topic on this site. That’s why I like it. Best wishes!
Jazmine
/ February 3, 2015Awesome! Really helped me pick a topic for my essay!
Drake
/ February 2, 2015there are so many good ones but none that i can use in my rap songs
Arowa
/ January 28, 2015leleelelele…
I got a topic!
THANKS!!!
Linda
/ January 26, 2015AWESOME find! I had been looking for some English resources for a Novel Study and stumbled onto this site. It is AMAZING! Thanks, not only your hard work, but your generosity to put this website up for FREE. Your students are/were very lucky to have such a dedicated teacher 🙂