200 Persuasive Essay Topics

Attention students and writers! Here are 200 persuasive essay topics to get you writing; if you’re looking for a hot-button issue to tackle in your following persuasive essay, this mega list of 200 controversial topics will get you thinking.

Persuasive essays aim to convince readers of a particular perspective on a topic. Rather than a balanced discussion of both sides, a good persuasive essay will make a strong case for one moral, ethical, political, or practical position. The goal is to use logic, evidence, and rhetorical techniques to help readers embrace a new view or take action.

Below, we have compiled 200 of today’s most fiercely debated issues across disciplines. Scan the list for an idea that inspires you to take a stand. These prompts touch on personal values, science, politics, identities, social norms, technology, law, education, health, ethics, and more.

Consider an angle not covered by mainstream media outlets. Survey friends and strangers to find out which issues they care about. Then, craft an evidence-backed argument to convince even skeptical readers.

A strong, persuasive essay will resonate emotionally through narrative elements while backing claims with qualitative or quantitative data. Structure your thesis logically and appeal to shared values. Be sure to address counterarguments without seeming defensive before circling back to the power of your unique perspective on this complex topic.

Get those pages turning with a hooking introduction addressing why this issue urgently requires attention. Offer fresh solutions and inspire your peers to reconsider assumptions. Most importantly, write from an informed position with honesty, conviction, and clarity.

Now, let’s raise some questions, ruffle some feathers, and change some minds! Here are 200 thought-provoking essay prompts on today’s most divisive debates:

Here are 200 persuasive essay topics:

1. Schools should eliminate standardized testing.
2. Smoking should be banned in all public places.
3. Zoos should be shut down.
4. Social media has a negative impact on mental health.
5. College athletes should be paid.
6. College tuition costs too much and should be lowered.
7. Vaccines should be mandatory.
8. School uniforms should be required.
9. Junk food advertising should be banned.
10. All schools should implement anti-bullying programs.
11. Islands and coastal areas need better protection from rising sea levels.
12. Recycling should be mandatory by law.
13. Gun control laws need to be more strict and regulated.
14. Minimum wage should be raised to help the working poor.
15. Art and music classes are crucial for child development.
16. Fast food restaurants should post nutrition information.
17. Social networks have led to isolation rather than human connection.
18. Local governments should do more to curb littering in public spaces.
19. There should be limits on advertising during children’s programming.
20. All students should receive basic financial education.
21. Pet stores should only be allowed to sell animals from shelters and rescues.
22. All religions should enjoy tax-exempt status.
23. Student loan debt is a major economic crisis that needs solutions.
24. Hollywood perpetuates harmful stereotypes.
25. Celebrities should use social media responsibly and avoid bad influences on youth.
26. Professional athletes are overpaid.
27. Child beauty pageants should be banned.
28. Homework assignments should be banned.
29. Technology makes people waste too much time.
30. Television does more harm than good.
31. Cosmetic animal testing should be illegal.
32. Whaling should remain illegal.
33. The electoral college should be abolished.
34. Chocolate is good for health.
35. Students should not have to wear school uniforms.
36. Adults must do more to curb cyberbullying.
37. Herbal medicine offers just as much healing as modern medicine.
38. Mandatory retirement ages should be abolished.
39. Circuses with live animals should be outlawed.
40. Boxing should be banned.
41. Parents should talk to kids about drugs at a young age.
42. Marijuana should be legalized.
43. The drinking age should be lowered to 18.
44. Assisted suicide should be legal and regulated.
45. Single-use plastics need to be banned globally.
46. Contact sports can be too dangerous for teenage participation.
47. GMOs do more good than harm.
48. Vegan diets provide optimal human health.
49. Abortion rights must be protected.
50. Books have more value than movies adapted from them.
51. Classical art education should be required in schools.
52. Children under 16 should be banned from social media.
53. Prenatal testing should be more widely accessible.
54. Cloning endangered species can save them from extinction.
55. Student evaluations of professors for tenure review create bias and should be abolished.
56. Online privacy is a universal human right and needs more protection.
57. Documentaries have more educational value than fictional films.
58. Hunting purely for sport should be outlawed.
59. Term limits for all politicians would improve governance.
60. High deductible health plans deter people from seeking needed care.
61. University endowments should be taxed if costs are not lowered for families.
62. Factory farming is ethically wrong.
63. Insider trading by members of Congress should be illegal.
64. Internet censorship threatens open debate and truth.
65. Texting while driving should be entirely outlawed across the U.S.
66. For-profit colleges often take advantage of students.
67. Exotic animal markets should be shut down globally to prevent future pandemics.
68. Global governments need to further restrict private space exploration to protect planets for scientific purposes.
69. Military spending priorities are misplaced.
70. Driverless cars will create more harm than good.
71. Standardized creative arts instruction will deprive future generations of innovation.
72. Space exploration budgets should be increased.
73. The news media creates polarization and partisanship.
74. Referendums undermine representative democracy.
75. Ranked choice voting is the most democratic election process.
76. Independent redistricting can reduce political polarization.
77. Campaign finance laws fail to prevent donor corruption.
78. Governments compromise civil liberties too often citing security concerns.
79. Access to clean water is a basic human right.
80. Affordable housing solutions remain insufficient in many major cities.
81. The war on drugs creates more harm than drug use itself.
82. Mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenses are unjust.
83. Freedom of speech should not protect harmful disinformation.
84. Affirmative action remains necessary to promote diversity and equality.
85. Background checks before gun purchases must be universal.
86. Police brutality reforms have failed to prevent discrimination and misconduct.
87. Banning plastic grocery bags better protects wildlife and environments.
88. High-speed rail would modernize U.S. infrastructure.
89. Caps on interest rates prevent predatory lending.
90. The U.S. government spends too much on border enforcement and neglects compassionate immigration reform.
91. Wearable fitness trackers improve individual health choices.
92. Self-driving vehicles will never be flawless and accidents are inevitable.
93. Artificial intelligence poses catastrophic threats if not regulated by international governance.
94. Standardized test scores are a poor indicator of effective teaching.
95. Tuition-free college makes education accessible for all.
96. Reparations should be paid to the descendants of enslaved people.
97. Drug addiction deserves humane treatment instead of punishment.
98. Animal captivity for entertainment is always unethical.
99. Cryptocurrency threatens economic stability.
100. Social media filters promote conformity and undermine self-esteem.
101. All police officers should be required to wear body cameras.
102. Drones pose threats to privacy and security.
103. Testing cosmetics on animals should be illegal.
104. Year-round schooling is more effective than summer breaks.
105. All religions deserve equal protection under separation of church and state.
106. Industrial livestock farms pose great risks to human health and the environment.
107. Space tourism will further income inequality globally.
108. Legal drinking ages should be consistent across all democratic societies.
109. Censorship laws often serve governments over citizens.
110. The rapid acceleration of technology threatens labor markets and economic mobility for working classes.
111. Affordable pharmaceutical access remains out of reach for developing nations in crisis.
112. Social media platforms spread misinformation without accountability.
113. Polarized news coverage undermines balanced voter education on issues.
114. Unpaid internships exploit student labor and block professional access for less privileged groups.
115. Over prescription of pain medication fueled the opioid crisis across economic classes.
116. Eliminating food deserts improves public health in poor communities.
117. For-profit bail systems criminalize poverty and must be reformed.
118. Educational curriculum reform is necessary to encourage critical thinking over rote acceptance.
119. Organic farming is safer and more sustainable than reliance on GMOs and pesticides.
120. Offshore tax havens cost governments essential revenue to address pressing social problems.
121. Standardized education cannot address the needs of neurodiverse minds.
122. Popular entertainment romanticizes dangerous relationships.
123. CEOS earn too much compared to average workers at their companies.
124. Unpaid collegiate athletes deserve fair compensation and benefits.
125. Consumer culture values material possessions over human needs.
126. Reality television rarely reflects daily life and promotes shallow aspirations.
127. Legal reform is necessary to provide transgender people basic human rights.
128. Gerrymandering undermines representative democracy.
129. Social media apps can be too addictive given manipulated algorithms.
130. Fashion advertising promotes unhealthy and unrealistic beauty standards.
131. Standardized testing disadvantages minority and low-income students.
132. Unregulated technology monopolies stifle innovation and competition.
133. Electronic voting systems lack sufficient security against hacking and fraud.
134. Predatory lending solutions remain insufficient to protect military families.
135. Fossil fuel dependence aggravates global climate injustice.
136. Western media thrives on racist caricatures and stereotypes when depicting other cultures.
137. Solitary confinement constitutes torture and should be banned.
138. Government surveillance threatens personal privacy.
139. Voter ID laws often intentionally target marginalized groups.
140. Current libel laws impose unreasonable burdens on press freedom and public figures.
141. Trigger warnings promote valuable discourse around traumatic cultural history.
142. Criminal justice reform depends on abolishing private prisons motivated by profit over ethics.
143. Anti-homeless architecture in urban areas is cruel and exclusionary.
144. Decriminalizing sex work protects vulnerable people from workplace dangers of an unregulated industry.
145. Defunding police forces holds great promise to reduce community violence if combined with strong social services.
146. Affirmative action promotes equitable access to higher education and should be defended.
147. Standardized test scores disadvantage talented minority applicants with fewer preparatory resources.
148. Unpaid prison labor constitutes modern slavery and fuels mass incarceration.
149. Legacy admissions preserve class privileges rather than providing equal opportunities.
150. Mainstream environmental movements often ignore poor communities of color most impacted by pollution.
151. Gentrification destroys community heritage and displaces vulnerable residents.
152. Nonviolent drug offenses deserve public health solutions instead of severe sentencing.
153. Medical misinformation laws often limit patient autonomy and access.
154. Parental leave policies must apply equally to men and women to achieve gender equity at home and work.
155. Expensive cancer drugs often provide little additional survival benefits.
156. Student lunch debt collections criminalize poverty in public education.
157. Civil asset forfeiture incentivizes unchecked seizures by police departments.
158. Felony disenfranchisement laws disproportionately impact minorities.
159. Forced arbitration protects corporations over defrauded individuals unable to join class action lawsuits.
160. Conversion therapy should be strictly prohibited for vulnerable LGBTQ+ youth.
161. Comprehensive immigration reform promises widespread economic benefits.
162. Restorative justice programs work better than punitive policies focused on punishment alone.
163. College athletes need additional health protections and medical coverage for sports injuries.
164. For-profit colleges often exploit vulnerable minority students with dishonest marketing and inferior education services.
165. Unregulated plastic surgery clinics endanger patients.
166. Beloved public library systems require increased funding to serve communities.
167. Abolishing the tipped minimum wage will reduce pay disparities in the restaurant industry, especially for women.
168. Chronic homelessness remains overlooked and underfunded amidst rising inequality in American cities.
169. Stricter fugitive slave clause enforcement perpetuates racism in the prison industrial complex.
170. Tax prep companies like TurboTax manipulate laws against simple IRS filing to profit from poverty.
171. Mandated paid family leave protects new parents and caregivers struggling to balance professional and personal demands.
172. CEO charity gifts allow tax breaks despite being minute fractions of their total wealth and income.
173. The Electoral college creates unequal voting power across states in presidential elections.
174. Ethnic studies programs empower marginalized student identities and improve educational outcomes.
175. True reparations to Black Americans require comprehensive policies addressing persistent economic and social inequities inherited from slavery and institutional racism over generations.
176. Public investment strategies like a Green New Deal promise enormous job growth and sustainable prosperity.
177. Corporate political donations and lobbying divert politicians from prioritizing the public good.
178. Whistleblower protections remain critically necessary but insufficient in both governments and companies.
179. Social security requires increased funding to remain solvent as aging populations retire.
180. Predatory mortgage loans deliberately target racial minority communities.
181. Exploitative noncompetitive agreements limit economic mobility for struggling workers.
182. Civil liberties curtailed by counterterrorism policies institutionalize religious discrimination.
183. Vaccine misinformation and irrational skepticism extend preventable deadly diseases.
184. Tax cuts for the extremely wealthy fail to trickle down or provide broad public benefits.
185. Irrational voucher programs undermine public K-12 education systems.
186. Social media echo chambers divide public consensus on scientific issues like climate change.
187. Asian American discrimination persists in college admissions despite higher test scores and academic achievements.
188. Welfare fraud fears burden vulnerable families in crisis much more than overpayments.
189. Free college tuition expands economic opportunities for talented students locked out based on income alone.
190. Anonymous egg/sperm donor laws deny children rights to critical medical histories.
191. Defective medical devices require stronger pre-market safety testing and post-market surveillance to protect patients from hidden risks.
192. FDA clinical trials rarely emphasize participant diversity or structural inequities allowing dangerous treatment biases against minorities.
193. Charging overhead boarding for essential mobility devices unfairly burdens disabled travelers.
194. Luxury real estate routinely excludes affordable units mandated for equitable development.
195. Public education curriculum lacks sufficient LGBTQ+ representation and inclusion efforts.
196. Homeless LGBTQ+ youth need dedicated shelter services and legal protections from exploitation.
197. Transgender athletes encounter enough youth bullying without blanket sports participation bans rooted in prejudice rather than facts.
198. Conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ people creates severe trauma, especially for involuntary adolescent victims lacking rights to refuse.
199. Companies claiming Pride support engage in hollow branding without meaningful nonprofit partnerships or workplace policy reforms to hire/support LGBTQ+ employees year-round.
200. Same-sex couple adoption rights require legal protections to prevent welfare discrimination against children.

There you have it – 200 controversial essay prompts on issues ranging from education reform to civil rights to technology regulation. With such a vast array of debates currently shaping our social climate, you’re bound to find multiple topics that inspire strong personal convictions worthy of a passionate argument.

Take your time to carefully determine which position to argue after reflecting deeply on both sides. Craft an outline, organizing claims, evidence, and counterarguments before writing a clear, logical essay. Use this opportunity to elevate the discourse with nuanced reasoning instead of reactionary talking points. Structure paragraphs deliberately, interweave relevant anecdotes, and conclude with a resonant call to action.

Regardless of which prompt you choose, research thoroughly and ensure sources are credible experts. And remember – a persuasive essay’s job is not to definitively settle these complex issues but to encourage readers to reexamine assumptions. Your writing could positively impact society by contributing an informed perspective to necessary conversations influencing real-world change if done thoughtfully. We have more writing tips on our site. Leave us a comment if you enjoyed or used this list.