Some students struggle with every step of writing a speech or an essay, from doing research to planning an outline, from writing the introduction through to the conclusion. Other students only struggle with one step: deciding on a topic. Once they have a topic, they can come up with an entire speech or essay with few problems.
So how does a student who can't figure out a topic come up with one? Sometimes she'll try exercises on paper to discover an interesting topic. Others will search the internet and find lists of topics. This article covers some potential topics and ways to approach them.
Persuasive Essay and Speech Topics
What makes a persuasive essay or speech different from one of the argumentative kind is that the writer needn't address the other side. So, while there might be another side in opposition to one's chosen topic, the speaker doesn't need to talk about it to be effective.
A persuasive speech or essay also doesn't need to be controversial, but sometimes those types of topics are attention-getters. The point to keep in mind is that a persuasive speech or essay is meant to persuade the listener or reader. It helps if the writer is interested in the topic. Here are a few ideas that students might be interested in:
- Americans should eat less meat and dairy
- No Child Left Behind has left plenty of children behind
- Using video games causes depression and violence
- Why students should (or shouldn't) be allowed to use Wikipedia in school
- The internet should always be free
- Strip mining should be outlawed
- Why it's important to eat organic foods
- Texting while driving should be illegal (or legal)
- Smoking laws violate smokers' rights (or nonsmokers' rights)
- Animal testing should be outlawed
- College textbooks should be included in the cost of tuition
- Why pets should be kept in nursing homes
- Why buy clothing at thrift stores
- Trans fats are bad for people
- Genetic modification of foods should be banned
- Insurance companies shouldn't tell doctors how to treat their patients
- Gay marriage should be legal
- The electoral college should be done away with
- The driving age should be raised (or lowered)
- Why recycling should be mandatory
- Non-violent criminals should not be sentenced to prison
- Why homeschooling kids is great (or not)
There are so many topics that can be made into a persuasive essay or speech. If a student thinks about it, he's probably used persuasion more times in his life than he realizes. A persuasive essay or speech merely makes him hone those skills.
Writing a Persuasive Essay or Speech
Many students will find writing a persuasive speech or essay a lot easier when they have a list of topics to choose from. Once a student has a topic, he then simply needs to map out the points he plans to make in his speech or essay that will help his readers understand his point of view and, perhaps, cause them to be swayed to his side.
Cynthia Jones-Shoeman - Cynthia (“Cindy”) Jones-Shoeman earned her MA in English from Colorado State University in 2007; her thesis was "Toni ...
