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Persuasive Essay Ideas

Rujuta Borkar
Persuasive essays aim at persuading the reader into agreeing with your point of view by making valid arguments to support the cause. Here we will give you some persuasive essay ideas that you can use for some effective essay writing.
Persuasive essays. How exactly are they different from any other essay form? What is the pulse of a persuasive essay? The pulse can be understood from the inclusion of the word 'persuasion'. This should make it amply clear that the form has got to do with something that needs convincing and persuading.
You write an essay with the sole purpose of persuading the reader. And for something that has a fixed objective in mind, there needs to be certain acquired writing skills as well. But that apart, the theme or the topic at hand is of foremost importance because it is with this topic that you'll be making a base for your defense.
Thus choosing a good persuasive essay topic becomes really important if you want to make an impression. Here, we will look at some persuasive essay ideas for different age groups.

Ideas for Middle School

When it comes to ideas for persuasive essays for students of this age group, it works best to keep them simple. At this stage in a young student's life, we are just getting him/her started out on the way a persuasive essay should be written. Here are a few examples.
  • Is it important to have pets?
  • Should there be homework?
  • Should the recess time in schools be increased?
  • Should make up and usage of cosmetics be allowed in school?
  • It is very important to provide lessons on etiquette in school.
  • Should children be co-educated?
  • Should the practice of keeping animals in zoos be banned?
  • Should circuses be banned from having animals?

Ideas for High School

At the high school level, we can expect the kids to have acquired an overall understanding of how a persuasive essay should be handled. They have reached a stage where they can argue a point effectively well using their intelligence. Here are some essay ideas that they can use.
  • Should cell phones be allowed in schools?
  • Should uniforms be made compulsory?
  • Has the media and Internet replaced physical activity?
  • Should poultry and other animals which are used for consumption, be fed with growth hormones?
  • Should we be taking actions against preventing extinction of species?
  • Are video games too violent?
  • Is a homemaker given the same respect as one would give someone with a fixed job?
  • Should vocational training be made compulsory in schools?
  • Is it important to have role models?
  • Some song lyrics can promote violence and sexism.
  • Do celebrities make for bad role models?
  • Should chewing gum in class be banned?
  • Should ragging be severely punished?
  • Is practical knowledge or theoretical knowledge more important?
  • We should cultivate our own vegetables.
  • Should people who do not wear helmets and seat belts in two wheelers and cars be fined severely?
  • Should it be made compulsory for HIV positive workers to tell their employers of their status?
  • Are field trips important?

Ideas for College

This is for the pure love of persuasion. Give the students a topic and watch them come up with intelligent pointers and argument points. Here are some essay ideas that will help them out.
  • Is traveling an important medium for personality development?
  • Are co-curricular activities important?
  • Do romance novels and pornographic material provide distorted ideas of what love and sex is to women and men respectively?
  • Is it important to have a sibling or is a single child not affected?
  • Has the society accepted the concept of stay-at-home dads?
  • Is the topic of environmental ethics important?
  • Is it wrong to have beauty pageants for kids?
  • Should processed foods be banned?
  • Is it important to introduce a leave-your-vehicle-at-home day?
  • Romantic love is a delusion.
  • Can flirting with someone be considered as cheating on your girlfriend/boyfriend?
  • Should juveniles be tried as adults?
  • Will live-in relationships replace the institution of marriage?
  • Should wafer thin models be banned form the runway?
  • Humans have become overly dependent on all forms of technology.
  • There will be a third world war in the near future.
  • Is it important to tell the truth or white lies are OK?
  • Colleges do not prepare students for the world of work.
And now that you have some of the widest range of persuasive essay ideas that you can choose from, you can use one that you like and write something that blows them all away. All the best.