FEEL FREE TO PICK ANY TOPIC TO WRITE ABOUT
General Education Capstone – Week 6 Assignment
Writing a Persuasive Essay
For this assignment, you will research a topic, choose a position, and write a paper that clearly supports one side of the argument, with the intent of challenging or changing a reader’s viewpoint. You will write a 3-5 page paper (not including the title page or references page) with 3-4 references used (paraphrased) to support your points. The aim or purpose of this essay is to clarify your position on your chosen topic/issue, develop that position deeply, and write an essay explaining your opinion in such a way that you challenge your reader to evaluate his or her own position. The underlying goal of the persuasive essay is to persuade the reader to agree with your position, and possibly to change his or her own position on the issue.
Structural requirements:
Questions to address as you write your Persuasive Essay:
List of topics
Select one of the topics below. Choose a side – agree or disagree and support your points with research. If you are passionate about a topic that is not on the list, seek your professor’s approval before moving forward with your paper.
1. Is gun control an effective method of reducing crime?
2. Is death penalty justified?
3. Do you believe euthanasia (assisted suicide) is right?
4. Torture is never justified.
5. Smoking in public places should be banned.
6. Legalization of marijuana in some states is wrong.
7. Production and sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.
8. Cross-cultural marriages contribute to racial tolerance.
9. Single-parent children behavior is different than that of children with both parents.
10. Women are less engaged in criminal activity than men.
11. Young people are predisposed to negative influence because they are more rebellious by nature.
12. Sexual content on TV has a negative impact on teenagers.
13. Homeschooling is an ideal way to obtain quality education.
14. Forests are the lungs of the Earth. Should rainforests destruction be prohibited?
15. Should countries drill for oil in protected areas to reduce gas prices?
16. Global warming is a myth.
17. To what extent are electric cars a solution to global pollution?
18. Media influence the female perception of the body image.
19. Violent video games directly correlate to violence in schools.
20. Domestic terrorism is not really an overwhelming issue in America.
21. A border fence will solve the dilemma of immigration.
22. Cyber-attacks are a vital intelligence tool for all countries.
23. Sex orientation is determined in childhood.
24. The capital punishment is a crime.
25. The humans are the main causes of a climate change.
26. Euthanasia should be allowed.
27. The U.S. Supreme Court should allow the federal, a state, or a local government to ban same-sex marriage.
28. The ways to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict exist.
29. Defending yourself should be a constitutional right under the Second Amendment.
30. Illegal immigrants shouldn’t be put in prison and forced to work to pay for their upkeep.