Argumentative Research Essay Topics
Adolescents
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What is appropriate punishment for juvenile offenders?
Why is there a rise in the number of teenage alcoholics?
Should the high school curriculum be expanded?
What factors have caused a rise in the teenage pregnancy rate?
Is there a relationship between juvenile delinquency and family instability?
Should contraceptive devices be available to teenagers in high school clinics?
Advertising
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Should professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc.) advertise?
What are the most effective political advertising techniques?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of radio and television advertising?
Aging
10. Should people be required to retire at age 65?
11. Are social security benefits adequate for the future? Should changes to the social security system be considered?
12. Should social security be privatized?
Agriculture
13. What role should the federal government have in alleviating the problems faced by the American farmer?
14. How will the financial failure of the small American farmer affect agricultural practices?
American Scene
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Why haven’t Native American reservations been successful?
Are immigration quotas realistic?
Should marijuana be legalized and taxed as a cash crop?
Who benefits from the lottery?
Why are Americans increasingly inclined to initiate lawsuits?
Should the US have a national health insurance program?
Has violence in American increased?
Is emergency room service an effective tool within the health care system?
Should religious meetings be allowed in school?
Should testing for HIV be mandatory?
Is busing an effective way to achieve racial and socioeconomic balance in public schools?
Should preschool children be required to have vaccines?
Should felons be allowed to vote?
Should “under God” remain in the Pledge of Allegiance?
Art
29. Should big business fund public art?
30. Should the government support the arts?
31. Who should make the decision about art censorship?
Asia
32. How has the failure of communism in the Soviet Union affected the political system in China?
33. Why is the Japanese automobile industry so successful?
34. Should trade barriers with Asian countries be loosened? Tightened?
Automotive
35. What are the advantages and disadvantages of converting gasoline powered engines to butane?
36. What are the advantages and disadvantages of converting gasoline engines to ethanol?
Bioethics
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Should there be more strident curbs on the use of animals in research?
Should doctors assist patients who wish to commit suicide because of pain or illness?
Should those who are HIV positive be publically identified?
Should there be a cap on medical expenses? Do we have a right to health care?
Biology
41. If man or other higher animals were to be cloned, what would be the effects on society?
42. Should DNA evidence be allowed in court?
43. Is obesity a disease?
Business
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Should the “Big Three” automakers have been beneficiaries of a government bailout?
Should the US impose more trade barriers?
In what ways has the mafia invaded legitimate business?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a four day work week?
Does profit sharing increase worker productivity?
Should companies use polygraphs in the pre-employment screening of job applicants?
Children
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Should adopted children be encouraged to meet their birth parents?
Should gifted children receive special services in elementary school?
Should children who are HIV positive be allowed to attend public school?
Should extraordinary lifesaving measures be used on severely deformed infants?
Should children with herpes be allowed to attend school with non-infected children?
Community
55. Should handguns be registered locally?
56. Should victims of crime be compensated?
57. Should the post office be privatized?
Computers
58. Do we need so many computer languages?
59. Do computers in the classroom improve learning?
Contemporary Issues
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Has the CIA abused its power?
Is a nuclear freeze a realistic possibility?
Should college athletic programs continue to be funded at the same level if academic programs are cut?
Does the US need further civil rights legislation?
Should comprehensive sex education be taught in public schools?
Should public employees be allowed to go on strike?
Should animal organs be used for human transplant surgery?
Crime
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Should “white collar” criminals go to prison?
What is the function of prisons----to rehabilitate, to reform, to punish?
Should “victimless” crimes (prostitution, for example) be legalized?
Should all drugs be legalized?
Economics
71. How do federal deficits affect the economy?
72. What role should the government play in the allocation of natural resources?
73. Should the minimum wage be raised?
74. Should we go back to the gold standard?
75. Should we continue to utilize a progressive income tax?
Education
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Should all schools move toward a twelve month school year?
Should the US have a national, standardized curriculum?
How well has mainstreaming handicapped children worked?
Do our high schools place too much emphasis on sports?
Should creation science be taught in high school biology classes?
Should students be “tracked” according to ability level?
Should students be required to pass a basic competency test to graduate high school?
Should schools be responsible for teaching ethical behavior?
Should all public school students be required to wear uniforms?
Foreign Policy
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Should the US change its current policy regarding Cuba?
Would it be in the best interests of the US to return to its nineteenth century isolationist stance?
Should the US sell armaments to foreign countries?
What role, if any, should the US play in brokering a peace agreement between the Israeli and Palestinians?
Should the US have attacked Iraq?
Should the US have attacked Afghanistan?
Should the US prosecute and deport all illegal immigrants?
Government
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Should the US give tariff protection and preference to poor countries (“favored nations”)?
What Constitutional rights do illegal immigrants have in the US?
Was justice served in the Watergate scandal?
Are Medicare benefits too costly for taxpayers?
Should the electoral college be abolished?
Should special interest groups be allowed to make contributions to political campaigns?
Should the government (either state or federal) sponsor a lottery?
Latin America
99. Should the US have kept the Panama Canal?
Law
100. Should corporate prayer be allowed in public schools?
101. Should television be allowed in courtrooms?
102. Should Supreme Court judges be appointed for life?
Medicine
103. Are artificial hearts a viable alternative to human transplants?
104. Should malpractice premiums be capped for physicians?
Military
105. Have the problems of Vietnam veterans and Iraq War veterans differed significantly from those experienced by
veterans of World War II?
106. Should women be allowed in combat positions in the military?
107. Would the US military needs be better served by the combination of all the armed services into one unit?
108. Should the US sell military hardware to Middle Eastern countries?
109. Do we need US military bases in all parts of the world?
Nuclear Power
110. Are nuclear power plants safe from terrorists?
111. Did President Truman make the correct decision in deciding to drop the atomic bomb on Japan?
Politics
112. Should literacy be a voting requirement?
113. Should campaign spending be restricted?
Resources
114. Should we be allowed to trap and hunt wild animals?
115. Is it possible for the US to be energy self sufficient?
Social Issues
116. Should homosexuals be allowed to adopt?
117. Does welfare help those who really need it?
118. Should the state fund abortions for poor women?
119. Should marijuana be legalized?
120. Should affirmative action programs continue?
121. Should prostitution be legalized?
122. Should gambling be legalized in all states?
Space
123. Should the US attempt to colonize the moon?
124. Has the space program lived up to its original objectives?
Sports
125. Should boxing regulations be made more strict to protect the participants?
126. Are professional sports’ salaries too high?
127. Do high school sports “build character”?
128. Is college football too commercial?
129. Do women have equal opportunities in athletics?
130. Should there be a national championship game in college football?
131. Has Title IX been effective?
Television
132. Are children’s reading and language skills negatively impacted by viewing television shows/videos?
133. Has video/visual literacy had a positive effect on education?
World Scene
134. Is the United Nations a failure?
135. Is a universal language either practical or possible?
136. Should we develop a universal currency?
137. Does American continue to be a world power?