Rhetoric [Persuasive Group Research Essay: Planning Guide]
Name:______________________________________________ Date:______________ Hour:_____________
Today, you will be brainstorming and solidifying a topic for your persuasive essay with your group.
Answer
the first two questions individually, and then, I will put you in your groups to complete the rest of the
worksheet.
Each individual student needs to complete this entire worksheet.
1. What are possible topics you might use?
might use that as a topic.
Think about things facing teens around you and how you
(See samples below for ideas, but don’t feel limited to this list.)
2. Write out a thesis including an antithesis that your group might use for the essay.
Example topics:

Energy Efficiency

Health care reform

Block Scheduling

Year-round school

Summer Reading Program

Texting while driving

Increase funding for ____________ (music,

School cuts in Illinois
sports, etc.)

Smoking

Add a class (Latin, Mandarin, etc.)

US immigration

Teen pressure

Oil prices

Fighting in school

Drugs in school

Tanning

Health/obesity/physical activity in school

Smoking

Physical education requirement

Drunk Driving

Technology in schools

4-Day School Week

Teen pregnancy

Genetically modified food

Teen dropouts

Recycling

Volunteering for _______________
1|Page
Rhetoric [Persuasive Group Research Essay: Planning Guide]
As a group, listen to each other’s topic ideas and thesis statements.
Which one sounds like it
will be the easiest to support with multiple supports and research? Write out the complete thesis
that your group agrees upon below.
3. Now, you are ready to start prewriting!
topic.
Write out all of the reasons you believe could support your
(at least six)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
4. Now, look at your list above and highlight the best three (or four if you have four people in your
group).
2|Page
Rhetoric [Persuasive Group Research Essay: Planning Guide]
5. These three would be your body paragraphs of an essay.
Since you are writing a group essay,
each member will be responsible for constructing one support.
Discuss which support you will be
responsible for and write out a group member’s name next to each highlighted support.
6. Fill out the Persuasion Map to make sure you have covered all of your bases—one per group. Once
you have thought through it and written it out, pitch your topic and get it approved.
The following is a list of possible topics for you persuasive speech. Choose one of these or make up one
of your own. Only one topic per student will be allowed.
1. Improve diet and exercise to live longer
2. U.S. should spend more/less on disaster weapons
3. Health care should be more affordable
4. The divorce rate must be lowered
5. Become an organ donor
6. Recycle
7. Quit smoking
8. Capital punishment: pro/con
9. Welfare system needs reforming
10. Strengthen punishment of drunk drivers
11. Life exists on other planets
12. Internet needs to be regulated
13. Animals should/should not be used in lab experiments
14. Freedom of speech should/should not apply to hate groups
15. Doctor-assisted suicide should/should not be legal
16. Violence and sexuality on TV needs to be cut back/regulated
17. Wildlife conservation needs to increase
18. Parents need to do more to keep their kids off drugs
19. Dirty political campaigning needs to be banned
20. More needs to be done to prevent school violence
21. Airline safety needs to be improved
22. Dead beat dads need to be punished more strictly
23. Teenage alcohol consumption needs to be curbed
24. Cloning could seriously impact humanity
25. Adopt a dog or cat from a shelter rather than buy from a breeder
3|Page
Rhetoric [Persuasive Group Research Essay: Planning Guide]
26. Agricultural chemicals impact the environment
27. Government should/should not fund embryonic stem-cell research
28. For/against war in Iraq
29. Casinos take advantage of people with gambling addictions
30. More needs to be done to decrease teenage suicide
31. Consider a vegetarian lifestyle
32. Smoking in public should be illegal
33. Space exploration is/is not a pointless waste of money
34. For/against home schooling
35. For/against block scheduling
36. For/against year-round schools
37. Alternatives to gas-powered cars needs to be more affordable and more varied
38. More needs to be done to stop terrorism
39. Be a blood donor
40. Cosmetic surgery is not the right choice
41. Wear your seat belt
42. People spend too much and need to learn to save and budget
43. Anorexia/bulimia need to be taken more seriously
44. More people need to volunteer to be foster parents
45. Everyone needs to master first aid
46. Don’t wear fur
47. Genetically modified food is dangerous
48. Ghosts exist
49. Against global warming
50. More should/should not be done to control the USA’s borders
51. Ban landmines
52. Pollution is destroying the water supplies/seas
53. Prison overcrowding needs to be dealt with
54. Control your road rage
55. Do/do not shop online
56. High school students should/should not work part time
57. Americans watch too much TV
58. Alcohol advertisements need restrictions
59. People should consider alternative medicine
60. Stronger penalties need to be in place for pro athletes who use drugs
61. Teenage blogging is/isn’t dangerous
4|Page
Rhetoric [Persuasive Group Research Essay: Planning Guide]
62. People are addicted to cell phones
63. Child labor is a problem that needs attention in other countries
64. College tuition costs are out of control
65. The confederate flag is/isn’t an offensive symbol
66. Drug testing should/should not be done in school
67. The Electoral College creates false election results
68. People should read food labels carefully
69. Flag burning should/should not be protected
70. Don’t drop out of high school
71. Logging needs more restrictions
72. More lottery money should go to schools
73. Medical malpractice is out of control
74. Obesity is an epidemic in America
75. Nuclear waste disposal is a problem
76. Pledge of Allegiance should/should not be required in schools
77. Stricter punishment should be implemented for poachers
78. Stricter punishment should be implemented for police brutality
79. Priests should be allowed to marry
80. Stronger punishment should be implemented for priests who sexually abuse
81. Tanning is harmful to your health
82. Spam is out of control
83. Young adults rely on their parents too much for support
84. Gun control pro/con
5|Page