Opinion Essay Topics
 1.
Should students be allowed to have cell
phones in elementary and high schools?
 2.
Should students have to wear uniforms?
 3.
Should college athletes be paid for playing?
 4.
Should the elderly receive free bus rides?
 5.
Should state colleges be free to attend?
 6.
Should all American citizens have to complete
a year of community service?
 7.
Should students be required to take Spanish
classes?
 8.
Should marijuana be legal for medicinal
purposes?
 9.
Should the voting age be lowered to thirteen?
 10. Should the driving age be raised to twentyone?
 11. Should students be paid for having good
grades?
 12. Should illegal immigrants be allowed to get
drivers licenses?
 13. Should not wearing a seatbelt be illegal?
 14. Should students’ textbooks be replaced by
notebook computers?
 15. Should students have to pass a basic skills
test to graduate high school?
 16. Should schools raise money by selling candy
and sugary soft drinks to students?
 17. Should schools serve french-fries and fried
potato products to students at lunch?
 18. Should students’ grades in gym affect their
grade point averages?
 19. Should girls be allowed to play on boy’s sports
teams?
 20. Should teens be able to buy violent video
games?
 21. Should boys and girls be in separate classes?
 24. Should immigration laws be reformed?
 26. Should people who download music and
movies illegally be punished?
 27. Should school athletes have to be on the
honor roll to play in games?
 28. Should music with curse words be allowed at
school dances?
 29. Should public schools begin the day with a
silent prayer time?
 30. Should students be able to listen to MP3
players on headphones during study hall?
 31. Should schools offer fast food options like
McDonalds or Taco Bell?
 32. Should smoking be allowed at parks and other
outdoor public venues?
 33. Should cities offer free public Wi-Fi?
 34. Should the government place a tax on junk
food and fatty snacks?
 38. Should teachers have to pass a basic skills
test every ten years to renew their certification?
 39. Should people be allowed to keep exotic
animals like chimpanzees or tigers?
 40. Should people be allowed to keep pit-bull
dogs?
 41. Should the city offer a bike-sharing program?
 42. Should there be an ordinance citing people
who fail to recycle $50?
 43. Should there be an ordinance citing people
who play music too loudly $50?
 45. Should celebrities who break the law face
stricter penalties?
 46. Should the government increase spending on
the space program?
 47. Should larger passengers have to pay for two
plane or movie theater tickets?
 48. Should children have to use booster seats in
cars?
 49. Should people have to get a license to become
parents?
 50. Should there be tougher federal restrictions
for content on the internet?
 51. Should people be allowed to curse on daytime
television?
 52. Should owners be legally accountable for
clearing snow from sidewalks on their property?
 55. Should students who commit cyberbullying be
suspended from school?
 56. Should corporations be allowed to advertise in
schools?
 57. Should students be allowed to eat during
class?
 58. Should more be done to protect and preserve
endangered animals?
 59. Is it appropriate for students and teachers to
be friends on Facebook?
 60. Should students have open campus lunch
periods?
 64. Should students learn about world religions in
public schools?
 65. Should schools start later in the morning?
 68. Should people with terminal illnesses have the
right to doctor assisted suicides?
 71. Should school athletes have to take drug
tests?
 72. Should professional athletes have to take drug
tests?
 73. Should America convert to the metric system?
 74. Should high school students have to complete
community service hours to graduate?
 75. Should teens over 13 years be allowed into R
rated movies?
 76. Should state tests be given in other languages
for ESL students?
 77. Should scientists be allowed to test products
intended for human use on animals?
 78. Should unhealthy fast food products be sold
with a warning label?

Should students or teachers receive money for
scoring well on standardized tests?
 81. Should everyone under the age of 17 have a
9:00 PM curfew?
 82. Should schools with low scores on
standardized tests be closed?
 83. Should minors be allowed to drink alcoholic
beverages in their homes with their parents’
consent?
 84. Should students be allowed to drop out before
they turn 18 years old?
 85. Should alcohol manufacturers be allowed to
advertise on television?
 86. Should students as young as fourteen be
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allowed to hold jobs?
87. Should American families have a two child
max rule to limit population growth?
88. Should children younger than thirteen be
allowed to watch MTV or music videos?
89. Should people who are caught driving drunk
lose their licenses for a year?
90. Should students who fail their classes be
retained and have to repeat the grade?
91. Should large businesses and corporations be
required to employee a number of minorities
proportionate to the population?
92. Should female construction workers earn the
same wages as males?
93. Should children in temporary living situations
with 3.0 GPAs earn free college tuition?
94. Should gambling and sports betting be illegal
or should the government regulate it?
95. Should children who commit violent crimes be
tried as adults?
97. Should the government censor internet
content deemed inappropriate?
98. Should teachers have to wear uniforms or
have a dress code?
99. Should teachers be allowed to have cell
phones in the classroom?
Should the state execute dogs that have bitten
someone?
101. Should talking on a cell phone without a
hands-free device while driving be illegal?
 Are famous people treated unfairly by the media?
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Should they be given more privacy, or is the price
of their fame an invasion into their private lives?
Are our zoos cruel to wild animals?
Are women better parents than men?
Are zoos necessary for education?
Children learn best by observing the behavior of
adults and copying it. Do you agree or disagree?
Use specific reasons and examples to support your
answer.
Children should never be educated at home by their
parents. What is your opinion? Use specific
reasons and examples to support your answer.
Computers can translate all kinds of languages
well. Do our children need to learn more languages
in the future?
Damage to the environment is an inevitable
consequence of worldwide improvements in the
standard of living. Discuss.
Discuss some of the arguments for and against
keeping animals in zoos.
Do the benefits of study abroad justify the
difficulties?
Do we become used to bad news? Would it be
better if more good news was reported?
Does foreign aid helps donor countries more than
the recipients?
Does modern technology make life more
convenient, or was life better when technology
was simpler?
Education is the single most important factor in the
development of a country. Do you agree?
Foreign language instruction should begin in
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kindergarten. Do you agree or disagree? Use
specific reasons and examples to develop your
essay.
The destruction of the world’s forests is inevitable
as our need for land and food grows. Do you agree?
Human beings do not need to eat meat in order to
maintain good health because they can get all their
food needs from meatless products and meatless
substances. A vegetarian diet is as healthy as a
diet containing meat. What is your opinion?
If children behave badly, should their parents
accept responsibility and also be punished?
In many countries, when someone gets old, they
often go to live in a home with other old people
where there are nurses to look after them.
Sometimes governments pay for this care. Who
should be responsible for our old people? Give
reasons. Use specific reasons and details to
explain your choice.
In some countries the average worker is obliged to
retire at the age of 50, while in others people can
work until they are 65 or 70. Until what age do you
think people should be encouraged to remain in
paid employment? Give reasons for your answer.
In what ways has information technology changed
work and working practices in the past 10 years?
In your opinion should government intervene in the
rights of the individual with regard to family
planning?
In your opinion what factors contribute to a good
movie?
Is animal testing necessary?
 Most high level jobs are done by men. Should the
government encourage a certain percentage of
these jobs to be reserved for women?
 News editors decide what to broadcast on TV and
what to print in newspapers. What factors do you
think influence their decisions?
 Nowadays doctors can become very rich. Maybe
they should not focus on profitable activities such
as plastic surgery or looking after rich patients and
concentrate more on patients’ health, no matter
how rich they are?
 Safety standards are important when building
people's homes. Who should be responsible for
enforcing strict building codes – the government or
the people who build the homes?
 Should criminals be punished with lengthy jail
terms or should they be re-educated, using
community service programs for instance, before
being reintroduced to society?
 Should developing countries concentrate on
improving industrial skills or should they promote
education first?
 Should money be spent on space exploration?
 Should sports classes be dropped in secondary
school so students can concentrate on academic
subjects?
 Should the same laws which prohibit the sale and
consumption of illegal drugs be applied to
tobacco?
 Should wealthy nations be required to share their
wealth among poorer nations by providing such
things as food and education? Or is it a
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responsibility of the governments of poorer nations
to look after their citizens themselves?
Should wealthy nations be required to share their
wealth among poorer nations?
Technology is making communication easier in
todays world, but at the expense of personal
contact as many people choose to work at home in
front of a computer screen. What dangers are there
for a society which depends on computer screens
rather than face-to-face contact for its main means
of communication?
The best way to reduce the number of traffic
accidents is to make all young drivers complete a
safe driving education course before being
licensed to drive. What do you think?
Alternative forms of transport should be
encouraged and international laws introduced to
control car ownership and use. What do you think?
The idea of going overseas for university study is
an exciting prospect for many people. But while it
may offer some advantages, it is probably better to
stay home because of the difficulties a student
inevitably encounters living and studying in a
different culture. Do you agree or disagree?
The mass media, including TV, radio and
newspapers, have great influence in shaping
people's ideas. To what extent do you agree or
disagree with this statement? Give reasons for
your answer.
The rising levels of congestion and air pollution
found in most of the world cities can be attributed
directly to the rapidly increasing number of private
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cars in use. In order to reverse this decline in the
quality of life in cities, attempts must be made to
encourage people to use their cars less and public
transport more. Use specific reasons and examples
to support your answer.
Tourism is becoming increasingly important as a
source of revenue to many countries but its
disadvantages should not be overlooked. What are
some of the problems of tourism?
TV: could you be without it? Discuss.
We are becoming increasingly dependent on
computers. They are used in businesses, hospitals,
crime detection and even to fly planes. What things
will they be used for in future? Is this dependence
on computers a good thing or should we be more
suspicious of their benefits? Use specific details
and examples in your answer.
What are factors which are related to academic
success in high-school students?
What should a government do for a country to
become successful?
Will modern technology such as the internet ever
replace the book or the written word as the main
source of information?
Will the Internet bring people of the world closer
together?
Zoos are sometimes seen as necessary but not
poor alternatives to a natural environment. Discuss
some of the arguments for and/or against keeping
animals in zoos.
POPULAR CULTURE TOPICS
1.
Reality television as a positive or negative cultural
phenomenon
2.
Makeover programs
3.
Hip-hop music lyrics
4.
Disney films
5.
Images of women in the media
6.
Images of minorities in the media
7.
Images of homosexuals in the media
8.
Illegal music downloading
9.
Violent video games
10. Violent movies
11. Television, movie, music, or video game ratings
12. Facebook as a cultural phenomenon
13. Internet cyberstalkers
14. Internet filters
15. Internet privacy issues
16. The effect of cell phones on society
17. The effect of iPods on society
18. The effect of Facebook on society
19. The amount of television and other media used by
children
20. Advertising in the public schools
21. Advertising that targets children
22. Alcohol or cigarette advertising
23. Requirements for children's educational
programming
24. Public radio/public television
25. Celebrity gossip and the paparazzi
SPORTS TOPICS
100. Salary caps for professional athletes
101. Sports and steroid use
102. Funding issues for women's sports
103. Publicity for women's sports
104. The use of the Olympic basketball "Dream Team"
105. The designated hitting rule in baseball
106. Professional athletic strikes
107. Drafting of athletes out of high school
108. The rising price of tickets to professional games
109. Public funding of professional stadiums
110. Public funding of community sports programs
111. Academic expectations of college athletes
112. College sports recruitment practices
113. The benefit of team sports to children
114. Alcohol sales at sporting events
115. Athletes as role models
116. Beer commercials
117. Sports gambling
118. Violence and sports (hockey, boxing, etc.)
119. The commercialization of sports
120. Youth athletic participation in sports like
gymnastics and figure skating
121. Whether certain activities are sports or not:
Nascar, Dance, Gymnastics, Running, Biking
122. The amount of importance/time placed on athletics
at a young age