and phrasing them in a way that appeals to people and changes their mind.
If you’ve ever been in an argument, discussion, debate, or verbal fight with someone and felt like the other person isn’t making sense, you know that persuasiveness isn’t a skill everyone has. That’s why learning how to write a persuasive essay is important and taught in school. In this article, you’ll learn how to choose good persuasive essay topics and find lists of persuasive essay topics to inspire you!
If you struggle with writing a persuasive essay, don't worry - Studyfy has got you covered! Our team of expert essay writers can provide you with a custom essay writing service tailored to your needs, ensuring that your essay is not only persuasive but also well-written and well-researched. Let us help you impress your professor and achieve the grades you deserve!
What Is a Persuasive Essay?
A persuasive essay is an academic writing assignment that asks a student to use logic, facts, emotional appeals, and reasoning to sway the opinion of the reader. It’s a very common writing assignment because it tests critical thinking ability as well as the ability to present arguments and write convincingly.
To make things clear, let’s use an example. An essay about gaming in the early 2000s wouldn’t be considered a persuasive essay because there is nothing to convince the reader about. On the other hand, an essay about why storytelling in games has improved since the early 2000s would be considered a persuasive essay because you are making an argument.
People often confuse persuasive essays and argumentative essays, but there are two main differences. An argumentative essay discusses both sides of an issue and then agrees with one whereas a persuasive essay focuses more on the side the author agrees with. An argumentative essay also relies more heavily on facts to make an argument whereas a persuasive essay leans on the author’s opinions.
What Is a Good Persuasive Essay Topic?
People have differing opinions about everything, but that doesn’t mean that anything can be a great persuasive essay topic! A good topic is important for any essay, but especially for persuasive essays because the goal is to convince people to agree with your viewpoint.
This leads to the most important thing about a good persuasive topic - it has to be something you genuinely care about and are interested in. Genuine passion comes across in writing, and when the goal is persuading people, passion is vital. You’ll also enjoy the research more and have to do less of it.
Remember that though a persuasive essay relies more on your opinions, it does require some facts to help add weight to your arguments. So make sure that there is some research or information you can cite to back up your claim.
Just because you think a topic is fascinating doesn’t mean that everyone else will as well. Think about who the audience is that you’re writing the essay for and choose a topic that they would find engaging as well.
A topic that’s broad might have too much information to go through or be difficult to make a convincing argument about. Think about how long your essay is going to be and choose a topic that you can cover in that word count.
If you keep these things in mind, you’ll end up with a topic that will lead to a high scoring essay!
Choose a Topic for a Persuasive Essay
Now that you understand how important it is to choose good topics for a persuasive essay and what makes a topic good, you should be able to figure out what kinds of things you want to write about. Still, it’s not easy to pinpoint an exact topic, so down below you’ll find 180 topics to write a persuasive essay on separated into several categories. Use these to inspire you!
Struggling with the topic for your Persuasive Essay Homework?
Get your assignments done by real pros. Save your precious time and boost your marks with ease.
Persuasive Essay Topics for Middle School
12 middle school persuasive essay topics perfect for young adults!
Why you should have a later bedtime
Sleepovers are a positive way to form connections outside of school
Makeup should not be allowed for children under the age of 15
Bullying is worse online than offline
Teachers have a responsibility to help with mental health
Why I should be taken more seriously
Should young teens be allowed to vote on certain issues like climate change?
Why MrBeast is a good role model
Gaming is an educational way to spend free time
Sports are overrated
What I would change about the educational system
The best way to spend a weekend
Persuasive Essay Topic for College
12 persuasive essay topics for college and issues important to college students.
University students should be given more mental healthcare options
Most people don’t end up working in a field related to their major
The most useful thing in university is building a network
Student protests are a powerful force for change
Fraternities and Sororities are divisive
Attending class is irrelevant if you do all the reading
College educations are overpriced
Remote learning is more effective for some students than in-class learning
The government should do more to help with student debt
Religious colleges provide a higher quality of education
Why a certain college is the best in the state
There should be more choice in what classes a student can pick
High School Persuasive Essay Topics
12 persuasive essay topics for high school and life for teenagers
Student council is just a popularity contest
Teachers should do more to stop bullying
School dances cause more harm than good
Cooking is a life skill that everyone should learn
Why your favorite video game is the best
Healthy food should cost less than junk food
Dress codes are too strict
Why you should do an exchange program
Why reading is better than watching something
The biggest changes that need to happen in your high school
Favoritism plays a big role in the grades students get
There should be more extracurricular activities in high school
Persuasive Essay Topics for Kids
12 fun topics to inspire children’s imaginations.
Why your favorite cartoon is better than others
School should start later in the morning
Having siblings is more fun than being an only child
Every class should be held outdoors at least twice a week
There should be more videogames for girls
Robots will make life better for humans
Students should give an evaluation of their teachers every year
Ironman would beat Batman in a fight
There should be more field trips every year
Children should not be forced to do chores
Cursive writing doesn’t need to be taught anymore
What is the best pet?
Did you like our inspiring Persuasive Essay Topic Ideas?
For more help, tap into our pool of professional writers and get expert essay editing services!
Controversial Persuasive Essay Topics
Controversy is natural when trying to convince someone. Be careful when writing a controversial essay! Make sure you keep your audience in mind and choose a topic that won’t offend them too much.
Society still has a very backward conception of mental illness
Men and women are not equal in every way but should be treated the same
Religious extremism is just a form of free speech
Big technology companies know too much about you
Books should never be censored or banned
CEOs make too much money
Creationism should not be taught in government funded schools
Racism is worse in Europe than in America
Social media makes mental illness worse
Magazines should clearly state which photos have been edited
The emphasis on happiness in the last decade has led to more depression
People should be judged on what they say as well as what they do
Argumentative Persuasive Essay Topics
Remember to present both sides evenly and use logic and facts as well as your opinions to make a convincing argument. Here are 12 persuasive argument essay topics to debate.
Men should get paid paternity leave
Cheating in romantic relationships is more common than previously believed
Solving global issues will help developed countries as well
Celebrities should be held to higher moral standards
Should countries only have one official language?
Conscription is against basic human rights
Energy drinks should be more regulated
Should shopping addiction be considered a psychological disorder?
Social media companies need to do a better job policing posts
Countries should not be held responsible for actions they did more than 50 years ago
The legal voting age should be the same as the drinking age
The government has the right to censor specific internet websites
Research Persuasive Essay Topics
12 topics for persuasive essay that require a fair amount of research to craft a convincing argument.
The economic recession caused by COVID-19 is worse than the great depression
Gene therapy is going to change the way humanity exists
Technological advancements in the 19th century have left a deep impact on the world today
Texting while driving is more dangerous than drunk driving
Walking is the best form of exercise for people over 50
Video games were harder in the 1990s
The economy of ancient Greece was very sophisticated
Driving is the most dangerous form of transportation
Athletes have been paid highly since antiquity
There is no way to find a cure-all cancer treatment
The price of high-quality art will always increase
Stock markets need to be more regulated
Sports Persuasive Essay Topics
Whether you’re an athlete or a fan, sports awaken passion! Here are 12 great persuasive essay topics.
Sports have a cult-like following in modern America
Student athletes should be paid
Sports culture promotes negative male stereotypes of ultra masculinity
Professional sports commentators should all have played the sport
Why football (soccer) is the most popular sport in the world
Popular sports movies have a large impact on the number of athletes produced
There is too much pressure put on young Olympic athletes
E-sports will become more popular than traditional sports in 10 years
Boardgames should also be considered sports
Tag can be considered the first sport played by humans
Treating athletes have led to many medical breakthroughs
Sports are placed too high on the scale of social importance
Animal Persuasive Essay Topics
We share our planet with millions of types of creatures, here are 12 persuasive essay topics ideas about them.
People should only be allowed to hunt if they eat the animal they kill
Who should be saved if the choice is between your pet and a human stranger?
Do animals feel emotions?
You are a hypocrite if you only care about cute animals
Humans have the right to control animal populations
There should not be any taboos about what animals people eat
Is there a moral obligation to adopt a pet rather than buy a pure breed?
There is no such thing as a natural pet since humans have been selectively breeding them for millennia
Why pigs are considered smarter than a 2-year-old human
There are different kinds of intelligence in the animal kingdom
Robotics will advance based on the study of animal movement
Should humans tame wild animals like lions and tigers?
Medical Persuasive Essay Topics
People have differing opinions on important matters and medicine is literally life or death,
Here are an example of persuasive essay topics related to medicine
There should be more government funding for research into alternative medicine
Healing crystals work if you believe in them
Psychedelic substances should be made available for mental health treatments
Genetic engineering and gene therapy are against religion
Should doctors be able to do certain procedures without informed consent?
Pharmaceutical companies should price life-saving drugs at cost
Medical research should be done by governments rather than private companies
Medical smartphone applications are the future of healthcare
Doctors need to be better trained in bedside manner
Surgeons tend to overprescribe surgical solutions
Medical tourism is only going to increase with time
Is laughter really beneficial to human health?
Fun Persuasive Essay Topics
12 essay topics that are fun to think about, fun to research, and fun to write!
Why the beach is better than mountains as a vacation destination
Superman is a boring superhero
Science fiction is going to become the dominant genre in media
Horror movies reflect the biggest societal problems of the time
You should date at least 10 people before getting into a new relationship
Becoming a social media influencer is a valid career choice
Can money buy happiness?
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will always be relevant
Diversity makes music better today than in the past
Minecraft is lego for the internet era
You can learn anything you want to on YouTube
Instagram will develop into a super app with unlimited features
Environmental Persuasive Essay Topics
The environment is one of the hot button topics in the world, everyone should have an opinion. Here are 12 topics to inspire your essay.
The human impact on the planet is insignificant
Only native plants should be grown in home gardens
Snorkeling and scuba diving negatively impact local ecosystems
Buying fewer new clothes impacts the environment significantly
Why weather forecasting is so imprecise
Erosion is the biggest threat to agriculture
More animals should be placed on the endangered species list
Being in nature has recorded benefits for health
Cow hugging reduces stress levels
The coffee industry is exploitative
Recycling should be mandatory and punishable
New sustainable technologies should be shared around the world at cost
Psychology Persuasive Essay Topics
Psychology is endlessly fascinating as well as extremely complicated, so here are 12 topics on the subject to think about.
There are too many conflicting schools of psychology
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most effective form of treatment
There are huge cultural differences in psychological phenomena
Psychological research done only in America can not be generalized to all of humanity
Why do humans feel the need to belong to groups
Why love is the most powerful human emotion
Emotional intelligence is more important for predicting happiness than SAT scores
Freud was right about some concepts but wrong about others
What is the impact of social media on depression
A course in psychology should be made mandatory in high school
People think they are given more attention than they actually are
Being physically attractive can cause psychological harm
Our Top Persuasive Essay Topics
12 popular persuasive essay topics that everyone can, should, and probably do have an opinion about.
Teachers should have to pass a test in their field every 5 years
Living in a globalized world poses unique challenges to young people
Choose and defend your favorite media personality
How can people be held accountable for their actions on the internet?
Gaming is going to become a driver of technological advancement
The importance of social skills is declining
Population sizes will stabilize by 2050
Humans have had a positive impact on some aspects of the environment
Young people will start enjoying in-person activities like board games again
Friendship has become a different concept than it was 30 years ago
Travelling broadens the mind in many different ways
Meditation is the best way to reduce stress
Some More Interesting Persuasive Essay Topics
12 persuasive essay topic ideas that are just plain fascinating.
Atheists are just as moral as theists
Religion and faith will always have an important place in human societies
Aliens probably exist based on the size of the universe
We are currently living in the best time of humanity despite all the problems around us
Music tastes are set in young adulthood and rarely change
Is it possible that ghosts exist but not everywhere in the world?
Some things should not be joked about no matter what
The United Nations should be replaced with a more effective organization
Everyone involved in politics is a narcissist
Dragons exist in many cultures around the world because people had to explain dinosaur fossils
Intermittent fasting is the healthiest way to lose weight
What side do you fall on in the nature vs nurture debate?
Wrap Up
Choosing the right topic to write a persuasive essay on can make the writing process both easy and fun! Make sure that the topic is something your passionate about, you know something about, appeals to your target audience, is broad enough to research but narrow enough to cover fully, and you’ll have the perfect topic. If you found a topic that inspired you from the topic examples, great! If you need any more services by paper writing service coursework writing, admission essay writing service, the experts at Studyfy can help you with not just picking a topic, but with all elements of your persuasive essay.
