50 Argumentative Essay Topics

Illustration by Catherine Song. ThoughtCo. 

  • M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
  • B.A., History, Armstrong State University

An argumentative essay requires you to decide on a topic and take a position on it. You'll need to back up your viewpoint with well-researched facts and information as well. One of the hardest parts is deciding which topic to write about, but there are plenty of ideas available to get you started.

Choosing a Great Argumentative Essay Topic

Students often find that most of their work on these essays is done before they even start writing. This means that it's best if you have a general interest in your subject, otherwise you might get bored or frustrated while trying to gather information. (You don't need to know everything, though.) Part of what makes this experience rewarding is learning something new.

It's best if you have a general interest in your subject, but the argument you choose doesn't have to be one that you agree with.

The subject you choose may not necessarily be one that you are in full agreement with, either. You may even be asked to write a paper from the opposing point of view. Researching a different viewpoint helps students broaden their perspectives. 

Ideas for Argument Essays

Sometimes, the best ideas are sparked by looking at many different options. Explore this list of possible topics and see if a few pique your interest. Write those down as you come across them, then think about each for a few minutes.

Which would you enjoy researching? Do you have a firm position on a particular subject? Is there a point you would like to make sure to get across? Did the topic give you something new to think about? Can you see why someone else may feel differently?

50 Possible Topics

A number of these topics are rather controversial—that's the point. In an argumentative essay, opinions matter and controversy is based on opinions, which are, hopefully, backed up by facts.   If these topics are a little too controversial or you don't find the right one for you, try browsing through persuasive essay and speech topics  as well.

  • Is global climate change  caused by humans?
  • Is the death penalty effective?
  • Is our election process fair?
  • Is torture ever acceptable?
  • Should men get paternity leave from work?
  • Are school uniforms beneficial?
  • Do we have a fair tax system?
  • Do curfews keep teens out of trouble?
  • Is cheating out of control?
  • Are we too dependent on computers?
  • Should animals be used for research?
  • Should cigarette smoking be banned?
  • Are cell phones dangerous?
  • Are law enforcement cameras an invasion of privacy?
  • Do we have a throwaway society?
  • Is child behavior better or worse than it was years ago?
  • Should companies market to children?
  • Should the government have a say in our diets?
  • Does access to condoms prevent teen pregnancy?
  • Should members of Congress have term limits?
  • Are actors and professional athletes paid too much?
  • Are CEOs paid too much?
  • Should athletes be held to high moral standards?
  • Do violent video games cause behavior problems?
  • Should creationism be taught in public schools?
  • Are beauty pageants exploitative ?
  • Should English be the official language of the United States?
  • Should the racing industry be forced to use biofuels?
  • Should the alcohol drinking age be increased or decreased?
  • Should everyone be required to recycle?
  • Is it okay for prisoners to vote (as they are in some states)?
  • Is it good that same-sex couples are able to marry?
  • Are there benefits to attending a single-sex school ?
  • Does boredom lead to trouble?
  • Should schools be in session year-round ?
  • Does religion cause war?
  • Should the government provide health care?
  • Should abortion be illegal?
  • Are girls too mean to each other?
  • Is homework harmful or helpful?
  • Is the cost of college too high?
  • Is college admission too competitive?
  • Should euthanasia be illegal?
  • Should the federal government legalize marijuana use nationally ?
  • Should rich people be required to pay more taxes?
  • Should schools require foreign language or physical education?
  • Is affirmative action fair?
  • Is public prayer okay in schools?
  • Are schools and teachers responsible for low test scores?
  • Is greater gun control a good idea?
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50 Argumentative Essay Topics for Students

50 Argumentative Essay Topics for Students

4-minute read

  • 11th June 2022

The goal of an argumentative essay is to persuade the reader to understand and support your position on an issue by presenting your reasoning along with supporting evidence. It’s important to find the right balance between giving your opinions and presenting established research.

These essays discuss issues around a range of topics, including science, technology, politics, and healthcare. Whether you’re a teacher looking for essay topics for your students or a student tasked with developing an idea of your own, we’ve compiled a list of 50 argumentative essay topics to help you get started!

●  Does texting hinder interpersonal communication skills?

●  Should there be laws against using devices while driving?

●  Do violent video games teach or encourage people to behave violently?

●  Should social media sites be allowed to collect users’ data?

●  Should parents limit how long their children spend in front of screens?

●  Is AI helping or hurting society?

●  Should cyber-bullying carry legal consequences?

●  Should Supreme Court justices be elected?

●  Is war always a political decision?

●  Should people join a political party?

●  Is capitalism ethical?

●  Is the electoral college an effective system?

●  Should prisoners be allowed to vote?

●  Should the death penalty be legal?

●  Are governments around the world doing enough to combat global warming?

●  Is healthcare a fundamental human right?

●  Should vaccinations be mandated for children?

●  Are there any circumstances under which physician-assisted suicides should be legal?

●  Should parents be able to choose specific genetic modifications of their future children?

●  Should abortion be legal?

●  Is it ethical to perform medical experiments on animals?

●  Should patients who lead unhealthy lifestyles be denied organ transplants?

●  Should doctors be able to provide medical care to children against their parents’ wishes?

Mental Healthcare

●  What causes the stigma around mental health?

●  Discuss the link between insufficient access to mental health services and the high suicide rates among veterans.

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●  Should cannabis be used as a treatment for patients with mental disorders?

●  Is there a link between social media use and mental disorders?

●  Discuss the effect of physical activity on mental health.

●  Should sports be segregated by gender?

●  Should male and female athletes be given the same pay and opportunities?

●  Are professional athletes overpaid?

●  Should college athletes be paid?

●  Should sports betting be legal?

●  Should online access to art such as music be free?

●  Should graffiti be considered art or vandalism?

●  Are there any circumstances under which books should be banned?

●  Should schools be required to offer art courses?

●  Is art necessary to society?

●  Should schools require uniforms?

●  Should reciting the Pledge of Allegiance be required in schools?

●  Do standardized tests effectively measure intelligence?

●  Should high school students take a gap year before pursuing higher education?

●  Should higher education be free?

●  Is there too much pressure on high school students to attend college?

●  Are children better off in two-parent households?

●  Should LGBTQ+ partners be allowed to adopt?

●  Should single people be able to adopt children as easily as couples?

●  Is it okay for parents to physically discipline their children?

●  Does helicopter parenting help or hurt children?

●  Should parents monitor their children’s Internet use?

Proofreading & Editing

An argument could also be made for the importance of proofreading your essay ! The reader can focus more on your message when your writing is clear, concise, and error-free, and they won’t question whether you’re knowledgeable on the issues you’re presenting. Once you have a draft ready, you can submit a free trial document to start working with our expert editors!

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100+ Social Issue Essay Topics

SOCIAL ISSUE ESSAY TOPICS

In today’s rapidly changing world, society grapples with a multitude of pressing issues. Exploring these topics through writing not only offers a lens to scrutinize the world, but it also provides an avenue for personal reflection. One of the most potent tools for this exploration is the Social Issue Essay.

Table of Contents

What is a Social Issue Essay?

A Social Issue Essay is a form of writing where the author examines and discusses societal problems, their causes, impacts, and possible solutions. These essays often incorporate research, personal experience, and a call to action. By exploring complex challenges, such essays foster a deeper understanding of the world around us and encourage critical thinking.

Choosing the Right Social Issue Essay Topic

Picking the perfect topic is essential to write a compelling essay. Here’s a quick guide to help you select:

  • Personal Connection : Opt for an issue that resonates with you personally. It will add depth and authenticity to your essay.
  • Researchable : Ensure ample resources and perspectives are available on the chosen topic. This will aid in presenting a well-rounded view.
  • Relevance : It’s always best to choose a timely and pertinent issue that sparks current discussions and debates.

Social Issue Essay Topics Lists

Gender equality and bias.

  • The role of media in shaping gender stereotypes
  • The impact of the #MeToo movement on workplace policies
  • Gender wage gap: Myths and realities

Racial and Ethnic Inequalities

  • Examining the effects of racial profiling
  • The roots and repercussions of cultural appropriation
  • Ethnicity and its influence on individual identity

Environmental Challenges

  • The imminent threat of climate change
  • Plastic pollution and its global consequences
  • Urban sprawl and its environmental implications

Mental Health Awareness

  • The stigma surrounding mental health in various cultures
  • Effects of social media on adolescent mental health
  • The link between urban living and increased mental health issues

Technology and Society

  • The ethical implications of AI and machine learning
  • The digital divide: Impact on education and opportunities
  • Social media’s role in shaping societal values

LGBTQ+ Rights and Acceptance

  • The journey towards legalizing gay marriage worldwide
  • Transgender rights in the workplace
  • Challenges faced by LGBTQ+ youth in conservative societies

Migration and Displacement

  • The refugee crisis and international responsibilities
  • Economic migration and its implications on host countries
  • Forced displacement due to climate change

Digital Age Challenges

  • The psychological impacts of constant digital connectivity
  • Digital misinformation and its effects on democracies
  • Cyberbullying and its long-term consequences
  • The right to digital privacy in the age of surveillance
  • The generational divide in adapting to rapid technological advancements

Sustainability and Consumption

  • The environmental cost of fast fashion
  • Overconsumption and the culture of waste
  • The importance and challenges of transitioning to renewable energy sources
  • Sustainable food production and the rise of plant-based diets
  • Impact of mass tourism on local communities and environments

Human Rights Violations

  • The ongoing challenges of modern-day genocide
  • Human rights implications of surveillance states
  • Treatment and rights of prisoners of war
  • The widespread issue of forced disappearances
  • Injustices faced by indigenous populations worldwide

Social Mobility and Class

  • Barriers to upward social mobility in capitalist societies
  • The trap of generational poverty
  • Class discrimination and its subtle presence in daily life
  • Education as a tool for class mobility: Myths and realities
  • The illusion of the “self-made” individual in media and its social consequences

Relationships and Societal Norms

  • The evolving definition of family in the 21st century
  • Long-term effects of the normalization of hookup culture
  • The challenges and implications of interfaith and intercultural marriages
  • Societal pressures and mental health implications of the “biological clock”
  • The shifting dynamics and expectations of masculinity and femininity

Healthcare Disparities

  • The impact of socioeconomic status on access to quality healthcare
  • Universal healthcare: Pros and cons
  • Mental health services: Accessibility and stigmas
  • Obesity and food deserts in urban areas
  • The effects of pharmaceutical monopolies on medicine prices

Education System Flaws

  • Standardized testing and its implications for student success
  • The rising costs of higher education and student debt
  • Inequalities in public school funding
  • The benefits and challenges of online education
  • The role of sex education in schools and its impact on teen pregnancies

Economic Inequalities

  • Wealth distribution and the growing income gap
  • Child labor in the globalized world
  • The future of work in an automated age
  • Gig economy and its implications for workers’ rights
  • The effects of corporate tax evasion on public services

Children and Youth Challenges

  • The implications of child marriage in certain cultures
  • Impact of digital addiction among teenagers
  • Child soldiers and the loss of innocence
  • Bullying in schools and online platforms
  • The effects of broken homes on childhood development

Crime and Justice

  • Police brutality and racial bias
  • The prison industrial complex and its social implications
  • Rehabilitation vs. punishment: The future of incarceration
  • White-collar crime and its overlooked impact on society
  • Human trafficking and modern-day slavery

Globalization and Culture

  • Cultural erosion due to global media dominance
  • The paradox of cultural exchange vs. cultural appropriation
  • Impact of globalization on indigenous communities
  • The effects of fast fashion on labor rights and the environment
  • Western beauty standards and their global influence

Addiction and Substance Abuse

  • Opioid epidemic and the role of pharmaceutical companies
  • The societal costs of alcoholism
  • Rehabilitation and de-stigmatization of drug addicts
  • The benefits and risks of marijuana legalization
  • The hidden epidemic of prescription drug abuse

Elderly and Aging

  • Ageism and its implications in the job market
  • Challenges of dementia and Alzheimer’s in an aging population
  • The loneliness epidemic among the elderly
  • Elder abuse: Unseen and unspoken
  • The financial challenges of longer life expectancy

Religious and Cultural Tensions

  • Islamophobia in the post 9/11 world
  • The role of religion in modern political conflicts
  • Balancing freedom of expression and religious sensitivities
  • Cultural identity in a multicultural society
  • The rise of religious extremism and its societal impacts

Animal Rights and Ethical Treatment

  • The ethics of animal testing for medical research
  • Factory farming and its environmental and ethical implications
  • The challenges of wildlife conservation in urbanizing areas
  • Animal cruelty and its link to human violence
  • Ethical dilemmas of zoos and wildlife parks

Need help crafting your Social Issue Essay? At WriteOnDeadline , our team of professional writers is ready to help you articulate your thoughts with precision and clarity. Dive deep into societal challenges with a compelling essay tailored just for you. Get started with our essay writing service today!

Useful References:

  • Purdue OWL – Argumentative Essays
  • Harvard Writing Center – Essay Structure
  • UN Social Issues

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A List of 470 Powerful Social Issues Essay Topics

In modern societies, people do everything to live peacefully. Still, tensions often arise. We call them social issues when they start negatively impacting a specific group of people. Poverty, discrimination, and addiction are examples of such problems. We need to confront them to ensure equal treatment for everyone.

Our specialists will write a custom essay specially for you!

Our professional custom writing team created this article to help you write a social issues essay. This comprehensive social issues topics list covers various current problems in America and in the world. Choose among 450 social topics, and get down to writing!

  • 🔝 Top 10 Topics

✅ How to Write About Social Issues

  • 🌐 Social Media Issues Topics
  • 🏥 Health-Related Issues
  • 🌳 Environmental Issues
  • 🔫 War & Violence
  • 🚓 Police & Criminal Justice
  • 👨👩 Gender-Related Issues
  • 🧔🏿 Racism Topics
  • ✈️ Migration & Refugees
  • ⚖️ Human Rights Topics
  • 🗽 Social Issues in America

🔝 Top 10 Social Issues Topics

  • Types of prisoner rights violations.
  • Can vaccinations be mandatory?
  • What makes overpopulation a threat?
  • Online education as a cause of obesity.
  • The economic effect of rising sea levels.
  • The effects of Gender Pay Gap on economy.
  • Ways to stop racial discrimination in schools.
  • Can increase of employment help reduce poverty?
  • Women empowerment and social development.
  • Can mobile clinics make healthcare more accessible?

Writing on topics related to social issues involves thorough research. It also requires sympathy and tact. Following this guide will help you not to step on anybody’s toes.

  • Research papers call for an in-depth analysis. Make sure to reference several sources to back up your claims.
  • Essays revolve around your opinion. Here, good arguments are crucial.
  • Pick the topic . It can be either contemporary or historical. It’s better to choose something you’re interested in. If nothing comes to mind right away, use a writing topic generator .
  • Do research . Consult encyclopedias, find books on the topic. It will help you formulate ideas and outline the first draft.
  • Consider your audience . How much do they know about your subject? How invested are they? Understanding your readers will help you be more considerate.
  • Even if you have strong feelings about your subject, keep your tone neutral. Make sure not to condemn those who hold opposite views.
  • Highlight what you personally think is right. Remember that you can’t control how other people will react.
  • Be frank. Ask yourself: who am I? How do my experiences fit into my topic? Your honest answers will add unique insights to your paper.
  • Double-check your paper. Does everything you wrote logically flow? Does your argumentative structure make sense? Does it support your thesis? If possible, let your assignment sit for a day. You can edit it later with a fresh perspective.

These are the basics you need if you want to write about social issues. Now you can start your research! The first step is to pick one of the excellent topics about social problems from the list below.

🌐 Social Issues Essay Topics Related to Social Media

  • Security issues of social media .
  • Should Instagram be age-restricted?
  • Social networks’ impact on friendships.
  • Disadvantages of being an influencer .
  • Is there freedom of speech in social media?
  • Should social media ban fake information?
  • How harmful is social media dependency?
  • Should employers check employees’ accounts?
  • Online ethics and business Facebook accounts.
  • The effect of the cancel culture on mental health.
  • Cyberbullying: victim and abuser in the online environment.
  • Should children be allowed to have social media accounts?
  • Your opinion on memorial pages on social networks for the deceased.
  • Ways to stay safe on the internet.

Cyber abuse.

  • How should social media websites deal with hate speech ?
  • Is removing abusive content censorship?
  • Explore the correlation between social media and mental disorders.
  • Does Instagram change the way we perceive our lives?
  • Is modern society forcing us to participate in social networking ?
  • What is identity theft ?
  • Personal isolation and technology in communication.
  • The risks of microtransactions in online gaming .
  • How does your digital presence influence your real life?
  • Why do some people become dependent on social media ?
  • Are online networks promoting stalking ?
  • Discuss the digital divide in Washington.
  • Is Twitter’s cancel culture doing more harm than good?
  • How do marginalized groups benefit from social media?
  • How important is data safety?
  • Are people on social media more aggressive than in real life?
  • Does the internet shorten our attention span ?
  • Ways in which social media impacts your interactions with other people.
  • Marketing, social media, and you: how do influencers impact your buying behavior?
  • Explore the effect of the internet on students’ lives.
  • Is Reddit right to allow outrageous content under the principle of free speech ?
  • Politics and Twitter: the consequences of Donald Trump’s tweets .
  • Does banning online networks from the workplace increase productivity?
  • What basic ethical principles go overboard on the Internet ?
  • In how far do social media trends reflect on the general public?
  • Social media and youth: does it make puberty harder?
  • The influence of social media platforms on democracy.
  • What would happen if we could rate everyone online? (Think Community ’s episode “App Development and Condiments”)
  • Does Instagram inspire a healthy lifestyle ?
  • Why are likes so important?
  • Debate the effects of speaking out in online communities.
  • Are Facebook’s profile picture frames a good way of showing support?
  • Debate social media policies and code of conduct.
  • Is YouTube spreading propaganda?
  • Did you ever do something because you’ve read about it on the internet?
  • Are Twitter hashtags skewing the political discourse?
  • Examine the gendered experiences of people on the internet.
  • How do you make yourself heard on social media?
  • Evaluate the usefulness of Facebook’s Safety Check feature.
  • Discuss the pros and cons of TikTok challenges.
  • How does participating in Instagram challenges for social justice help?

🏥 Health-Related Social Issues Topics to Write About

Our health largely depends on the social security system. With access to good healthcare services, we are less likely to develop preventable diseases. Unfortunately, issues are common in the health sector. These interesting essay writing prompts will help you explore social problems related to health:

  • Are employers not paying enough attention to their employees’ mental health ?
  • What should a person do if they can’t afford medical treatment?
  • Why do some countries have higher obesity rates than others?
  • Should abortion be legal or illegal?
  • Debate whether a ban on tobacco advertising would help decrease smoking.
  • What makes Americans start doing drugs ?
  • Compare projects that help people overcome their addictions .
  • What is the worst substance to be addicted to?
  • Who should care for the elders ?
  • Should hospices be free?
  • Examine why HIV in seniors remains widely unrecognized.
  • Should we change the drinking age limit?
  • Whose health is mostly affected by pollution ?
  • Should parents avoid vaccinating their children?
  • What does it mean to die with dignity ?
  • Should women get extra vacation days at work because of their periods?
  • Explore the origins of the pro-life movement .
  • Should non-smokers receive additional break time?
  • Ways to make navigating easier for visually impaired people .
  • Discuss stigma against mentally challenged individuals.
  • The benefits of over-the-counter contraception.
  • Must women who breastfeed in public cover themselves up?
  • Psychoactive drugs in the treatment of psychological diseases.
  • Disabilities and stigmatization: how does being disabled affect one’s social status?
  • Does gender play an important role in one’s health?
  • What health issues are affecting African Americans and Hispanics?
  • Expectations and motherhood: being a childfree woman in a kid-centered society.
  • How does being malnourished affect a child’s psyche in the long run?
  • Investigate suicide rates in Pakistan.
  • Discuss the social acceptance of autism spectrum disorders .
  • Sociology and psychological diseases: the relationship between circumstance and mental health.
  • Write about fad diets and their impact.
  • How does the society you live in discriminate against older adults?
  • Why is access to quality healthcare unevenly distributed?
  • Who should decide when to stop life-prolonging treatments?
  • Is homeopathic treatment for children acceptable?
  • Describe why going to psychotherapy is widely stigmatized.
  • What are the social determinants of health?
  • Why is access to healthcare in rural areas so scarce?
  • Is the propagation of mindfulness and self-care on social media improving our health?

Smoking is.

  • Examine the connection between poverty and health problems.
  • Where does our society’s general obsession with weight come from?
  • Do cultural norms promote drinking alcohol to an unhealthy extent?
  • Is coffee a drug?
  • How does the depiction of drug use in the media influence the youth?

🌳 Environmental Social Issues Essay Topics

Environmentalism is not just about saving nature. A damaged environment has adverse effects on humanity and its future. Changing weather and frequent natural disasters affect millions of people. Many are forced to flee their homes. Essays on this subject can cover activism or sustainability.

Just in 1 hour! We will write you a plagiarism-free paper in hardly more than 1 hour

  • Is Extinction Rebellion’s form of protest too radical?
  • What to avoid when traveling in the age of climate change .
  • How can we ensure global access to drinking water ?
  • The impact of bottled water on the environment.
  • Water conservation methods in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • The influence of tourism on cultural heritage sites.
  • How does society need to change in the future to slow down climate change ?
  • What caused the rise in climate activism in recent years?
  • Innovation vs. tradition: getting traditional farmers to implement new sustainable technology.
  • Describe the importance of waste reduction for our ecosystems.
  • How can we use our natural resources responsibly?
  • Discuss what a sustainable diet is like.
  • The role of packaging in marketing, food safety, and environment.
  • Why do people deny human-made climate change ?
  • Why should sociologists study the environment?
  • What made us reliant on single-use plastic products?
  • Discuss green infrastructure in water management.
  • Debate how Greenpeace influences political decision making.
  • In your opinion, what’s the best environmental organization to donate to?
  • How successful is PETA in helping animals?
  • Should mandatory volunteer work substitute compulsory military service?
  • Urban gardening as a means to ensure food security .
  • The effect of self-driving electric vehicles on urban environments.
  • Compare types of sustainable futuristic cities in literature.
  • How does global warming impact indigenous peoples in South America?
  • What effects does a deteriorating environment have on labor conditions?
  • Explain what Oxfam does.
  • How does globalization impact sustainable agriculture?
  • What are the most significant achievements of environmental activists in recent years?
  • What makes politicians hesitant to take action against climate change ?
  • Investigate what happened to the population of Isle de Jean Charles.
  • Climate refugees: examine the disasters that cause people to flee their homes.
  • What are the unintentional consequences of climate-related relocation projects?
  • Explore the connection between nature and religion.
  • Ecology and economics: ways to find a balance.
  • Communities and health: how the way we handle the environment impacts the spread of disease.
  • Investigate methods for responsible consumption.
  • Why is sustainable development important for societies?

World Health Organization.

  • Contrast the methods of various environmentalist movements.
  • The world’s overpopulation: causes and effects.
  • Why can it be difficult to convince older generations to take action against climate change ?
  • What are the best things everyone can do to protect the environment ?
  • The role of zoos in wildlife endangerment.
  • How do changing weather patterns impact our homes?
  • What caused the increase in natural disasters over the last decade?

🔫 Social Issues Topics: War & Violence

Scientists still debate if violence is a part of human nature. Wars and terrorist attacks are disastrous events that traumatize millions of people. Still, it’s crucial not to forget about more subtle forms of violence. These include emotional neglect, bullying, and brutality in medical care.

  • What are the main reasons for nations to wage war?
  • Mental disorders and vulnerability to homicidal death.
  • The restoration of Germany after the Second World War.
  • Domestic violence in 20th century Canada.
  • Describe the most common types of violence against teenagers.
  • How does a country’s political situation impact domestic violence ?
  • Do splatter movies promote violent behavior ?
  • Should girls dress modestly to avoid being abused?
  • What is the use of war monuments?
  • The issue of girl education in India.
  • How does war influence the development of children?
  • Analyze the accuracy of the events depicted in Sam Mendes’ film 1917 .
  • Everything Quiet on the Western Front and the youth’s attitude towards fighting.
  • The treatment of veterans in your community.
  • Why do people join the army?
  • Connection between school bullying and problems in adult life.
  • What are the most common reasons for murder ?
  • How can a family move on after their child has been kidnapped?
  • Why are veterans more likely to commit suicide than average citizens?
  • Is human trafficking modern-day slavery?
  • Investigate how citizens of Cape Town deal with the high crime rate in their city.
  • What events can lead to an increase in crime?
  • Explain the socio-economic aftermaths of the Afghanistan war .
  • Examine the success of Columbia’s DESEPAZ program.
  • What is the origin of domestic violence?
  • Do schools in your country work effectively to discourage abusive behavior towards girls?
  • Why do men tend not to report domestic violence ?
  • How does emotional neglect impact children?
  • What are the best ways to prevent street violence?
  • Is there a connection between the strictness of gun laws and homicide rates ?
  • Why do women hesitate to report rape cases?
  • Rape and sexual harassment in the military .
  • An overview of Japanese mafia culture.
  • The connection between education and violence.
  • Who profits from war?
  • Are the US military expenses justified?
  • What does the “guns vs. butter” model describe?
  • Give examples of cultural norms justifying violence.
  • In how far has globalization impacted violent behavior ?
  • What triggers aggression against healthcare workers?
  • Ways to manage verbal abuse in social care.
  • Examine the Chinese phenomenon of Yi Nao.
  • Investigate the recent decriminalization of domestic abuse in Russia.
  • What was the impact of the #metoo movement ?
  • Bullying and sexual harassment at workplace.

🚓 Police & Criminal Justice Topics to Write About

Everyone should feel safe in their community. That’s what a country’s criminal justice system is for. But humans can make mistakes and be biased. Not everyone feels protected by the current system. What can we do to change that? Explore this question in one of the following creative topics:

  • What does the phrase “ defund the police ” mean?
  • What makes you feel safe in your community?
  • Describe the social standing of police officers in your country.
  • Examine if there’s evidence of structural racism in the police.
  • Is it possible to achieve true equality ?
  • Are all professions in criminal justice equally prestigious?
  • Discuss the concept of juvenile crimes.
  • Debate castration as a punishment for sexual offenders.
  • The influence of the internet on human trafficking .
  • What could the police be substituted with?
  • How does racial profiling work?
  • Should people who abuse drugs go to jail?
  • How do people become homeless in big cities?
  • Discuss the legitimization of prostitution.
  • What causes governments to oppose gay marriage ?
  • The safest ways to deescalate riots.
  • What are the best methods to discourage people from committing crimes ?
  • Define civil disobedience and its goals.
  • Victimology and traditional justice system alternatives.
  • What makes white-collar crimes more socially acceptable than others?
  • Reintroducing prisoners to society: obstacles and consequences.
  • Would society profit from the abolition of prisons?
  • What are the advantages of community services ?

Montesquieu quote.

  • How does crime differ in various social classes?
  • Justice for women: the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
  • How do prejudices influence criminal justice mechanics?
  • Human services issues from the point of income inequality.
  • Why was the Hong Kong national security law installed?
  • How did legalizing all drugs affect Portuguese society?
  • What are the prominent civil rights issues in your country?
  • The Captain of Köpenick : the psychological effect of uniforms.
  • Why was racial segregation widely accepted in America?
  • How do witness protection programs work?
  • The right to privacy vs. safety: a case for surveillance cameras.
  • How can one save their reputation after committing a crime?
  • Compare the four deviance theories in sociology .
  • To what extent can biology explain criminal behavior ?
  • Do police officers need guns?
  • Should law enforcers need to request permission before using firearms ?
  • How did dismantling the police department in Camden, NJ impact crime?
  • Explore the connection between militarization and police violence.
  • What does the principle of qualified immunity entail?
  • Debate the use of body cameras by police officers .
  • Police violence and subterfuge.
  • What are the social benefits of jury duty?

👨👩 Gender-Related Social Issues Essay Topics

Even today, a lot of people are systematically disadvantaged because of their gender. This problem manifests itself not only in the infamous gender pay gap. For example, in the US, transgender people are banned from serving in the army. And in some countries, women are still denied fundamental rights. If you want to get to the heart of contemporary controversial issues, this section is for you.

  • Why is the number of women in positions of power still low?
  • Are quotas the only way to guarantee equal hiring processes?
  • Pros and cons of unisex bathrooms.
  • Why are matriarchal societies rare?
  • Describe how the patriarchy holds back women.
  • Conflicting theories: gay marriage and feminism.
  • Does feminism need to be radical?
  • How does gendered marketing affect child development ?
  • Should insurance companies pay for sex reassignment therapy?
  • Reasons why some people have problems with they/them pronouns.
  • What does it mean to be non-binary?
  • Investigate the treatment of women in Saudi Arabian society .
  • What makes a profession traditionally female?
  • Should women be more encouraged to join the military ?
  • Why is it more challenging for men to get full custody ?
  • Find historical examples of women who made a change in their society.
  • Should professors be required to include more women authors in their reading material?
  • Examine the treatment of the transgender community in healthcare.
  • Is gender a purely social construct?
  • What can a woman do to become more empowered ?
  • Can a patriarchal society ever achieve true gender equality ?
  • Are Disney princesses good role models?
  • Examine the representation of gender variety in popular TV shows.
  • Gender identity: promotion of equality for sexual orientation.
  • Discuss the connection between gender-biased language and oppression.
  • Why are sexist marketing practices still legal?
  • Should girls capitalize on their attractive looks?
  • Define the term “gender blindness.”
  • Do school uniforms promote gender inequality?
  • Bibiana Steinhaus: a female referee.
  • Discuss how the battle of the sexes impacted society.
  • Should men be entitled to more extended paternity leave ?
  • Can religion ensure equality?
  • How do stereotypes against women decrease their chances of getting hired?
  • Why do millions of women still have to choose between having a family or a career?
  • Explain the gender dynamics in development.
  • Should men and women play and compete in mixed sports teams?
  • What do beauty pageants teach girls?
  • Debate the importance of LGBT studies.
  • What causes gender dysphoria?
  • Do blockbuster films have the responsibility to advocate for equality?
  • Does society need gender roles to function properly?
  • What makes same-sex marriage a controversial topic in many countries?
  • Examine adoption laws for gay couples.
  • Compare gender-based violence in the UK vs. Iran.

🧔🏿 Social Topics for Essays on Racism

Slavery is abolished everywhere in the world. Still, it didn’t put an end to racism. There’s a lot of racial bias fueled by insecurity and ignorance. Because of this, ethnic minorities rarely enjoy equal opportunities. An essay on racism can raise awareness of the problem by shedding light on racial injustice.

  • How has racism changed over the past hundred years?
  • Queer of color: history and theory.
  • Who were the Khmer Rouge ?
  • Trace the development of anti-discrimination laws in your country.
  • What caused populist groups to gain popularity in recent years?
  • Did Donald Trump’s presidency increase racism towards Latin Americans?
  • What socio-economic issues do African American families face?
  • Is there a connection between racism and social progress?
  • Would there be no racism without colonialism ?
  • Discuss subtle forms of everyday racism.
  • Should women in teaching positions be allowed to wear hijabs ?
  • Nelson Mandela and the fight against apartheid .
  • What makes people scared of minorities ?
  • Who benefits from structural racism ?
  • Find out how racism manifests itself in your native language.
  • Compare the types of social segmentation.
  • Is the use of the n-word in hip hop empowering?
  • How did imperialism impact Okonkwo’s life in Things Fall Apart ?
  • In which areas of life are black Americans institutionally disadvantaged?
  • Is it appropriate for white people to wear hoop earrings?
  • The best ways to educate children about race.
  • How does cultural appropriation become harmful?
  • Racial prejudice in the movie industry.

Mahatma Gandhi quote.

  • Your position on companies renaming well-known brands to avoid claims of racism .
  • Discuss the problem of racism at institutional and interactional levels.
  • Will racism ever end?
  • Is “All lives matter” a racist statement?
  • How does environmental racism affect the living conditions of minorities?
  • Investigate the historical persecution of the Romani people.
  • What makes people racist nowadays?
  • The internet’s contribution to alleviating racism.
  • Cultivation of racism in the American society.
  • How much of a problem is reverse discrimination?
  • Trace the history of lynching and mob violence against blacks in the American South.
  • Who was Leo Frank?
  • How does discrimination differ in rich vs. developing countries?
  • Racism as a barrier to educational opportunities.
  • Does social media help fight racist bias?
  • How to responsibly handle classic movies and literature with racial prejudices .
  • What constitutes a healthy national identity ?
  • How does modern television portray minorities ?
  • Does your country’s healthcare system disadvantage minorities ?
  • Investigate what happens to the Rohingya people in Malaysia.
  • Is antisemitism still a problem in your country?
  • Does nationalism always lead to racism?

✈️ Social Awareness Topics on Migration & Refugees

Migration can have a beneficial effect on a host country’s economy. For instance, migrants can provide vital additional workforce. But an overflow of newcomers can also lead to problems. Most notably, it affects a nations’ cultural and social landscapes. “How should we deal with refugees?” is one of the most challenging political questions today.

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  • How has migration changed over the past 20 years?
  • Mexican immigration as a political controversy.
  • Why do migrants from the Middle East face more prejudice than those from Central Europe?
  • Describe the types of events that can cause major forced displacement .
  • How should governments plan for migration?
  • Why do many people in Europe have a negative attitude towards refugees ?
  • Why are foreign workers important to every nation’s economy?
  • Effective ways to integrate displaced people.
  • Critique Arizona’s new immigration laws.
  • Have refugee camps ever been a solution to the problem?
  • What drives people to immigrate illegally ?
  • Should the US’ sanctuary cities be dissolved?
  • Describe the notion of ecological migration.
  • Should Europe take in more refugees ?
  • Compare resettlement models in Canada vs. Australia.
  • What’s the difference between expats and migrants?
  • What factors make illegal immigration undesirable?
  • Has the public perception of migrants changed over the past years?
  • How important is it that immigrants speak their host country’s language?
  • What does social integration ideally consist of?
  • Discuss Chinese settlement patterns in America.
  • The advantages of dropping visa restrictions.
  • How did 9/11 affect the public’s perception of the global movement?
  • Is it morally right to marry someone just for their passport?
  • Do illegal immigrants negatively impact their host country’s society?
  • Does migration cause destabilization?
  • What does the claim “no one is illegal” advocate?
  • How does the American green card lottery work?
  • Should a child born in a foreign country automatically receive citizenship ?
  • American society wouldn’t exist without immigration . Why is it still so hostile towards foreigners?
  • Explore the link between global movement and the spread of diseases.
  • Should the government use taxpayer money to upskill refugees ?
  • Immigrants in Toronto: social and economic challenges.
  • Can expats from a distinct cultural background ever integrate into a country that doesn’t share their norms?
  • Discuss the importance of diversity to society.
  • Is there a connection between immigration rates and crime?
  • Should expats be eligible for welfare programs ?
  • Where’s the line between cultural appropriation and integration?
  • Can binational relationships work?
  • How do you become a stateless person?
  • What rights do asylum seekers have in your country?
  • Is immigration from developing countries a threat to wealthier nations?
  • Explore moral panics associated with other ethnicities.
  • What makes Europe attractive to expats?
  • Describe the common prejudices refugees have to face in Australia.

⚖️ Social Justice Essay Topics on Human Rights

You probably agree that every human deserves access to fundamental rights. Unfortunately, these are continually under threat. And it doesn’t always happen far away from you. Women, the LGBT community, and many others fight for their rights every single day.

  • Are limitations of human rights during crises justified?
  • Should we strive to achieve the same rights globally?
  • Is male circumcision shortly after birth a violation of human rights?
  • How do you prevent low-income families from sending their children to work ?
  • Capital punishment vs. the right to live.
  • Can dictatorships ensure human rights ?

Martin Luther King Jr. quote.

  • Is using sensitive language incriminating our freedom of speech?
  • Describe the achievements of Amnesty International.
  • Should Europe stop business interactions with countries that violate human rights ?
  • Examine effective ways to combat food shortages in the Global South.
  • How can governments secure freedom of speech ?
  • Should access to the internet be included as a fundamental human right?
  • Are restrictive laws concerning hijabs violating religious freedom ?
  • Charlie Hebdo and its Muhammad cartoons: did they go too far?
  • When does satire become harmful?
  • Examine how human rights are treated in the pornography industry.
  • Why are LGBT people around the world not granted the same rights as everyone else?
  • Balancing labor conditions and demand: human rights in the economy.
  • Who protects stateless persons?
  • What has changed since the first declaration of human rights?
  • How was slavery justified back in the day?
  • Why do women in many countries still not have the same rights as men?
  • The Handmaid’s Tale : how is the society in Gilead structured?
  • Discuss how vital the rights to freedom of thought and expression are.
  • To which rights should prisoners have access to?
  • Debate the fairness of the utilitarian approach.
  • How do NGOs help to ensure human rights in Somalia?
  • Human rights and the Bible : how does the church get away with violations?
  • Define different perspectives on what constitutes freedom .
  • What are the most significant human rights issues today?
  • Ethics and the media: exploiting personal tragedies for attention.
  • Prisoners are humans, too: rights violations in Guantanamo.
  • Is combating climate change a human rights issue?
  • Are cruel traditions such as honor killings justified if they are socially accepted?
  • How successful is the European Commission of Human Rights?
  • Is the death penalty a justified measure nowadays?
  • Should pets have the same rights as humans?
  • Define the difference between civil and human rights.
  • If there’s gay pride, why shouldn’t there be straight pride?
  • Unequal privilege: legal, religious, and social factors.
  • What would happen if education were free and accessible to everyone?
  • State terrorism vs. critical terrorism.
  • Did globalization make us freer?
  • Is the wellbeing of the majority more important than the wellbeing of a minority?
  • When, if ever, should men and women have different rights?

🗽 Current Social Issues Topics in America

With its variety of races and cultures, America faces many social issues. Its deeply divided political parties add more fuel to the fire. African American rights and police brutality are some of the most pressing issues in the US today.

  • Consequences of fortifying the American-Mexican border wall.
  • Should illegal immigrants always be deported when found?
  • Is the democratic system in the US in need of reform?
  • What are the social causes of obesity in the USA?
  • Negative side effects of the war on drugs .
  • How important is bipartisan cooperation?
  • What difference does it make if Russia meddled in the 2016 elections?
  • Police brutality: reasons and countermeasures.
  • Discuss the importance of reducing medical costs.
  • Racism and the police: is it an institutional problem?
  • What are the strictest cultural taboos in American society?
  • Are there enough women in American leadership positions?
  • Is sexism a significant problem in the States?
  • Describe the consequences of voter fraud.
  • Should schools teach students to be more patriotic ?
  • Discuss prescription drug abuse in America.
  • College student debt : is it a fair price to pay for a good education?
  • Will police presence in schools help curb violence?
  • What drugs should be legalized vs. remain illegal?
  • Debate the quality of political education in your state.
  • Is fake news a severe problem?
  • Financial literacy as a compulsory subject in high school.
  • How do you destigmatize taboo topics in society?
  • Why do conversations about periods make people feel uncomfortable?
  • Social causes of eating disorders in adults.
  • Discuss how various religions can live together peacefully.
  • Describe the NIMBY phenomenon.
  • What are the benefits and limitations of needle exchange programs?
  • Find reasons why peaceful protests turn into violent riots.
  • Are students in the US nowadays under too much stress ?
  • What are the harmful effects of urban sprawl ?
  • Can your vote make a difference?
  • Do American schools need to offer better sex education classes?
  • What makes people believe the Earth is flat ?
  • Why do conspiracy theories spread so quickly nowadays?
  • Traffic in California: reasons to invest in public transport.
  • Are charter schools better than public schools?
  • Compare the most prominent social movements currently active in America.
  • The legacy of Occupy Wall Street.
  • Describe the pros and cons of the Green New Deal.
  • How successful is special education in the US?
  • What causes gentrification in American cities?
  • Is immigration a strain on the American job market ?
  • Tackle the problem of prison overcrowding.
  • Investigate the effects of ableism in the States.

That’s all we’ve got for you. We hope this article was helpful. Good luck with your essay writing!

You might also be interested in:

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🔍 References

  • Lifestyles & Social Issues: Encyclopedia Britannica
  • Controversial/Contemporary Issues: How to Write a Research Paper: Campbell University
  • 3 Insights Into Writing about Social Issues: Jane Friedman
  • Key Issues: eSafety Commissioner
  • Top 10 Most Common Health Issues: University of Rochester Medical Center
  • Top 10 Most Important Environmental Issues: Iberdrola.com
  • War: Social Problems: University of Minnesota
  • Violence: a Global Public Health Problem: WHO
  • What Are the Biggest Problems Women Face Today?: Politico Magazine
  • Issues: National Center for Transgender Equality
  • List of Issues about Racism: The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
  • Potential implications of Increasing Significance of Migration: EU
  • The Biggest Issues Facing Migrants Today — and What We Can Do to Solve Them: World Economic Forum
  • How Americans See Major National Issues: Pew Research Center
  • Social Issues and Human Rights: United Nations Environment
  • Crime & Criminal Justice: Brookings
  • Social Problems: Oxford Academic Press
  • Criminal Justice: ProPublica
  • Structural Racism in America: Urban Institute
  • Racism and Health: American Public Health Association
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Essay Topics – List of 500+ Essay Writing Topics and Ideas

List of 500+ essay writing topics and ideas.

Essay topics in English can be difficult to come up with. While writing essays , many college and high school students face writer’s block and have a hard time to think about topics and ideas for an essay. In this article, we will list out many good essay topics from different categories like argumentative essays, essays on technology, environment essays for students from 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grades. Following list of essay topics are for all – from kids to college students. We have the largest collection of essays. An essay is nothing but a piece of content which is written from the perception of writer or author. Essays are similar to a story, pamphlet, thesis, etc. The best thing about Essay is you can use any type of language – formal or informal. It can biography, the autobiography of anyone. Following is a great list of 100 essay topics. We will be adding 400 more soon!

But Before that you may wanna read some awesome Essay Writing Tips here .

500+ essay topics for students and children

Get the Huge list of 100+ Speech Topics here

Argumentative Essay Topics

  • Should plastic be banned?
  • Pollution due to Urbanization
  • Education should be free
  • Should Students get limited access to the Internet?
  • Selling Tobacco should be banned
  • Smoking in public places should be banned
  • Facebook should be banned
  • Students should not be allowed to play PUBG

Essay Topics on Technology

  • Wonder Of Science
  • Mobile Phone

Essay Topics on Festivals on Events

  • Independence Day (15 August)
  • Teachers Day
  • Summer Vacation
  • Children’s Day
  • Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
  • Janmashtami
  • Republic Day

Essay Topics on Education

  • Education Essay
  • Importance of Education
  • Contribution of Technology in Education

issues to write essays on

Essay Topics on Famous Leaders

  • Mahatma Gandhi
  • APJ Abdul Kalam
  • Jawaharlal Nehru
  • Swami Vivekananda
  • Mother Teresa
  • Rabindranath Tagore
  • Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
  • Subhash Chandra Bose
  • Abraham Lincoln
  • Martin Luther King
  • Lal Bahadur Shashtri

Essay Topics on Animals and Birds

  • My Favorite Animal

Essays Topics About Yourself

  • My Best Friend
  • My Favourite Teacher
  • My Aim In Life
  • My Favourite Game – Badminton
  • My Favourite Game – Essay
  • My Favourite Book
  • My Ambition
  • How I Spent My Summer Vacation
  • India of My Dreams
  • My School Life
  • I Love My Family
  • My Favourite Subject
  • My Favourite Game Badminton
  • My Father My Hero
  • My School Library
  • My Favourite Author
  • My plans for summer vacation

Essay Topics Based on Environment and Nature

  • Global Warming
  • Environment
  • Air Pollution
  • Environmental Pollution
  • Water Pollution
  • Rainy Season
  • Climate Change
  • Importance Of Trees
  • Winter Season
  • Deforestation
  • Natural Disasters
  • Save Environment
  • Summer Season
  • Trees Our Best Friend Essay In English

Essay Topics Based on Proverbs

  • Health Is Wealth
  • A Stitch in Time Saves Nine
  • An Apple a Day Keeps Doctor Away
  • Where there is a will, there is way
  • Time and Tide wait for none

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Essay Topics for Students from 6th, 7th, 8th Grade

  • Noise Pollution
  • Environment Pollution
  • Women Empowerment
  • Time and Tide Wait for none
  • Science and Technology
  • Importance of Sports
  • Sports and Games
  • Time Management
  • Cleanliness is next to Godliness
  • Cleanliness
  • Rome was not Built in a Day
  • Unemployment
  • Clean India
  • Cow Essay In English
  • Describe Yourself
  • Festivals Of India
  • Ganesh Chaturthi
  • Healthy Food
  • Importance Of Water
  • Plastic Pollution
  • Value of Time
  • Honesty is the Best Policy
  • Gandhi Jayanti
  • Human Rights
  • Knowledge Is Power
  • Same Sex Marriage
  • Childhood Memories
  • Cyber Crime
  • Kalpana Chawla
  • Punctuality
  • Rani Lakshmi Bai
  • Spring Season
  • Unity In Diversity
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Online Shopping
  • Indian Culture
  • Healthy Lifestyle
  • Indian Education System
  • Disaster Management
  • Environmental Issues
  • Freedom Fighters
  • Grandparents
  • Save Fuel For Better Environment
  • Importance Of Newspaper
  • Lal Bahadur Shastri
  • Raksha Bandhan
  • World Environment Day
  • Narendra Modi
  • What Is Religion
  • Charity Begins at Home
  • A Journey by Train
  • Ideal student
  • Save Water Save Earth
  • Indian Farmer
  • Safety of Women in India
  • Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
  • Capital Punishment
  • College Life
  • Natural Resources
  • Peer Pressure
  • Nature Vs Nurture
  • Romeo And Juliet
  • Generation Gap
  • Makar Sankranti
  • Constitution of India
  • Girl Education
  • Importance of Family
  • Importance of Independence Day
  • Brain Drain
  • A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed
  • Action Speaks Louder Than Words
  • All That Glitters Is Not Gold
  • Bhagat Singh
  • Demonetization
  • Agriculture
  • Importance of Discipline
  • Population Explosion
  • Poverty in India
  • Uses Of Mobile Phones
  • Water Scarcity
  • Train Journey
  • Land Pollution
  • Environment Protection
  • Indian Army
  • Uses of Internet
  • All that Glitters is not Gold
  • Balanced Diet
  • Blood Donation
  • Digital India
  • Dussehra Essay
  • Energy Conservation
  • National Integration
  • Railway Station
  • Sachin Tendulkar
  • Health And Hygiene
  • Importance Of Forest
  • Indira Gandhi
  • Laughter Is The Best Medicine
  • Career Goals
  • Mental Health
  • Save Water Save Life
  • International Yoga Day
  • Winter Vacation
  • Soil Pollution
  • Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining
  • Indian Culture And Tradition
  • Unity Is Strength
  • Unity is Diversity
  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Cruelty To Animals
  • Nelson Mandela
  • Of Mice And Men
  • Organ Donation
  • Life in a Big City
  • Democracy in India
  • Waste Management
  • Biodiversity
  • Afforestation
  • Female Foeticide
  • Harmful Effects Of Junk Food
  • Rain Water Harvesting
  • Save Electricity
  • Social Media
  • Social Networking Sites
  • Sound Pollution
  • Procrastination
  • Life in an Indian Village
  • Life in Big City
  • Population Growth
  • World Population Day
  • Greenhouse Effect
  • Statue of Unity
  • Traffic Jam
  • Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
  • Importance of Good Manners
  • Good Manners
  • Cyber Security
  • Green Revolution
  • Health And Fitness
  • Incredible India
  • Make In India
  • Surgical Strike
  • Triple Talaq
  • A Good Friend
  • Importance of Friends in our Life
  • Should Plastic be Banned
  • Nationalism
  • Traffic Rules
  • Effects of Global Warming
  • Fundamental Rights
  • Solar System
  • National Constitution Day
  • Good Mother
  • Importance of Trees in our Life
  • City Life Vs Village Life
  • Importance of Communication
  • Conservation of Nature
  • Man vs. Machine
  • Indian Economy
  • Mothers Love
  • Importance of National Integration
  • Black Money
  • Greenhouse effect
  • Untouchability
  • Self Discipline
  • Global Terrorism
  • Conservation of Biodiversity
  • Newspaper and Its Uses
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How to Write an Enduring Issues Essay: Guide with Topics and examples

How to Write an Enduring Issues Essay: Guide with Topics and examples

Writing Enduring Issues Essay

Writing Enduring Issues Essay

Writing an enduring issues essay is not easy. You must discuss a topic that can get people to discuss and think long after they read your paper.

This guide will teach you how to write an enduring issues essay. You will find the topics list and examples of each one. In addition, we go over the different types of essays used for this purpose and give you a brief overview.

issues to write essays on

What is an Enduring Issues Essay?

An enduring issues essay is a written task where the author identifies and describes a historically significant challenge that endured for a long duration and has been addressed with different degrees of success.

Example of enduring issues

You should describe the challenge, explain why it has endured and how different people successfully addressed it at different times.

Mostly, this can be either by a group or an individual, but it must be historically significant so that the argument you present can be backed up with historical evidence.

An enduring issues essay is a written task where you are to identify and describe a historically significant challenge that has endured over time and has been addressed with varying degrees of success.

For example, if you were asked to write an enduring issues essay on women’s rights in America, you would need to determine if women’s rights have improved or not since the beginning of the nation.

You could then compare these results from past times with present-day trends. This task can happen by looking at how women were treated in colonial times compared to now.

You could also compare them to those who came before us, such as those who were slaves during slavery, compared to today’s race relations which do not discriminate based on race but rather on merit.

Typically, an enduring issues essay allows for historical analysis to see how our society has changed over time and what is still relevant today.

How to Write an Enduring Issues Essay

1. choose your topic.

When you are writing an essay, you need to choose a topic that is interesting and interesting enough to draw the attention of your readers. The topic should be something that can get discussed in several different ways.

choose a topic

To ensure that your essay is successful, it needs a clear structure.

An outline will help you plan exactly what you want to say in each section of your essay and how they relate to one another. In addition to planning your essay, several tips can help you write an enduring issues essay.

First, write down some ideas for the essay. Write down what questions or topics you would like to discuss; for example, if you wanted to write about global warming in your essay, then write down all the things happening worldwide on this issue.

You must consider something that impacts everyone, not just someone specific or something local such as pollution.

Next, think about where these ideas come from. For example: do you have friends who are interested in this issue? Can they help you find information about it? Can they give examples of others who have written about this topic before?

2. Choose your Thesis Statement

The best way to write an enduring issues paper is to start with a thesis statement. This sentence or two summarizes your argument and explains why you are writing.

The thesis statement should be a strong one that states your main point clearly and concisely but also broad enough to encompass many other points of view. It should be like: “All of us need to find ways to improve our communication skills.”

You can then support this thesis by using examples from your own life or others in your family, school or community. You might also use statistics or other research materials from books or online resources, such as Wikipedia.

3. Write your Introduction

the introduction

You should write your introduction in an engaging and emotional tone. You can achieve this by writing about a personal connection, experience or something that makes you feel strongly about the issue.

If you are writing about a social issue, discussing how it affects people and what it means for those involved or affected by it is important.

You can use examples to illustrate this point and help your readers understand the importance of your argument.

For example:

In this essay, I will discuss how climate change is affecting our future generations by highlighting some of the problems they face due to climate change, such as rising sea levels and ocean acidification, droughts and wildfires, extreme weather events and food shortages (Klein and Sams).

In addition, I will discuss how we can tackle these issues by implementing new technologies that reduce carbon emissions and help us adapt to climate change (Klein and Sams).

4. Include body sections

The body section is where you will elaborate further on the issue, giving examples and evidence that support your argument. You may also include an additional supporting quote if you have any. The body section should be no less than three paragraphs long.

The essay’s body sections should explain each issue’s causes and effects. The body section should not be longer than three paragraphs unless you are going for a detailed explanation of your chosen topic.

A good way to structure your body section is by using a question-and-answer format. You can ask yourself questions such as: ‘What are the causes?’ or ‘How does it affect me?’ and answer them with your own opinion or research findings.

The body section is where you need to explain what you have learned about the topic and why it matters to you personally. You can use quotes from others who have experienced similar problems or relevant statistics on how many people are affected by these issues worldwide.

5. Conclusion

writing the conclusion

The conclusion is the final part of a written essay, which can be either a paragraph or a point, and it should give you a summary of your main points. It should not be too long and should include some conclusion statement.

The conclusion is the last line of your essay that summarizes all the points previously discussed in your writing. The best way to conclude an essay is by stating your main points, followed by an explanation.

Enduring Issues Essay Example Topics

A) climate change.

For example;

The issue of climate change has been a topic that has been discussed in the past and will continue to be discussed in the future.

Climate change is a global phenomenon affecting all parts of Earth’s life. It is caused by human activities such as fossil fuel burning, deforestation and agriculture. It devastates agriculture, water supply, food production and human health.

The causes of climate change can be attributed to human activities such as fossil fuel burning, deforestation and agriculture (UNFCCC).

Fossil fuels are the main contributors to greenhouse gases (GHG) which are responsible for trapping heat within the atmosphere through a process known as radiative forcing.

Deforestation is another cause of climate change as it contributes to land-use changes, which results in increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere.

Agriculture contributes to CO2 emissions because it releases methane gas into the atmosphere when animals eaten by humans are released back into the environment after being consumed by humans.

Climate change has serious consequences for all life on earth, including humans, who have become a major contributor to climate change through their consumption habits, such as over-fishing or consuming meat from animals raised using non-sustainable practices such as intensive farming methods and fertilizers.

b) The Great Depression

One example of this kind of essay is “The Great Depression,” which was written by John Steinbeck in 1939. In this essay, he talked about how people worldwide suffered during this time because they had no jobs, money or food.

He also talked about how people turned to crime to survive financially, which brought down society’s values even more than before.

c) The Nazi Holocaust

Another example would be “The Nazi Holocaust” by Hannah Arendt, which discusses the systematic genocide done by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party against Jews during World War II.

In this essay, she talks about how many German citizens were happy when Hitler took control of their country because they thought it would bring glory to Germany again after losing wars with other countries such as France.

issues to write essays on

With over 10 years in academia and academic assistance, Alicia Smart is the epitome of excellence in the writing industry. She is our chief editor and in charge of the writing department at Grade Bees.

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150 Social Justice Essay Topics & Examples

⭐ top 10 social justice issues to write about, 🏆 best social justice topic ideas & essay examples, ⭐ simple & easy social justice essay titles, 📌 most interesting social justice topics to write about, 👍 good social justice research topics, ❓ research questions about social justice.

Social justice essays are an excellent tool for demonstrating your awareness of the current issues in society.

Inequality in society should be addressed, and social justice advocates are at the forefront of such initiatives. Everyone should be able to achieve their goals and dreams if they put in the effort, assuming of course that reaching that target is at all possible.

To that end, you should ask various social justice essay questions and investigate different situations, particularly those that surround marginalized communities.

While the civil rights movement has succeeded in eliminating discriminatory policies and gender segregation, people should remain vigilant so that inequality again.

There are many topics you can discuss in your essay, but is better to focus on something specific and conduct a detailed investigation. It is easy to take some examples of data that shows a situation that seems unequal and declare that the system is flawed.

However, the data may be inaccurate, and the causes may be different from what you initially perceive them to be. Many fields will be too small for statistic laws to apply, and so there will be a temporary prevalence of people with a specific trait.

Declarations of premature conclusions and calls to action based on these conjectures are not productive and will generally lead to harm.

Be sure to consider evidence from both sides when discussing the topic of injustice, especially in its sensitive applications.

The case of police officers and the racial disparity in arrests is a prominent example, as there is significant disagreement, and neither side can be considered entirely correct.

At other times, unequal treatments may be explained by racial and gender differences without the application of discriminatory practices, particularly with regards to cultural practices.

The importance of justice is above debate, but it is not always about declaring one side correct while the other is wrong and at fault. Humanity operates best when it is unified and follows the same purpose of fairness.

Lastly, try to avoid confusing equality with equity, as the two social justice essay topics are significantly different. The former involves similar starting conditions and opportunities for all people, though they will likely achieve varying successes in life.

The latter means equality of outcomes, meaning that the unsuccessful receive support, which logically has to come at the expense of those who succeed.

You may support either position, with equality being a more traditional concept that seems logical to many people and equity being considered effective at improving the conditions of marginalized communities. However, make your position clear, as the difference is critical and informs your personal concept of social justice.

Here are some additional tips for your paper:

  • Separate the points you make in your essay with social justice essay titles. These titles will help the reader navigate the paper and understand your main claims.
  • Try to introduce original ideas instead of contributing to ongoing debates. An essay does not allow enough space to let you add something that will change the situation to such discussions.
  • The topic of social justice is inherently political, as most suggestions will involve policy-level changes. However, you should try to distance yourself from politics and work with factual information.

Visit IvyPanda to find more social justice essay examples and other useful paper samples to boost your creative process!

  • Unemployment.
  • Global Warming.
  • School Shooting.
  • Income Inequality.
  • Global Pandemic.
  • Social Security.
  • Racial & LGBTQ Discrimination.
  • Mental Health Stigma.
  • Famine and Starvation.
  • Discrimination in Voting.
  • Social Justice in Education With a clear distinction between justice taught in class and justice allowed to thrive in the school environments, teachers can be able to observe how their students perceive and response to social injustices in the […]
  • Advocating for Social Justice in Healthcare However, health care is also often related to the idea of social justice a term that describes the allocation of resources and benefits to people according to their needs and abilities.
  • Social Justice: The Catholic’s Social Teachings on Justice The church also seeks to instill value in the prisoners’ lives through teachings and practices that accept prisoners as people who deserve to be treated with dignity.
  • Social Justice and Mental Health However, it is difficult to imagine the U.S.taking nationwide action on mental health due to the absence of healthcare for physical health, which is widely accepted as a serious issue.
  • David Miller’s Theory of Desert in Social Justice The dependence of rewards on the variety of external and conditional factors makes the public and scholars question the idea of the desert and its use for justice.
  • Jay-Z’s Contribution to Hip-Hop and Fight for Social Justice One should admit that the crime rate among black people in some poor areas is really quite high, and that is another problem Jay-Z covers in his music.
  • Social Justice and the Australian Indigenous People The main idea behind the formation of the social justice commission was to give the indigenous Australian people choice by empowering them to stand up for their rights.
  • Black Lives Matter and Social Justice Social media is a new public platform that has proved to be extremely effective in fighting against the normalization of violence against African-Americans.
  • Freedom and Social Justice Through Technology These two remarkable minds have made significant contributions to the debates on technology and how it relates to liberty and social justice.
  • Factors of Strategic Management of Social Justice Starting to talk about economic and technological changes that affect the sector of social justice, it is possible to observe tendencies of the level of development of the country from social policy.
  • Social Justice from a Philosophical Perspective Although their theories of justice were significant, they would not have existed without Plato’s influence and the contribution that their ideas of justice have made to political philosophy.
  • Social Justice in the Modern World The main link in social relations is a measure of social justice, a derivative of the equality of people’s opportunities to realize their potential.
  • Social Justice Quotes from “The Wife’s Lament” by Beck “never worse than now ever I suffer the torment of my exile”.”that man’s kinsmen began to think in secret that they would separate us” “so we would live far apart in the world” “My lord […]
  • Social Justice in Counseling Psychology The other barrier which is likely to arise in the process of integrating social justice in the workplace is legal and ethical issues.
  • Social Justice and Vulnerability Theories When the country’s economic analyzers assess the status of the economy, the older people are regarded as the first group of the population that is pulling the economy backward because they are entirely dependent.
  • Social Justice in Social Work Practice The moral approach of social work is fundamentally based on the idea of social justice. Despite the numerous risks associated with advocating for social justice, criticizing injustice is one of the few courageous ways to […]
  • Journal Editors’ Role Regarding Social Justice Issues Journal editors can involve professionals from social justice forums such as civil rights lawyers in their journals as well as reduce the complexity of the presentation of social justice article contents.
  • Researching the Concept of Social Justice A special kind of justice is social justice, the subjects of which are large social groups, society as a whole, and humanity.
  • The Role of Quilting in the African American Striving for Social Justice Perhaps quilting has become not only one of the symbols of African American national culture but also a way in which many black women have become visible and significant.
  • Promoting Social Justice Through Serving God Therefore, serving God in action correlates with the promotion of social justice and reflects the importance of Christian teachings about kindness towards others.
  • Social Justice and Importing Foreign Nurses Evaluation Given the lag between the submission of the article and its publication, it means that these sources most likely reflect the situation with the recruitment of foreign-educated nurses by the end of the 2000s.
  • Promoting Social Justice With Head Start Program This essay will discuss the role of the Head Start program in the promotion of social justice in the US, focusing on the values taught to the children and the activities that constitute the program.
  • Religion, Politics, and Social Justice Organized religions want to change and implement rebranding to fit the new trend, concentrating on social justice in general rather than the individual spiritual aspirations of a person or a family.
  • Social Justice and Its Relevance in This Century To put the issue in perspective, he references the civil rights movement of the 1960s and juxtaposes it against the fact that the US had a black president.
  • Social Justice Arts as a Remedy for People The work led to the formation of the movement called Black Lives Matter which calls for an end to oppressing black people through law enforcement.
  • Social Justice, Diversity and Workplace Discrimination It also includes the fair distribution of the national wealth and resources among all citizens and the unbiased treatment of all individuals.
  • Social Justice: Why Do Violations Happen? If there is social inequality in a society, it must be corrected to serve the interests of the most oppressed groups of the population.
  • Social Justice From the Biblical Point of View Furthermore, all oppressed and poor people are considered to be “righteous” in the Bible because it “is a reflection of God’s faithful love in action and his desire for justice and righteousness in this world”.
  • Definition of Social Justice and Social Justice in Leadership They should evaluate the situation, identify areas that need improvement and develop a plan to support the achievement of social justice.
  • Community Engagement and Social Justice Promotion Furthermore, as social justice is integrated into the curriculum, I would like to participate in practice-oriented assignments and class discussions to make a meaningful change.
  • Social Justice Leadership and Supervision While the concepts of leadership and supervision tend to be referenced within the clinical contend and primarily apply to the responsibilities of the professionals in mental institutions, the issues articulated in the article and chapters […]
  • Uganda’s Economic Planning and Social Justice On the eastern, it borders Kenya, North is Southern Sudan, to the west is DRC and to the southwest is Rwanda, while to the South is Tanzania.
  • Rise of Mental Social Justice It relates to the social justice leadership in clinical and supervisory practice in mental health settings by challenging the modern tenets of managerialism and neoliberalism.
  • Social Justice in the US Healthcare System Social justice is a relatively broad concept, the interpretation of which often depends on the political and economic views of an individual.
  • Conceptualizing Supervision in Search of Social Justice Based on these findings, it could be concluded that Social justice leadership is meant to become the remedy and the ideological, political, and medical opponent of the dominant positivist biomedical paradigm.
  • Researching HIV, AIDS and Social Justice Disney claims that poverty and social injustice lead to the spread of HIV/AIDS among underprivileged people in all countries. The disease was a kind of stigma and infected people were subjected to discrimination and alienation.
  • Equal Pay Convention Ratified by New Zealand and Ensuring Social Justice This paper seeks to identify whether the ratification of the International Labour Organisation equal pay for an equal value of work Convention by New Zealand delivered social justice to the women in the New Zealand […]
  • Influence of Socioeconomic Status and Social Justice on Health in the US In the video, Richard David and James Collins have determined that racism, inappropriate social policies, and chronic stress are major social factors that lead to the delivery of low-weight babies among African American women.
  • Social Justice Perspective Thus public health deals not only with the guarantee of a long healthy life but also regulate and control the death rate, try to expand the life interval, and other things that the policy of […]
  • Deaf Youth: Social Justice Through Media and Activism The Deaf Youth USA for instance strives to educate, inspire, and empower the deaf youth to make difference in the communities.
  • Re-Examining Criminal and Social Justice Systems: Reducing Incarceration Rates in the US The changes in criminal justice policy over the past decades and the alteration of the same from one of rehabilitative and social justice to one of retributive justice and increasing reliance on imprisonment as a […]
  • Social Justice and Ethics: Beneficiaries of U.S. Welfare Programs In United States the beneficiaries include the poor, the old, the disabled, survivors, farmers, corporations and any other individual who may be eligible.
  • Social Justice and Feminism in America So as to make a change in this situation, the feminists in America took efforts to improve the condition of women.
  • Equality of Opportunity and Social Justice: Affirmative Action If this is the situation in advanced nations of the world, the plight in the newly emerging states in Africa, Asia, and Latin America can easily be imagined as to how difficult would it be […]
  • Christianity Religion and Asian World: Social Justice It was also said that the greatest botched opportunity in all church history was in the 1260s the court of the great Kublai Khan asked the Polos when they returned to Italy in 1269 to […]
  • Social Justice for Indigenous Women in Canada However, the problem of social justice or, to be more accurate, the lack thereof becomes especially poignant when considering criminal issues and their management, as well as the factors that contribute to reducing the rates […]
  • Social Justice and Educational Reform in the US People are free to develop their individual attitudes to the importance of social justice in education and leadership. Social justice may be used in the creation of job announcements, proposals, and statements to attract attention […]
  • Social Justice in Quality Health Care The provision of accessible health services is necessary to minimize the health risks of the low-income households and improve their quality of life.
  • What Is Social Justice? To my mind, the two most important principles of justice that should be used to govern within a just society are the selection of highly virtuous state leaders and government representatives to put in charge […]
  • Social Justice: Philosophy of Employment The philosophy of empowerment supports dignity and self-worth; as such, value to all people, regardless of their status or race is an important rule of empowerment.
  • American Women’s Movements for Social Justice Like Alice Walker, Deborah Gray, and Collins, Tyra Banks continues the legacy of black women since she is ready to campaign against racism, sexism, and discrimination.
  • Social Justice Group Work for Homeless Young Mothers The group discussed in the article was started for the purpose of assisting residents address the problem of homelessness especially in aspects of parenting and during pregnancy periods.
  • Readings for Diversity and Social Justice: An Anthology In that way, the authors noted that racial and ethnic differences tend to produce impact on lives of communities in the entirety of their aspects, and thus can aggravate other social justice issues.
  • Health Care Services: Social Justice Analysis For instance, the level of poverty in the USA is on the rise, and many people simply have no funds to purchase their health insurance. In conclusion, it is possible to note that social justice […]
  • Social Justice Issues: Elderly Minority Groups Students should know the peculiarities of the populations in question and should be aware of practices and services available to those patients.
  • Ethics and Social Justice in Education Policies The real-life problem that contributes to those controversies is the multicultural genuineness of the community that was exposed to the federal and state standard reforms that transpired throughout the last ten years.
  • Administrative Constitutionalism and Social Justice The current point of view at the crimes and violence is predestined by the commercial pressure applied to the mass media sources. In the majority of the cases, popular media becomes the viral source of […]
  • Counselors as Social Justice Advocates The compelling vision of social justice is to achieve “free, full, and equal participation” of all groups in society to realize their aspirations and mutual needs.
  • U.S. Postal Service’s Ethics and Social Justice In spite of the fact that the current agency was organized in 1971, the background of the organization is related to the development of the first postal service in the country based on the U.S.
  • Ethics Issues: Social Justice In other words, it is observed that an individual has a duty of ensuring that the law is followed while the government is expected to provide the basic rights and freedoms.
  • Education and Social Justice The society should also reduce the gap between the poor and the rich. The current level of inequality explains why “every school should reinvent itself in order to deal with social injustice”.
  • Social justice and the black – white achievement gap From a national perspective, the achievement gap between the Black and White is reported to have narrowed down in 2007 as compared to the same gap in 1990.
  • Setting an Agenda for Social Justice According to Wilkinson, Brundrett is a professor of Educational Research in the Faculty of Education, Community, and Leisure and the head of the Centre for Research and Evaluation, in the Liverpool John Moores University.
  • Prosperity and Social Justice The short story was also the subject of debate when it was first written because it failed to fit in any particular genre at the time.”The Yellow Wallpaper” was mostly considered a horror story when […]
  • Social Justice: Wray’s Essential Aspects of Biblical Law and Justice Wray has conducted an extensive study on the subject of social justice and suggests that students taking any course on law or social justice must go back to the origins of these laws and justice, […]
  • Social and Criminal Justice Responses to Sex Work The negative attitude of the community and the criminalization of sex works made workers of his industry vulnerable and susceptible for the physical assaults of men in the street, their customers and even policemen.
  • Is Social Justice the Same Thing as Political Egalitarianism? An Analysis from a Theory of Justice Perspective This is the question that is likely to arise when one is analyzing social justice in the context of political developments in the society.
  • Social Justice and Gay Rights This perception of gays was radically reformed thanks to the efforts of gay rights movements which trace their roots to the 1960s and the Stonewall Riots of 1969 which marked the birth of the gay […]
  • The People Demand Social Justice: The Social Protest in Israel as an Agoral Gathering
  • The Woman Who Spoke of Love and Social Justice
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  • Multicultural Counseling Social Justice and Advocacy Reaction
  • The Paradox of Dominate Ideologies in The Fight of Social Justice
  • Letter from Birmingham Jail’ by Martin Luther King Jr. and Social Justice
  • Richard Spencer and the Issues of Social Justice and White Nationalism
  • The Moving Beyond Pity and Inspiration: Disability as a social Justice Issue by Eli Clare
  • The Importance of Human Rights and Social Justice
  • Social Justice: The Role of Higher Education, Criminality and Race
  • Turning Points in the Lives of Chinese and Indian Women Leaders Working Toward Social Justice
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  • The Role of Education in Society as Explained in Conell’s Social Justice in Education
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  • The ‘s Coat of Arms Are Trust, Empathy, and Social Justice
  • The Vietnam War and Its Impact on The Creation of Social Justice
  • Race Relations and Social Justice Problems
  • Poverty, Inequality and Social Justice in Nonmetropolitan America
  • Rape Culture, Rapth, and the Cycles of Social Justice
  • The Three Social Justice Issues That Fires Me Up as a Citizen in the United States
  • Reading Baldwin After Harvey: Why Climate Change Is a Social Justice Issue
  • The Importance of Social Justice Is Universal Across
  • Effective Practice During The Social Justice System
  • The Issue of Social Justice Activism in Various Social Media Networks
  • Sustainable Development and Social Justice: Expanding the Rawlsian Framework of Global Justice
  • Once Upon Today: Teaching for Social Justice with Postmodern Picturebook
  • The Congressional Black Caucus Use of Social Media for Social Justice Issues
  • The Effective Teaching Techniques of Lisa Espinosa in Providing Information on the Topic of Cultural Relevance and Social Justice
  • Reading Baldwin After Harvey: Why Climate Change Is a Social Justice Issue?
  • How Does Social Justice Highlight the Relationship Between Social Welfare and Crime Control?
  • Social Justice and Academic Success: Is Individual Effort Enough?
  • Rawls’s Theory of Social Justice: How Decisions Are Made?
  • Are Consultation and Social Justice Advocacy Similar Exploring the Perceptions?
  • How Arc Advances Social Justice?
  • What Are the Different Factors Affect Social Justice?
  • What Does the Information Society Mean for Social Justice and Civil Society?
  • What Is the Connection Between Curricular Practices, Social Justice and Democratic Purpose in the United States Education System?
  • How the United States Has Both Market and Social Justice?
  • What Is the Impact of Social Justice on The United States?
  • What Is the Impact of Social Justice on Human Development?
  • How Does Social Justice Actions Project?
  • When High Pressure, System Constraints, and a Social Justice Mission Collide?
  • What Is the Concept of Social Justice Social Work?
  • What Is the Connection Between Free Market and Social Justice?
  • What Is the Goal of Social Justice Education?
  • What Social Justice Issues Are You Most Passionate About?
  • What Is Consist Social Justice Western Perspectives?
  • How Social Justice Course Changed My Outlook?
  • What Are the Three Social Justice Issues That Fires Up as a Citizen in the United States?
  • What Has Limited the Impact of UK Disability Equality Law on Social Justice?
  • What Is Rawls’ Expanding Framework for Global Justice?
  • How Does the Film “Lord of Flies” Relate to Social Justice?
  • Does the Legal System Promote Social Justice?
  • Are the People Demand Social Justice?
  • Social Justice and the University Community: Does Campus?
  • What Does “Social Justice” Mean?
  • What Does Teaching for Social Justice Mean for Teachers?
  • Why Is Education a Social Justice and Right for Each Child?
  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

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GRE Issue Essay: Strategies + 8 Real Student Essays with Scores

The content in this post applies in 2024 to the new, shorter GRE!

When you sit down at the computer on test day, the very first thing you’ll encounter is the GRE AWA Issue essay. For a lot of test-takers, this will feel daunting. But not you! In this article, Magoosh’s experts will guide you through the most important steps in attacking the analyze an issue task. In addition, we’ll take a look at student examples of the GRE “Analyze an Issue” task so that you can understand what gets a high score—and what doesn’t—on the official exam.

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Table of Contents

An overview of the gre issue essay.

  • Top 5 AWA Issue Strategies

Student GRE Issue Essay Analysis: Prompts, Essays, and Grading Samples

So, what do you need to do for the GRE AWA Issue essay? Well, your goal is to read the prompt, then agree or disagree with the premise—and explain the extent to which you agree or disagree. Think you can’t prepare in advance? You’d be wrong! There are two main things you can do to get ready for the AWA portion of the GRE.

Review the Topic Pool

First, because the prompts are drawn from GRE’s published pool of Issue Essay topics , a bit of research will give you an idea of what to expect in terms of subject matter and presentation. Don’t try memorize all of them! There’s far too many. But! Do spend time browsing the topics and thinking about how to approach them.

Plan of Attack

Second, come up with a plan to navigate the GRE “analyze an issue” task. Not sure where to start? We can help! Here’s an example of a tried and true process for high-scoring essays that you can use to address any Issue task:

  • Read the directions carefully
  • Brainstorm and outline pros and cons
  • Choose a side
  • Select a concession point
  • Be sure to leave around two minutes for proofreading and editing

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Top 5 GRE Analyze an Issue Task Strategies

Now that you have the basics down, let’s take a look at some more detailed strategies you can use to maximize your score on the GRE AWA Issue essay.

1. Be Organized

Even an impassioned, cogent response falls apart if it is not bundled into a proper essay format: An introduction, a few body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

2. Focus Your Paragraphs

The Introduction The Intro paragraph has a very limited purpose: The Intro should only introduce the topic and present a clearly defined thesis statement. The thesis will indicate your position on the issue. Your stance should be just ONE of the many points of view about the topic, not more than one. Often it is easiest for the writer—and the reader—if the last sentence in the Intro is the thesis.

The Body Paragraphs The 2-3 body paragraphs make up the bulk of analyzing the issue and should focus on using examples (ideally one per body paragraph) to develop and support your thesis. Make sure you use appropriate transitions and that your sentences link together cohesively so that by the end of each body paragraph you have persuasively—and clearly—shown how your examples supports your thesis.

The Conclusion The conclusion should be very short. In fact, it should only be a few sentences that recap your thesis and supporting points.

3. Keep It Engaging

Repetitive sentence structure makes for repetitive reading. Vary up the way you write—don’t be afraid to use a colon (or a dash), drop in a semi-colon, and vary up the syntax. A constant stream of noun followed by verb followed by adjective implies that you are a hesitant writer. You don’t want the overall impression your essay leaves on the graders to be a resounding meh .

4. Be Specific

Hypotheticals are fine, if you can use them to convincingly back up your point. However, that’s the tough part; “some people,” “mankind,” or “you” are dull and vague. Let’s say you are addressing this prompt: “Knowledge can sometimes be used for destructive ends.” Stating that “Oppenheimer’s knowledge of nuclear fusion allowed him to create the most destructive weapon the world had ever known” is far more impactful than, “scientists can sometimes use technology to hurt us.”

5. Stay On Topic

Perhaps the most important point (lest you wonder why you received a ‘1’ on your essay) is to keep your essay on topic. Imagine you had to respond to the mock prompt on knowledge I used above. If you begin talking about how technology is destructive because smartphones cause us to become insular… you have totally forgotten to answer the question, “Knowledge can sometimes be used for destructive ends.” Address the most compelling examples, yes—but the most compelling examples that relate directly to your topic!  

Now, it’s time to take a look at how sample essays meet (or fail to meet) the above criteria—and how this affected their scores. All of the following essays were written in response to the GRE Issue prompts , so check them out if you haven’t already, and then come back to analyze some examples!

Note: We’ve formatted the essays so that you can see the prompt and instructions first, then try writing your own response (this is great practice!). Once you’ve done that, click on the “essay and analysis” arrows to view examples of graded student essays and see how yours compare.

GRE Issue Essay Prompt 1: University Requirements

Prompt Universities should require students to take courses only within those fields they are interested in studying. Instructions Write a response in which you discuss your views on the policy and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider the possible consequences of implementing the policy and explain how these consequences shape your position.

Student Essay

Some people believe that universities should put stringent policies in place that require students to take courses only within a chosen field of study, thus harshly limiting the breadth of knowledge that they are able to study. Concentrating on only one field is important in terms of developing expert knowledge and specialization, but it is also crucial that the student hone a well rounded knowledge of the nature of the world so that their field of specialization is accented with courses from outside disciplines as well. It is for this reason that I believe that students should focus their study on a specific field yet also be allowed and encouraged to accent and expand their specialized knowledge by sampling courses from other areas of specialty as well.

Our current globalizing world contains diversity of knowledge, culture and creed that is increasing at a rapid pace and in order to succeed in a world such as this, it is necessary to hone a diverse skill set of knowledge and expertise. Therefore, university policies should encourage students to accent their study of a specific discipline with outside courses that will enhance the breadth of their knowledge about the nature of the world. A student studying medicine, for example, clearly needs to focus the majority of their time on understanding the inner workings of the human body on a scientific level. However, it is also crucial for them to have a more general knowledge of the way in which humans function on an individual or cultural scale (i.e. psychology and anthropology), because effective doctors are not simply capable of diagnosing diseases, but can also interact effectively, with individual and cultural sensitivies, with their patients in order to provide the most well-rounded care. A mathematician who knows only about math and knows nothing about the ancient civilizations whose cultures discovered geography will be ill-suited to make math interesting to his future students or to understand the real world implications of the equations he slaves over daily. A one-dimensional course of study will only serve to foster bias and an uncritical approach to life in such students. Thus, because we live in a world that is multi-faceted, it is important for every specialist to learn a bit about specialities outside of their main discipline in order to augment their understanding of the world at large.

When universities provide a structure of encouragement for their students to augment their specified studies by selecting some courses from outside their discipline, there are some possible consequences, such as the potential for students to change their mind about what they want to focus on. Some may say this is an inefficient use of time and that it will confuse students. However, I would argue that it will foster a wider breadth of knowledge that is ultimately beneficial for any student; a student that started studying biology but then switched to psychology, for example, will always appreciate and pay heed to the importance of our life sciences and will not neglect to consider how the functions of the body may affect someone’s mental health. The existence of knowledge in a wider range of disciplines will only provide the student with more information with which to take charge in a world that is highly complex and rapidly changing all the time, and so allowing them to experiment a little and change their mind once or twice is to their benefit rather than to their detriment.

In conclusion, I disagree that universities should require students to take courses only within their specific, chosen field of study. When students are able to focus their study on one specific topic but then augment it by sampling courses from other disciplines, their knowledge becomes more wide ranging and interdisciplinary, thus providing a better foundation for them to succeed in a rapidly globalizing world. While they may change their minds as to their preferred topic of study one or two times, they will ultimately succeed by having a wide breadth of knowledge that will teach them to approach the world without a subject specific bias. Overall, it is best that universities allow their students to take courses outside of their chosen course of study in order to diversify their pallate of knowledge.

Issue Essay Analysis

This GRE Issue essay starts off with a strong intro that clearly articulates the author’s position. The essay is also very long, and the body paragraphs well developed. In terms of ideas this is a strong—though if slightly limited—essay. It makes a compelling case for interdisciplinary learning. A physician studying anthropology will be more culturally sensitive; a psychologist who studied biology will have a great appreciation for the biological underpinnings of the psyche. The writer justifies this well-roundedness in terms of relevancy: a one-dimensional person will struggle in our complex, globalized world. As well thought out and supported as these points, they are far too similar, and this essay would have benefited from picking another example that argues in favor of allowing students to take courses outside of their majors. Another flaw is the essay doesn’t directly addresses the directions: “should consider the possible consequences of implementing the policy.” Is a world of well-rounded, complex individuals the consequence of allowing students to choose subjects outside of their majors?

Stylistically this essay is not perfect, and I have some minor grumblings.

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The ongoing debate about whether a university should require students to take courses only within their fields of study or take extra classes to fulfill graduation requirements is an interesting one. There any many valid arguments to each side and it is not a simple black or white choice when deciding who is right. However, by requiring students to only take courses within their major, it allows for students focus on taking classes that are only applicable to their future careers and allows them to save money in a time where saving money is equally important to a college degree.

In many situations, students will finish high school and go on to college with an idea of what they want to do with their life. For students who are in majors such as engineering or the a science field such as chemistry or biology, it is important to for them to stay on top of all of their course work because of the higher number of courses that they must take in order to fulfill the university requirements for a degree. Many of these students knew before they entered college that this would be the case and gladly accepted that challenge, however by requiring students to take extra general education classes to fulfill their diploma requirements seems counter intuitive to a level of education where students are beginning to focus and narrow in on their future career goals. By forcing say a engineering student to take music theory or British literature just simply to fulfill a general education requirement and having that class conflict with a engineering major course seems to prevent these students from coming to college and fully obtaining their goal as quickly as possible.

The other aspect to consider is the financial aspect. In many of these situations, the students are under pressure to finish their degree as soon as possible because of many state budget cuts to education which limit the number of classes offered with in their major. Not only does this mean extra classes that students must take and thus more money they have to spend because tuition is usually based on a per unit fee, forcing these extra classes upon can have a longer impact if they are forced to stay longer in college than they originally assumed they would. College already charges an extremely large amount to attend and that already does not take into account the other expenses that students have to pay (such as room and board, food, and books), but adding on extra semester, quarters, or even years because a student had to take general education classes instead of strictly major classes is an unfair system to put a student through.

As with any situation though, there are always exceptions to the rule. For one not every student enters college with the same career focus and direction as their peers. Many students will come into college unsure of the direction they want to take and many students who think they know what direction they want to go, end up changing their minds (sometimes multiple times). By requiring students to take classes from a broad range of spectrums, Universities can help students narrow down what career path they may want to follow. Many times students may have a preconceived notion of what a subject may be about and not want to try it, yet by requiring it, they may be able to find themselves in a new class with something they may choose to pursue in the future, something they perhaps never would have considered. There is also something to be said about being able to take higher education classes simply for the benefit of wanting to learn about something that interests you. College allows you to do that and by making it a requirement, it allows students a bigger chance to do that.

Overall though, universities that force students to take upwards of 10-12 general education classes just to fulfill a requirement for their diploma seems unfair. When a student comes into college with a specific end game in site, the universities should not hinder their goals by overloading them with extra requirements and instead focus on helping hem obtain their goals as quickly as possible. The time and financial benefits that could be reaped by not requiring students to take these classes could have a direct impact on the success of all students as well as the future communities they intend to help.

Score: 5.0 This essay covers most of the bases: it offers analysis on both sides of the issue, it throws in a few sentences that address the specific instructions, and it, for the most part, clearly articulates a position. The essay does not wow with thorough analysis, great sentence variety (or indeed any stylistic flourishes). In other words, it gets the job done without making too many missteps.

While I award this essay a ‘5’, there are moments when that score seems shaky. This is not mainly due to the ideas (though the generalizations don’t help: “As with any situation though, there are always exceptions to the rule”); at times the sentences become overloaded and tend to digress.

Word choice could have also been a little more dynamic. “Large”, “bigger”, etc. could be spiced up a little more: “astronomical”, “excessive”, etc.

In addition to making the sentence more readable, and varying up the syntax a little, the essay could have been improved with a little more analysis. I would have like to say more than taking more courses is expensive. Sure, that is a totally valid point, but to spend an entire paragraph on it the overly long first paragraph about students who are not engineers as well.

Additionally, the last body paragraph is confusing: “There is also something to be said about being able to take higher education classes simply for the benefit of wanting to learn about something that interests you. College allows you to do that and by making it a requirement,it allows students a bigger chance to do that.” Is the author implying that colleges shouldn’t require students to take only course in their field (which would go against the main point of the essay)? And by saying that colleges make “it a requirement” that college require students to take courses outside their field?

Had this paragraph been a little clearer and had the writer expanded the scope of the financial issue, this essay—along with a little more dynamic writing and sentence variety—could get at least a definitive ‘5’, if not a ‘5.5’.

Liberal arts colleges and professional schools often debate whether they are required to develop well-rounded individuals. The primary purpose of universities is to establish the ground work for future field experts and specialists, meaning the developing into other fields would detract from the development of specialization. A basic understanding of how to delve into other fields is all that’s necessary.

A college degree in a field suggests that a graduate has the basic understanding of a specialized field, and they may continue to develop into a true expert. At every level of the collegiate process, students have further expansion into their speciality. For instance, science majors start with basic fundamentals that are required for latter learning. They soon go off into their own fields, isolated from the humanities and, often, other science majors. Because students usually have only four years to achieve a set requirement of tested standards in a particular field, universities must push students into their fields quickly. There simply isn’t enough time to truly explore all the possible fields of study at the university level. Exploratory learning shouldn’t be required as it doesn’t serve any purpose when the student won’t continue to explore in those extracurricular fields.

If a student were to only hole themselves away into the fields of physics, they may never truly understand how their physical knowledge relates to society and the social world. Universities tend to have to weigh this “roundedness” against the need to produce future field experts. The outcome is introductory classes that relate to your field, but intertwine with other fields of study, and push students to explore on their own time. These initial exploratory classes would be necessary for any field of study anyway, as creativity and individual pursuit is essential for any expert to further their field’s knowledge.

These exploratory classes are necessary for students to apply their growing expertise, but leaving their fields of study should be done on their own because they can only expand into the elementary levels of other fields within their time restraints at the university level. In this way, students aren’t led by the hand through fields they aren’t interested in, but they would still have the capability to explore their fields if they truly were intrigued. Allowing students to create their own directions, intertwining their interests, creates dynamic individuals who are happier with their degrees and more productive to the world through their specialization.

Universities are meant to develop future experts and specialists in particular fields of study. They should lay the groundwork for students to be able to explore of fields, but not in a way that detracts from their field’s work. At a moment when their time is so precious, students can’t afford to be left behind in their fields as they are forced by curriculum to explore unwanted alternatives.

There are some things about the essay that I like: it brings up interesting ideas relating to the prompt. Do specialists with “roundedness”contribute more to their fields than those specialists who focus only on their fields? The sentence variety makes things flow along nicely, until the middle of the essay, where the author becomes vague. Indeed, at times I’m not sure which side of the prompt the author is arguing.

For example, at the end of the second paragraph he states: “Exploratory learning shouldn’t be required as it doesn’t serve any purpose when the student won’t continue to explore in those extracurricular fields.”

The very next sentence—the first sentence of the third paragraph—says the exact opposite: “If a student were to only hole themselves away into the fields of physics, they may never truly understand how their physical knowledge relates to society and the social world.” Suddenly,the paragraph is arguing against what the previous paragraph stated.

The second to last paragraph is weighed down in abstractions, without a useful specific example to clear things up. Consider the topic sentence: “These exploratory classes are necessary for students to apply their growing expertise, but leaving their fields of study should be done on their own because they can only expand into the elementary levels of other fields within their time restraints at the university level.” There is a lot going on here, and I really had to reread the sentence several times to get what the author was saying. The ETS graders won’t take this much time. And given that the essay has already pulled an about-face in the previous paragraphs, makes this sentence even more obfuscatory.

The conclusion is much clearer than the rest of the essays, and allows me to understand what the essay was trying to say alone.Compare the clarity of this sentence to the one I mentioned in the previous paragraph: “They should lay the ground work for students to be able to explore of fields, but not in a way that detracts from their field’s work.”

So how to grade an essay like this? Strong analytical skills, sophisticated writing, and solid organization….yet, a contradictory—and at times muddled (the clause in the intro, “….meaning the developing into other fields) leads to a confusing essay.

The author states that students should only take classes within their realm of study. Although, students may gain more of a grasp on what they are studying, this requirement fails to take in what students can learn outside of their required classes. To say that students can only take classes within their concentration is occluding them to knowledge that they may learn in other fields of study.

For example, universities typically require students to pick their major, as well as a minor. Some programs may also require students to select a few elective classes as well, so students can establish themselves as more rounded individuals.

Also, taking classes outside of a student’s field of study may help boost the student’s overall GPA. For example, if a student has an in major GPA of 2.5 and an out of major GPA of 3.2, then the overall GPA will increase. However, it could be vice versa as well. If someone isn’t doing that great in their elective classes, it could bring their overall GPA down.

If this policy is implemented, the consequences may be severe. One consequence could be that a student may not be able to graduate on time because they may not have enough credits. Or they may not meet the GPA requirements to graduate because they failed a few classes within their major.

If the university decides that students can only take courses within his or her chosen field of study, then the university may not produce well rounded individuals.

This essay is an example of a 4.0—just barely—that is undeveloped and thus on the short side. It is not an example of a longer, totally one-sided ‘4’ that ignores the directions (notice how the final body paragraph addresses the “consequences” mentioned in the instructions).

What the author has written is an intelligent response to the prompt. She doesn’t simply agree with the prompt, but takes the opposing side, providing support (“To say that students can only take classes within their concentration is occluding them to knowledge that they may learning other fields of study.”). In passing, I should mention that “occlude” is used incorrectly. This is not a major problem, but remember that, if you use GRE words, make sure you know how to use them correctly.

I do not agree with the stated policy to allow students to only take course within their chosen fields of study. Instead I feel that students should should have the opportunity to take course outside of their major for the following reasons.

First, I feel that taken course outside ones major gives students variety, and exposure to experiences or interactions they may not have considered previously. Take for example Lisa, an engineering student who spends countless hours studying. Realizing that she needed a change of place an outlet of some sorts decides to take a modern dance course just for fun. What ultimatly was that Lisa learned to relax which interned helped her study more effectively and perform better in her engineering course.

Then take Monique, a political science major who doesn’t know how to swim. decided to take a swimming course and not only learned to over come her fear, but gained confidence in other other aspects of o her live.

Thirdly, lets consider Jason, a physics major who only took courses in his major. He became such an expert in his field us study, but became increasing socially award because of his inability to converse or relate to his peers.

In the even both Lisa and Monique were not able to take course outside of their major, I fear that they would have succumb to the pressure that sometimes too often over takes students adjusting to university lift. By deviating from their mandatory set of course they found a renew focus and inner strength that they may have never know before. Jason however, didn’t fair as well due to his strict focus in University

University is about diversity and gaining new experience for growth and development. Not being allowed to explore this diversity limits the over experience and potential stunts the education growth and perspective of students

Grammatical errors and spelling mistakes mar the effectiveness of this essay. Specifically, commas are misused (or not used at all), incorrect words are used (“interned”, “award” vs. “awkward”). I think many of these mistakes can be remedied if the student spends some time editing.The point in editing isn’t to catch the nitpicky errors but the glaring ones (of which this essay has many).

Next, the essay has very predictable development: take one-side of the prompt, and then come up with three hypothetical examples to support the point. There is zero analysis. This essay could have been improved and gotten within striking range of a ‘4’, or at least a ‘3.5’, had it simply addressed the instructions: “consider the possible consequences of implementing….” Of course, addressing the grammatical and spelling errors would have helped the essay.

Prompt 2: Lasting Legacy

Prompt Those who see their ideas through, regardless of doubts or criticism others may express, are the ones who tend to leave a lasting legacy. Instructions Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

A famous author once remarked that “Winners never quit and quitters never win”. People who see their ideas through, however unpragmatic it may be considered by others are the ones who have truly made a difference.

History is replete with examples of people who were perceived as crazy, illogical and even insane by laymen, yet when their ideas were sedulously worked upon, by the creator , day after day, combined with long hours of toil, the result was nothing, short of marvelous.

Lets’s take the example of the Indian freedom struggle fought by Gandhiji on the basis of Satyagraha. It was very difficult for the Britishers to assume that India would be freed one day under the leadership of a loin cloth covered ordinary looking man without the use of weapons or bloodshed. The reason that Indian freedom could be achieved was the unflagging determination of Gandhiji and the uncommon methodology used of winning freedom by peace and not bloodshed.

Looking not far, I can recall the example of Galileo who was reviled and persecuted by the Church authorities for challenging the existing norms that pervaded the society that time. Galileo’s fierce determination , not to give up on his ideas even during harsh criticism paved the way for modern space research.

Another convincing example is of the Wright Brothers. Who would have ever imagined that it is indeed possible to fly like a bird and traverse different parts of the globe. I am sure that the Wright brothers were reviled when they first came up with this idea of developing an aeroplane. But, again today their invention has become a legacy.

Though there are several examples of people winning through odds because of their determination and unflagging spirit and creating noteworthy inventions, there could be times when this may be the cause of much trouble. Consider the doggedness of Hitler.though he was criticised for his heinous atrocitities on the Jews, he still did not stop the atrocities. These are few examples when people with strong determination can create an ill legacy instead of a legacy.

The writing in this essay has a lot of punch and makes reading it easy. However, there is little to no analysis. Like many essays on this prompt, the essay takes an extreme position, and beyond a vague, jumbled mention of Hitler, does not address the instructions: “…you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true.”

As an SAT essay goes—basically you can take a relatively strong position—this is a good essay. Even then, some of the examples lack persuasiveness: “I am sure the Wright brothers were reviled.” Maybe they weren’t (they actually were, somewhat), but to say “you think” vs. “many notable scientists mocked the Wright Brothers notion of human flight” makes the essay far more tentative than it should be.

Also, the examples are very sparse, especially Galileo. Some more development would have perhaps bumped this essay to a ‘4.5’. But without any analysis, and by failing to take into account the other side, this essay gets only a ‘4.’

Although, doubts and criticism expressed regarding a particular by others seem valid at the particular time of inception of time, if the person follows through his idea or well cherished dream, then he may become success in his endeavor and leave a lasting legacy. So, people who see their ideas through, regardless of doubts or criticism others may express, are the ones who tend to leave a lasting legacy.

New ideas takes time to be accepted by general public, and during the time from the inception till the acceptance, the person who invented or discovered that idea, may be criticized or oppressed. Galileo was put into house arrest for his entire life for his heliocentric model of the solar system, because it came in direct conflict with the church’s geocentric model which regarded Galileo’s theory as heresy. Later, Galileo’s model was readily accepted. So, it’s really important that the people should see their ideas through criticism and doubts of others and shouldn’t be daunted, since other people are not connected to the idea or dream or feel the strength of idea in the same way as the person who invented that idea.

If a person doesn’t

This essay struggles from a lack of clarity. The first two sentences are overloaded with words, and so it is difficult for a reader to figure out what the writer is trying to say. Since the essay graders do not have time to figure out what you are trying to say, you will be penalized. Luckily, the thesis is clear—though it is an almost exact rewording of the prompt.

The Galileo example—while expressed in language that is clearer than that found in the intro—isn’t that developed. We learn that he was arrested and confined for heresy. The essay automatically assumes that this is the same as criticism. I would say the church’s actions against Galileo are a little stronger than mere criticism.

What saves this essay from a sub-3.0 is the final sentence, which discriminates between the person with the idea and those who only have an inkling of that idea. However, this idea is not explored in more depth (and doesn’t really connect to the Galileo example). Indeed the essay ends there.

Prompt 3: Risky Action

Prompt People should undertake risky action only after they have carefully considered its consequences. Instructions Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your position.

People should undertake risky action only after they have carefully considered its consequences.

People should not let their fears prevent them from taking important risks in life. Taking risks is what allows us humans to achieve success, joy and ultimate fulfillment. However, prior to taking any risky action, it is essential that people should carefully consider the consequences.

For example, there are some risky actions that are life-threatening such as skydiving. Of course, before you can begin to skydive, you must learn the basics of this sport. Additionally, by also studying what can go wrong during a skydive, and learning how to react to that scenario, that person will have the knowledge and ability to stay calm and hopefully make better decisions that will allow them to get out of a bad situation rather than falling into a panic.

This also pertains to decisions about money and business. Everyday people are making decisions that are ‘make or break’. For those who really understand the consequences of their actions, they are able to make a wiser decision that may have less of an impact on them if the business or investment deal goes awry. However, but not educating oneself, the consequences of one’s action are likely to be more severe.

Sometimes, knowing the consequences of an action causes fear that will stops us from taking any risky actions. As a result we miss out on potential successes and most of all “joy”. Therefore, by understanding the consequences, one can eliminate feat, learn how to react in a smarter fashion and lead a much more enriching life than if they had never taken those risks at all.

This is a decent skeleton of an essay. But that’s the problem—it is only a skeleton and the ideas need a lot more fleshing out if this essay is to get at least a ‘5’. For instance, in the skydiving example, the writer barely scratches the surface. What are some things that a skydiver could possibly learn to help them make this risky endeavor less risky? How much less risky would they make sky diving? Is there a point where something is so risky that even if we take measures to prevent disaster from happening that something bad could still happen (skydiving in bad weather, or bungee jumping in a country that offers low prices—and also low quality equipment). In calculating risk, shouldn’t we also weigh the payoff. For the skydiving example, is the thrill worth the danger, even if one has taken the necessary precautions and learned proper technique.

A Final Word

Now that you’ve reviewed student samples from across the spectrum of GRE Issue task grades, you’ll have a better sense of what you need to do to get those high scores! More than anything, practice will help you get the score you want on test day. So take a look at the Issue pool and a few more essay examples, pull up a blank document, and get practicing! Best of luck on test day as you master the GRE Issue essay.

Chris Lele

Chris Lele is the Principal Curriculum Manager (and vocabulary wizard ) at Magoosh. Chris graduated from UCLA with a BA in Psychology and has 20 years of experience in the test prep industry. He’s been quoted as a subject expert in many publications, including US News , GMAC , and Business Because . In his time at Magoosh, Chris has taught countless students how to tackle the GRE , GMAT, SAT, ACT, MCAT (CARS), and LSAT exams with confidence. Some of his students have even gone on to get near-perfect scores. You can find Chris on YouTube , LinkedIn , Twitter and Facebook !

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49 responses to “GRE Issue Essay: Strategies + 8 Real Student Essays with Scores”

Supatat Hovanotayan Avatar

Hello Magoosh team

First of all, thank you for your amazing tips about the issue essay.

But I still have a question about this task “if I write only two paragraphs, and mainly focus on only one side” Can I still get at least 4 points by doing this

Thank you very much for your kindness and time

Magoosh Expert

Hi Supatat,

By “two paragraphs”, do you mean two body paragraphs? You should aim for an introduction, 2 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. In other words, you should have 4 paragraphs. 🙂 As long as you use strong examples and make your point very clear, you should be able to get 4 points on the exam even without a third body paragraph.

Akshata Lolayekar Avatar

When giving examples whilst supporting our point, can we mention an borrowed idea or opinion and elaborate on it in our own words? Let’s say I mention an idea from Yuval Noah Harari and credit him? Will this be considered plagiarism in any way

Hi Akshata,

You can definitely mention an opinion as long as you state the original source. For example, you can say: “According to Yuval Noah Harari, […]” and that would be acceptable. 🙂

Bayenah Al-shami Avatar

Hello Firstly, thank you for this wonderful article. I have a question which is: How can I say a concession point without making any contradictions to previous paragraphs? I hope that my question is clear. Thanks

Hi there! Thank you, we’re glad you found it helpful. 🙂 I’d recommend reading over the example essays in this blog post to see how they handle the concession point. In addition, be sure to check out our blog article 12 Tips to Ace GRE Writing as well.

Joe Bouzide Avatar

I have a question regarding where to include the concession point in my essay. Does it receive its own paragraph within the body of the essay, or does each supporting idea have a concession point paired with it? And do you include the concession point in the intro and conclusion as well?

Thanks, Joe

Hi Joe! You can add a third body paragraph that discusses your concession if you have time, but you can also just make a quick concession point, say at the end of your second body paragraph. Just remember that the goal is to use the concession to prove your point. The most common mistake is to spend too much time on the concession, so it can be safer to do less than more. I would not recommend bringing up a concession in the introduction or conclusion. It’s possible, but it’s just too risky. Use your concession to say, “While it may seem that people are distracted by their cell phones, they are actually socializing while looking at their screens. Therefore, technology brings people together.” Something like that is a strong, quick concession, whereas if you spend a paragraph going on and on about how people never talk anymore, you run the risk of arguing for the other side! Hope that helps 🙂

Mursal Rabb Avatar

Hi, It is OK to write issue essay from first person perspective?

There is no specific prohibition of the first person and some people do well on the essay and use the first person. But I tend to recommend avoiding first person language, especially “I think” and “in my opinion.” Both of these phrases tend to be redundant because you usually can take these phrases out of the sentence and your sentence will still maintain its meaning and grammar. You can completely avoid the first person and your writing will likely end up with a more sophisticated tone.

If you do use the first person, I’d recommend that you use it once in the introduction paragraph for your thesis, and that is it.

I recommend taking a look at some of the sample essays written on some topics. These are released by ETS, the testmakers, and will give you an excellent idea of what a great, good, and poor essay will look like. You’ll notice that the essays rated 5 and 6 do not have first person language but the other, lower scored essays do.

http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/sample_responses

Avinash Avatar

I guess I am a lot of thoughts to put on, but facing trouble to make my writing more persuasive. Can you please suggest how i can make my writing more persuasive as to better reflect my thoughts.

In the AWA issue Essay, being persuasive is all about using evidence. Anytime you make a claim, think of the reasons people might doubt that claim. Address all of those most obvious doubts. Also think about any questions people might ask you to get a better idea about what you’re saying in your essay, and why you’re saying it. Always put forth a very complete set of supporting details and argumentative evidence.If you think you won’t have the time or space to complete your argument within the time and pace limits of AWA, then choose a different argument, or find a way to simplify your argument.

Meredith Avatar

One set of directions states to “discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement…” I’m confused by “extent.” Does this mean that ETS simply wants us to take a side either in agreement or disagreement and explain why? Or by “extent” do they mean that it is okay to strongly disagree, or to somewhat agree, etc.

Hi Meredith,

The second option is more accurate–another way to think about “extent” is “degree.” So not only do your agree or disagree, but what are the limitations of that opinion? I hope that helps! 🙂

Lid Avatar

Can you write in first person on either GRE essays?

There is no specific prohibition of first person and some people do well on the essay and use the first person. But I tend to recommend avoiding first person, especially “I think” and “in my opinion.” Both of these phrases tend to be redundant. You usually can take these phrases out of the sentence and your sentence will still maintain its meaning and grammar. So, you can completely avoid first person and writing in a more sophisticated tone.

If you do use first person, I’d recommend that you use it once in the introduction paragraph for your thesis. And that is it.

I recommend taking a look at some of the sample essays written on some topics . These are released by ETS, the testmakers, and will give you an excellent idea of what a great, good, and poor essay will look like. You’ll notice that a 5 and 6 do not have first person but the other lower scored essays do.

I hope that helps! 🙂

Alyssa Avatar

Hi Chris! I have a questions about the intro paragraph/thesis statement. Do you have to include the points you plan on discussing in your body paragraphs in your intro/thesis?

It’s not necessary to state your points verbatim in your intro — in fact, it will probably save you time not to do so 🙂

Davut Avatar

My exam is on 13th February and I have about 1 month from now on. I tried to focus on verbal and math section more until now and did not spend enough time on AW section of the GRE. Would you recommend writing one essay per day to gain acceleration on practicing ?

Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks.

I am so sorry this didn’t get answered quickly, but hopefully our advice can help! I’d suggest that you first take a look at these ETS topic pools:

List of AWA Issue Prompts List of AWA Argument Prompts

Familiarize yourself with these topics, and then write several practice essays of your own using these ETS topics as a way to familiarize yourself with the questions and expectations. If you are careful to answer the actual question posed by the AWA tasks and you prepare yourself by knowing what will be expected of you on that day, you won’t have any trouble getting a good score. 🙂

Laura Avatar

Oppenheimer used nuclear fission, not fusion. 🙂 The GRE grader do not care if your facts are correct, though.

Alex Avatar

Dear Chris,

Firstly, thanks for keeping up with the blog. It’s been a great help.

Secondly, I was wondering if there is any way to insert special characters on the Gre essay software during the exam – such as those required in ‘vis-a-vis’ or ‘blase’ or ‘cliche’. If not, should these phrases/words be avoided? I’m from India and keyboards here don’t have these characters on them by default.

Chris Lele

That is a good question. I have no idea of the keyboards here allow you to do so. Regardless, I don’t think ETS will hold that against you. Of course, there is a computer grader, but maybe it has been programmed not to dock. Still, I can’t image ETS being so picayune as to do you for not having the proper diacritic.

Hope that helps!

Cornelia Avatar

One thing that concerns me when writing my essays in the issue part is that a lot of the examples that come to my mind are not that well-known in the Anglosphere. I’m German, and I often think of something German scientists or politicians did or said, events that happened in Germany or things taught in German high school. The example essays that I compare my essays to usually score high by drawing on a wide range of examples that are well-known in the US. Stating my examples, that the examiner has possibly never heart of, either requires a longer explanation, for which I don’t have time, or googling on part of the examiner.

What would you suggest? In theory, the GRE should not be culturally biased. But I am afraid if I simply drop unknown German examples, the examiners might be confused.

Thank you for your advice,

PS: To know what I mean, I thought of some examples for you. Let’s say the issue is about privacy and I refer to the surge in users of the Posteo.de email client, a Berlin-based start-up whose unique selling point is that they protect their clients’ privacy as much as possible. Or in an essay about rebellion I could refer to the way the German authorities dealt with house occupiers in Dresden in contrast to those in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin wall – the occupiers in Dresden were given proper rent contracts while those in Berlin were forcefully evicted, causing violent clashes with the police. Or when writing about technology, I might want to cite the website dawanda.de where people sell self-crafted goods. I know that there exists a similar format in the US – etsy – but I am not that familiar with it and would not feel comfortable writing about it and would prefer the German example. This issue comes up for me with almost every essay I write at least once!

Holing Avatar

I am on the same boat and would love to see this question answered!

Hi Holing and Cornelia!

I know this is a late reply, but hopefully it can help others in your positions. 🙂

It is perfectly fine to use non-US examples for the GRE essays, but you want to make sure you give relevant context and information on the events so that the reader doesn’t have to guess whether or not your example really applies to the point you are trying to make. If you can do that, then any examples from your own country should be fine. 🙂

Karishma Avatar

Hi, I have read in most sites that practicing essays is the best way to go for AW. But writing a full length AW issue essay or argument essay takes 30 mins each for a time limited atmosphere. So my question is while practicing from the ets pool of topics, do we need to write full length essays for every topic or just structuring and brainstorming on the topic and writing mock essays 3-4 times will be enough?

Margarette Jung

Hi, Karishma

30 minutes for each essay can definitely be tough to fit into your schedule! Doing quick structuring/brainstorming is a good alternative when you don’t have a lot of time. However, especially as you near your exam date, make sure to sit down and do a few full-length essays (not all in a row, but maybe one every few days) just so you can feel comfortable with the experience. I hope that helps! 🙂

Best, Margarette

Thanks Margarette!!

Hashim Avatar

Hello people of Magoosh,

I have a question about writing a thesis for an issue task. I noticed that in the video lesson, the thesis contained a statement indicating choosing a side. However, there’s no mention of the main points covered in the body paragraphs. Is that a good practice? Don’t you think that a reader ought to know what to expect in the body paragraphs just from reading the thesis statement?

Referred thesis: “a college curriculum should be designed around the career a student will pursue upon graduation”

Kevin Rocci

Excellent question! In a typical, untimed essay you definitely would want to let the reader know what is coming. The intro and thesis should give the reader some idea of where the discussion is headed and what will be discussed. This is a common practice in American essay writing.

But with the GRE, our strategies are a little different. Since we have such a limited amount of time to write an essay, we recommend spending as little time as possible writing the introduction and conclusion. The bulk of your time should be spent crafting the body paragraphs. As such, we only recommend stating your opinion or stance on the topic and not worry about prefacing your examples and reasons.

This isn’t to say that you can’t do this. If you are a quick writer and have the time, then you can definitely indicate what the main points of your body paragraph will be. 🙂

Happy Studying!

Lara Avatar

I just started practicing the AWA and am following the 90-day study plan for beginners. I’m trying my best to follow the outlined time structure you suggested in the videos, but in my first two essays I’ve always run out of time and always seem to produce mediocre work. Would you recommend that I practice writing without a time limit for now? Or should I just keep working with the time limit and would I gradually improve with more practice?

Hi Lara, Happy to help!

First, I recommend to keep practicing. Writing the essays on the GRE is a particular type of skill that needs lots of practice. So keep your head down and keep at it.

Second, if you feel like you need extra practice, try writing an essay more often. Instead an essay a week, write two. This will give you more opportunities for improvement.

Third, I recommend that you keep timing yourself. It doesn’t help to be good at writing an essay in an hour. We need to be good at writing an essay in half an hour.

One thing that I have done with my students in the past is have them write only an introduction or only an introduction and body paragraph in a set amount of time. So give yourself a time limit of 8 minutes and see if you can complete an introduction and body paragraph. This allows you to practice writing under time constraints and you can take baby steps towards completing an essay in 30 minutes.

I hope that this helps! Best of luck in your studies! 🙂

Marcel Avatar

I just started reading the book you recommended: On Writing Well, by William Zinsser. Although I would love read all of it, I don’t have much time to spare. Could you suggest what chapters would most benefit us for the GRE AWA ?

Good question! I think the grammar-related passages are important. As are the chapters that relate to crafting sentences and creating paragraphs.

Asma Maladwala Avatar

Hi Chris, Do you know if there are any sites where I can find high scoring sample essays? I’ve been practicing but feel as though I’m in a void as I have no point of comparison. Getting feedback from family and friends is helpful, but I’d just feel so much better if I could compare my essays to actual GRE essays. I could only find one sample set on the ets website…

It seems that only gre.org offers example essays. Just google “example GRE essays” and it should be the second hit.

Besides that there aren’t too many others I can think of that are online. Writing higher scoring essays, ‘5.5-6’ for blog posts is something I plan to do soon though :).

Veronica Avatar

Hello! I would enormously appreciate if you can clarify me this. Which link are you referring to in the following sentence?:

” For practical advice on practicing: the link below provides access to hundreds of essay prompts by ETS”.

I cannot find it anywhere and it would be of invaluable help for me to have these essay prompts in order to practice.

Thank you very much!

No problem :).

Here is the link: http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/pool

Verónica Avatar

Thanks for your quick response!

J Avatar

So I just found out ETS has started employing their e-rater technology. Thoughts?

Thanks for reporting that! Well, I hope it is better than the GMATs, which apparently counts number of words, a couple of transition sentences, etc. I guess time will tell.

emma Avatar

whats e-rater technology, mentioned by J, Chris??

Muhammad Usama Khan Avatar

Sometime it seems that we cannot write enough in the issue task.

If we practice one essay per day, who will rectify this and will tell us how to improve our score in analytic. So that we can BUT ALL feel confident to write essay with positive tone.

Yes, that is true, and indeed I need to write another post on generating ideas.

As for somebody to give you feedback, find a trusted family member or friend. Of course, that person would not want to read everyone of your essays, but as long as you get feedback every once in awhile that will help :).

Bhavin Parikh

This sentence is dead-on, “If you think you did poorly on the essays, that knowledge could very well affect your performance on the rest of the test.”

I recently talked with a student who was consistently scoring in the 80th percentile on math and verbal in practice. But he wasn’t prepared for the writing section on test day and it affected his concentration throughout the rest of the exam. He scored in the 60th percentile. Doing well on writing can definitely set a positive tone for the rest of the exam.

Yes, I am happy to hear that student’s experience echo my thoughts. Really, “Doing well on writing can definitely set a positive tone for the rest of the exam” is perhaps the greatest GRE tip that nobody has ever heard of.

typeR Avatar

Did u mean non-native below?? “Two of the preeminent prose stylists of the English-language novel were both native-English speakers.”

Ha! Yes, I definitely did. Thanks for catching that :).

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Guest Essay

The Most Important Thing I Teach My Students Isn’t on the Syllabus

issues to write essays on

By Frank Bruni

Mr. Bruni is a contributing Opinion writer and the author of the forthcoming book “The Age of Grievance,” from which this essay is adapted.

I warn my students. At the start of every semester, on the first day of every course, I confess to certain passions and quirks and tell them to be ready: I’m a stickler for correct grammar, spelling and the like, so if they don’t have it in them to care about and patrol for such errors, they probably won’t end up with the grade they’re after. I want to hear everyone’s voice — I tell them that, too — but I don’t want to hear anybody’s voice so often and so loudly that the other voices don’t have a chance.

And I’m going to repeat one phrase more often than any other: “It’s complicated.” They’ll become familiar with that. They may even become bored with it. I’ll sometimes say it when we’re discussing the roots and branches of a social ill, the motivations of public (and private) actors and a whole lot else, and that’s because I’m standing before them not as an ambassador of certainty or a font of unassailable verities but as an emissary of doubt. I want to give them intelligent questions, not final answers. I want to teach them how much they have to learn — and how much they will always have to learn.

I’d been on the faculty of Duke University and delivering that spiel for more than two years before I realized that each component of it was about the same quality: humility. The grammar-and-spelling bit was about surrendering to an established and easily understood way of doing things that eschewed wild individualism in favor of a common mode of communication. It showed respect for tradition, which is a force that binds us, a folding of the self into a greater whole. The voices bit — well, that’s obvious. It’s a reminder that we share the stages of our communities, our countries, our worlds, with many other actors and should conduct ourselves in a manner that recognizes this fact. And “it’s complicated” is a bulwark against arrogance, absolutism, purity, zeal.

I’d also been delivering that spiel for more than two years before I realized that humility is the antidote to grievance.

We live in an era defined and overwhelmed by grievance — by too many Americans’ obsession with how they’ve been wronged and their insistence on wallowing in ire. This anger reflects a pessimism that previous generations didn’t feel. The ascent of identity politics and the influence of social media, it turned out, were better at inflaming us than uniting us. They promote a self-obsession at odds with community, civility, comity and compromise. It’s a problem of humility.

The Jan. 6 insurrectionists were delusional, frenzied, savage. But above all, they were unhumble. They decided that they held the truth, no matter all the evidence to the contrary. They couldn’t accept that their preference for one presidential candidate over another could possibly put them in the minority — or perhaps a few of them just reasoned that if it did, then everybody else was too misguided to matter. They elevated how they viewed the world and what they wanted over tradition, institutional stability, law, order.

It’s no accident that they were acting in the service of Donald Trump, whose pitch to Americans from the very start was a strikingly — even shockingly — unhumble one. “I alone can fix it,” he proclaimed in his 2016 speech accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for president; and at his inauguration in January of the following year, the word “humbled,” which had been present in the first inaugural remarks of both Barack Obama and George W. Bush, was nowhere to be found. Nor were any of its variants. That whole sentiment and politesse were missing, as they had been during a campaign centered on his supposed omniscience.

There are now mini-Trumps aplenty in American politics, but anti-Trumps will be our salvation, and I say that not along partisan or ideological lines. I’m talking about character and how a society holds itself together. It does that with concern for the common good, with respect for the institutions and procedures that protect that and with political leaders who ideally embody those traits or at least promote them.

Those leaders exist. When Charlie Baker, a former Massachusetts governor, was enjoying enormous favor and lofty approval ratings as a Republican in a predominantly Democratic state, he was also stressing the importance of humility. He was fond of quoting Philippians 2:3, which he invoked as a lodestar for his administration. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,” it says. “Rather, in humility value others above yourself.”

That’s great practical advice for anyone in government, where most meaningful success hinges on teamwork and significant progress requires consensus. Governing, as opposed to demagoguery, is about earning others’ trust and cooperation. Exhibiting a willingness to listen to and to hear them goes a long way toward that.

“Insight and knowledge come from curiosity and humility,” Mr. Baker wrote in a 2022 book, “Results,” coauthored with his chief of staff, Steve Kadish, a Democrat. “Snap judgments — about people or ideas — are fueled by arrogance and conceit. They create blind spots and missed opportunities. Good ideas and interesting ways to accomplish goals in public life exist all over the place if you have the will, the curiosity, and the humility to find them.”

Humble politicians don’t insist on one-size-fits-all answers when those aren’t necessary as a matter of basic rights and fundamental justice. Humble activists don’t either. The campaign for same-sex marriage — one of the most successful social movements of recent decades — showed that progress can be made not by shaming people, not by telling them how awful they are, but by suggesting how much better they could be. Marriage-equality advocates emphasized a brighter future that they wanted to create, not an ugly past that they wanted to litigate. They also wisely assured Americans that gay and lesbian people weren’t trying to explode a cherished institution and upend a system of values, but instead wanted in.

“I don’t want to disparage shouting and demands — everything has its place,” Evan Wolfson, the founder of the pivotal advocacy group Freedom to Marry, told me when we revisited the movement’s philosophy and tactics. At times, he acknowledged, champions of a cause “need to break the silence, we need to push, we need to force.”

“But I used to say, ‘Yes, there’s demanding, but there’s also asking,’” he recalled. “And one is not the enemy of the other. People don’t like being accused, people don’t like being condemned, people don’t like being alienated. It’s a matter of conversation and persuasion.”

That’s consistent with the message delivered by Loretta Ross, a longtime racial justice and human rights advocate, through her teaching, public speaking and writing. Troubled by the frequent targeting and pillorying of people on social media, she urged the practice of calling in rather than calling out those who’ve upset you. “Call-outs make people fearful of being targeted,” she wrote in a guest essay for Times Opinion . “People avoid meaningful conversations when hypervigilant perfectionists point out apparent mistakes, feeding the cannibalistic maw of the cancel culture.” Instead, she advised, engage them. If you believe they need enlightenment, try that route, “without the self-indulgence of drama,” she wrote.

She was preaching humility.

She was also recognizing other people’s right to disagree — to live differently, to talk differently. Pluralism is as much about that as it is about a multiracial, multifaith, multigender splendor. That doesn’t mean a surrender or even a compromise of principles; a person can hold on to those while practicing tolerance, which has been supplanted by grievance. Tolerance shares DNA with respect. It recognizes that other people have rights and inherent value even when we disagree vehemently with them.

We all carry wounds, and some of us carry wounds much graver than others. We confront obstacles, including unjust and senseless ones. We must tend to those wounds. We must push hard at those obstacles. But we mustn’t treat every wound, every obstacle, as some cosmic outrage or mortal danger. We mustn’t lose sight of the struggle, imperfection and randomness of life. We mustn’t overstate our vulnerability and exaggerate our due.

While grievance blows our concerns out of proportion, humility puts them in perspective. While grievance reduces the people with whom we disagree to caricature, humility acknowledges that they’re every bit as complex as we are — with as much of a stake in creating a more perfect union.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , WhatsApp , X and Threads .

Frank Bruni is a professor of journalism and public policy at Duke University, the author of the book "The Age of Grievance" and a contributing Opinion writer. He writes a weekly email newsletter .   Instagram   Threads   @ FrankBruni • Facebook

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Trento Writing Retreat on Geopolitics in Eurasia

The Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on Geopolitics in EUrasia at the University of Trento will host 6-8 scholars for a writing retreat on issues related to geopolitics in the broad Eurasian geographic space. The aim is to bring together a group of researchers working on the topic and the area to write and discuss their work. The principal activity will be writing but there will be opportunities to discuss research and address issues with colleagues working in the same area. The retreat will be residential so that as much time and energy can be dedicated to writing and research. 

Proposals for work on a wide range of topics will be considered. The European Commission’s aim to create a “geopolitical” Europe is a reminder that at the very least the term “geopolitical” is challenging “globalization” as a catch-all to understand the international order. Geopolitical Europe is just one sign that understanding the international system requires scholars to deal with how and why actors attempt to extend their influence over territory, and some of the possible consequences. 

We will try to choose from proposals that speak to each other as much as possible so that participants can engage in a week-long discussion that will help their writing. We will also try to find a mix between early career researchers and more experienced scholars. The retreat is meant to be an opportunity to set aside a week for an intensive writing period, whether it is to complete a journal article, book manuscript or perhaps even a proposal for research funding.

The Centre of Excellence will cover travel, accommodation and meals for the period of 15-20 July. The retreat will be held at Villa San Ignazio ( https://www.vsi.it/ ), which is within the confines of the city of Trento but secluded enough to feel that you indeed at a retreat. 

If you would like to participate, please send a proposal (circa 300 words) that states what writing project you would like to work on at the retreat and a very short bio. 

Proposals to participate are due 24 May 2024 and can be sent to: [email protected] .  Any queries can be sent to the same address.

Vincent Della sala

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One of the hardest parts of writing a research paper can be just finding a good topic to write about. Fortunately we've done the hard work for you and have compiled a list of 113 interesting research paper topics. They've been organized into ten categories and cover a wide range of subjects so you can easily find the best topic for you.

In addition to the list of good research topics, we've included advice on what makes a good research paper topic and how you can use your topic to start writing a great paper.

What Makes a Good Research Paper Topic?

Not all research paper topics are created equal, and you want to make sure you choose a great topic before you start writing. Below are the three most important factors to consider to make sure you choose the best research paper topics.

#1: It's Something You're Interested In

A paper is always easier to write if you're interested in the topic, and you'll be more motivated to do in-depth research and write a paper that really covers the entire subject. Even if a certain research paper topic is getting a lot of buzz right now or other people seem interested in writing about it, don't feel tempted to make it your topic unless you genuinely have some sort of interest in it as well.

#2: There's Enough Information to Write a Paper

Even if you come up with the absolute best research paper topic and you're so excited to write about it, you won't be able to produce a good paper if there isn't enough research about the topic. This can happen for very specific or specialized topics, as well as topics that are too new to have enough research done on them at the moment. Easy research paper topics will always be topics with enough information to write a full-length paper.

Trying to write a research paper on a topic that doesn't have much research on it is incredibly hard, so before you decide on a topic, do a bit of preliminary searching and make sure you'll have all the information you need to write your paper.

#3: It Fits Your Teacher's Guidelines

Don't get so carried away looking at lists of research paper topics that you forget any requirements or restrictions your teacher may have put on research topic ideas. If you're writing a research paper on a health-related topic, deciding to write about the impact of rap on the music scene probably won't be allowed, but there may be some sort of leeway. For example, if you're really interested in current events but your teacher wants you to write a research paper on a history topic, you may be able to choose a topic that fits both categories, like exploring the relationship between the US and North Korea. No matter what, always get your research paper topic approved by your teacher first before you begin writing.

113 Good Research Paper Topics

Below are 113 good research topics to help you get you started on your paper. We've organized them into ten categories to make it easier to find the type of research paper topics you're looking for.

Arts/Culture

  • Discuss the main differences in art from the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance .
  • Analyze the impact a famous artist had on the world.
  • How is sexism portrayed in different types of media (music, film, video games, etc.)? Has the amount/type of sexism changed over the years?
  • How has the music of slaves brought over from Africa shaped modern American music?
  • How has rap music evolved in the past decade?
  • How has the portrayal of minorities in the media changed?

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Current Events

  • What have been the impacts of China's one child policy?
  • How have the goals of feminists changed over the decades?
  • How has the Trump presidency changed international relations?
  • Analyze the history of the relationship between the United States and North Korea.
  • What factors contributed to the current decline in the rate of unemployment?
  • What have been the impacts of states which have increased their minimum wage?
  • How do US immigration laws compare to immigration laws of other countries?
  • How have the US's immigration laws changed in the past few years/decades?
  • How has the Black Lives Matter movement affected discussions and view about racism in the US?
  • What impact has the Affordable Care Act had on healthcare in the US?
  • What factors contributed to the UK deciding to leave the EU (Brexit)?
  • What factors contributed to China becoming an economic power?
  • Discuss the history of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies  (some of which tokenize the S&P 500 Index on the blockchain) .
  • Do students in schools that eliminate grades do better in college and their careers?
  • Do students from wealthier backgrounds score higher on standardized tests?
  • Do students who receive free meals at school get higher grades compared to when they weren't receiving a free meal?
  • Do students who attend charter schools score higher on standardized tests than students in public schools?
  • Do students learn better in same-sex classrooms?
  • How does giving each student access to an iPad or laptop affect their studies?
  • What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Montessori Method ?
  • Do children who attend preschool do better in school later on?
  • What was the impact of the No Child Left Behind act?
  • How does the US education system compare to education systems in other countries?
  • What impact does mandatory physical education classes have on students' health?
  • Which methods are most effective at reducing bullying in schools?
  • Do homeschoolers who attend college do as well as students who attended traditional schools?
  • Does offering tenure increase or decrease quality of teaching?
  • How does college debt affect future life choices of students?
  • Should graduate students be able to form unions?

body_highschoolsc

  • What are different ways to lower gun-related deaths in the US?
  • How and why have divorce rates changed over time?
  • Is affirmative action still necessary in education and/or the workplace?
  • Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?
  • How has stem cell research impacted the medical field?
  • How can human trafficking be reduced in the United States/world?
  • Should people be able to donate organs in exchange for money?
  • Which types of juvenile punishment have proven most effective at preventing future crimes?
  • Has the increase in US airport security made passengers safer?
  • Analyze the immigration policies of certain countries and how they are similar and different from one another.
  • Several states have legalized recreational marijuana. What positive and negative impacts have they experienced as a result?
  • Do tariffs increase the number of domestic jobs?
  • Which prison reforms have proven most effective?
  • Should governments be able to censor certain information on the internet?
  • Which methods/programs have been most effective at reducing teen pregnancy?
  • What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Keto diet?
  • How effective are different exercise regimes for losing weight and maintaining weight loss?
  • How do the healthcare plans of various countries differ from each other?
  • What are the most effective ways to treat depression ?
  • What are the pros and cons of genetically modified foods?
  • Which methods are most effective for improving memory?
  • What can be done to lower healthcare costs in the US?
  • What factors contributed to the current opioid crisis?
  • Analyze the history and impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic .
  • Are low-carbohydrate or low-fat diets more effective for weight loss?
  • How much exercise should the average adult be getting each week?
  • Which methods are most effective to get parents to vaccinate their children?
  • What are the pros and cons of clean needle programs?
  • How does stress affect the body?
  • Discuss the history of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
  • What were the causes and effects of the Salem Witch Trials?
  • Who was responsible for the Iran-Contra situation?
  • How has New Orleans and the government's response to natural disasters changed since Hurricane Katrina?
  • What events led to the fall of the Roman Empire?
  • What were the impacts of British rule in India ?
  • Was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary?
  • What were the successes and failures of the women's suffrage movement in the United States?
  • What were the causes of the Civil War?
  • How did Abraham Lincoln's assassination impact the country and reconstruction after the Civil War?
  • Which factors contributed to the colonies winning the American Revolution?
  • What caused Hitler's rise to power?
  • Discuss how a specific invention impacted history.
  • What led to Cleopatra's fall as ruler of Egypt?
  • How has Japan changed and evolved over the centuries?
  • What were the causes of the Rwandan genocide ?

main_lincoln

  • Why did Martin Luther decide to split with the Catholic Church?
  • Analyze the history and impact of a well-known cult (Jonestown, Manson family, etc.)
  • How did the sexual abuse scandal impact how people view the Catholic Church?
  • How has the Catholic church's power changed over the past decades/centuries?
  • What are the causes behind the rise in atheism/ agnosticism in the United States?
  • What were the influences in Siddhartha's life resulted in him becoming the Buddha?
  • How has media portrayal of Islam/Muslims changed since September 11th?

Science/Environment

  • How has the earth's climate changed in the past few decades?
  • How has the use and elimination of DDT affected bird populations in the US?
  • Analyze how the number and severity of natural disasters have increased in the past few decades.
  • Analyze deforestation rates in a certain area or globally over a period of time.
  • How have past oil spills changed regulations and cleanup methods?
  • How has the Flint water crisis changed water regulation safety?
  • What are the pros and cons of fracking?
  • What impact has the Paris Climate Agreement had so far?
  • What have NASA's biggest successes and failures been?
  • How can we improve access to clean water around the world?
  • Does ecotourism actually have a positive impact on the environment?
  • Should the US rely on nuclear energy more?
  • What can be done to save amphibian species currently at risk of extinction?
  • What impact has climate change had on coral reefs?
  • How are black holes created?
  • Are teens who spend more time on social media more likely to suffer anxiety and/or depression?
  • How will the loss of net neutrality affect internet users?
  • Analyze the history and progress of self-driving vehicles.
  • How has the use of drones changed surveillance and warfare methods?
  • Has social media made people more or less connected?
  • What progress has currently been made with artificial intelligence ?
  • Do smartphones increase or decrease workplace productivity?
  • What are the most effective ways to use technology in the classroom?
  • How is Google search affecting our intelligence?
  • When is the best age for a child to begin owning a smartphone?
  • Has frequent texting reduced teen literacy rates?

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How to Write a Great Research Paper

Even great research paper topics won't give you a great research paper if you don't hone your topic before and during the writing process. Follow these three tips to turn good research paper topics into great papers.

#1: Figure Out Your Thesis Early

Before you start writing a single word of your paper, you first need to know what your thesis will be. Your thesis is a statement that explains what you intend to prove/show in your paper. Every sentence in your research paper will relate back to your thesis, so you don't want to start writing without it!

As some examples, if you're writing a research paper on if students learn better in same-sex classrooms, your thesis might be "Research has shown that elementary-age students in same-sex classrooms score higher on standardized tests and report feeling more comfortable in the classroom."

If you're writing a paper on the causes of the Civil War, your thesis might be "While the dispute between the North and South over slavery is the most well-known cause of the Civil War, other key causes include differences in the economies of the North and South, states' rights, and territorial expansion."

#2: Back Every Statement Up With Research

Remember, this is a research paper you're writing, so you'll need to use lots of research to make your points. Every statement you give must be backed up with research, properly cited the way your teacher requested. You're allowed to include opinions of your own, but they must also be supported by the research you give.

#3: Do Your Research Before You Begin Writing

You don't want to start writing your research paper and then learn that there isn't enough research to back up the points you're making, or, even worse, that the research contradicts the points you're trying to make!

Get most of your research on your good research topics done before you begin writing. Then use the research you've collected to create a rough outline of what your paper will cover and the key points you're going to make. This will help keep your paper clear and organized, and it'll ensure you have enough research to produce a strong paper.

What's Next?

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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After being insulted, writing down your feelings on paper then getting rid of it reduces anger

A research group in Japan has discovered that writing down one's reaction to a negative incident on a piece of paper and then shredding it or throwing it away reduces feelings of anger.

"We expected that our method would suppress anger to some extent," lead researcher Nobuyuki Kawai said. "However, we were amazed that anger was eliminated almost entirely."

This research is important because controlling anger at home and in the workplace can reduce negative consequences in our jobs and personal lives. Unfortunately, many anger management techniques proposed by specialists lack empirical research support. They can also be difficult to recall when angry.

The results of this study, published in Scientific Reports , are the culmination of years of previous research on the association between the written word and anger reduction. It builds on work showing how interactions with physical objects can control a person's mood.

For their project, Kawai and his graduate student Yuta Kanaya, both at the Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, asked participants to write brief opinions about important social problems, such as whether smoking in public should be outlawed. They then told them that a doctoral student at Nagoya University would evaluate their writing.

However, the doctoral students doing the evaluation were plants. Regardless of what the participants wrote, the evaluators scored them low on intelligence, interest, friendliness, logic, and rationality. To really drive home the point, the doctoral students also wrote the same insulting comment: "I cannot believe an educated person would think like this. I hope this person learns something while at the university."

After handing out these negative comments, the researchers asked the participants to write their thoughts on the feedback, focusing on what triggered their emotions. Finally, one group of participants was told to either dispose of the paper they wrote in a trash can or keep it in a file on their desk. A second group was told to destroy the document in a shredder or put it in a plastic box.

The students were then asked to rate their anger after the insult and after either disposing of or keeping the paper. As expected, all participants reported a higher level of anger after receiving insulting comments. However, the anger levels of the individuals who discarded their paper in the trash can or shredded it returned to their initial state after disposing of the paper. Meanwhile, the participants who held on to a hard copy of the insult experienced only a small decrease in their overall anger.

Kawai imagines using his research to help businesspeople who find themselves in stressful situations. "This technique could be applied in the moment by writing down the source of anger as if taking a memo and then throwing it away when one feels angry in a business situation," he explained.

Along with its practical benefits, this discovery may shed light on the origins of the Japanese cultural tradition known as hakidashisara ( hakidashi refers to the purging or spitting out of something, and sara refers to a dish or plate) at the Hiyoshi shrine in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, just outside of Nagoya. Hakidashisara is an annual festival where people smash small discs representing things that make them angry. Their findings may explain the feeling of relief that participants report after leaving the festival.

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Materials provided by Nagoya University . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

  • Yuta Kanaya, Nobuyuki Kawai. Anger is eliminated with the disposal of a paper written because of provocation . Scientific Reports , 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57916-z

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NPR editor Uri Berliner resigns with blast at new CEO

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Uri Berliner resigned from NPR on Wednesday saying he could not work under the new CEO Katherine Maher. He cautioned that he did not support calls to defund NPR. Uri Berliner hide caption

Uri Berliner resigned from NPR on Wednesday saying he could not work under the new CEO Katherine Maher. He cautioned that he did not support calls to defund NPR.

NPR senior business editor Uri Berliner resigned this morning, citing the response of the network's chief executive to his outside essay accusing NPR of losing the public's trust.

"I am resigning from NPR, a great American institution where I have worked for 25 years," Berliner wrote in an email to CEO Katherine Maher. "I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism. But I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay."

NPR and Maher declined to comment on his resignation.

The Free Press, an online site embraced by journalists who believe that the mainstream media has become too liberal, published Berliner's piece last Tuesday. In it, he argued that NPR's coverage has increasingly reflected a rigid progressive ideology. And he argued that the network's quest for greater diversity in its workforce — a priority under prior chief executive John Lansing – has not been accompanied by a diversity of viewpoints presented in NPR shows, podcasts or online coverage.

Later that same day, NPR pushed back against Berliner's critique.

"We're proud to stand behind the exceptional work that our desks and shows do to cover a wide range of challenging stories," NPR's chief news executive, Edith Chapin, wrote in a memo to staff . "We believe that inclusion — among our staff, with our sourcing, and in our overall coverage — is critical to telling the nuanced stories of this country and our world."

Yet Berliner's commentary has been embraced by conservative and partisan Republican critics of the network, including former President Donald Trump and the activist Christopher Rufo.

Rufo is posting a parade of old social media posts from Maher, who took over NPR last month. In two examples, she called Trump a racist and also seemed to minimize the effects of rioting in 2020. Rufo is using those to rally public pressure for Maher's ouster, as he did for former Harvard University President Claudine Gay .

Others have used the moment to call for the elimination of federal funding for NPR – less than one percent of its roughly $300 million annual budget – and local public radio stations, which derive more of their funding from the government.

NPR names tech executive Katherine Maher to lead in turbulent era

NPR names tech executive Katherine Maher to lead in turbulent era

Berliner reiterated in his resignation letter that he does not support such calls.

In a brief interview, he condemned a statement Maher issued Friday in which she suggested that he had questioned "whether our people are serving our mission with integrity, based on little more than the recognition of their identity." She called that "profoundly disrespectful, hurtful, and demeaning."

Berliner subsequently exchanged emails with Maher, but she did not address those comments.

"It's been building up," Berliner said of his decision to resign, "and it became clear it was on today."

For publishing his essay in The Free Press and appearing on its podcast, NPR had suspended Berliner for five days without pay. Its formal rebuke noted he had done work outside NPR without its permission, as is required, and shared proprietary information.

(Disclosure: Like Berliner, I am part of NPR's Business Desk. He has edited many of my past stories. But he did not see any version of this article or participate in its preparation before it was posted publicly.)

Earlier in the day, Berliner forwarded to NPR editors and other colleagues a note saying he had "never questioned" their integrity and had been trying to raise these issues within the newsroom for more than seven years.

What followed was an email he had sent to newsroom leaders after Trump's 2016 win. He wrote then: "Primarily for the sake of our journalism, we can't align ourselves with a tribe. So we don't exist in a cocoon that blinds us to the views and experience of tens of millions of our fellow citizens."

Berliner's critique has inspired anger and dismay within the network. Some colleagues said they could no longer trust him after he chose to publicize such concerns rather than pursue them as part of ongoing newsroom debates, as is customary. Many signed a letter to Maher and Edith Chapin, NPR's chief news executive. They asked for clarity on, among other things, how Berliner's essay and the resulting public controversy would affect news coverage.

Yet some colleagues privately said Berliner's critique carried some truth. Chapin also announced monthly reviews of the network's coverage for fairness and diversity - including diversity of viewpoint.

She said in a text message earlier this week that that initiative had been discussed long before Berliner's essay, but "Now seemed [the] time to deliver if we were going to do it."

She added, "Healthy discussion is something we need more of."

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editor Gerry Holmes. Under NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.

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  20. GRE Issue Essay: Strategies + 8 Real Student Essays with Scores

    Issue Essay Analysis. Score: 5.5. This GRE Issue essay starts off with a strong intro that clearly articulates the author's position. The essay is also very long, and the body paragraphs well developed. In terms of ideas this is a strong—though if slightly limited—essay. It makes a compelling case for interdisciplinary learning.

  21. The Most Important Thing I Teach My Students Isn't on the Syllabus

    Mr. Bruni is a contributing Opinion writer and the author of the forthcoming book "The Age of Grievance," from which this essay is adapted. I warn my students. At the start of every semester ...

  22. Problem writing a large file to ZipArchive · Issue #101238

    IF you can rebuild the existing archive, you can avoid the in-memory MemoryStream buffer caused by readMeEntry.Open() by overwriting existing archive in write-only manner. Otherwise, you're blocked by #1544

  23. Boeing somehow managed to get itself into even bigger trouble

    A month ago, the FAA flagged safety issues with the de-icing equipment on 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner models that could cause engines to lose thrust. The FAA is allowing the planes to continue ...

  24. Writer's Digest May/June 2024 Cover Reveal

    + The 2023 WD Personal Essay Award Winners: WD announces the winners of the 4 th Annual WD Personal Essay Awards by featuring an interview with the winner, Katie Love. By Moriah Richard + Preventing Conflict in Author/Editor Relationships: Setting expectations early in the author-editor relationship can prevent conflict and help manage emotions when the edits come in.

  25. Trento Writing Retreat on Geopolitics in Eurasia

    The Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on Geopolitics in EUrasia at the University of Trento will host 6-8 scholars for a writing retreat on issues related to geopolitics in the broad Eurasian geographic space. The aim is to bring together a group of researchers working on the topic and the area to write and discuss their work. The principal activity will be writing but there will be ...

  26. 113 Great Research Paper Topics

    113 Great Research Paper Topics. Posted by Christine Sarikas. General Education. One of the hardest parts of writing a research paper can be just finding a good topic to write about. Fortunately we've done the hard work for you and have compiled a list of 113 interesting research paper topics. They've been organized into ten categories and ...

  27. After being insulted, writing down your feelings on ...

    Researchers have discovered a simple, but effective, strategy to help people reduce their feelings of anger. Disposing of a piece of paper containing your written thoughts on the cause of your ...

  28. NPR editor Uri Berliner resigns with blast at new CEO

    NPR editor Uri Berliner resigns, blasting CEO Katherine Maher The senior editor says CEO Katherine Maher has "divisive views" that confirm the issues he wrote about in an essay accusing NPR of ...

  29. The Salem Writing Center is closed today

    Past Issues; 2024; April 19, 2024; The Salem Writing Center is closed today; The Writing Center is closed today. Contact: Jennifer Jopp. We will be closed while we conduct interviews. The Writing Center will be closed on Friday while we conduct interviews. We will reopen on Sunday, April 21, at 3 p.m. Announcements on April 19, 2024.