11 Controversial Questions for Debate and Persuasive Writing

Whether you would like to pick up a fight or just write an interesting essay, reading 11 controversial questions for debate and persuasive writing will certainly come in handy!

Life is too short for dull conversations and boring topics. Every day you are agreeing and nodding, discussing the same things over and over again. That is just the way of the world. We are all conformists in a way and sometimes it is easier to just go with the flow and politely agree with someone’s opinion. After all, our environment is usually such that we are surrounded by people of similar opinions and interests. However, should you wish to spark a debate, you’ve come to the right place. With these controversial debate topics, you’ll stir up the atmosphere in no time!

 If you are fed up with your ordinary debate topics for college whose discussion has recently provoked quite a few yawns at your debate recently (or perhaps even some snoring noise in the background), you’d better read our 15 Funny Debate Topics for College Students or 25 Controversial Debate Topics for College Students and watch your debate team become talk of the day. There’s nothing like fun debate topics to make your debate memorable, and your audience pretty much amused.  Some of them could be debate topics for kids, but not all of them. Most could rather be qualified as topics for their parents. Also, if you don’t really excel at debating, why don’t you check our 15 Easy Persuasive Speech Topics for College Students and improve your rating a little bit. Moreover, if you are not so good at speaking as much as you are at writing, our list of current debate topics will make sure yours is one gripping read. The topics are so controversial the readers will find themselves practically engrossed in your paper.

After this extensive self-praise, let us show you how we compiled this list of controversial questions for debates and writing papers. Firstly, we visited the ProCon to find the most popular debate topics nowadays which could also be used as great current topics for debate competition. If you are wondering why we picked this source from a lot of similar websites offering lists of popular social issues, let us explain that this is originally a non-profit, nonpartisan public organization which provides reliable information on burning issues. In cases when most popular topics were too narrow, i.e., they could only be applied to the US, they were eliminated. We decided to introduce topics from the sports section instead, simply because they are universal and other areas have already been covered, such as health and laws, for instance. In order to further explore the popularity of the topics, we consulted with ISideWith website which deals with international polls on controversial issues. We focused on the questions which most voters of the website found intriguing (we are talking millions here). Actually, most of the issues overlapped with our primary source of most popular debate topics. Finally, we opted for the question which provoked the biggest number of voters. Still, it must be emphasized that we included the topics which are not necessarily US related but can rather be discussed and get the attention of any reader or listener. The questions are listed randomly.

There’s no time like now to express or start questioning your own attitudes, or someone else’s. Check our list of 11 controversial questions for debate and persuasive writing and get ready for a heated discussion!

11. Should marijuana be a medical option?

There is a long list of pros and cons, and hardly anyone will simply say “yes” or “no” to this question.

10. Should performance enhancing drugs be accepted in sports?

Maria Sharapova, Lance Armstrong, Ben Johnson – these are only a few of famous athletes banned for steroid use. Do you think it was fair, or there is a thin line between approved and illegal substances?

9. Should same-sex marriages be legalized?

Over 32 million voters were provoked by this question and had to state their opinion in the poll. Sounds like an excellent debate topic.

8. Should animals be used for scientific or commercial testing?

With increasing awareness about the animal treatment in laboratories, more and more companies are praising themselves for not using our furry friends. What’s the other option?

7. Should the death penalty be allowed?

In what cases should a human being be legally killed?

6. Should students have to wear school uniforms?

Now here is a good one for debate topics for middle school. An issue which never becomes too boring to discuss with teenagers.

And now, let’s see the top five on our list of controversial questions for debate and persuasive writing,

5. Should the drinking age be lowered?

Alcohol consumption had to be one of the controversial questions for debate and persuasive writing. Just look at the reality and the law. Do they always match?

4. Are social networking sites good for our society?

It appears this issue can only gain on its popularity since the number of social networking sites and ways of sharing our private lives is only increasing.

3. Should euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide be legal?

If it is legal to punish criminals, why couldn’t it be perfectly legal to end someone’s misery on his/her own request?

2. Should the government allow illegal immigrants to become citizens?

Originally this question only concerned the US. Unfortunately, the situation is such that there are a lot of countries facing this dilemma, so we decided to retain it.

1. Should abortion be legal?

Rest assured that this is a true classic in our 11 controversial questions for debate and persuasive writing. Still, it never loses on popularity and intensity. If you’re not sure, do a simple test. Ask the two or three people next to you, and get ready to witness to some strong arguments. If you are writing an essay on it, we definitely hope the reader’s attitude won’t affect your final mark.