Step 1: Find a Topic

One of the first difficulties we face when assigned to write an argumentative essay is finding something to write about. Malala Yousafzai wasn’t assigned to write a persuasive speech; she had an important idea that she wanted to communicate to others. So, the key thing is to be sure that you are writing about something that you are genuinely interested in. This will make your writing much more authentic.

It is also important to think about questions you have, rather than topics you might write about. Although you might be tempted to jump right to the point you want to make, it is better to take some time and ask as many questions as you can about the topic first. For instance, if you are interested in sports, you might ask questions such as:

Focusing on questions such as these will allow you to begin narrowing down your broad topic (sports) into more specific ones (such as safety, or salaries), while at the same time keeping your options open to a lot of argumentative possibilities within your topic.

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ACTIVITY

Look over the list of topics below and write two or three questions that you have about the topics. Avoid questions that can be answered with yes or no or with a single statement. Also avoid questions that have obvious pro/con sides to them, such as “should cell phones be banned in schools?” Try writing provocative questions that reasonable people might have different opinions about. Eventually, you will select one question that you will use throughout the rest of this Workshop.

  1. Education

  2. Sports

  3. Entertainment (such as movies, video games, music)

  4. Local or national politics

  5. Interactions between the United States and other countries

  6. Technology

  7. Topics of your own