It is often difficult for students to come up with great topic ideas for their papers and speeches. I’ve come across different lists at times but I just stumbled on a nice looking list of 401 Writing Prompts for Argumentative Writing on the New York Times website from March 1, 2017. A few of the ideas on the list are:

  • Is Social Media Making Us More Narcissistic?
  • How Do You Feel About a Computer Grading Your Essay?
  • Should Toys be More Gender-Neutral?
  • How Big of a Problem is Sexting?
  • Do Sports Teams Have a Responsibility to Hold Players to a Standard for their Personal Conduct?
  • Does Reading a Book Count More than more than Listening to One?
  • Are Parent’s Violating their Children’s Privacy when They Share Photos and Videos of Them Online?
  • Is Your Generation Really Post-Racial?
  • How Should Schools Handle Unvaccinated Students?
  • What is More Important: Our Privacy or National Security?

These, and hundreds of other prompts are available through the Learning Section of the New York Times online. 401 Writing Prompts for Argumentative Writing.  A PDF version of the list is also available.

That article also includes a link to 650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing