Does social media harm young people’s mental health? Do video games deserve the bad rap they often get? Should parents track their children? Who is the greatest athlete of all time?
Every school day, we publish new questions for students based on the news of the day, including prompts, like these, that inspire persuasive writing.
Below, we’ve rounded up over 300 of those argumentative prompts, organized by topic, all in one place. (They’re also all available here as a clickable PDF.) They cover everything from parenting and schools to music and social media. Each one, drawn from our Student Opinion column, links to a free New York Times article as well as additional subquestions that can help you think more deeply about it.
You can use these prompts however you like, whether to inspire an entry for our new Open Letter Contest, to hone your persuasive writing skills or simply to share your opinions on the issues of today. So scroll through the list below and see which ones inspire you to take a stand.
If you enjoy these questions, know that you can find all of our argumentative writing prompts, as they publish, here. Students 13 and up from anywhere in the world are invited to comment.
Technology and Social Media
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.