Getting Argumentative Essay Topics for Middle School Students


One of the best ways to make students into good debaters is to give them argumentative essays to write. Children start taking stands from an early age, which can be honed further by giving them essays topics that they feel passionately about. This will ensure that they find topics that both interest and ignite them. Thus, choosing argumentative topics for middle school students can be a tough task, since finding titles that are both challenging and informative is a tough nut to crack. Thus, here are some tips to help you get good argumentative essay topics for middle school students:

Pay attention to knowledge


  • Try to look for topics that require students to look up various sources to find matter to write about.
  • If you do not want them blindly copying from another source, try to find topics that require students to study a topic in depth or is intellectually challenging. This will not only increment the students’ knowledge but also serve as an exercise.
  • For example, for students who are only starting out with environmental science, the topic, ‘Is environmental science necessary as a subject?’ might be considered appropriate.

Give them statements instead of questions


  • Children will be more inclined towards arguing whether a statement is true or false rather than answering a question straight out. They might say a particular statement is wrong or right rather than argue in the logistics of a particular question.
  • Thus, as far as possible, give them simple statements they can argue on. For example:
    • ‘Children should be paid for obtaining good grades.’
    • ‘Magazine and TV ads mislead students.’
    • ‘Middle school students do not need expensive smartphones.’

Remember, this is not a debate


  • Writing an argumentative essay is much different than debating on a topic, which is often tough for students to understand. Therefore, most students often write as they would speak on the stage. Their work is thus littered with slang and colloquial terms, which ultimately downgrades the quality of their essay.
  • Thus, as far as possible, try to tell students the difference between an essay and a debate. Some teachers even prefer persuasive essays to argumentative essays, since the latter are much less ‘in your face’.
  • When it comes to middle school students, try to look for topics that are not overly aggressive. These are students who are only starting out with writing for a topic: they do not yet need to fight wars with their words. 
 
 

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