Category: Essays on Controversial Topics
Browse our collection of essays on controversial topics. Each topic in this category represents a controversial issue and thus is a good choice if you are looking for argumentative or persuasive essay topics. When writing an argumentative essay or a persuasive essay you should focus on picking a topic that is current and relevant to society and can be argued logically.
While a strong interest in a topic is important, it’s not enough to be interested. You have to consider what position you can back up with reasoning and evidence. It’s one thing to have a strong belief, but when shaping an argument you’ll have to explain why your belief is reasonable and logical. As you explore the topics, make a mental list of points you could use as evidence for or against an issue.
One reason the earth is teeming with life is the existence of a natural greenhouse effect. The earth is heated by the sun. After the sun’s rays strike the earth, many of them bounce back into space, and the planet would be much colder if there were not …
The term grade inflation refers to an increase in grade point averages over time without a corresponding rise in achievement. Grade inflation illustrates a concern about declining academic standards in high schools, colleges, and universities over the past 15 years, particularly at elite institutions. For example, fewer than …
Groupthink refers to the psychological group dynamic that can lead to disastrous decision making. Developed by Irving Janis, the concept of groupthink explains how well-intended political leaders have made notoriously bad foreign policy decisions, such as the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Others have since invoked groupthink …
Gun control is one of the most commonly proposed methods for reducing violent crime. Defined narrowly, it is the enactment and enforcement of laws regulating firearms. More broadly, it is any organized effort to regulate firearms, which could also encompass civil suits aimed at the firearms industry and …
Harm reduction is a broad term applied to a variety of programs and policies, so there is no clear consensus on its meaning, although its aim is to reduce the adverse consequences of drug use and even of drug control policies. The term originated in the Netherlands in …
The term hate crime first appeared in the late 1980s in response to a racial incident in the white, working-class Howard Beach section of New York City, in which an African American man was killed while attempting to evade a violent mob of teenagers shouting racial epithets. Originally …
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, more than 800 hate groups are active in the United States. The Intelligence Project estimates that the number of hate groups has grown by about one third since 2000, although most are small, with the majority having fewer than 20 members. …
Although no widely recognized definition of the term hate speech yet exists, its traditional interpretation included any form of expression that any racial, religious, ethnic, or national group found offensive. This definition broadened in the 1980s to include groups based or age, gender, sexual preference, marital status, and …
Several indicators measure the level of access to health care. Among these, typically using a 12-month period of focus, are an individual’s health care coverage and whether or not an individual saw or spoke to a doctor or visited an emergency room. In addition, determining who uses certain …
Officials measure health care costs in two major ways: total expenditures and per person (or per capita) spending. They report total expenditures either in dollars or as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP), or else as a growth rate percentage compared with the growth rate percentage …
Researchers consistently document U.S. disparities in health care access according to race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, and disability. Inadequate health care access contributes to poor health outcomes over the life course, leading to higher incidence of disease and chronic conditions and, consequently, to lower life …
Health insurance is a contractual arrangement through which individuals spread the financial risk of unexpected and costly medical events. By enabling the voluntary pooling of health-related financial risks, health insurance enhances social welfare. However, incentives inherent in a health insurance contract can result in the inefficient use of …
The term hegemony has a long and rich history. Etymologically, hegemony derives from the Greek hegemon, meaning “leader.” The most extensive and influential elaboration of hegemony is that of the Italian theorist and political activist Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937); indeed one can argue that hegemony has become synonymous with …
Heroin is a semisynthetic substance derived from the resin of opium poppies, which are grown widely in South America, the Middle East, and Asia. Heroin can be injected, smoked, or sniffed. Reported effects include vomiting and nausea for first-time users, followed by intense euphoria (“rush”) accompanied by flushed …
Hidden curriculum is a subset of theories of socialization that investigate how society reproduces culture from generation to generation. Primary socialization encompasses the teaching of children by parents who use direct instruction and modeling to inculcate language, moral beliefs and values, social roles, and so on. At the …
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a humanistic theory of motivation based on his observation that humans are a perpetually wanting animal. Maslow proposed five basic needs that become goals that guide human behavior. Lower-level needs are biological and experienced by everyone, whereas upper-level needs are psychological, experienced …
Twenty-five years into the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, HIV infection rates remain alarmingly high, with more than 4 million new infections every year. Despite the rapid global spread of HIV, most people in both industrialized and developing countries are at relatively low risk of HIV infection. Comprehensive prevention programs …
The Holocaust was the systematic, state-organized persecution and murder of nearly 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany, its allies, and collaborators. They destroyed two thirds of Europe’s Jews and one third of the world’s Jewish population. If Nazi intentions had fully prevailed, all Jewish life and tradition would …
Small groups of people tending to makeshift structures of an encampment, disheveled men rummaging through garbage cans for food, and young women with small children lining up outside of shelters have become common sights across the world’s leading cities. This widespread growth in homelessness has been linked with …
Homeless youth are generally defined as persons unaccompanied by an adult caregiver for extended periods of time and generally under the age of 21. This term encompasses a variety of unaccompanied youth such as runaways and throwaways. The term throwaway refers to youth who are put out on …
