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.
Economic restructuring refers to any major reconfiguring of the primary way in which goods, services, capital, and jobs get produced, distributed, or consumed. Over the past 70 years, the U.S. economy changed from one dominated by manufacturing and farming to one dominated by industries that provide services rather …
Coined by Joel Garreau in 1991, the term edge cities describes the suburbanization of office work, retail trade, and industrial production that followed residential relocation out of urban areas after World War II. More than 200 edge cities exist in the United States and several in Canada, typically …
The past 2 decades witnessed a marked increase in public attention to academic performance. Historically, concern about quality of the U.S. educational system has fluctuated, but rarely has there been a period of such intense interest in measuring and comparing performance of students, teachers, and schools. Whereas in …
Because the vast majority of U.S. students reside in urban areas, their education and indeed the preservation of the values of democracy are intrinsic to the success or failure of U.S. inner-city schools. Such schools are historically overpopulated and underfunded, leading to problems relating to the quality of …
The professional standing of educators in U.S. society is particularly conflicted, and this situation weakens their voice in shaping educational policy at the national, state, and even local levels. As a result, decisions made often reflect political considerations rather that professional, academic insights. Public school teachers, who are …
A controversial and often politically tinged idea, school privatization in the United States describes a range of proposals to transfer K-12 education from the public to the private sector. These proposals stem mostly from conservative critiques of public education that in turn sparked reforms such as school vouchers, …
Silencing in education (as verb) refers to the state of being forgotten; to put to rest; to be quiet, as with selected voices of students, public school teachers, and professors. Silence (as noun) suggests concealment or secrecy; the absence of sound or noise; omission of mention or expressed …
Throughout history, there has been an enormous disparity in attitudes toward and treatment of individuals with disabilities in the workplace and the community. The advent of universal public education during the 19th century added another area in which this disparity would play out. Similar to many other universal …
Educational equity refers to equal access, opportunities, and expectations in education for all persons, irrespective of their backgrounds or status. As a democratic nation, the United States offers a system of “universal” and free public education as a primary mechanism for providing equal educational access and opportunities to …
Most observers agree that the elderly suffered a loss in status during the periods of modernization and industrialization in the 18th and 19th centuries. According to modernization theory, older members of society failed to maintain their economic standing in the nations that were developing economically during this time, …
Eminent domain refers to the government taking private property without the owner’s permission for specified, legitimate purposes and just compensation. This entry explores various conceptualizations of eminent domain and its background and then discusses controversies surrounding its key components. Related concepts to eminent domain exist in other countries …
English as a second language (ESL) is a multifaceted term associated with several aspects in the area of English language teaching and learning. Broadly speaking, it refers to the use or study of English by speakers of other languages who are permanently or temporarily residing in English-dominant countries, …
The goal of the English-only movement is to make English the official language of the United States and to restrict the use of non-English languages in schools and for government services, such as interpreters and voting materials. The movement is based on the belief that encroachment on English …
Entrapment in law occurs when an enforcement officer or other government agent suggests, encourages, or aids in the production of a crime that otherwise would not have been committed. The defense is recognized in federal law and also in most states. Alaska statute §11.81.450, for instance, allows an …
In recent years a set of related movements, sometimes referred to as “radical environmentalism,” has appeared on the global stage. Despite precursors in history, what is new about these movements is the confrontational nature of the tactics they often employ, including blockades, tree spiking, forest occupations, and property …
Hazardous wastes are among the by-products of industrial production in societies in which there is intensive use of chemicals (e.g., acids, bases, chlorinated hydrocarbons) and materials (heavy metals or paint pigments) that are toxic and can cause poisoning and death. Official definitions of hazardous waste promulgated by state …
The environment is an important part of life that must be safeguarded and preserved in the best way possible, because without it there would be no life. People have always used the environment to advance their own goals, but this can lead to environmental pollution, which in turn …
Eutrophication, or cultural eutrophication, is the enhancement of the natural process by which streams, lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries become enriched with nutrients (phosphorous and nitrogen), enabling the ecosystem to support higher rates of production as measured by biomass or energy per unit area over time. This natural process …
The history of civilization, especially urban civilization, is the history of water—of the fundamental need to supply clean, fresh, disease-free drinking water while simultaneously disposing of vast quantities of disease-ridden, foul human and animal waste. From at least the time of the Phoenicians up to the present day, …
Environmental crime is among the most controversial categories of illicit activity within the parameters of defining social problems. Some scholars simply classify it as a form of white-collar crime, because the motivating factor behind committing such offenses is frequently financial gain. Federal enforcement entities consider the term more …
