Every great orator used to be a student – even the most gifted ones had to learn. That is why you have to practice your rhetorical skills in building strong arguments and presenting them compellingly. Usually, you are given some time to prepare for a debate. Your topic is known beforehand, and you can research it to back your arguments with evidence, hone your loquacity, and embellish your speech with prosody, parallelism, and other expressive means.
However, if you haven’t been given a defined topic for your speech or you just want to practice, you can find some ideas on the list below. We have gathered the best debate topics and grouped them by categories:
- Debatable Topics on Hot Issues
- More Controversial Debate Topics
- Easy and Funny Debate Topics
- Engaging Debate Topics for Middle School
- Though-Provoking Debate Topics for High School
- Challenging Debate Topics for College Students
- Top Debating Topics That Never Go Out of Fashion
- Casual Topics to Debate About
In each category, you can choose topics to debate of varying complexity – from easy to challenging. Some of the issues are ambiguous and hard to navigate without knowledge of human psychology and high levels of emotional intelligence. As a studying aid, most topics are linked to our free essay database samples. Inspect them carefully and see what rhetoric devices are used to persuade the audience. Remember, wins not the one who shouts the loudest, but the one who speaks to the hearts of the audience.
Debatable Topics on Hot Issues
What are the topics most fitting for debate? Of course, those related to current events: politics, technology, business, etc. Something that matters here and now. Relevance is the key. This is why these suggestions top debate topic list. Some of the topics below might even give you inspiration for research paper.
If you find an unlinked topic interesting, you can order a unique sample from our essay writing service. Just let us know if you need it written from a specific point of view or in a particular tone of voice. It will be created following your every instruction and delivered to you right on time!
- Do media expose the inequality and class divide or contribute to them?
- Should social media be regulated? Is it an infringement on the freedom of speech?
- Artificial Intelligence: a boon or a bane?
- Keeping cetaceans in captivity is unethical, even for research: yes or no?
- Identity politics in the visible world: is your face your private property?
- Are employee benefits distributed fairly to people who need help the most?
- Should the minimum wage be raised?
- Does affirmative action work?
- Should all genetically modified food be banned?
- Should medical workers disclose their HIV status to their patients?
- Should the United States have mandatory military conscription?
- Should the white majority join collective actions like “Blackout Tuesday” to show support, or is it more appropriate to leave room for minorities to raise their voices?
- Should student debt be forgiven for everyone?
- Should COVID-19 vaccination be made mandatory (with an exception for medical conditions preventing from a jab)?
- Is colorblind casting for historical pieces empowering or harmful? Is it inclusion or erasure?
More Controversial Debate Topics
Now let’s get into really hot debatable topics. Current events are all fine and well, but some issues remain in the spotlight for years because they are highly polarizing and not easily resolved. They often dwell in the domain of criminal justice, ethics, and religion. Are you prepared to give some of these a try?
- Is firing bad teachers the real solution to the de facto segregation in the U.S. education system?
- Is it moral to buy and sell organs, or should they only be donated?
- Is substance abuse a mental disorder?
- Is the Hare Psychopathy Checklist effective for assessing offenders?
- Should museums like Auschwitz be conserved or modernized?
- European-Indigenous contact: was conflict inevitable or avoidable?
- Should gay marriage be legal in your state?
- Is it moral to supply teenagers with birth control?
- Pro-life or pro-choice?
- Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?
- Is workplace drug testing ethical?
- Is it ethical to patent medical procedures?
- Should marijuana be legal in your state?
- Does the death penalty have a place in a civilized society?
- Should incest between consenting adults be considered a felony?
Easy and Funny Debate Topics
Phew, that was intense. How about something less emotionally charged? Expressing your strong opinions on unimportant matters can be a great way to learn debating techniques – and entertaining! Some of the fun debate topics on this list might be suitable for students in elementary or middle school.
- City life vs. small-town life
- Is “seize the day” a realistic way of life?
- Boredom: does it lead to trouble, or is it good?
- Do pop stars have a moral obligation to perform and dance in a non-offensive way?
- Should we rely on technology or use it less in everyday life?
- Is paintball a violent game, and should we play it?
- Online dating: to do or not to do?
- Are embellished images of fast food false advertising?
- Should children be able to sue parents for giving them weird/ugly names?
- Are voice messages a future, or should they be banned?
- Do animals have a sense of humor?
- Fantasy or Sci-Fi?
- Apple or Android?
- Choosing the ultimate pet: cats or dogs?
- Fireworks are hazardous, bad for the environment, and scare animals. We should replace them with drones and laser shows. Agree or disagree?
Engaging Debate Topics for Middle School
We loosely classify the suggestions below as middle school debate topics because students of that age should find them engaging and be able to discuss them with some confidence. However, they are suitable not only for pre-teens. Some of them can be explored on other academic levels and even be a basis for profound research.
- Are professional athletes a good or a poor choice for role modeling?
- Should the school be taught all year-round instead of closing for summer?
- Do comic books have positive or negative effects on children?
- Who is to blame for World War 1?
- Should government tax unhealthy foods?
- Is Wikipedia a trustworthy source of information?
- Do social media lead to narcissism?
- Should children’s time be structures morning until evening, or should they have complete freedom?
- Should homework be banned?
- Is reporting rule-breaking to a teacher a snitching or a moral duty?
- Should plastic bags and other one-use plastic items be banned completely?
- Should we all become vegetarians?
- Should all zoos be banned?
- Is cybersport a real sport?
- Should students be allowed to choose what they want to learn and refuse subjects they don’t like?
Though-Provoking Debate Topics for High School
Older teens usually find discussions about changes, the future, and their plans for further education interesting. That is why we have included a good portion of these in our high-school debate topics. They might be a bit edgier than those for middle school but still manageable. For instance, we are sure you will have no problem with these.
- Should uniforms be mandatory for high school students?
- Is environmental protection a governmental or individual responsibility?
- Is the council of your town efficient? Why or why not? Which problems have they successfully tackled/failed to address?
- Should college education be state-financed and free for all students?
- All high school and college students should be required to take at least two foreign languages: yes or no?
- Should high school graduates take a gap year?
- Do single-sex schools have enough merit to exist today?
- Are humans and non-human species equal? Is non-speciesism or the unbiased treatment of other species possible?
- Should teachers’ salaries be based on merit?
- Should the breeding of animals with severe health conditions be stopped?
- In the future, humanity will switch to lab-grown meat and meat substitutes. Agree or disagree?
- Should we explore outer space or put the money and effort into sustainable living and preserving the Earth?
- Should guns be more strictly regulated in your state?
- Do biometric scans improve security or pose additional risks?
- Is the legal age of 18 right for getting a tattoo? Should it be lowered or raised?
Challenging Debate Topics for College Students
College debates topics might not have easy and readily available answers. They are more nuanced and complex, including pressing environmental, scientific, medical, and political issues. Will you be equal to these discussions?
- Do internships benefit college students?
- Should college athletes be paid?
- Is studying abroad more beneficial than studying domestically?
- Should we celebrate personalities with radical views and controversial legacies for the good things they did?
- Should America adopt an educational system more like Europe?
- Should juvenile offenders be tried and punished as adults?
- Taking online courses versus going to college?
- Should a cap be placed on “Pain and Suffering” in tort actions?
- Are homeless people provided with sufficient support by the government?
- Should illegal drug possession for personal use be decriminalized?
- Should the legal drinking age be lowered?
- Should campus police be armed?
- Should universities only admit fully vaccinated people on campus?
- Should free speech be unlimited in universities? How can this principle be balanced with issues of civility and respect?
- Is borrowing styles from other cultures an appreciation or an appropriation?
Top Debating Topics That Never Go Out of Fashion
Some philosophical, ethical, and historical issues always remain a popular debate topic. Can you and your classmates come to an agreement on these ones?
- Is happiness achievable, or is it just an illusion?
- Is crime violent by its very nature?
- Is it okay to lie?
- Settling a peaceful life in a tempestuous place is possible or not?
- Stricter surveillance measures should be adopted to protect us from real threats: agree or disagree?
- Do you believe that humanity is inherently evil?
- Solitary confinement: humane or inhumane?
- Can a refusal to vote be a democratic choice?
- Are credits good or bad for consumers?
- Is United Nations an ethical organization?
- Should elderly people receive professional care at retirement homes or at their own place?
- Do you believe that afterlife is merely a fable?
- Is this reality a simulation? How can we tell?
- Does free will exist, or is everything determined?
- Can science and religion be reconciled?
Casual Topics to Debate About
You can try these topics for debate in class or with friends at a party. They concern all aspects of everyday life: relationship choices, behaviors, ethical decisions we make. Try these for a meaningful conversation with close friends or as icebreakers in a new company.
- Does women’s choice to opt-in and out of work make them more privileged?
- Are social networking services beneficial for our actual relationships?
- What is better for society: collectivism or individualism?
- Is materialism a positive or negative value?
- Is plastic surgery an empowering or dangerous trend?
- Are we as a society worshipping money too much?
- “Ideas are more powerful than guns”: agree or disagree?
- Can platonic friendship exist between men and women?
- I would never have sex with someone on a first date: agree or disagree?
- Internet censorship: yes or no?
- Vacations: abroad or domestically?
- Should people be allowed to marry objects?
- Should bionics be used only to remedy the impairment or to enhance an able body as well?
- Is it moral to kill insects if you are an ethical vegetarian?
- Is romantic love necessary for a happy and fulfilling life?
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