PERSUASIVE WRITING PROMPTS
1. Though texting is a valuable way of communicating, some people spend too much time sending messages instead of interacting face to face. Convince someone of your viewpoint.
2. Find one thing in your everyday life you think needs fixing (relationship to your parents, homework, school lunches, etc.) Convince someone that it is broken and propose a way to fix it.
3. Sixth graders are not allowed, by state law, to take athletics. Do you think this is a good idea? Weigh the pros and cons of this issue.
4. Persuade someone to try an activity you don't enjoy.
5. Take two books or movies you LOVE and convince someone that one of them is worse.
6. Weigh the pros and cons of going to sleep one hour later than you normally do.
7. Weigh the pros and cons of owning a pet.
8. Could someone live in today's world while not using any electronics? Why or why not?
Pre-AP writing prompts:
1. Most of the so-called "reality programs" on television are highly artificial and bear little resemblance to real life. Drawing on one or more specific programs for your examples, explain why you agree or disagree with this observation.
2. Some school authorities have the power to remove from libraries and classrooms any books that they consider inappropriate for children or teens. Pointing to specific examples of how this power has been exercised, explain why you support or oppose this form of censorship.
3. Research has shown that a short afternoon nap can promote physical well-being and improve mood and memory. Explain why you support or oppose a proposal to allow for napping at your school, even if this means a longer day.
4. Online learning is not only convenient for students and teachers but often more effective than traditional classroom instruction. Addressing an audience of your peers, explain why you agree or disagree with this observation.
5. Teachers and administrators in many American schools are now authorized to conduct random inspections of students' lockers and backpacks. Explain why you support or oppose this practice.
6. To save fuel and money, Friday classes should be eliminated on campus and a four-day work week implemented for all employees. With reference to the effects of reduced schedules at other schools or colleges, explain why you support or oppose this plan.
7. In a speech or essay addressed to the head of your school, explain why snack and soda vending machines should or should not be removed from all classroom buildings on your campus.
1. Over the past 20 years, more and more public schools have implemented policies requiring students to wear uniforms. Explain why you support or oppose mandated school uniforms.
2. The city council is now considering a proposal to allow construction of a shelter for homeless individuals and families. The proposed site for the homeless shelter is adjacent to your campus. Explain why you support or oppose this proposal.
3. Many states now require proof of U.S. citizenship before admitting a student to a public college or university. Explain why you support or oppose this requirement.
4. Rather than lay off workers in bad economic times, some companies have chosen to reduce the length of the work week (while also reducing pay) for all employees. Explain why you support or oppose a shorter work week.
5. The introduction of new digital technologies has radically altered people's reading habits over the past 25 years. In light of this change, explain why students should or should not be required to read lengthy textbooks and novels in their classes.
6. In some school districts, children are bused to schools outside their neighborhood in an effort to achieve diversity. Explain whether you favor or oppose compulsory busing of schoolchildren.
7. Explain why doctors and school nurses should or should not be allowed to prescribe contraceptives to children under the age of 16.
8. Your state legislature is now considering a proposal to allow drinking by 18- to 20-year-olds after they have completed an alcohol education program. Explain why you support or oppose this proposal.
9. To reduce unemployment among young people, legislation has been introduced to repeal all minimum-wage laws. Explain why you support or oppose such legislation.
10. There have recently been movements to boycott products imported from countries that tolerate the exploitation of underage workers. Using specific examples, explain why you support or oppose such boycotts.
11. In your school or college, instructors have the right to ban cell phones (or mobiles) in their classrooms. Explain why you favor or oppose such a ban.
12. In some cities traffic congestion has been reduced by the creation of toll zones. Explain why you do or do not favor the imposition of mandatory fees on drivers in your city
13. Convince a skeptic to read your favorite book or watch your favorite movie.
14. Persuade someone to choose your favorite candy bar over your second favorite.
15. Persuade yourself to start a good habit or stop a bad one.
16. Persuade someone to visit your hometown.
17. Persuade someone to visit a city you want to visit.
18. Write about why you should be hired to do your dream job.
19. Which is better: cats or dogs? Convince someone.
20. Persuade someone that you would be a good pen pal.
21. Persuade your boss or principal that work or school should start one hour later.
22. Persuade someone to take care of a pet while you are on vacation.
23. Convince someone who doesn't like reading why they should read.
24. Take two books or movies you don't particularly like and convince someone that one of them is better.
25. Convince someone why a specific book belongs in a certain genre.
26. Pick two fictional characters. Which one would be a better date? Why?
27. Weigh the pros and cons of a job you or a friend/family member used to have.
28. Persuade someone that your favorite holiday is the best.
29. What do you think the message or moral of a certain book is? Persuade someone.
30. What is the best day of the week? Convince someone.
31. Persuade someone that some aspect of the dress code at your school or work should change.
32. What rule or law do you think is the most important? Convince someone.
33. Pick something that many people do different ways (like boiling an egg or remembering the order of the planets) and persuade someone that your way is the most effective.
34. Which is creepier- spiders or cockroaches? Convince someone.
35. Is it okay for boys to play with toys made for girls and vice versa?
36. Convince someone to eat at your favorite restaurant.
37. Weigh the pros and cons of both parents working or one working and one staying home.
38. Pick two different adaptations of something (for example, two different Sherlock Holmes movies/tv series). Which one does a better job of adapting the original, and why?
39. Pick a book that has a moral or message and explain convincingly what you think it means.
40. Convince someone to give money to a charity.
41. Convince someone that something you are scared of doesn't need to be frightening.
42. Persuade someone that knowing how to write well is important.
43. Should people be allowed to own potentially dangerous animals?
44. How important is someone's gender?
45. How important should sports be in schools?
46. Which is better- keeping kids perfectly safe, or letting them do things that are slightly dangerous but might teach them or make them stronger?
47. Do people who have more have a responsibility to help people who have less?
48. Is art important? Why or why not?
49. Should people in certain types of jobs (teachers/caretakers, for example) have to take tests every so often to prove they are still qualified?
50. How much should technology factor into education?
51. What is the most important quality to have in a leader, and why?
52. Persuade someone that a person who is not normally seen as a hero is heroic.
53. Should people continue to work on space exploration? Why or why not?
54. Would it be effective to make certain harmful practices (smoking, using a cell phone while driving, etc.) illegal? Why or why not?
55. It is often said that being kind to animals is a good test of character. Is this true? Why or why not? Does it extend to eating meat?
56. Can fantasy or science fiction be 'literature'?
57. Should women fight in the military?
58. Take one of the questions on this list and argue the opposite of what you believe.
59. Are field trips important to a school experience?
60. Can video games ever be considered art?
61. What is the most important part of a story: characters, plot, or some other element?
62. Persuade someone that they should try something that a member of their group wouldn't usually try- for example, that football players should try ballet.
63. What is more important in a pursuit- natural talent or working hard to learn it?
64. Is it okay for people to wear religious clothing in public?
65. Weigh the pros and cons of paper letters vs. e-mail.
66. Should someone keep doing something they're bad at if they enjoy it, or should they try to find something they're good at instead?
67. Should children be required to study subjects they aren't interested in? For example, should a child who knows they are going to be an artist be required to take advanced math classes, and should a child who wants to focus on science be made to take art classes?
68. Is it better to do a task all at once and get it over with, or to do it in small chunks with breaks in between?
69. Does music help people to study, or distract them? Does it depend on the music, or on the person?
70. Now that a lot of information is available online, are libraries still important?
71. Can comics tell stories as well as books?
72. What is the nicest age to be?
73. Is art made with traditional media superior to art made with digital media?
74. How important is it to know fancy etiquette, such as using different forks for different parts of a meal? Is that practice outdated or worth keeping?
75. Why is education important? Is it still important if it isn't required by your desired job?
76. Should people spend extra money for brand names?
77. Can a book or poem mean something the author never meant for it to mean?
78. Convince someone to volunteer for something.
79. Should the goal of punishment be to protect society or to reform the person being punished?
80. Weigh the pros and cons of focusing on one topic at the exclusion of others.
81. Is it okay to say things on the internet that it wouldn't be okay to say in real life?
82. Is it important to learn another language?
83. Should teachers be paid more on average?
84. What kind of jobs should earn the most money?
85. Pick something you are good at and convince someone that you are good at it.
86. Weigh the pros and cons of having a busy schedule.
87. Pick a random object nearby and convince someone to buy it.
88. How much should a government do about making sure everyone has health care?
89. What is the most exciting possible job?
90. Is it okay for someone to get a job because they know the person in charge?
91. Is love a good thing no matter what the circumstances?
92. Could supernatural/metaphysical things exist?
93. Should people have to warn others if they are posting content that could make others panic or remember traumatic events?
94. Is it acceptable to write fanfiction?
95. Convince someone to celebrate a holiday they usually don't celebrate, like Earth Day.
96. Are all types of people properly represented in most movies or television shoes?
97. Weigh the pros and cons of getting married.
98. Is it okay to wear costumes that use stereotypes of other cultures?
99. Is it possible for a remake or adaptation of something to be better than the original?
100. Is it okay to use leather from animals that are used for meat?