When being a student, you can surely face such an assignment as a debate. This part of your academic program is crucial for your studies. Although the task is very interesting for many students, some of them may still experience certain problems with preparing to debate.
One of the issues you may face is the choice of the topic for your debate. When you pick up a topic, make sure it has to be interesting for you and practical for your target audience. You may wonder how you can choose such a topic. Don’t worry, we have provided some tips especially for college students.
The Usage of Pro and Con Arguments
When preparing for your debate remember that your opponents may have an absolutely opposite opinion about your topic, so you should consider your topic from opposite points of view at a time. Be ready people will have an opinion different from yours. To get ready for it properly, it is better to outline pro and con arguments on your topic and see the overall picture.
This is a constituent part of any debate so let us understand how to do it right. Here are some examples of pro and con arguments on the topic “How smartphones help us in everyday life”:
- Pro: Smartphones made communication between people much faster and easier.
- Con: Smartphones take almost all our time.
- Pro: with the appearance of smartphones, it became easier to arrange your day with the help of different organizing features.
- Con: Communication on smartphones almost substituted real-life communication.
How to Choose Your Topic
It looks like there are hundreds of topics around us to debate but at the same time, it is not easy to choose the right topic for you. Not everything is interesting for students. Below, find some recommendations on how to pick up your topic:
- Your topic should be interesting to you first of all. You can choose a topic from the curriculum as well and help other students and you, of course, prepare for your tests on the topics you may have in some time.
- Think of your audience and their level. Some topics may be too difficult to consider for other students. To avoid an embarrassing debate, make a list of suitable questions for your debate. Also, choose the topic other students have already studied or are studying currently. They will think of strong arguments this way and will not spend too much time to prepare for the debate.
- Your students should have access to all the materials and avoid conducting thorough research to prepare for your debate. It is not good to make people do it. If your topic deals with tons of special terms, the debate will not be successful, so consider it too.
- Always be polite with opposition in your debate.
- Assume that you are right. The debate will not be successful if you have doubts about it. You should support your strong position no matter what.
Interesting Debate Topics
First of all, think about what you are interested in. it may be anything – culture, education, social life, technologies, healthcare, etc. Below, you will find the list of different debate topics divided into different categories.
High School Debate Topics
- Should the death penalty be canceled?
- Should animal testing be banned?
- Should we allow using laptops or smartphones during class?
- The impact of social networks on our society.
- Should euthanasia be legalized all over the world?
- Do we really have the global warming issue?
- The impact of television on children.
- Co-ed schools VS single-sex schools: what is more effective?
- Are violent videogames appropriate for children?
- Should cloning be legalized?
- The effectiveness of school uniforms.
- Should censorship be canceled?
- Who is responsible for certain animal distinction?
- Should we change the grading system in schools?
- Is sex education helpful for high school students?
College Debate Topics
In college, people have a different viewpoint and have already certain beliefs and standards of ethics, morality, and immorality. Check out some possible topics for college students below:
- Eating meat: how ethical is it?
- Should cigarettes be banned totally?
- Is it ethical to move in together before marriage?
- Would it be good to ban homework?
- Credit cards VS debit cards: what is more harmful?
- Should human cloning be allowed? Would it be justified?
- Is sex education in middle schools justified?
- The effectiveness of social networks.
- Destructive toys for children.
- How important is the age in relationships?
- Should homosexual marriages be legalized?
- The effectiveness and consequences of marketing to children.
- Is money the best motivation in the workplace?
- Security cameras VS our privacy.
- Is the usage of plastic bags justified?
Unusual and Funny Debate Topics
If you have been assigned to prepare for your debate, don’t get desperate that you definitely should use a serious topic for it. You are not obliged to discuss something serious or of global importance. You can also choose something humorous if that is something you are interested in.
- Are women more complicated than men?
- The marriage of older women with younger men.
- Vampire Diaries VS Friends.
- Harry Potter VS Twilight.
- Hip Hop VS Rock & Roll.
- Would you choose to date someone intelligent or someone beautiful?
- Being honest and poor or dishonest and rich: what is better?
- Do we eat to live or live to eat?
- The perks of being men and women.
- Is it better to have a cat or a dog?
Leisure Debate Topics
If there is something you prefer doing in your free time, you can opt for talking about it. Check out some debate topics about leisure below:
- Is TV more interesting than books?
- Is television better than games?
- The pros and cons of social networks for society.
- Should social networks be restricted for children under 18?
- Do we get more sociable with social media?
- Does music help reduce stress?
- What music should listen to pregnant women?
- The usage of art therapy for the treatment of mental illnesses.
- Should alcohol be available for people under 21?
- Should video games be used in education?
Health Debate Topics
- Is smoking justified?
- What are the best methods to quit smoking?
- Should recreational marijuana be legal?
- Is doping acceptable for athletes to enhance their performance?
- The pros and cons of vaccination.
- Legalized drugs or organized crime?
- The impact of technologies on our health.
- The effectiveness of alternative medicine.
- Should antibiotics be banned?
- Is drinking harmful?
Different Formats of Debate Topics
You should choose your topic not only by the academic level but also by the format of the debate. In that case, you should think of your audience. Different formats will have different goals. For example, an argumentative format requires students to negotiate, while persuasive topics need you to convince the audience of your idea via presentations. Here are the basics of the main formats:
Persuasive Debate Format
As you could understand from its name, it aims to check your idea to persuade the audience. Such topics should highlight the subject or issue people care about. Keep in mind the topic you choose should be something you are interested in personally and have certain knowledge about. If you choose a persuasive debate topic, get ready to study the topic thoroughly and prepare strong arguments to support your opinion.
Argumentative Debate Format
These topics highlight specific problems, issues, subjects, or phenomena. But keep in mind you will need to conduct your research when choosing an argumentative debate topic. All the arguments should be taken from up-to-date and credible sources.
Controversial Debate Format
Controversial debate topics are a challenge and highlight some very powerful problems. When choosing such a topic, be sure to have plenty of arguments. Even more, than two totally opposite opinions can be expressed on such topics. But get ready to have a longer discussion in that case. The answers to the questions concerning the topic can’t be specific.
So you can choose one of such formats for your debate. But don’t forget that no matter what topic you choose, it has to be relevant and up-to-date; a problem people care about; interesting to you personally; shouldn’t be too wide or too specific; should be valuable, and there should be enough material to support your topic.
Professional Debate Speech Help
When being a student, everyone should try debating no matter what your future profession is. It develops some helpful skills and gives you valuable experience. When you prepare for it, you get some excellent deep knowledge of the topic chosen. Debating allows gaining problem-solving, critical thinking, and communicative skills which are so important for you as an employee.
Participating in debates requires some deep preparation, so if you are not sure you have enough time or skills to write an excellent debate speech, you can ask for the help of our professionals always.
