Should we legalize the sale of human organs?
Research Topics & Questions for Position Essay
Purpose: to persuade
Audience: your peers and your instructor
Stance: reasonable
Genre: position essay
Medium: print
Abstinence programs: Do they work? Does access to condoms prevent teen pregnancy? Does access to condoms lead to irresponsible, dangerous, or bad behavior? Should students have access to information and birth control without parents’ consent? Does age of the student matter?
Advertising: Should certain kinds of ads be banned in the interest of health/morality/annoyance – alcohol, cigarettes, prescription meds, etc…? Should advertisers be prohibited from marketing to children? Is advertising information or manipulation?
Beauty contests: Do they serve any purpose in society? Are beauty pageants exploitive?
Civic Responsibility: Should there be compulsory government service, military or otherwise, for all Americans, male and female, at age eighteen or upon graduation from high school? Should the draft be reinstated? Do women in combat place fellow soldiers in jeopardy?
Do we have a fair taxation system?
Although individuals complain about the “nanny state,” does the federal government have the right and responsibility to require compliance of its citizens for the common good? (Seat belt & child safety seat laws, warning labels, vaccination laws, age requirements for spray paint)
College athletics: Should colleges have athletic teams? Should college athletes be paid? Are college athletes at major universities really students? Should football coaches be paid more than the highest-paid professor?
Divorce: Should we reform laws to make it harder to get a divorce? Should you have to pass a test to get married? Should the government even care about marriage?
Education: Should there be national educational standards in the US as there are in most European countries and in Japan? Do children learn better in boys-only and girls-only schools? Should there be more severe consequences for
Purpose: to persuade
Audience: your peers and your instructor
Stance: reasonable
Genre: position essay
Medium: print
Abstinence programs: Do they work? Does access to condoms prevent teen pregnancy? Does access to condoms lead to irresponsible, dangerous, or bad behavior? Should students have access to information and birth control without parents’ consent? Does age of the student matter?
Advertising: Should certain kinds of ads be banned in the interest of health/morality/annoyance – alcohol, cigarettes, prescription meds, etc…? Should advertisers be prohibited from marketing to children? Is advertising information or manipulation?
Beauty contests: Do they serve any purpose in society? Are beauty pageants exploitive?
Civic Responsibility: Should there be compulsory government service, military or otherwise, for all Americans, male and female, at age eighteen or upon graduation from high school? Should the draft be reinstated? Do women in combat place fellow soldiers in jeopardy?
Do we have a fair taxation system?
Although individuals complain about the “nanny state,” does the federal government have the right and responsibility to require compliance of its citizens for the common good? (Seat belt & child safety seat laws, warning labels, vaccination laws, age requirements for spray paint)
College athletics: Should colleges have athletic teams? Should college athletes be paid? Are college athletes at major universities really students? Should football coaches be paid more than the highest-paid professor?
Divorce: Should we reform laws to make it harder to get a divorce? Should you have to pass a test to get married? Should the government even care about marriage?
Education: Should there be national educational standards in the US as there are in most European countries and in Japan? Do children learn better in boys-only and girls-only schools? Should there be more severe consequences for
Cited: page). This is a formal paper, so follow the appropriate conventions. Have your proposed thesis written, ready to be reviewed on Nov. 15 or you may email it to me (sheryl.wight@hccs.edu or hccscomp@hotmail.com ) prior noon on the 15th. This means that you will need to do some research and reading before attempting to propose a thesis. On Tuesday, Nov. 27, bring two copies for peer review.