Persuasive Essay & Presentation Topics

Essay Description: Write a 3-4 page persuasive essay on any of the topics listed below. Only two students will be assigned per topic, and each student will take opposite positions. The essay should take a clear position, use formal English, use evidence from the articles provided (minimum 5 in-text citations and 3 different sources), and include a works cited page.

Presentation Description: Create a 5-10 minute presentation that depicts your argument and attempts to convince the class of your viewpoint. Each topic will present on the same day, and the class will vote on which presentation was more convincing. Presentations should be engaging and use pictures, videos, poster-boards, etc. Presentations need to include citations for all images, facts, and should have a Works Cited page.

World Events:

The Syrian Civil War: Should the United States and other nations intervene to end the humanitarian crisis?

Syria's Civil War: Key Facts, Important Players - CBC News
9 Questions About Syria You Were Too Embarrassed To Ask - Max Fisher
The Historic Scale of Syria's Refugee Crisis - NY Times
10 Simple Points To Help You Understand the Syria Conflict - Anthony Sharwood
The Five Best Arguments for Striking Syria & the Best Rebuttals - Ezra Klein
An Extraordinary Turn Against Military Intervention - Stephen Kinzer
Syria Leads US list of Human Rights Abusers - AlJazeera & AP
Key Questions on the Conflict in Syria - Liam Stack
The Syrian Opposition, Explained (embedded below) - NY Times

The Senkaku/Diaoyu/Tiaoyutai Islands Dispute: Which Country Has The Right To These Islands? Japan, China, or Taiwan?

Why Are China and Japan Inching Toward War Over Five Tiny Islands? - Eric Posner
Q&A: China-Japan Islands Row - BBC News
Teacher Manuals State Official Positions on Isles - Kyodo
Shift to Isle Defense Requires Upgrade of All Three Branches - Mizuho Aoki & Reiji Yoshida
Japan's "mishandling" Changes Status Quo of Diaoyu Islands Dispute - Xinhua
Who Really Owns the Senkaku Islands - The Economist
Senkaku Islands Row Reflects Broader Tensions Between China and Japan - Simon Tisdall
How a Tiny Island Chain Explains the China-Japan Dispute - Matt Schiavenza

The Invasion of Ukraine: Does Russia have a right to seize the Crimean Peninsula?

Many of these links were curated by Diana Laufenberg from her blog post "Teaching with the News: Ukraine, Russia and Crimea"

5 Things You Should Know About Puttin's Incursion Into Crimea - Greg Satell
9 Questions About Ukraine You Were Too Embarrassed To Ask - Max Fisher
Crimea: A Gift to Ukraine Becomes a Political Flash Point - Krishnadev Calamur
Historical Claim Shows Why Crimea Matters to Russia - David Ignatius
Inside Crimea: A Jewel in Two Crowns - Cathy Newman
Kerry Visit to Kiev: The USA Has No Moral Right to Lecture Anyone on Anything - Pravda Editorial
R ussia's Aggression - NY Times Editorial Board
Soviet Union Timeline - BBC News

U.S. Events:

The Snowden Leaks: Should Edward Snowden be prosecuted or should he be pardoned?

Edward Snowden Biography - Biography.com
Timeline of Edward Snowden's Revelations - AlJazeera America
Edward Snowden: Leaks That Exposed US Spy Programme - BBC News
Edward Snowden, After Months of NSA Revelations, Says His Mission's Accomplished - Barton Gellman
NSA leaker Edward Snowden says U.S. return 'not possible' given current laws - Greg Botelho
Clemency for Edward Snowden Would Not Set a Dangerous Precedent - Conor Friedersdorf
Why Snowden Won’t (and Shouldn’t) Get Clemency - Fred Kaplan
White House Petition to Pardon Edward Snowden

Detroit Files for Bankruptcy: An indication for the rest of the country?

Detroit's bankruptcy isn't 'creative destruction' it's old-fashioned mismanagement - Martin Vander Weyer
Detroit files plan to fix debt, leave bankruptcy -Michael A. Fletcher
Let Detroit Go Bankrupt - Mitt Romney
How to Save Detroit: A plan for America’s greatest urban disaster - Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley
How Detroit went broke: The answers may surprise you - and don't blame Coleman Young - Nathan Bomey and John Gallagher
How Wall Street — not pensioners — wrecked Detroit - David Sirota
Detroit Bankruptcy Prods Cities to Target Pensions: Muni Credit - David Mildenberg
Detroit Chapter 9 bankruptcy sends warning to other cities, bondholders - Nathan Bomey
3 huge cities flirting with bankruptcy - Karen Riccio

The Keystone XL Pipeline: Should it be built?

End of the line: how a Nebraska rancher from America's conservative heartland stopped the Keystone pipeline in its tracks, and sparked a five-year political battle that has poisoned Canada-U.S. relations - Luiza Savage
No Conflict of Interest Found in Pipeline Review - Coral Davenport
Accidents Surge as Oil Industry Takes the Train - Clifford Krauss and Jad Mouawad
Nebraska: Judge Blocks Pipeline Route - Sarah Wheaton
The Keystone XL Pipeline: Should the president approve construction? - Michael B. McElroy
The Benefits and Drawbacks of the Keystone XL Pipeline - Patrick DeHaan
Keystone pipeline: Obama’s unpleasant options - Dan Berman and Reid J. Epstein
The Petro States of America - Mark Hertsgaard

Social Media

Privacy Concerns: Can employers penalize employees for what they post on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc.?

Will employers still ask for Facebook passwords in 2014? -Jonathan Dame
Facebook Helps Employers Discriminate. Can We Avoid It? - Dustin Volz
Six states outlaw employer snooping on Facebook - Dara Kerr
What Employers Are Thinking When They Look At Your Facebook Page - Kashmir Hill
Demanding Facebook Passwords May Break Law, Say Senators - Joanna Stern
Justine Sacco, Fired After Tweet on AIDS in Africa, Issues Apology - Kami Dimitrova
Facebook Can Tell You If A Person Is Worth Hiring - Kashmir Hill
Employers, Get Outta My Facebook - Greg Fish

Are societal changes are happening due social media? Is there anything to be concerned about? Or is the ruckus from people who don’t get social media?

You Like Me! You Really Like Me! - Eight opposing viewpoints on social media from the NY Times
Social media has polarizing effect on political debate - The Bangkok Post
Social Networks Can Affect Voter Turnout, Study Says - John Markoff
Twitter used to predict flu outbreaks - Southeastern Louisiana University
Social Media Sites of Politicians Influence Their Perception by Constituents - Annie Hellweg
Facebook Envy: How The Social Network Affects Our Self-Esteem - Andrea Shea
The Effect Of Technology On Relationships - Alex Lickerman
What Impact Does It Have When A Friend Likes Something On Facebook? - Cooper Smith

During world events, like the recent Winter Olympics, journalists post updates via Twitter. Can these updates be trusted? Or is journalism's integrity compromised when journalists use Twitter as a reporting outlet?

Twitter Should Not Be Used for News and Reporting - Melissa Hart
Twitter Has Transformed News and Reporting - Janic Tremblay
How Twitter has changed politics — and political journalism - Chris Cillizza
Why do journalists prefer Twitter to Facebook? - Ezra Klein
Fast and wrong beats slow and right - Brendan Nyhan
Twitter is not killing journalism, journalists are killing journalism - Tim McGuire
4 takeaways from journalists’ coverage of the Boston explosions - Karen Dunlap
Normalizing Twitter: Journalism Practice in an Emerging Communication Space - Dominic L. Lasorsa, Seth C. Lewis, Avery E. Holton
Twitter Is a Catalyst for Meaningful Change - Sarah Jaffe
The Role of Twitter in Political Change Is Exaggerated - Matthew Shaer

Sports:

NCAA: Should student athletes be paid?

Average number of student-athletes per college, 1981-82 to 2005-06 - Sports in America
21 Reasons Why Student-Athletes Are Employees And Should Be Allowed To Unionize - Marc Edelman
UNC: We failed students 'for years' - CNN Wire
Higher ed sports lower standards - Glenn Harlan Reynolds
Win-win proposal for student-athletes - Samuel G. Freedman
Students Are Not Professional Athletes - Horace Mitchell
The myth of parity - Scoop Jackson
Pay College Athletes? They're Already Paid Up To $125,000 Per Year - Jeffrey Dorfman
Jay Bilas argues for colleges to pay student athletes - Jen Chen

NFL: Should the NFL be responsible for the health of its athletes after they retire or if they become injured?

NFL's dark cloud: The concussion lawsuit - Jack Brewer
Landmark step for NFL - Shawn Wooden
Concussions Show Decline Of 13 Percent, N.F.L. Says - Ken Belson
Favre's 'scary' memory lapses re-open NFL concussion questions - Bill Briggs
NFL wives agree with judge that $765M concussion settlement not big enough - Monica Alba and Stephanie Gosk
The NFL's Response to Brain Trauma: A Brief History - Ta-Nehisi Coates
What You Need to Know About the NFL’s $765 Million Concussion Settlement - Bill Barnwell
What the NFL Won't Show You - David Zweig
How damaged are NFL players' brains? - Virginia Hughes

NBA: Should the NBA expand the league to add a European division?

NBA's Adam Silver hints at change - A.P.
NBA’s Euro trips could lead to expansion overseas - Tim Bontemps
European expansion is on the table for NBA - Ben Bolch
London Calling: NBA Stages Possible European Expansion With NBA London Live 2013 - Alicia Jessop
NFL Thinking of London Expansion, But NBA Remains Best Candidate to Jump Into European Market - Ben Watanabe
Is expansion good or bad for NBA? - ESPN
The arguments for NBA expansion and a new team in Seattle - Tom Ziller
Could NBA expand to Europe before returning to Seattle? - Nick Eaton

Food

Factory Farming: Ethical? Effective? Should we continue this practice?

Most Factory Farms Use Healthy and Responsible Animal Practices - Katerina Athanasiou
Most People Are Unaware of How Much Suffering Factory Farming Causes Animals - Iris Sinilong
Factory Farming Is Not the Only Way to Feed the World - Tom Philpott
Factory Farming Is Essential to Feed the World - David Leyonhjelm
Hogging the air: the EPA is ready to allow factory farms to keep on polluting - Jon Luoma
Chipotle Blurs Lines With a Satirical Series About Industrial Farming - Noam Cohen
The Dangerous Psychology of Factory Farming - James McWilliams
Why Free-Range Meat Isn't Much Better Than Factory-Farmed - James McWilliams
GMO articles for Tess

Genetically Engineered Crops Have Had a Positive Impact on Biodiversity - Janet Carpenter
Genetically Modified Crops Contribute to Biodiversity Loss - Deniza Gertsberg
Genetically Modified Foods Have Numerous Benefits and No Known Risks - Henry Miller
Genetically Modified Foods Could Pose Numerous Health Risks - Genetic Engineered
Genetically Engineered Foods Are Needed to Feed the World - A'ndrea Elyse Messer
Genetically Engineered Crops Will Not Feed the World - Genetic Engineered

Nutritional Information: Should nutritional information such as calories be posted for customers to see?

Who cares about calories? Restaurant menu labels don't work, study shows - Melissa Dahl
Why nutrition requirements matter - Mackenzie Bruce
Calorie Posting in Chain Restaurants - Bryan Bollinger, Phillip Leslie, and Alan Sorensen
Labeling: Nutritional Information Leaves Many Uninformed - Eric Nagourney
People Who Read Nutrition Labels Are Skinnier - Brian Fung
The Connection Between Good Nutrition and Good Cognition - Alice G. Walton
Who's Counting? - Nicholas Bagley
Will Fast Food Turn Healthy Next Year? - Matthew Yglesias

Obesity: A national crisis or a personal crisis?

Obese and obtuse: this may come as no surprise to dieters, but new research suggests that the fatter you are, the fuzzier your thinking--especially when it comes to healthy food choices - Jonathon Gatehouse
Physical Education: "The Impact of Physical Education on Obesity Among Elementary School Children" - Bryan Toporek
The Obesity Epidemic Is a Myth - Patrick Basham
Obesity cannot be controlled through personal responsibility alone - Ben Brooks
The Best Cure for Obesity? Personal Responsibility - Lionel Shriver
Is Obesity Really a Disease? - Richard Gunderman
The Messy, Messy Relationship Between Income (and Race) and Obesity - Derek Thompsonto
A Big Fat Crisis: The Hidden Forces Behind the Obesity Epidemic — and How We Can End It’ by Deborah Cohen - Mathhew Hutson
Five myths about obesity - Deborah Cohen

Miscellaneous:

Culture of Beauty: Is what we think of beautiful a product of marketing?

Dove’s Selfie Campaign Shows How Social Media Affects Our Perceptions of Beauty - Erica Tempesta
Society’s Influence on the Perception of Beauty - Nicole James
Is your daughter’s perception of beauty distorted by the media? - Phillippa Diedrichs
Be Realistic! How Technology Affects Your Perception of Beauty - Robert Tornambe
Plastic Surgery - Enormous Increase In Uptake By Younger Women - Petra Rattue
Shorter, Fatter "Average Barbie" Is No Match for the Original - Amanda Hess
How the 'System of Beauty' Hurts Female Politicians - Garance Franke-Ruta
10 Ways the Definition of Beauty Has Changed - Mollyl Edmonds
Beauty Extremes - LaNae Valentine