How to Choose a Winning Argumentative Essay Topic

An argumentative essay is a kind of essay where an essay writer discusses a topic with two sides that oppose each other. You are free to explain the topic equally or support one over the other.

Have you already chosen your topic? Well, see, that is the problem. You are not so sure if your topic is good enough to win your readers.

But you don’t have to panic. Here you can find out how would you choose a winning essay topic.

Controversy

You will hear a lot of people suggesting you choose the most controversial topic out there. It is a famous myth that the greater the controversy, the better the marks in that paper. It is not valid, as it is an argumentative essay, not a controversial article. So picking a good topic that has two different sides you can debate on is good enough.

Debate

As an essay writer, choose a topic that is debatable and has sufficient background that gives you a chance to debate. The subject should be broad enough to be explored in your essay. You will explore the topic and provide more information on both sides of the subject. You will broaden the horizon of your readers, and then you can pick one side. 

Some topics are considered debatable but are not. Here are a few examples:

Bad examples:

1. Tom Cruise is the most charming actor of all time. (Now, it does sound debatable because someone out there will disagree, but think for a moment. Can you bring sufficient credible information to explain the opposing side? No!
2. This topic is not your good argumentative topic)
3. California Condor is an endangered species. (again, it might sound debatable, but it is not. There is nothing to debate. It is a simple fact.) 

Good Examples:

1. Excessive use of Cellphones (Now that is a good topic. How? Well you can provide more than enough information against mobile phone also in its favor. It will make a good argumentative essay topic)
2. Is abortion legal? (There are a ton of reasons to support it as well as oppose it.)

Bias

Going straight from one point of view is never suggested. You will have to present a detailed argument.

For example, you are writing a college essay about globalization. And you start writing against or in favor of the very first line. That would be a biased essay, not an argumentative essay. That is true, a turnoff. 

What you need to do is start writing about the topic. Talk about its origin, discuss its background information, and then explain in detail its two sides. That is, explain the positive and negative sides of globalization in detail. It will help you convince the reader is that you have a bit of knowledge about the side you are opposing. 

Customizing the Topic

You can write a simple topic. But that will not help you show it as an argumentative essay topic. For that purpose, you will have to customize it a bit.

In an argumentative essay, you create two sides. In general, simple topics work. But the argument in some way will trigger your performance, and your essay will get better in shape. The two sides create a sense of competition, which results in an excellent performance. 

Steve Jobs used the same tactic in portraying his brand against the other products. And that trend is common to date in the shape of “MAC vs. PC,” “iPhone vs. Android,” and “Apple vs. Microsoft”