Research Paper and Argument Topic Ideas

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1. Should pornography be restricted by law?
2. What is the impact of automation on American culture and lifestyles?
3. Should newspaper reporters be required to reveal their sources?
4. Should law or custom regarding American funeral practices be revised?
5. Should parents and other interested citizens censor textbooks and other literature for children in schools?
6. Where and how, if at all, should sex education be conducted?
7. Should the United States have mandatory military conscription? For whom?
8. Should laws regarding minimum wage (or the forty-hour work week) be revised?
9. Should mandatory (or voluntary) prayer be permitted in public schools?
10. Should the government provide child day care centers for working parents?
11. Should donors or their families be compensated for organ donations? How should people be selected to receive donor organs?
12. Should homosexuals be permitted to serve in the armed forces?
13. Should genetic engineering be controlled by law?
14. What impact on the family (or the workplace) have changes in gender roles had?
15. Have the large salaries of professional athletes had a negative impact on the athletes or the sports?
16. How should colleges manage their athletic programs in relation to their academic goals?
17. Do certain children's toys create social or emotional or other problems?
18. Should public servants (like school teachers, hospital workers, trash collectors) have the right to strike?
19. Should imports of foreign cars or other foreign products be limited or restricted by law?
20. Should academic freedom for teachers and students be limited by law?
21. Does society have an obligation to protect privacy as a basic individual right?
22. Should sex and violence on television or in the movies be restricted?
23. To what extent does the private life and private morality of a public figure affect his or her ability to serve the public interest?
24. Should divorce laws be changed in ways that will be more equitable or just for all the parties?
25. What restrictions should be placed on polygraph testing (or drug testing or personality testing such as Meyers-Brigg Type Indicator) either for the criminal justice system or for the workplace?
26. What place should "creationism" have in the public education system?
27. Should controversial speakers (on whatever subject) be allowed on college campuses?
28. What types of regulations of smoking in public places should the legal system impose?
29. Do "beauty" contests (Mr. America, Miss America, etc.) serve any purpose in society?
30. Should "victimless crimes" such as prostitution and other sexual activity between consenting adults be free from governmental interference?
31. Are American Indians being treated fairly in the 1990s?
32. What prevention techniques and/or penalties should be applied to child molestation and child abuse?
33. Does the American system of justice need reform to ensure that criminals are properly punished?
34. To what extent should individuals have the protection of the law and the assistance of the medical establishment in terminating their own lives?
35. What should be done to protect the rights of minorities (of all kinds) in America in the 1990s?
36. What techniques should the public schools use to strengthen literacy at all grade levels?
37. Should children be required to attend school past the age of sixteen?
38. Should a rating system be required for song lyrics?
39. To what extent should advertising aimed at children be regulated by law?
40. Should the courts require that contracts and other legal documents be written in nontechnical language so that clients can understand the documents?
41. Should English be declared the official language of the United States?
42. To what extent should bilingual education be offered in public schools?
43. What role should the federal government take in dealing with the problem of AIDS, homelessness, or other widespread social, medical, and economical problems (pick only one problem for a focus)?
44. Should surrogate motherhood be either banned or regulated be law?
45. Should adoption records be open rather than sealed?
46. Should unapproved drugs be made available as a last resort to patients with conditions for which conventional treatments are known to be ineffective?
47. Should tobacco companies be held responsible for smoking-related illnesses and deaths?
48. Should bartenders be held responsible for the behavior of their patrons?
49. Is rehabilitation of felony offenders possible? Desirable?
50. Should the federal government provide health care for all citizens who cannot afford their own?
51. Should juvenile offenders be tried and punished as adults?