Best Controversial Debate Topics

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Alex Ponomarenko
Sep 26, 2019

Debate is probably one of the academic activities students dread the most. Voicing out your opinion may seem easy in normal circumstances, but when it comes to debate, it might seem like you could suddenly be out of ammo. Factual arguments are easier to prove yet harder to win—why? It is because you are facing an opponent that has the same amount of ammo as you, or maybe even more, and the most frightening of it all is that you’ll never know what may surprise you. Your facts may be strong but your opponent could have prepared more facts to disprove and counter your claims. Conventional debate topics are hard enough, let alone controversial ones. If you are assigned a controversial debate topic, take a look at different lists of the very best controversial debate topics about various issues and choose what you are most comfortable with. 

How to overcome your fear of debate

Even if you have already chosen one of the best controversial debate topics you know you can ace, if you let your anxiety eat away at your confidence, you will be in trouble. Your fear of debate can hinder you from performing well; it can even cause you to forget important points in your argument. So ,how can you prevent that from happening? Here are some tips that are proven to be effective:

  1. Build a foundation of emotional comfort when public speaking by practicing basic speech exercises with someone you are comfortable with.
  2. When you have conditioned yourself, change your setting to a room similar to your debate venue and practice with your partner.
  3. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Remember that you have facts to back up your argument. 

100 Best Controversial Topics for Debate

100 best controversial debate topics

Here are some of the best controversial debate topics you can choose from:

Sex and Gender

  1. Is gender equality possible?
  2. Is it possible to achieve LGBTQ+ rights that are generally accepted?
  3. Sexual violence, exploitation, and domestic abuse: Are men to blame?
  4. Men have more suicidal tendencies than women
  5. Should women be entitled to have sole decision in requesting an abortion?
  6. Men are more aggressive than women
  7. Toys should be gender neutral (for instance, toy cars can played by both boys and girls).
  8. Prostitution should be legalized
  9. Women empowerment is just a myth in developing countries
  10. Housewives and mothers should be paid for maintaining the household
  11. Are women better communicators?
  12. Does sex affect one’s political career?
  13. Should same-sex marriage be legalized?
  14. Does legalization of gay marriage affect straight marriage?
  15. Are men the weaker sex?
  16. Single sex schools should be abolished
  17. Movies objectifying women should be censored
  18. Men are often victims of false accusations
  19. Gender orientation should be taught to kids as early as possible
  20. Do women use intuition rather than logic?

Healthcare

  1. Should vaccination be encouraged?
  2. Herbal medicine is better than seeking traditional medicine
  3. Pasteurized milk is better than raw milk
  4. Should contraceptives be introduced to young adults as early as possible?
  5. Should abortion be legalized?
  6. Unconventional forms of medicine should be part of national healthcare
  7. Should companies guarantee sick leaves for mental health care?
  8. Medical malpractice should be gravely penalized
  9. Should euthanasia be legal or illegal?
  10. Should drug addicts be treated as patients?
  11. Should a doctor be able to provide medical care to a minor even without parental consent?
  12. Should medical marijuana be legalized?
  13. There should be limits to medical tests on humans
  14. It should be illegal to use animals to test drugs
  15. Could a person be denied of organ transplant for leading an unhealthy lifestyle?
  16. Should organs acquired illegally be rejected for transplant?
  17. Should there be health regulations for fast food chains?
  18. Should teens have access to birth control pills?
  19. Are poverty and poor health correlated?
  20. Could doctors be allowed to promote certain medical products?
  21. Why a total draconian lockdown is a horrible idea in a fight with Coronavirus COVID19

Technology

  1. Cellphones can take control of personal relationships
  2. Social media is changing romantic relationships and family relationships
  3. Is cyberbullying being taken seriously enough?
  4. Android or iOS: Which is more efficient?
  5. People were more attentive when there were no gadgets
  6. Technology is responsible for the destruction of nature
  7. Is human productivity regressing because of artificial intelligence?
  8. Should kids be prohibited to access social media?
  9. Should cyber-stalking be penalized?
  10. Technology isolates humans from each other
  11. Life today is shaped by media
  12. Should video games that show violence be banned?
  13. Should parents supervise their children’s social media accounts?
  14. Is globalization influenced by mass media?
  15. Technology in education: A blessing or a curse?
  16. Does technology affect people’s psychological state?
  17. Technology causes the increase in unemployment rate
  18. The spread of fake news is responsible for the increasing gap between the government and the people
  19. Should human genetic engineering be allowed?
  20. Increased digital surveillance (personal and public) will lead to morality crisis

Education

  1. Online courses: Beneficial or cause of discrimination in workplace? 
  2. Do exams need to be replaced with a more efficient assessment system?
  3. Is 8:00 A.M. too early for students to enter school?
  4. Should students be obliged to participate in physical activities?
  5. Should same-sex education be taught in schools?
  6. The diminishing significance of homework and why it must be banned
  7. Sex education should be mandatory
  8. Does the current educational system teach students the skills they need to succeed in life?
  9. Home economics must be taken more seriously
  10. Should protests by students be banned or encouraged?
  11. Should music classes be mandatory?
  12. Should students be allowed to take the classes they are only interested with?
  13. Do home-schooled students have more advantages than regular students?
  14. Should religion be taught in school?
  15. Does wearing a school uniform have an impact on studying?
  16. The amount of time students spend in school must be reduced
  17. Should students have nap periods in school?
  18. Children with learning disabilities should be accepted in regular schools
  19. Is internal evaluation in college good or bad?
  20. Should drug test be mandatory in school admission?

Best Controversial Debate Topics of 2019

  1. Who is more responsible for climate change, the government or the citizens?
  2. Should trans women have the same rights as natural-born women?
  3. Should capital punishment be imposed?
  4. Does religion create division among people?
  5. Do men have a say in abortion?
  6. Should adults be allowed to ban books in schools?
  7. Should the church remain tax-exempt?
  8. Is it necessary to have a college degree?
  9. Is obesity a disease?
  10. Should recreational marijuana be legal?
  11. Is E-Cigarettes really a healthy alternative?
  12. Should minors take the same responsibility as adults for serious offenses?
  13. Should patients be allowed to refuse treatment because of their religious beliefs?
  14. Prescription drug ads should be banned
  15. Poor families are happier than high-earners
  16. Should it be illegal to eat animals?
  17. Should there be economic regulation in markets?
  18. Should there be marriage equality?
  19. Is world history white washed?
  20. Re-evaluation of hate crimes in the US: Black Lives Matter vs. Blue Lives Matter

Custom paper help for students

If you have already chosen one of the best controversial debate topics and gathered the facts you need, you must now concentrate on writing your debate speech. The key to winning a debate is by presenting your arguments in a well-thought-out manner. You must be able to introduce your topic, followed by a contextualization, and the presentation of related articles. It may seem simple, but a lot of students find this the most challenging part. If you are not satisfied with what you have written, and are not willing to risk losing, then you can avail professional help from essay writers online. Online essay writing services such as CustomEssayMeister provide custom writing services for students who are having trouble with their academic papers. Be it custom essays, custom research papers, custom term papers, or even custom speeches, just let us know and we'll deliver. 

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Alex Ponomarenko
I am a content manager from California, US. I started as a content writer intern eleven years ago and became a content manager six years after. I joined CustomEssayMeister five years ago and enjoy being a part of the team every day.

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