High school students generally do a lot of writing, learning to use language clearly, concisely, and persuasively. When it’s time to choose an essay topic, though, it’s easy to come up blank. If that’s the case, check out this huge roundup of essay topics for high school. You’ll find choices for every subject and writing style.
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Plus, click the button below to get your free printable five-paragraph essay graphic organizers to help your students plan their essays.
Argumentative Essay Topics for High School
When writing an argumentative essay, remember to do the research and lay out the facts clearly. Your goal is not necessarily to persuade someone to agree with you, but to encourage your reader to accept your point of view as valid. Here are some argumentative topics to try. (Here are 100 more compelling argumentative essay topics.)
- The most important challenge our country is currently facing is … (e.g., immigration, gun control, economy)
- The government should provide free internet access for every citizen.
- All drugs should be legalized, regulated, and taxed.
- Vaping is less harmful than smoking tobacco.
- Parents should be punished for their minor children’s crimes.
- Should all students have the ability to attend college for free?
- Should physical education be part of the standard high school curriculum?
- Schools should require recommended vaccines for all students, with very limited exceptions.
- Animal testing should be banned.
- Does social media do more harm than good?
- Is single-sex education better than co-education?
- Capital punishment does/does not deter crime.
- Are men and women treated equally?
- Should plastic be banned?
Cause-and-Effect Essay Topics for High School
A cause-and-effect essay is a type of argumentative essay. Your goal is to show how one specific thing directly influences another specific thing. You’ll likely need to do some research to make your point. Here are some ideas for cause-and-effect essays. (Get a big list of 137 cause-and-effect essay topics here.)
- Humans are causing accelerated climate change.
- Fast-food restaurants have made human health worse over the decades.
- What caused World War II? (Choose any conflict for this one.)
- Describe the effects social media has on young adults.
- How does playing sports affect people?
- What are the effects of loving to read?
- Being an only/oldest/youngest/middle child makes you …
- What effect does violence in cartoons, movies, or video games have on kids?
- Traveling to new places opens people’s minds to new ideas.
- Racism is caused by …
- Immigration benefits the United States.
Compare-Contrast Essay Topics for High School
As the name indicates, in compare-and-contrast essays, writers show the similarities and differences between two things. They combine descriptive writing with analysis, making connections and showing dissimilarities. The following ideas work well for compare-contrast essays. (Find 125 compare-contrast essay topics for all ages here.)
- Public and private schools
- Capitalism vs. communism
- Monarchy or democracy
- Dogs vs. cats as pets
- Paper books or e-books
- Two political candidates in a current race
- Going to college vs. starting work full-time
- Working your way through college as you go or taking out student loans
- iPhone or Android
- Instagram vs. X (or choose any other two social media platforms)
- Gas-powered cars vs. electric cars
- High school vs. college
- Volunteering vs. paid work
- Your teacher vs. your parent/guardian
- Oldest child and youngest child
- Introverts vs. extroverts
Descriptive Essay Topics for High School
Bring on the adjectives! Descriptive writing is all about creating a rich picture for the reader. Take readers on a journey to far-off places, help them understand an experience, or introduce them to a new person. Remember: Show, don’t tell. These topics make excellent descriptive essays.
- Who is the funniest person you know and why?
- What is your favorite childhood memory?
- Tell about the most inspirational person in your life.
- Write about your favorite place.
- When you were little, what was your favorite thing to do?
- Choose a piece of art or music and explain how it makes you feel.
- What is your earliest memory?
- What’s the best/worst vacation you’ve ever taken?
- Describe your favorite pet.
- What is the most important item in the world to you?
- Give a tour of your bedroom (or another favorite room in your home).
- Describe yourself to someone who has never met you.
- Lay out your perfect day from start to finish.
- Explain what it’s like to move to a new town or start a new school.
- Tell what it would be like to live on the moon.
Expository and Informative Essay Topics for High School
Expository essays set out clear explanations of a particular topic. You might be defining a word or phrase or explaining how something works. Expository or informative essays are based on facts, and while you might explore different points of view, you won’t necessarily say which one is “better” or “right.” Remember: Expository essays educate the reader. Here are some expository and informative essay topics to explore. (You can also get 70+ expository and informative essay topics here.)
- What makes a good leader?
- Explain why a given school subject (math, history, science, etc.) is important for students to learn.
- What is the “glass ceiling” and how does it affect society?
- Describe how the internet changed the world.
- What does it mean to be a good teacher?
- How has modern technology changed teaching and learning?
- Explain how we could colonize the moon or another planet.
- Discuss why mental health is just as important as physical health.
- Describe a healthy lifestyle for a teenager.
- Choose an American president and explain how their time in office affected the country.
- What does “financial responsibility” mean?
- What is video game addiction, and how does it affect teens?
Humorous Essay Topics for High School
Humorous essays can take on any form, like narrative, persuasive, or expository. You might employ sarcasm or satire, or simply tell a story about a funny person or event. Even though these essay topics are lighthearted, they still take some skill to tackle well. Give these ideas a try.
- What would happen if cats (or any other animal) ruled the world?
- What do newborn babies wish their parents knew?
- Explain the best ways to be annoying on social media.
- Invent a wacky new sport, explain the rules, and describe a game or match.
- Explain why it’s important to eat dessert first.
- Imagine a discussion between two historic figures from very different times, like Cleopatra and Queen Elizabeth I.
- Retell a familiar story in tweets or other social media posts.
- Describe present-day Earth from an alien’s point of view.
- Choose a fictional character and explain why they should be the next president.
- Describe a day when kids are in charge of everything, at school and at home.
Literary Essay Topics
Literary essays analyze a piece of writing, like a book or a play. In high school, students usually write literary essays about the works they study in class. These literary essay topic ideas focus on books students often read in high school, but many of them can be tweaked to fit other works as well.
- Discuss the portrayal of women in Shakespeare’s Othello.
- Explore the symbolism used in The Scarlet Letter.
- Explain the importance of dreams in Of Mice and Men.
- Compare and contrast the romantic relationships in Pride and Prejudice.
- Analyze the role of the witches in Macbeth.
- What is the role of resilience and hope in The Hate U Give?
- Analyze the exploration of racism and social injustice in Dear Martin.
- Dissect the allegory of Animal Farm and its relation to contemporary events.
- Interpret the author’s take on society and class structure in The Great Gatsby.
- Explore the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia.
- Discuss whether Shakespeare’s portrayal of young love in Romeo and Juliet is accurate.
- Explain the imagery used in Beowulf.
- Explore the use of satire in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
- What does Death of a Salesman say about the concept of the American dream?
- Explore the effects of trauma on mental health in The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Narrative and Personal Essay Topics for High School
Think of a narrative essay like telling a story. Use some of the same techniques that you would for a descriptive essay, but be sure you have a beginning, middle, and end. A narrative essay doesn’t necessarily need to be personal, but they often are. Take inspiration from these narrative and personal essay topics.
- Describe a performance or sporting event you took part in.
- Explain the process of cooking and eating your favorite meal.
- Write about meeting your best friend for the first time and how your relationship developed.
- Tell about learning to ride a bike or drive a car.
- What is your biggest fear?
- Describe a time in your life when you’ve been scared.
- Write about a time when you or someone you know displayed courage.
- Share the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you.
- Tell about a time when you overcame a big challenge.
- Tell the story of how you learned an important life lesson.
- Describe a time when you or someone you know experienced prejudice or oppression.
- Explain a family tradition, how it developed, and its importance today.
- What is your favorite holiday? How does your family celebrate it?
- Retell a familiar story from the point of view of a different character.
- Describe a time when you had to make a difficult decision.
- Tell about your proudest moment.
Opinion Essay Topics for High School
When writing an opinion essay, you don’t need to rely as much on facts or persuasive techniques. You’re simply sharing your thoughts on a topic, as well as your justifications for your beliefs. You may include evidence if you like, but an opinion essay is more personal than persuasive. These topics work well for opinion essays:
- Is technology too isolating?
- What animal makes the best pet?
- Everyone should be vegetarian or vegan.
- What is one book that everyone should be required to read?
- Is democracy the best form of government?
- Is capitalism the best form of economy?
- Students should/should not be able to use their phones during the school day.
- Should physical education be graded?
- The best country in the world is …
- What one class should all high schools students be required to take and pass in order to graduate?
- Do we really learn anything from history, or does it just repeat itself over and over?
- Which is better, book smarts or street smarts?
- Who faces more peer pressure, girls or boys?
- Is it better to be kind or truthful?
Persuasive Essay Topics for High School
Persuasive essays are similar to argumentative essays, but they rely less on facts and more on emotion to sway the reader. It’s important to know your audience so you can anticipate any counterarguments they might make and try to overcome them. Try these topics to persuade someone to come around to your point of view. (Discover 130 more intriguing persuasive essay topics here.)
- Do you think homework should be required, optional, or not given at all?
- Should schools be allowed to ban some books from their libraries?
- Visit an animal shelter, choose an animal that needs a home, and write an essay persuading someone to adopt that animal.
- Who is the world’s best athlete, present or past?
- Should parents use their children’s cell phones to track where they are?
- What’s the best way to handle constantly rising college education costs?
- Should little kids be allowed to play competitive sports?
- Are professional athletes/musicians/actors overpaid?
- The best music genre is …
- Should schools have dress codes?
- Is climate change reversible?
- If I could change one school rule, it would be …
- Is year-round school a good idea?
- Selling tobacco should be banned.
Research Essay Topics
A research essay is a classic high school assignment. These papers require deep research into primary source documents, with lots of supporting facts and evidence that’s properly cited. Research essays can be in any of the styles shown above. Here are some possible topics, across a variety of subjects.
- Which country’s style of government is best for the people who live there?
- Choose a country and analyze its development from founding to present day.
- Describe the causes and effects of a specific war, e.g., “What instigated World War II?”
- Formulate an ideal economic plan for our country.
- What scientific discovery has had the biggest impact on life today?
- Tell the story of the development of artificial intelligence so far, and describe its impacts along the way.
- Explore the impact of income inequality on education in this country.
- Conduct an exploration of healthcare in this country, and make recommendations for improvement.
- Explain the importance of participating in government by voting, running for office, campaigning, etc.
- Analyze the way mental health is viewed and treated in this country.
- Explore the ways systemic racism impacts people in all walks of life.
- Defend the importance of teaching music and the arts in public schools.
- Choose one animal from the endangered species list and propose a realistic plan to protect it.
- Explain how space exploration has changed our understanding of the universe.
- Explore the effects of sleep deprivation on academic and physical performance.
Get your free printable five-paragraph essay graphic organizers
Get two free printable graphic organizers to help your students write their five-paragraph essays. The first one is a traditional design with sections to plan the topic, opening paragraph, main idea, body paragraphs, and closing paragraph. The second five-paragraph essay graphic organizer has a blueprint theme to help students visualize how the essay-writing process is similar to building a house. Just click the button below to fill out the form on this page and grab the printables.
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Plus, check out the Ultimate Guide to Student Writing Contests!
