opposing viewpoints research paper example

Paper Topics and Opposing Viewpoints

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*Controversial or those with opposing views are marked with a (C).

Topics A to E

Topics f to n, topics o to z.

• Is this Fake News?

There are more options on the Start tab and Get Sources tab.

• Abortion & Coronavirus Outcomes (C)*
• Abortion overturning Roe v. Wade *(C)
• Affirmative Action eliminated (C)*
• Affordable Housing Shortage (C)*
• Affordable Housing vs Proposition 21 (2020) *(C)
• AI can help students learn (C)*

• Anishinaabe now leads Canada's Manitoba, a 1st
• Birth Order Affect Intelligence (C)*
• Book Banning is on the Rise, Why? (C)*
• Buzz on Bees, protecting California Bees
• ChatGPT/Open AI being sued by Authors and Why
• ChatGPT robs students of skills (C)*
• Children's' Mental Health impacted by Covid
• Clean Drinking Water in California (2021)
• Climate Migration (C)*
• Coral (Flordia) Graveyards
• Conspiracy Theories: Do they undermine Democracy? (C)*
• Cryptocurrency Future (C)*
• Death Penalty be banned (C)*
• Debt Ceiling Law (2023) (*C)
• Digital Dragon - Geofencing Warrants
• Does diet soda make you gain weight?
• Don’t Say Gay Florida Law
• Early Childhood Homelessness
• Education and learning during pandemic disparity (C)*
• Food Insecurity
• Global Warming Facts
• Gun Control (C)*
• Hate Incidents of Anti-Asian and the Broader Landscape of Racial Bias
• Hate Speech on Facebook called by United Nations
• Human Trafficking
• Hybrid Work [Working from Home] (C)*
• Immigrants and the Economy
• Immigrants to citizens (C)*
• Juneteenth, National Holiday and what is it?
• Made to order embryos (C)*
• Marijuana//Cannabis Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Mars Triple MIssion
• Medical Marijuana (C)*
• Mental Health from NIMH
• Mexican-U.S. border fenced? (C)*
• Near Death Experiences
• No junk food in school lunches fight obesity (C)*
• Ocean Plastic Pollution a problem?
• Online dating
• Opioids Crisis
• Oscars Racist? (C)*
• Pandemic Lockdown Controversy (C)*
• People of Color Stopped by Police more often? (C)*
• Plastic Bags Banned by Cities (C)*
• Police Body Cameras Work? (C)*
• Puppy Mills (C)*
• Refusing to stand for the National Anthem (C)*
• Retail Changing Landscape
• School violence

• Slavery Reparation in California
• Social Inequality Fact
• Social Media
• Social Media - Globally
• Social Media affects on Mental Health
• Spy Balloons (C)*
• Student Debt Cancellations (C)*
• Suicide, are rates rising?
• Tattooed in the Workplace Stigma
• Teacher Pay be Performance Based? (C)*
• Technology Addition (C)*
• TikTok Ban (C)*
• Vaccine controversy (C)*
• Vegetarian Diets
• Video Games Benefits
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Opposing viewpoints and position papers.

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About This Guide

The purpose of this LibGuide is to display resources that will help you respectfully and thoughtfully write papers and create assignments that address topics with opposing viewpoints and varying positions. 

In addressing difficult or divisive topics, let us look to the example of Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia, who - despite having vastly differing beliefs - maintained a close and respectful friendship. 

"We are two people who are quite different in their core beliefs, but who respect each other's character and ability." - Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, on her friendship with Justice Antonin Scalia

Top 5 Resources

• Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints covers social issues such as capital punishment, immigration, and marijuana use. This research database supports science, social studies, current events, and language arts classes by providing differing views with the goal of helping learners to develop critical-thinking skills and to draw their own conclusions about issues. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints is also recommended for debaters and includes frequently studied and debated issues, pro/con viewpoints, reference articles, interactive maps, and infographics.
• Social Issues POWERSEARCH This link opens in a new window The Social Issues PowerSearch searches the following databases simultaneously: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts , Sociological Abstracts , Worldwide Political Science Abstracts , Social Services Abstracts , and PAIS International .
• Race Relations Abstracts Race Relations Abstracts contains thousands of bibliographic records from various magazines and journals relevant to the study of race relations.
• Access World News Research Collection Access World News Research Collection covers news and current events on the local, regional, national, and international levels. Access thousands of newspapers, blogs, newswires, journals, broadcast transcripts, and videos. The library subscription includes Dallas Morning News, Dallas Metropolitan Collection, Arlington Morning News, and multiple news sources from across Texas.

Relevant Guides

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• Last Updated: Oct 30, 2023 3:12 PM
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Opposing Viewpoints Search and Citation Guide: Find Opposing Viewpoints

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From the PCC Library Homepage

From the library homepage , look just underneath the main search box. Click the Databases link.

Currently enrolled students have free access both on campus and off campus. High school students and other visitors are limited to access on public stations in the library only. Off-campus access requires a LancerPoint username and password.

Articles about social issues. Includes opinion articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, and full-text periodical articles from magazines and newspapers. PCC offers a brief video with instructions for using this database.

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Expert Commentary

Being receptive to opposing views — why it matters (plus 3 tips to help journalists build rapport with distrustful sources)

A new paper offers insights into how to be more receptive to different opinions and the role it plays in building relationships and solving problems.

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

by Denise-Marie Ordway, The Journalist's Resource January 26, 2022

This <a target="_blank" href="https://journalistsresource.org/politics-and-government/receptive-opposing-views-research/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist's Resource</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cropped-jr-favicon-150x150.png" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;">

A new paper examines decades of research on receptiveness to opposing views, offering insights into how to evaluate other people’s opinions and why some discussions — even when the goal is civil discourse or idea sharing — explode into angry arguments.

The findings have important implications for journalists, especially as they relate to interviewing unfriendly or distrustful sources.

The academic paper is the latest from Julia Minson , an associate professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Frances Chen , an associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia. They are among a small group of scholars studying how people engage with opinions and perspectives that run counter to their convictions.

The Receptiveness.net website, part of the group’s research project, invites visitors to take an 18-question quiz to measure their receptiveness to opposing viewpoints and compare it with scores of others with similar demographics. The site also provides an interactive algorithm anyone can use to assess how receptive their written messages are likely to sound to those reading them.

That kind of feedback can be helpful for individuals wanting to improve their receptiveness, which Minson and Chen define as “the willingness to listen to, consider, and evaluate opposing opinions in a relatively impartial manner.” While receptiveness is a state of mind, it’s conveyed through words and actions. And when you’re talking with someone who perceives you to be receptive to their opinions, ideas and perspectives, they’re more likely to be receptive to yours, Minson explains.

In many situations, she says, it doesn’t matter how receptive you think you are. “What only counts is what people perceive when they encounter you,” she says.

Minson says demonstrating receptiveness is a critical part of building personal and professional relationships. These days, she notes, we live in a culture of “un-receptiveness.”

“A pernicious problem confronting virtually all human societies is people’s unwillingness to engage with views and opinions they do not share, particularly those they find antithetical to their most dearly held and identity-relevant beliefs,” she and Chen write in “ Receptiveness to Opposing Views: Conceptualization and Integrative Review ,” forthcoming in the Personality and Social Psychology Review.

“Lack of such willingness is particularly insidious because it prevents groups from effectively solving entire classes of other social-coordination problems that rely on thoughtful engagement with opposing views,” they continue. “ For example, the COVID-19 pandemic led to heated clashes over policies to combat the spread of the virus, which motivated many individuals to make health decisions along ideological lines rather than thoughtful consideration of relevant medical facts.” 

Key findings about receptiveness

Minson and Chen reviewed dozens of academic studies spanning 1984 to 2021 to get a fuller understanding of what’s known to date about receptiveness to opposing views.

Some of their key findings:

• “People in a receptive mindset are more willing to expose themselves to balanced information on both sides of an issue, give more equal attention to information supporting both perspectives, and evaluate relevant arguments more equitably,” the researchers write.
• Scholars have identified linguistic cues that people use to express and assess one another’s level of receptiveness. “Text rated high on conversational receptiveness contains frequent examples of acknowledgment (e.g., ‘I understand that …’ or ‘I think you’re saying …’), expressions of positive affect (e.g., ‘I’m glad that you …’), and hedging (e.g., ‘Sometimes …’ ‘Perhaps …’),” Minson and Chen write. “Conversely, receptive text is relatively low on negation (e.g., ‘does not,’ ‘will not’) and explanatory language (e.g., ‘because,’ ‘therefore’).”
• People who feel strongly about an issue or idea can be receptive to others’ views without changing or compromising their own opinions. As Minson and Chen point out, “two highly receptive individuals might consider each other’s ideas deeply and, after concluding that reasonable people might endorse either perspective, walk away agreeing to disagree.”
• Some people try to convey receptiveness by being formal and polite — for example, avoiding curse words and calling the other person “sir” or “ma’am.” But doing these things has little or no impact on how receptive others perceive you to be.
• People tend to disparage and stereotype those who disagree with them, unless those who disagree demonstrate receptiveness. In a conversation, when someone exhibits receptiveness, people with opposing views often respond by behaving similarly. “A person who is thoughtfully engaging with our perspective is far more difficult to write off as ill-intentioned or irrational,” the authors explain. “They thus invite behaviors normally reserved for those on our side — thoughtful consideration of their arguments, politeness, and willingness to interact in the future (actions that they, too, will interpret as cues of receptiveness).”
• Receptiveness comes with a cost. “There may be instances when simply allowing extreme views (e.g., justifying child pornography or White supremacy) to be aired could give these perspectives an undeserved legitimacy or traction,” Minson and Chen write, adding that being visibly receptive to opposing views also might upset friends, supporters and others in one’s ingroup. “Yet, although these concerns are legitimate, such instances appear to be much less common than situations wherein receptiveness might be socially constructive.”

Want to be more receptive? HEAR.

Minson has developed a four-part system for helping receptive people ensure their words and actions match their intentions.

“We want to get people to engage in a way that’s respectful and kind and doesn’t mean you have to change your mind,” she says.

She suggests using the acronym HEAR to remember to take the following actions when discussing an issue or idea with someone whose views differ from yours:

• H — Hedge your statements by using phrases such as “This might happen because … ” and “Some people tend to think …”
• E — Emphasize agreement. Point out that you do agree on some things by saying something like “We are both concerned with …” or “I think we both want to …”
• A — Acknowledge other people’s perspectives with statements that start with “What I think you are saying is …” or “I understand that …”
• R — Reframe to the positive. Begin statements with positive phrases such as “I really appreciate it when …” or “I think it’s great when …”

Tips for journalists

Minson says journalists might not appear as receptive as they think they’re being during interviews with sources. Below, she offers three tips to help them build rapport with others, including unfriendly sources and those who assume journalists won’t understand them.

• When you and your source have substantial differences — for example, if you come from a different socioeconomic background or you’re not the same race or ethnicity — acknowledge it. If you sense the source doesn’t trust you, acknowledge that, too. “I think people should signal listening in the most explicit manner humanly possible, and sometimes that requires acknowledging the fact that the other person might not expect you to listen,” Minson says. “Say, ‘I’m going to try and understand what you’re saying. We’re very different people, and I’m going to try to hear this the way you want to say it — and correct me if I’m wrong.’”
• Be aware that you might be stereotyping or holding false beliefs about a source who supports an issue or idea you oppose. Minson recommends journalists approach opinions or perspectives they disagree with by asking themselves this question: “Why would a smart, reasonable, good human being hold this view?” “If you start with the assumption that the person holding that view is a good, thoughtful, intelligent person, you might be able to put yourself in their shoes for a second and understand it from their point of view,” she explained in an email.
• During interviews, periodically restate what a source tells you. “I think we all have the intuition that if the person we’re interviewing feels understood, there’s going to be a better interview, a better conversation,” Minson says. “The question is, ‘How do we know they’re feeling heard?’ Nodding and making eye contact and smiling and body language are useful. But they’re harder to read than words. Words are just more direct and precise.” Minson recommends journalists stop during an interview to repeat back what a source has said to show you’re listening. “If you can accurately restate what they said,” she notes, “they can be more confident you understood them.”

Need help finding high-quality research and explaining it to lay audiences? Check out our tip sheets on topics such as differentiating between a quality study and a questionable one , covering scientific consensus and analyzing public opinion polls . Please also see our explainer, “ The literature review and meta-analysis: 2 journalism tools you should use .”

About The Author

Denise-Marie Ordway

Articles & Databases

Explore our collection of hundreds of online resources and databases. Use our free online content to help with your research, whether it's finding a single article, tracing a family tree, learning a new language, or anything in between.

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Opposing Viewpoints offers material to support differing views and help students develop critical thinking skills on thousands of current social topics in the forms of primary source documents, statistics, websites and multimedia.

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Social Problems Research

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• Defining the Problem, Finding Solutions
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Research Worksheet

• Research Worksheet Make a copy of this google doc to work through your research strategy

Picking a Topic

Use Opposing Viewpoints!

It can be hard to know where to start! What counts as a social issue, and how do you know what the best topics are?

Use Opposing Viewpoints !

Opposing Viewpoints is a library database dedicated to social issues. You can find scholarly articles, news articles, and pro/con opinion articles on various, timely social issues.

Opposing Viewpoints

Opposing Viewpoints includes an extensive list of sample topics leading to gateways of full-text resources including: book chapters, viewpoint essays, news, magazine and academic journal articles as well as some statistical data. Watch the How to Use Opposing Viewpoints video.

Browse Issues

Start by selecting the "Browse Issues" icon. This will take you to a list of social issues you can use to start thinking about your topic.

Viewpoint articles

Each Issue has a topic page. Here, you will see articles separated by type: Academic Journals, Viewpoints, Images, Magazines, News, Statistics, etc.

Viewpoints are opinion articles. These will show pro/con arguments on certain aspects of your topic. Click on "Viewpoints" to read about all the sides of an issue, and to learn about proposed solutions. This will also help you decide what topic you would like to learn more about for your paper.

How to find articles

1. Create a Research statement

This can be in the form of a question or a sentence. Just think about what you want to research and write it down in one sentence.

2. Identify the Keywords

Look at your research statement. What are the main words or concepts? They will likely be nouns, and can include phrases. Highlight them.

3. Think of synonyms

Look at the words/phrases you highlighted and think of synonyms or alternate phrases to describe those concepts. Scholarly articles often use words that we wouldn’t use in ordinary life.

4. Search in the databases

Pick two or three words/phrases from your list. Put each concept in its own search box.

5. Search again!

Try different combinations of words to get different results. Add more words to narrow down your results. Look at the “Subject” headings for each article to see what keywords are being used the most.

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Writing an Argumentative Research Paper

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• What is an Argumentative Research Essay?
• Choosing a Topic
• How to Write a Thesis Statement Libguide
• Structure & Outline
• Types of Sources
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• Copyright, Plagiarism, and Fair Use

Examples of argumentative essays

Skyline College libguides: MLA Sample Argumentative Papers

Ebooks in Galileo

Video Tutorial

Structure & Outline

Usually written in the five-paragraph structure, the argumentative essay format consists of an introduction, 2-3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

A works cited page or reference page (depending on format) will be included at the end of the essay along with in-text citations within the essay.

When writing an argumentative research essay, create an outline to structure the research you find as well as help with the writing process. The outline of an argumentative essay should include an introduction with thesis statement, 3 main body paragraphs with supporting evidence and opposing viewpoints with evidence to disprove, along with an conclusion.

The example below is just a basic outline and structure

I. Introduction: tells what you are going to write about. Basic information about the issue along with your thesis statement.

 A. Basic information

B. Thesis Statement

II. Body 1 : Reason 1 write about the first reason that proves your claim on the issue and give supporting evidence

A. supporting evidence 

B. Supporting evidence 

II. Body 2 .: Reason 2 write about the third reason that proves your claim on the issue and give supporting evidence

A. supporting evidence

III. Body 3 : Reason 3 write about the fourth reason that proves your claim on the issue and give supporting evidence

IV. Counter arguments and responses. Write about opposing viewpoints and use evidence to refute their argument and persuade audience in your direction or viewpoint

A. Arguments from other side of the issue

B. Refute the arguments

V. Conclusion

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Controversial Topics/Opposing Viewpoints

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What is Plagiarism?

Types of plagiarism, tips for avoiding plagiarism - the basic rules, avoiding plagiarism in research papers with paraphrases & quotations, citing sources, terms to know, web tutorials, mssu's statement of academic integrity, why should i cite my sources, citation style guides, academic conduct: plagiarism handout.

• Academic Conduct: Plagiarism Great handout for instructors to give to students!

Acknowledgement

Many of the materials contained on this page come from a LibGuide created by the librarians at J Sargeant Reynolds Community College, Richmond VA.

Plagiarism is using another person’s ideas or words without clearly acknowledging or citing the source of that information.   You must give credit whenever you use:

• Another person's idea, opinion, or theory.
• Direct quotes from another person's actual spoken or written words.
• Paraphrasing of another person's spoken or written words.
• Any piece of information this is not common knowledge (e.g., fact, figure, statistic, chart)
• Multimedia created by another person (e.g., photo, drawing, film clip, music, etc.)
• Make sure to place direct quotes from another person in quotation marks . This is especially important to remember when you are taking notes from any source you use.   Make sure to copy the words exactly as they appear in the source.
• When you paraphrase , be sure you are not just changing or rearranging a few words.   Carefully read over the text you want to paraphrase.   Write out the idea in your own words.   Check your paraphrase against the original text to make sure you have not accidentally used the same phrases or words.
• Make sure to include complete and correct citations in your works cited list.
• Make sure to follow the guidelines and rules for the citation style specified by your instructor (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago).
• In the beginning of the first sentence containing a quote or paraphrase of another’s work, make it clear that it is someone else’s idea   (e.g., According to Smith . . . )
• Make sure to include in-text citations within your paper for any information taken from another person’s work.   A typical in-text citation includes the author's last name and the page number of the source.   The in-text citation is inserted at the end of the last sentence containing a quote or paraphrase of another’s work - example: (Jones, 127).   Check with your instructor or a librarian for other in-text citation examples.

This video from the Pollak Library at California State University, Fullerton, offers an introduction to citing information found in books and articles, and to managing citations.

Citing:   Also called documenting or referencing .   The recording of information (e.g., author, title, publisher, publication date, page numbers, database name, URL address, etc.)   from a source (e.g., book, magazine article, web site) which allows an instructor or anyone to identify and locate a source.   By citing your sources, you are also giving proper credit to those sources. This information is then formatted to a citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago) specified by your instructor and inserted into your essay.

Common knowledge :    Facts or ideas that are well know by many people and that can be found in numerous sources (e.g., Barack Obama is our current president of the United States).

Quotation:   Also called a quote .   Using someone's exact words.   When you use a direct quote, place the passage in quotation marks and cite the source according to the citation style specified by your instructor (e.g., Using a direct excerpt from Barack Obama’s January 2009 inaugural address).

Paraphrasing:    Using someone's ideas, but putting them in your own words. This is probably the skill you will use most when incorporating sources into your writing. Although you use your own words to paraphrase, you must still cite the source of the information (e.g., Using an excerpt from Barack Obama’s January 2009 inaugural address and putting it in your own words).

• You Quote It, You Note It! Vaughan Memorial Library, Acadia University Library
• Avoiding Plagiarism Tutorial University of Texas at Austin Libraries
• How to Avoid Plagiarism: An Information Literacy Tutorial Rutgers University Libraries
• Plagiarism Tutorial University of Southern Mississippi Libraries more... less... This tutorial was adapted from Robert A. Harris's book The Plagiarism Handbook : Strategies for Preventing, Detecting, and Dealing with Plagiarism, Los Angeles, CA : Pyrczak Publishing, 2001.
• Plagiarism.org
• The St. Martin's Tutorial on Avoiding Plagiarism Margaret Price, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Student Handbook, 2010-2011, pg. 4

The primary reason to cite your sources is to avoid plagiarism and give proper credit to the original author or creator.   Other reasons for citing your sources:

• Enables a reader to locate the sources you cited.
• Demonstrates the accuracy and reliability of your information.
• Shows the amount of research you’ve done.
• Strengthens your work by lending outside support to your ideas.
•   The OWL Purdue's Online Writing Lab for MLA.
•   The OWL Purdue's Online Writing Lab for APA.

Chicago Style

•   The OWL Purdue's Online Writing Lab for Chicago Style.

Citation Management

• BibMe Free Citation Generator
• Son of Citation Machine Free Citation Generator.
• Zotero Citation Manager Free Download works in your Firefox browser to collect, manage, and cite resources for you.
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• Using Opposing Viewpoints in Context

Opposing Viewpoints in Context

Using opposing viewpoints in context to start your research, using opposing viewpoints to narrow your topic.

• Ken Fujiuchi

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Opposing Viewpoints (Gale In Context): Resource Overview

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Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 55 great debate topics for any project.

General Education

A debate is a formal discussion about a topic where two sides present opposing viewpoints. Debates follow a specific structure: each side is given time to speak either for or against the topic at hand.

Many students study debate in high school to improve their speaking skills. As a debater, you learn how to clearly structure and present an argument. The skills you develop as a debater will help you on everything from a college admissions interview to a job presentation.

Selecting debate topics is one of the most important parts of debating. In this article, we’ll explain how to select a good debate topic and give suggestions for debate topics you can use.

How to Select Good Debate Topics

A good debate topic is one that lets the participants and the audience learn about both sides of an issue. Consider the following factors when selecting a debate topic:

Interest: Are you interested in the topic? Would the topic be interesting to your fellow classmates, as well as to the audience listening to the debate? Selecting a topic that you’re interested in makes the preparation part of the debate more exciting , as well as the debate more lively.

Argument Potential: You want to choose a debate topic that has solid argument potential. If one side is clearly right, or if there isn’t a lot of available information, you’ll have a hard time crafting a solid debate.

Availability of Data: Data points make an argument more robust. You’ll want to select a topic with lots of empirical data that you can pull from to bolster your argument.

Now that we know how to select a debate topic, let’s look at a list of good debate topics.

Debate Topics Master List

If you’re searching for your next debate topic, here are some suggestions.

Social and Political Issues Debate Topics

• All people should have the right to own guns.
• The death penalty should be abolished.
• Human cloning should be legalized.
• All drugs should be legalized.
• Animal testing should be banned.
• Juveniles should be tried and treated as adults.
• Climate change is the greatest threat facing humanity today.
• Violent video games should be banned.
• The minimum wage should be $15 per hour.
• All people should have Universal Basic Income.
• Sex work should be legal.
• Countries should be isolationist.
• Abortion should be banned.
• Every citizen should be mandated to perform national public service.
• Bottled water should be banned.
• Plastic bags should be banned.

Education Debate Topics

• Homework should be banned.
• Public prayer should not be allowed in schools.
• Schools should block sites like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram on their computers.
• School uniforms should be required.
• Standardized testing should be abolished.
• All students should have an after-school job or internship.
• School should be in session year-round.
• All high school athletes should be drug tested.
• Detention should be abolished.
• All student loan debt should be eliminated.
• Homeschooling is better than traditional schooling.
• All schools should have armed security guards.
• Religion should be taught in schools.
• All schools should be private schools.
• All students should go to boarding schools.
• Sexual education should be mandatory in schools.
• Public college should be tuition free.
• All teachers should get tenure.
• All school districts should offer school vouchers.

Health Debate Topics

• Healthcare should be universal.
• Cosmetic procedures should be covered by health insurance.
• All people should be vegetarians.
• Euthanasia should be banned.
• The drinking age should be 18.
• Vaping should be banned.
• Smoking should be banned in all public places.
• People should be legally required to get vaccines.
• Obesity should be labeled a disease.
• Sexual orientation is determined at birth.
• The sale of human organs should be legalized.
• Birth control should be for sale over the counter.

Technology Debate Topics

• Social media has improved human communication.
• The development of artificial intelligence will help humanity.
• Individuals should own their own DNA.
• Humans should invest in technology to explore and colonize other planets.
• Governments should invest in alternative energy sources.
• Net neutrality should be restored.
• Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies should be encouraged or banned.
• Alternative energy can effectively replace fossil fuels.
• Cell phone radiation is dangerous and should be limited.

How to Prepare for a Debate

Once you’ve selected your debate topic, the next step is to prepare for your debate. Follow these steps as you get ready to take the podium.

Read Your Evidence

The most important step to building your debate confidence is to familiarize yourself with the evidence available. You’ll want to select reputable sources and use empirical data effectively.

The more well read on your topic you are, the better you’ll be able to defend your position and anticipate the other side’s arguments.

Anticipate the Other Side’s Arguments

As part of your debate, you’ll need to rebut the other side’s arguments. It’s important to prepare ahead of time to guess what they’ll be talking about. You’ll bolster your own side’s argument if you’re able to effectively dismantle what the other side is saying.

Plan to Fill Your Speech Time

Each speaker at a debate is limited to a certain amount of time. You should plan to use every second of the time that you’re allotted. Make sure you practice your talking points so that you know you’re within the time frame. If you’re short, add in more evidence.

Practice to Build Confidence

It can be scary to take the stage for a debate! Practicing ahead of time will help you build confidence. Remember to speak slowly and clearly. Even if your argument is great, it won’t matter if no one can understand it.

Final Thoughts

Debate is a great way to hone your public speaking skills and get practice crafting and defending an argument. Use these debate topics if you're searching for a focus for your next debate.

What's Next?

Looking for ways to keep the debate going in non-academic life? Then you'll love our list of 101 "this or that" questions to argue over with your friends.

Thinking about how you can use your argumentative skills in a future career? Read up on the five steps to becoming a lawyer to see if that's a path you want to pursue.

Getting ready to take an AP test? Here’s a list of practice tests for every AP exam, including the AP literature exam .

It can be hard to schedule time to study for an AP test on top of your extracurriculars and normal classwork. Check out this article on when you need to start studying for your AP tests to make sure you’re staying on track.

Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females.

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Opposing viewpoints tutorial.

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Opinion Sources

ProCon.org    - Provides resources for critical thinking and to educate without bias. We research issues that are controversial and important, and we present them in a balanced, comprehensive, straightforward, transparent, and primarily pro-con format at no charge.

PewResearch - Topics   -  A detailed listing of Pew Research Center polling and demographic topics and subjects.

The Conversation   - a network of not-for-profit media outlets publishing news stories and research reports online, with accompanying expert opinion and analysis. Articles are written by academics and researchers. 

Opposing Viewpoints is a great source for national and global issues, with a plethora of supporting sources. If you're having a difficult time selecting a topic for your research paper, Opposing Viewpoints is the database for you. 

Go to our Library homepage - https://library.sunywcc.edu/homepage

Under Databases and Popular Resources go to Select a Database and then choose Opposing Viewpoints. .

Access Opposing Viewpoints under the Browse Databases A to Z and Browse Databases by Subject tab.

• Opposing Viewpoints In Context This link opens in a new window Covers current social issues. Includes viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

Opposing Viewpoints tutorial 

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