Persuasive Essays and Topics

On this post you will find persuasive essays from former students and persuasive essay topics! Enjoy!

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Are you Persuaded to make a donation?
Then Teresina's essay was a success.

SAVING LIVES

We are going to be raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Please make a list of friends and family members who you think might be willing to make a small donation.

Donate to St.Jude Research Hospital for Children

By: Teresina Tomaino

                  I think that people should donate to St. Jude’s because they help children with cancer and other horrible diseases.   If you put yourself in the shoes of the people whose child has cancer and you could not afford medicine or treatment for your child, would you leave them to just die? I know that I wouldn’t. That’s why you should donate to St. Jude’s research hospital. St. Jude’s helps families who can’t afford the medicine or treatments for their child. Did you know that more children die every year from cancer then adults did during 9/11. Also each year around 13,500 children are diagnosed with cancer. But if you donate to St. Jude’s those innocent kids could be helped.

            The founder of St. Jude’s is Danny Thomas; he founded St. Jude’s in 1962. Danny Thomas had a vision; his vision was no child should be denied from treatment based on race or families ability to pay. Danny Thomas has 3 Children; their names are Marlo Thomas who is the national outreach for St.Jude’s, Terre Thomas she is the spokesperson for St.Judes and last but not least there is Tony Thomas, he raises the funds for St. Jude’s. Danny Thomas’s children help keep their fathers vision alive.

Just like Danny Thomas wanted St.Judes pays for free transportation, meals, and housing. St. Jude’s tries to make the hospital feel like home.  St.Judes helped two children who were in Mexico and had cancer. St.Judes paid for the two children and the mother to fly over to New York to help treat their cancer. That is one way they help pay for transportation. St. Jude’s could do more amazing things like that if you help them with your donation.

            Since St. Jude’s was founded in 1962 more than 20,000 children from around the America and 70 foreign countries have been treated by St. Jude’s. Imagine how many more children could be cured if you donate. Each year around 13,500 are diagnosed with cancer in the US. That is more than a classroom of kids. If you want make that number smaller then, help St. Jude’s. Cancer kills more children than AID’s, asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis and congenital anomalies combined.  If you donate you could help pay for a child’s transportation, meals, housing and their treatments. 25% of all children who are diagnosed with cancer will die. The average life span of a child with cancer is 8, which means that they will lose 69 years of their life. St. Jude’s could help treat those kids but not without you.

            The daily operation cost of St. Jude’s is 1.8 million, which is primarily covered by public contributions. During the past five years 81cents of every dollar that St.Judes received has supported the research and treatment at St. Jude’s. On average 7,800 active patients visit        St. Jude’s each year most of them are treated within one day and for others it may take longer. St. Jude’s has 78 inpatient beds and treats mare than 260 patients each day.

            St. Jude’s is trying to have their hospitals spread all across the world. St. Jude’s can make more hospitals world-wide if you give them a donation. The mission of the International Outreach Program at St. Jude’s is to help the kids survive the cancer or diseases world-wide    St. Jude’s children’s research hospital has partnered up with 14 different countries world-­­­wide. Those countries are Brazil, Chili, Costa Rica, China, Venezuela, Philippines, Lebanon, Honduras, Jordan, Mexico, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Morocco and Memphis.

            St. Jude’s is not only a children’s hospital but they also do research to find different ways to treat the children at the hospital. When St. Jude’s finds a new way to treat something they share it with other hospitals. St. Jude’s could find new treatments and cures if you donate they can find new treatments and cures.  

Donate to the Cousteau Society

By  Oscar Monteleone

         Hello, my name is Oscar Monteleone.  I am all about water and clean oceans.  I love playing in the ocean.  I'm sure you do too.  What if you couldn't?  What if the water you like to swim in is ruined? What if there are no more fish to swim around your feet, tickling you?  What if the animals are gone?  Well, believe it or not, they are becoming extinct, and pretty darn fast too.  That's why you should donate to the Cousteau Society. They save what you love. 

         The Cousteau society was founded by the deep-sea diver Jacques Cousteau in 1973.  The Society has 50,000 members currently, and counting.  Jacque Cousteau was born in 1910 and had a love for water from a very early age.  At a later age, he also became fascinated with film and bought himself a camera at the age of 13.  After graduating from high school he entered the French Navy.  He trained to be a pilot but a serious car accident ended his aviation career.  While recovering, he would swim in the ocean to strengthen his muscles.  It was during this time, from seeing the ocean through the clarity of sea goggles, that he rediscovered his love of the ocean.  He spent his life pursuing his two loves, the underwater world and film, and through his work brought a previously unseen part of the world to the public and advocated for its protection.  Today the Cousteau Society, under the leadership Francine Cousteau, continues that work with its interesting  and unique studies, explorations and observations of ecosystems throughout the world.    Ecosystems are the natural systems formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment.  Their work has helped millions of people understand and appreciate the fragility of life on our water planet. 

         Let me tell you about some interesting facts.  The European Union voted on November 22 to close loopholes in their ban on shark finning.  Shark finning is the practice of cutting off shark fins and discarding their bodies at sea.  The measure faced formidable opposition from representatives of Spain and Portugal, the two European countries that catch the most oceanic sharks.  The Cousteau Society supported this vote and helped to get it passed.

         Large ocean predators have been shifting their spots in the ocean to get to a safer place due to global warming.  Would you want to be taken out of your home because of a threat?  Climate change scenarios have predicted an average sea surface temperature rise of 1-6 degrees by the year 2100, which could affect dramatically the distribution and habitat of many marine species.  The reason why many sea animals are moving due to climate change is simple.  Have you ever had a pet fish?  Well some fish like warm water and others like cold water.  Due to climate change the water is heating up so the creatures that like cold water have to find another place to live.  Even the creatures that like warm water don't want it to be too warm.  The Cousteau Society is trying to combat global warming to help the animals stay in their homes. 

         I hope you are persuaded to donate to the Cousteau Society.  The reason I donated is that they fight to keep the waters clean.  It doesn't matter if you are a land person or not, the water means everything to our planet.

3rd Place Winner

ASPCA: Sanctuary for Animals by: Jake Lillis

                  Humans are animals. We just evolved. Millions of years ago, we were apes. We grew smarter and acquired new skills. But there are still animals that have not evolved. Elephants, dogs, cats, lemurs, pandas, jaguars, lions, I could go on for hours. They may not be as intelligent as us, but that gives us no right to abuse them. Humans are abusing animals. Poachers kill elephants for their ivory for money. Some people just downright torture animals. People use dogs to fight against other dogs that they don’t stand a chance against. The poor dog, now severely wounded, is left to rot. People have abandoned animals to starve and suffer. People even tie animals to the back of cars and drive away, the animal being dragged along with it. How would you feel if this was happening to you? Luckily, people have formed together to save the animals. One particular group is saving animals worldwide. They are ASPCA.

                  ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is dedicated to protect animals from abuse, and to find loving owners for the animals who were treated so cruelly and want nothing more than to be cared for. ASPCA was created by Henry Bergh in 1866. ASPCA helped arrest David Heath for beating a cat to death in 1867. He was only in prison for 10 days, but it was the start of a legacy. In 1874, Henry Bergh helped create SPCC (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) which grew out of the abuse of nine year-old girl named Mary Ellen. The ASPCA also helped create the first effective ant-cruelty law. The ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement (HLE) is the only group solely devoted to investigate animal cruelty crimes. In 2006, HLE investigated 4,191 cases of animal cruelty and arrested 103 people and rescued 295 animals.

                  The ASPCA has been working it’s hardest to stop animal cruelty for 147 years, and many things have happened since. Laws were passed, people were arrested, animals were adopted, yet animal abuse has not stopped yet. Do you have a pet you hold dear? How would you feel if you saw your pet being beaten? This is why we need to stop this. Animals are alive, and have feelings. We should not take them for granted. One day, elephants might go extinct. Then pandas will go extinct. Then giraffes will go extinct. This will go on and on, until one day, simple household pets like dogs, cats and birds will go extinct. There’ll be no more days where you wake up to peaceful chirping, or a content purr, or even a small bark and a wet lick. How depressing would the world be? Man’s best friend is gone. No more rats will be caught by cats. No more colorful flashes across the sky. It would be a gray world.

                   If you adopt a pet from ASPCA, you will open up a new opportunity for an animal to be loved and cared for. Give the animal a second chance at life. The poor animal has been through so much. It just wants a warm bed, a hearty meal, and to know that someone cares for them, and will protect them from any harm. Donate 60 cents a day to ASPCA and save an animal’s life. The ASPCA needs your help to rescue animals and arrest the people who have no hearts. Those are the people who kill and torture for fun, and take animals for granted. The animals deserve so much more. And if you care about the animals, and if you care about the lives of many, donate today at www.aspca.org and save lives, and make an animal learn to know what love feels like again.

          

Class 5403 2015

Topics We Thought Would Be Good to Debate

The United States should eliminate its own weapons of mass destruction. 

School should be year-round. 

The United States should lower the voting age. 

Schools should not use standardized testing. 

Cigarettes should be illegal

Violent video games should be banned. 

Parents should not purchase war toys for their children. 

Parents should be punished for their children’s mistakes. 

College athletes should be paid. 

Schools should ban animal dissection. 

The U.S. should have a draft for military service. 

Beauty pageants do more good than harm. 

Television is a bad influence. 

Homework should be banned. 

Rap music does more harm than good. 

Teachers should not use candy as rewards. 

Middle schools should have student lockers. 

State lotteries should be ended. 

The assault weapon ban should be extended. 

Fast food restaurants do more harm than good. 

Professional athletes should be role models. 

Professional athletes should not be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. 

Spanish should be a mandatory course in public schools. 

K-12 schools should ban junk food sales. 

Wal-Mart is good for America. 

What About These Issues?
All public middle schools should have student-run disciplinary courts.
The NYC government should provide free wireless Internet access.
The United States should ban the importation of all products from China.
Giving money to panhandlers in NY is justified.
The United States should end its use of the penny.
The public's right to know is more important than the privacy of celebrities.
The United States should guarantee health care for its residents.
September 11 should be made a national holiday.
 Parents should be held legally responsible for their children's actions.
 Letter grades in schools do more harm than good. 
Television does more harm than good.
Home schooling does more good than harm. 
Ban plastic bags in grocery stores.
It should be illegal to sell coffee and coffee products to minors anywhere in the United States.

Parents should have to volunteer at school.

People should be fined if they don’t recycle.

Zoos should be illegal.

Television is better than books.

Computers will replace teachers.

2014 Issues We Debated
Topic Suggestions: Argument and Persuasion

1.           All citizens should be required by law to vote.

2.           Both parents should assume equal responsibility in raising a child.

3.           Americans should have more holidays and longer vacations.

4.           Participating in team sports helps to develop good character.

5.           The production and sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.

6.           People have become overly dependent on technology.

7.           Censorship is sometimes justified.

8.           Drunk drivers should be imprisoned on the first offense.

9.           The lost art of letter-writing deserves to be revived.

10.       To encourage healthy eating, higher taxes should be imposed on soft drinks and junk food.

11.       Students should not be required to take physical education courses.

12.       Any student caught cheating on an examination should be automatically dismissed from school.

13.       Zoos are internment camps for animals and should be shut down.

14.       Some people dismiss science fiction or fantasy as a purely juvenile form of amusement, an escape from problems and issues in the real world. Referring to one or more particular books, movies, or television programs, explain why you agree or disagree with this observation.

15.       Teachers and administrators in many American schools are now authorized to conduct random inspections of students' lockers and backpacks. Explain why you support or oppose this practice.

16.       Over the past 20 years, more and more public schools have implemented policies requiring students to wear uniforms. Explain why you support or oppose mandated school uniforms.

17.       Homework should be eliminated and replaced with a longer school day.

18.       All people should have access to affordable clean water.

19.       Hydraulic Fracturing should not be allowed until a health impact study is completed by independent sources.

Think of a few topics of your own.

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