Topics For The Argumentative Essay 20142
Topics for the Argumentative Essay – Spring 2015
1. Governments from time to time take action to either increase population growth or to slow it down by means of providing incentives (e.g. reduced tax rates) or laws discouraging people from having more children than one or two (e.g. increased tax rates for every other child, even imprisonment sentences or forced abortions like in China etc.).
a. Should governments have the right to intervene in the rights of the individuals with regard to family planning or not?
b. Do you think the policy of “having at least three children” is beneficial for Turkey or not?
2. With the availability of the Internet and spread of social media, we are now more able to express what we think and believe (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, online forums, blogs etc.) without too much restriction. However, we often see that sometimes this is abused by people whose opinions can take the form of racial hatred. (E.g. Tweets or blog posts which incite hatred of certain groups/communities such as Jews, Kurds, gay people, women, Alevis etc.).
Although there is gate keeping (editors moderating content) and auto-control in other forms of media such as newspapers, television and print media, on the Internet, without having to reveal their real identities, people do not feel the need to exercise much auto-control and end up saying things they would never say on television.
a. Do you regard such behaviour as freedom of expression or a criminal offence?
b. Is censorship a must or a threat for a democratic society?
3. In our country, for a political party to win seats at the parliament, it has to get at least 10 % of the votes nationwide. This election threshold varies from country to country – but usually is between 1 % and 5 %, with 10 %, the highest in the world in Turkey. While some argue that a 10% election threshold is necessary for ensuring stability in Turkey, others see it as the major reason hindering a true democracy, which creates other
1. Governments from time to time take action to either increase population growth or to slow it down by means of providing incentives (e.g. reduced tax rates) or laws discouraging people from having more children than one or two (e.g. increased tax rates for every other child, even imprisonment sentences or forced abortions like in China etc.).
a. Should governments have the right to intervene in the rights of the individuals with regard to family planning or not?
b. Do you think the policy of “having at least three children” is beneficial for Turkey or not?
2. With the availability of the Internet and spread of social media, we are now more able to express what we think and believe (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, online forums, blogs etc.) without too much restriction. However, we often see that sometimes this is abused by people whose opinions can take the form of racial hatred. (E.g. Tweets or blog posts which incite hatred of certain groups/communities such as Jews, Kurds, gay people, women, Alevis etc.).
Although there is gate keeping (editors moderating content) and auto-control in other forms of media such as newspapers, television and print media, on the Internet, without having to reveal their real identities, people do not feel the need to exercise much auto-control and end up saying things they would never say on television.
a. Do you regard such behaviour as freedom of expression or a criminal offence?
b. Is censorship a must or a threat for a democratic society?
3. In our country, for a political party to win seats at the parliament, it has to get at least 10 % of the votes nationwide. This election threshold varies from country to country – but usually is between 1 % and 5 %, with 10 %, the highest in the world in Turkey. While some argue that a 10% election threshold is necessary for ensuring stability in Turkey, others see it as the major reason hindering a true democracy, which creates other