As an English instructor, I assign a lot of papers. Although the types of papers vary somewhat from class to class, one rhetorical mode that all of my composition students must use is argument. I personally think that being able to make a logical argument is one of the primary goals of a composition course. When I first began assigning the argumentative essay, I let my students choose any topic they were interested in to write about. After a few years, I realized that this was not the best course of action, so I chose to ban certain topics for a varying number of reasons.
I will start with the most superficial reason. I get tired of reading about certain things. If I have to read about how the legalization of marijuana will boost the economy one more time, I may have to kick myself in the face.
However superficial my first reason may be, it leads quite nicely into the next reason I ban certain topics. When a topic is something that is considered a "popular" topic to argue, the arguments become very rote. Basically, the same three or four points are made by every single person preventing students from coming up with any original ideas. Now, one might argue that perhaps a student can come up with new reasonings for the same old topic. To that I would say, "Go for it!" If this were the case, I would be happy to let students write about those topics. However, even if a student is able to come up with original ideas to support a topic that has been beaten to death, an argument can seem lacking if the cornerstones of that argument are missing.
Which leads me to my third point. Most of my banned topics are issues about which people tend to get emotional. Myself included. When you are talking about controversial topics such as abortion and gay marriage, most people (once again, myself included) have a very specific and set stance on that topic. Nothing you can say will make me change my mind. Therefore, the issue becomes that students want to try and figure out where I stand on an issue so they can write on my side of the issue. Bad idea. This is a note to all of you students out there, it might actually be a better idea to write on the side your teacher doesn't support. Teachers are human. We have feelings and emotions. I know this may shock some, but it's true. Therefore, when I read a paper that makes a claim I do not believe in, my emotions come into play. However, this is something I know about myself, and out of the fear of showing bias, I find that I end up grading those papers a little easier sometimes! Not on purpose of course, but I am being so cautious about looking at the logical points of the argument rather than thinking about what I believe, that it is possible to miss whether or not the argument is effective in terms of pathos. It is also true that if you are arguing on the side I believe in, I know what the good arguments are. So, if you leave out something that I feel would greatly benefit your argument or if you make our side look foolish, that's possibly worse than disagreeing with me!
Finally, there is the issue of morals. Many of these arguments are arguments that are quickly taken to a moral stance. Many students want to turn to the Bible as the primary source for their argument. The problem with this is that when students use the Bible as a source, those students tend to view the Bible as infallible. As mentioned previously, I try to leave my personal beliefs out of the grading process, so whether or not I believe the Bible to be infallible is irrelevant when it comes to reading and grading papers. The problem is that by assuming the Bible to be infallible and using it as an irrefutable source, you, as a writer, also assume that reader believe the Bible to be infallible. This is not always a safe assumption. Does this mean you shouldn't use the Bible as a source? Of course not! Depending on the audience (which is always something important to consider), the Bible could be the perfect source. Even if the audience is not one likely to agree with everything the Bible has to say, it's perfectly acceptable to use it as one source. However, if all arguments focus on Biblical morals and principles, you could be in trouble.
Based on these reasonings, I have a list of banned topics for argumentative papers where students are allowed to pick their own topics. It never fails that I will get at least one paper on one of those banned topics, and I will definitely get more than one complaint. However, I feel that by not allowing students to write on these topics, I force them to become more critical thinkers.
So, what do you think about banned writing topics? Should I just let them write about whatever they want?
Godspeed!
