A List Of 12 Interesting English Essay Topics For College Students

College students who are taking English classes will write more essays than students in any other discipline. Students in other academic disciplines will take tests and solve problems; in English class, the only way to show true learning is in an paper. This means that students studying English have to create topics for several papers every semester. After a while, it becomes rather difficult to come up with anything new and interesting to write about.

Students in English classes in college need to write descriptive, narrative, expository, and argumentative papers. Here are 12 ideas for topics in those different styles for college students in English classes:


  1. What was the weakest moment of your life and what did you learn from it?
  2. What is a place that you avoid and why?
  3. What is the ugliest thing you have ever seen?


  1. What is the best meal you have ever eaten?
  2. Describe the sensations of sitting around a campfire.
  3. Write about a fear you have and how it makes you feel.


  1. If you could work for one company your entire life, what would it be and why?
  2. Analyze a favorite poem and show why you love it so much.
  3. How has the Internet changed the way the world communicates?


  1. What should schools do to stop cheating/plagiarism?
  2. Why should students learn to write quality essays?
  3. Should the government be trusted?

The beauty of writing papers in an English class is that students can usually pick from any possible topic. Since students have to show they can write, they are not limited by content. Students in other classes have to focus on both the writing and the content, but in an English class, students can explore anything as long as they use the assigned writing process.

For students who prefer to focus on a topic, writing classes can be challenging. The creativity can be problematic for students who would rather show they can solve a math problem or figure out the answer to a formula in chemistry. Language arts and English classes really allow students to be artistic with their words, which is why certain students perform so well. These topic ideas could be changed to fit any need, students just fill in different words. For example, the word “government” could be replaced with “media” and it would work just as well.

