Essays, which can be defined as interpretative or analytical literary compositions are a part and parcel of student life. However, majority of students do not realize the importance of essay writing and consider it to be a worthless activity. They do not understand that essay writing is important for developing their writing skills. Other than this, studies have proved that writing essays are also said to be important for the intellectual development and knowledge internalization in kids. It not only aids in enhancing their analytical and critical thinking skills, but also their research skills. Hence, it is important to include essay writing for students from a very young age. This will help the kids to understand the basics of essay writing like formatting, sentence construction, organization of thoughts, etc. which will aid them further in the higher classes. Teachers should introduce essay writing to kids with easy topics, gradually moving to more complex topics, like, argumentative, persuasive, etc. which will not only help them in improving their language, but also their writing skills. Let us take a look at some of the school level topics. Descriptive Topics It is always good to begin with essays where children can describe something. The topic should be about something that the kids already know, like, their home or family. Such type of essay topics will aid them to learn to organize their thoughts in a constructive manner. After children select their topic, they can make points about them, before actually writing the main essay. Here are some good essay topics that kids may find easy to write.

• My Best Friend
• My Favorite Sport
• My Last Holiday
• The Pet that I would Like to Have
• What if I had Super Powers
• My Mother/Father
• Things I Like to do During My Pastime
• The Most Special Day of My Life
• The Person I Admire the Most
• The First Day in My New School
• Things I Did During Summer
• A Dream I had Last Night
• My Most Memorable Birthday
• Qualities Required to Become a President
• My Favorite TV Show
• Things that I am Afraid of
• A View from my Window
• Living at a Bus Stop
• My Favorite Food
• My Hobby
• What Will I Do When I Grow Up?
• If I Became an Animal
• The Most Interesting Book I have Read
• If I Became Invisible
• If I had a Magic Pen
• If I Become Rich
• What Makes Me Special?
• An Eventful Day in My Life
• If I Had Three Wishes, What Would I Wish For?
• All The Things I Want to Do
• What Would I Do If I Became Invisible for a Day?
• My Space Adventure
• A Rainy Day I Spent Alone

Argumentative Topics After descriptive essays, the next step will be argument essay writing. Argumentative essays are those where students have to put forth their point of view about a topic. However, it is important to remember that these essays cannot be based just on personal knowledge, rather kids have to find enough proof to support their opinions and thoughts.

• Is Praying Beneficial?
• Effect of Technology on Human Beings
• Should Smoking in Public Be Banned?
• Harmful Effects of Plastic Bags
• How do Humans Affect the Environment
• Reasons we Love Chocolate
• Pros and Cons of Zoos
• Mobile Phones - Necessity or Nuisance?
• Is Destruction of Forests Affecting the Earth
• Harmful Effects of Video Games
• Is it Right to Kill Animals for Food and Clothing?
• Should Bullying be Supported?
• Is Learning a Foreign Language Really Important?
• Global Warming and Deforestation

Persuasive Topics Persuasive essays are somewhat similar to argumentative essays, where students have to present their opinions on a topic. The difference is that the essay should persuade the readers to change their opinion about something after reading it. Hence, kids have to conduct thorough research before writing a persuasive essay.

• Bilingual Education in school
• Should the Government Ban Hunting?
• 10 Pros and Cons of Capital Punishment
• Are School Uniforms Good or Bad Idea
• Are Exams Making Way for Too Much Stress for Children?
• How Much is too Much homework
• Why Helmets should be made Compulsory
• Home is the best place to Spend a Thanksgiving Holiday
• Cell Phones for Kids - Pros and Cons
• Should Mothers Work or Stay at Home?
• Animals Should Not be Caged
• Can you Live Without Television?

Compare and Contrast Topics Essays of this type prove to be a good exercise for kids where they learn to compare between two concepts, find the relations between two contrasting ideas, look at all aspects of a subject and understand it in different ways. Compare and contrast topics thus help build analytical skills in children.

• Reading from Books vs. Reading Online
• Harry Potter Books vs. Harry Potter Movies
• American English vs. British English
• Comparing two video games
• Comparing two books
• Comparison between two music genres
• Comparing two athletes/sports figures
• Comparison between two sports events (Wimbledon vs. French Open or NASCAR vs. Formula One)
• Comparing two restaurants
• Comparison between two ways to spend a holiday (going out vs. staying at home)
• Urban Living vs. Rural Living
• Being Rich vs. Being Famous
• Comparing two similar/comparable feelings (being sad vs. being bored or being happy vs. being content)
• Childhood vs. Teenage
• Comparing two famous personalities
• Your Real Home vs. Your Dream Home
• Living on campus vs. Living off campus

Autobiographies This particular branch of essay writing tests the students' general knowledge and level of imagination. Students are expected to personify a living or non-living thing and write a description of that thing's life. All these essays are fictitious in nature. Autobiography essays are not based on any famous personalities. Some popular autobiography topics are:

• Autobiography of a book
• Autobiography of a pen
• Autobiography of a tree
• Autobiography of an animal/bird
• Autobiography of a flower
• Autobiography of a princess
• Autobiography of a river

Others

• If given a chance, what would you do for the poor old man living down the street?
• What would you do with all the Halloween candies that you collected this year?
• Convincing parents for a picnic
• Planning a surprise party for Dad
• What would you do if you found yourself in the land of Lilliput?
• Inventing an animal
• How would you like to decorate your room?
• Is it important for children to go to a boarding school?
• If I were the Mayor
• If I were the President
• If I were a billionaire
• If I were a tree
• If I were a devil/an angel

These essay topics for kids can be altered slightly by the teacher as per the grade at which the children are studying. Teachers should also give the kids appropriate guidelines for each type of essay that they have to write. Practicing essay writing on these topics is a way of preparing kids to deal with more complex essay topics that they will encounter during their higher studies.