Effective persuasive paper topics require that an audience react in some way. It really doesn't matter at first whether readers agree or disagree with a subject. Good persuasive paper topics include concepts, ideas or issues that other people identify with. You want people to care about what they are reading. When they are engaged with an issue, you can better prime them for a particular opinion later.
Aristotle believed that persuasion was a way to lead people to virtue. You can think of this to make a good persuasive paper topic. A persuasive paper is a kind of tool you can use to talk about how to change something you believe is wrong or unjust, for example. Audiences oftentimes have belief systems without knowing why they feel the way that they do. You can persuade them one way or another by first describing a common set of shared values, then smoothly transition it on its proverbial "ear," so to speak. A common link is one way to get their attention.
Persuasive paper topics need strength of voice. If you want people to lean a certain way on a subject, you must take a specific position on it and be clear and strong while doing it. Try to dispel, at least temporarily, any feelings of embarrassment or fear you have about addressing your peers. It will help you narrow down your focus a bit, as well. Once you take a position one way or another, stay the course.
Good persuasion requires a level of credibility. When you write a good persuasive paper topic, make sure you sound believable. One sure-fire way to immediately alienate an audience is to write about a paper topic in a way that simply seems "crazy." While it's sometimes good to write about controversial paper topics, it isn't effective (at least as far as persuasion goes) to appear controversial.