The essay topic for the 2025 National Secondary School Examination (Enem) is “Perspectives on Aging in Brazilian Society”It was also published on the networks by the Minister of Education, Camilo Santana. The test requires candidates to write an argumentative thesis text on topics that address political, cultural, social and technological issues.
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According to Professor Ryan Rolle, pedagogical assistant at the Redação Nota 1000 platform, this is an unexpected topic because it is very similar to what was imposed in the National Teaching Test (PND), an evaluation of teachers conducted by the federal government this year.
– It is an excellent topic to work on and the level of complexity is moderate.
Caroline Lucena, editorial coordinator at Elite Rede de Ensino, points out some ways to approach the topic:
- social: Population aging in Brazil and its impact on public policies and family structure.
- economic: The increase in life expectancy is putting pressure on the social security system and the labor market – how do we ensure sustainability and dignity?
- Cultural: Discrimination based on age (ageism) and valuing youth at the expense of experience.
- Technological: Digital inclusion for older people and the role of technology in promoting independence.
- Health and well-being: The importance of preventive health and long-term care policies.
According to Ademar Celedonio, Director of Teaching and Pedagogical Innovations at SAS Plataforma de Educação, the topic not only deals with global aging and social security, but he sees this focus as asking how Brazilian society will organize itself with regard to longevity, “whether in social participation, or in the fight against ageism, work and care throughout life.”
– The main thesis will revolve around the idea that Brazil needs to reposition aging as an active stage of citizenship, with cross-sectoral policies and cultural change towards longevity, so that it becomes social capital. Not necessarily only in case of weakness.
According to Thiago Braga, professor and author at Colégio e Sistema pH, a good testing strategy is to cite the Elder Law, which the country approved in 2003.
— It’s a nice reference for students to use, because it’s our legal tool to protect older people, ensure opportunities, and maintain physical and mental health.
This is the first time since 2022 that the topic does not start with “challenges”. According to Daniela Toffoli, a writing teacher in an English course, lexical choice in recent years has made it easier for students to understand that they need to approach the topic based on questions about the causes and consequences of the problem.
The first thing that is noticed, then, is this contradiction with respect to the last three editions, due to the use of the word “viewpoints.” This may confuse some ill-prepared students, prompting them to build an argument that is slightly at odds with what NSMP expects – which is, first, to problematize the topic in the development paragraphs, and only then, to present an intervention proposal – says the expert.
Writing requires five skills from students: 1) mastery of formal Portuguese writing; 2) Understand the topic and do not deviate from writing the proposal; 3) Organizing ideas. 4) Cohesion and cohesion. 5) Propose intervention.
This Sunday is the first two days of the exam, with a total of 90 questions in languages and humanities (40 in Portuguese and 5 in English or Spanish), in addition to the essay. The test started at 1pm
Themes from Enem’s previous 17 releases:
- The individual versus national morality (2009)
- Working to build human dignity (2010)
- Living online in the 21st century: the boundaries between public and private (2011)
- The migration movement to Brazil in the twenty-first century (2012)
- Impacts of Dry Law Implementation in Brazil (2013)
- Child advertising questioned in Brazil (2014)
- Persistence of violence against women in Brazilian society (2015)
- Pathways to combat racism in Brazil (2016)
- Pathways to combat religious intolerance in Brazil (2016)
- Challenges of educational training for the deaf in Brazil (2017)
- Manipulating user behavior through online data control (2018)
- Democratizing access to cinema in Brazil (2019)
- Stigma associated with mental illness in Brazilian society (2020)
- The challenge of reducing regional inequality in Brazil (2020 – Enem Digital)
- Invisibility and Civil Registration: Ensuring Citizenship in Brazil (2021)
- Challenges of Valuing Traditional Communities and Peoples in Brazil (2022)
- Challenges of Addressing the Invisibility of Women’s Care Work in Brazil (2023)
- Challenges of assessing African heritage in Brazil (2024)
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