ThinkWritten
365 Creative Writing Prompts
Here are 365 Creative Writing Prompts to help inspire you to write every single day! Use them for journaling, story starters, poetry, and more!
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If you want to become a better writer, the best thing you can do is practice writing every single day. Writing prompts are useful because we know sometimes it can be hard to think of what to write about!
To help you brainstorm, we put together this list of 365 creative writing prompts to give you something to write about daily.
Want to Download these prompts? I am super excited to announce due to popular demand we now have an ad-free printable version of this list of writing prompts available for just $5. The printable version includes a PDF as a list AND print-ready prompt cards. {And all the design source files you could ever need to customize any way you would like!}
Here are 365 Creative Writing Prompts to Inspire:
Whether you write short stories, poems, or like to keep a journal – these will stretch your imagination and give you some ideas for topics to write about!
1. Outside the Window : What’s the weather outside your window doing right now? If that’s not inspiring, what’s the weather like somewhere you wish you could be?
2. The Unrequited love poem: How do you feel when you love someone who does not love you back?
3. The Vessel: Write about a ship or other vehicle that can take you somewhere different from where you are now.
4. Dancing: Who’s dancing and why are they tapping those toes?
5. Food: What’s for breakfast? Dinner? Lunch? Or maybe you could write a poem about that time you met a friend at a cafe.
6. Eye Contact: Write about two people seeing each other for the first time.
7. The Rocket-ship: Write about a rocket-ship on its way to the moon or a distant galaxy far, far, away.
8. Dream-catcher : Write something inspired by a recent dream you had.
9. Animals: Choose an animal. Write about it!
10. Friendship: Write about being friends with someone.
11. Dragon : Envision a dragon. Do you battle him? Or is the dragon friendly? Use descriptive language.
12. Greeting : Write a story or poem that starts with the word “hello” or another greeting.
13. The Letter: Write a poem or story using words from a famous letter or inspired by a letter someone sent you.
14. The Found Poem : Read a book and circle some words on a page. Use those words to craft a poem. Alternatively, you can cut out words and phrases from magazines.
15. Eavesdropper : Create a poem, short story, or journal entry about a conversation you’ve overheard.
16. Addict: Everyone’s addicted to something in some shape or form. What are things you can’t go without?
17. Dictionary Definition : Open up a dictionary to a random word. Define what that word means to you.
18. Cleaning: Hey, even writers and creative artists have to do housework sometimes. Write about doing laundry, dishes, and other cleaning activities.
19. Great Minds: Write about someone you admire and you thought to have had a beautiful mind.
20. Missed Connections: If you go to Craigslist, there is a “Missed Connections” section where you can find some interesting storylines to inspire your writing.
21. Foreclosure : Write a poem or short story about someone who has lost or is about to lose their home.
22. Smoke, Fog, and Haze: Write about not being able to see ahead of you.
23. Sugar: Write something so sweet, it makes your teeth hurt.
24. Numbers: Write a poem or journal entry about numbers that have special meaning to you.
25. Dread: Write about doing something you don’t want to do.
26. Fear: What scares you a little? What do you feel when scared? How do you react?
27. Closed Doors: What’s behind the door? Why is it closed?
28. Shadow: Imagine you are someone’s shadow for a day.
29. Good Vibes: What makes you smile? What makes you happy?
30. Shopping: Write about your shopping wishlist and how you like to spend money.
31. The Professor: Write about a teacher that has influenced you.
32. Rewrite : Take any poem or short story you enjoy. Rewrite it in your own words.
33. Jewelry: Write about a piece of jewelry. Who does it belong to?
34. Sounds : Sit outside for about an hour. Write down the sounds you hear.
35. War and Peace: Write about a recent conflict that you dealt with in your life.
36. Frame It: Write a poem or some phrases that would make for good wall art in your home.
37. Puzzle: Write about putting together the pieces of puzzles.
38. Fire-starters: Write about building a fire.
39. Coffee & Tea: Surely you drink one or the other or know someone who does- write about it!
40. Car Keys: Write about someone getting their driver’s license for the first time.
41. What You Don’t Know: Write about a secret you’ve kept from someone else or how you feel when you know someone is keeping a secret from you.
42. Warehouse : Write about being inside an old abandoned warehouse.
43. The Sound of Silence: Write about staying quiet when you feel like shouting.
44. Insult: Write about being insulted. How do you feel? Why do you think the other person insulted you?
45. Mirror, Mirror: What if you mirror started talking to you? What might the mirror say?
46. Dirty: Write a poem about getting covered in mud.
47. Light Switch : Write about coming out of the dark and seeing the light.
48. The Stars : Take inspiration from a night sky. Or, write about a time when “the stars aligned” in your horoscope.
49. Joke Poem : What did the wall say to the other wall? Meet you at the corner! Write something inspired by a favorite joke.
50. Just Say No : Write about the power you felt when you told someone no.
51: Sunrise/Sunset : The sun comes up, the sun goes down. It goes round and round. Write something inspiring about the sunrise or sunset.
52. Memory Lane : What does Memory Lane look like? How do you get there?
53. Tear-Jerker : Watch a movie that makes you cry. Write about that scene in the movie.
54. Dear Diary: Write a poem or short story about a diary entry you’ve read or imagined.
55. Holding Hands : The first time you held someone’s hand.
56. Photograph : Write a story or journal entry influenced by a photograph you see online or in a magazine.
57. Alarm Clock: Write about waking up.
58. Darkness: Write a poem or journal entry inspired by what you can’t see.
59. Refreshed: Write a poem about a time you really felt refreshed and renewed. Maybe it was a dip into a pool on a hot summer day, a drink of lemonade, or other situation that helped you relax and start again.
60. Handle With Care : Write about a very fragile or delicate object.
61. Drama: Write about a time when you got stuck in between two parties fighting with each other.
62. Slip Up: Write about making mistakes.
63. Spice: Write about flavors and tastes or a favorite spice of yours.
64. Sing a New Song: Take a popular song off the radio and rewrite it as a poem in your own words.
65. Telephone: Write about a phone call you recently received.
66. Name: Write a poem or short story using your name in some way or form.
67. Dollhouse: Write a poem or short story from the viewpoint of someone living in a doll house.
68. Random Wikipedia Article : Go to Wikipedia and click on Random Article . Write about whatever the page you get.
69. Silly Sports: Write about an extreme or silly sport. If none inspire you, make up the rules for your own game.
70. Recipe : Write about a recipe for something abstract, such as a feeling.
71. Famous Artwork: Choose a famous painting and write about it.
72. Where That Place Used to Be : Think of a place you went to when you were younger but it now no longer there or is something else. Capture your feelings about this in your writing.
73. Last Person You Talked to: Write a quick little poem or story about the last person you spoke with.
74. Caught Red-Handed: Write about being caught doing something embarrassing.
75. Interview: Write a list of questions you have for someone you would like to interview, real or fictional.
76. Missing You: Write about someone you miss dearly.
77. Geography: Pick a state or country you’ve never visited. Write about why you would or would not like to visit that place.
78. Random Song: Turn on the radio, use the shuffle feature on your music collection or your favorite streaming music service. Write something inspired by the first song you hear.
79. Hero: Write a tribute to someone you regard as a hero.
80. Ode to Strangers: Go people watching and write an ode to a stranger you see on the street.
81. Advertisement: Advertisements are everywhere, aren’t they? Write using the slogan or line from an ad.
82. Book Inspired: Think of your favorite book. Now write a poem that sums up the entire story in 10 lines.
83. Magic : Imagine you have a touch of magic, and can make impossible things happen. What would you do?
84. Fanciest Pen: Get out your favorite pen, pencils, or even colored markers and write using them!
85. A Day in the Life: Write about your daily habits and routine.
86. Your Muse: Write about your muse – what do they look like? What does your muse do to inspire you?
87. Convenience Store : Write about an experience you’ve had at a gas station or convenience store.
88. Natural Wonders of the World: Choose one of the natural wonders of the world. Write about it.
89. Status Update: Write a poem using the words from your latest status update or a friend’s status update. If you don’t use sites like Facebook or Twitter, you can often search online for some funny ones to use as inspiration.
90. Green Thumb: Write about growing something.
91. Family Heirloom: Write about an object that’s been passed through the generations in your family.
92. Bug Catcher: Write about insects.
93. Potion: Write about a magic potion. What is it made of? What does it do? What is the antidote?
94. Swinging & Sliding: Write something inspired by a playground or treehouse.
95. Adjectives: Make a list of the first 5 adjectives that pop into your head. Use these 5 words in your story, poem, or journal entry.
96. Fairy Tales: Rewrite a fairy tale. Give it a new ending or make it modern or write as a poem.
97. Whispers: Write about someone who has to whisper a secret to someone else.
98. Smile: Write a poem about the things that make you smile.
99. Seasonal: Write about your favorite season.
100. Normal: What does normal mean to you? Is it good or bad to be normal?
101. Recycle : Take something you’ve written in the past and rewrite it into a completely different piece.
102. Wardrobe: Write about a fashion model or what’s currently in your closet or drawers.
103. Secret Message : Write something with a secret message hidden in between the words. For example, you could make an acrostic poem using the last letters of the word or use secret code words in the poem.
104. Vacation: Write about a vacation you took.
105. Heat: Write about being overheated and sweltering.
106. Spellbinding: Write a magic spell.
107. Collection : Write about collecting something, such as salt shakers, sea shells, or stamps.
108. Taking Chances: Everyone takes a risk at some point in their life. Write about a time when you took a chance and what the result was.
109. Carnival: Write a poem or story or journal entry inspired by a carnival or street fair.
110. Country Mouse: Write about someone who grew up in the country visiting the city for the first time.
111: Questions: Write about questions you have for the universe. Optional: include an answer key.
112. Rushing: Write about moving quickly and doing things fast.
113. Staircase : Use a photo of a staircase or the stairs in your home or a building you love to inspire you.
114. Neighbors: Make up a story or poem about your next door neighbor.
115. Black and Blue: Write about a time you’ve been physically hurt.
116. All Saints: Choose a saint and create a poem about his or her life.
117. Beach Inspired: What’s not to write about the beach?
118. Shoes: What kind of shoes do you wear? Where do they lead your feet?
119. The Ex: Write a poem to someone who is estranged from you.
120. My Point of View: Write in the first person point of view.
121. Stray Animal: Think of the life of a stray cat or dog and write about that.
122. Stop and Stare : Create a poem or story about something you could watch forever.
123. Your Bed: Describe where you sleep each night.
124. Fireworks : Do they inspire you or do you not like the noise and commotion? Write about it.
125. Frozen: Write about a moment in your life you wish you could freeze and preserve.
126. Alone : Do you like to be alone or do you like having company?
127. Know-it-all: Write about something you are very knowledgeable about, for example a favorite hobby or passion of yours.
128. The Promise: Write about a promise you’ve made to someone. Did you keep that promise?
129. Commotion: Write about being overstimulated by a lot of chaos.
130. Read the News Today : Construct a poem or story using a news headline for your first line.
131. Macro: Write a description of an object close-up.
132. Transportation : Write about taking your favorite (or least-favorite) form of transportation.
133. Gadgets: If you could invent a gadget, what would it do? Are there any gadgets that make your life easier?
134: Bring on the Cheese: Write a tacky love poem that is so cheesy, it belongs on top of a pizza.
135. Ladders: Write a story or poem that uses ladders as a symbol.
136. Bizarre Holiday : There is a bizarre holiday for any date! Look up a holiday for today’s date and create a poem in greeting card fashion or write a short story about the holiday to celebrate.
137. Blog-o-sphere : Visit your favorite blog or your feedreader and craft a story, journal entry, or poem based on the latest blog post you read.
138. Mailbox: Create a poem, short story, or journal entry based on a recent item of mail you’ve received.
139. Sharing : Write about sharing something with someone else.
140. Cactus: Write from the viewpoint of a cactus. What’s it like to live in the desert or have a prickly personality?
141. It’s a Sign : Have you seen any interesting road signs lately?
142. Furniture: Write about a piece of furniture in your home.
143. Failure: Write about a time you failed at something. Did you try again or give up completely?
144. Mystical Creatures: Angels or other mystical creatures – use them as inspiration.
145. Flying: Write about having wings and what you would do.
146. Clear and Transparent: Write a poem about being able to see-through something.
147. Break the Silence : Record yourself speaking, then write down what you spoke and revise into a short story or poem.
148. Beat: Listen to music with a strong rhythm or listen to drum loops. Write something that goes along with the beat you feel and hear.
149. Color Palette: Search online for color palettes and be inspired to write by one you resonate with.
150. Magazine: Randomly flip to a page in a magazine and write using the first few words you see as an opening line.
151. The Grass is Greener : Write about switching the place with someone or going to where it seems the “grass is greener”.
152. Mind & Body: Write something that would motivate others to workout and exercise.
153. Shaping Up : Write something that makes a shape on the page…ie: a circle, a heart, a square, etc.
154. Twenty-One: Write about your 21st birthday.
155. Aromatherapy: Write about scents you just absolutely love.
156. Swish, Buzz, Pop : Create a poem that uses Onomatopoeia .
157. What Time is It? Write about the time of day it is right now. What are people doing? What do you usually do at this time each day?
158. Party Animal: Have you ever gone to a party you didn’t want to leave? Or do you hate parties? Write about it!
159: Miss Manners : Use the words “please” and “thank you” in your writing.
160. Cliche: Choose a common cliche, then write something that says the same thing but without using the catch phrase.
161. Eco-friendly : Write about going green or an environmental concern you have.
162. Missing You: Write about someone you miss.
163. Set it Free: Think of a time when you had to let someone or something go to be free…did they come back?
164: Left Out : Write about a time when you’ve felt left out or you’ve noticed someone else feeling as if they didn’t belong.
165. Suitcase: Write about packing for a trip or unpacking from when you arrive home.
166. Fantasy : Write about fairies, gnomes, elves, or other mythical creatures.
167. Give and Receive : Write about giving and receiving.
168. Baker’s Dozen: Imagine the scents and sights of a bakery and write.
169. Treehouse: Write about your own secret treehouse hideaway.
170. Risk: Write about taking a gamble on something.
171. Acrostic : Choose a word and write an acrostic poem where every line starts with a letter from the word.
172. Crossword Puzzle: Open up the newspaper or find a crossword puzzle online and choose one of the clues to use as inspiration for your writing.
173. Silver Lining : Write about the good that happens in a bad situation.
174. Gloves: Write about a pair of gloves – what kind of gloves are they? Who wears them and why?
175. All that Glitters: Write about a shiny object.
176. Jealousy: Write with a theme of envy and jealousy.
Want to Download these prompts? I am super excited to announce due to popular demand we now have an ad-free printable version of this list of writing prompts available for just $5. The printable version includes a PDF as a list AND print-ready prompt cards. {And all the design source files you could ever need to customize any way you would like!}
177. How Does Your Garden Grow? Write about a flower that grows in an unusual place.
178. Jury Duty : Write a short story or poem that takes place in a courtroom.
179. Gifts: Write about a gift you have given or received.
180. Running: Write about running away from someone or something.
181. Discovery: Think of something you’ve recently discovered and use it as inspiration.
182. Complain: Write about your complaints about something.
183. Gratitude: Write a poem or journal entry that is all about things you are thankful for.
184. Chemistry: Choose an element and write a poem or story that uses that word in one of the lines.
185. Applause: Write about giving someone a standing ovation.
186. Old Endings Into New Beginnings: Take an old poem, story, or journal entry of yours and use the last line and make it the first line of your writing today.
187. Longing: Write about something you very much want to do.
188. I Am: Write a motivational poem or journal entry about positive traits that make you who you are.
189. Rainbow : What is at the end of a rainbow? Or, take a cue from Kermit the Frog, and ask yourself, why are there so many songs about rainbows?
190. Museum: Take some time to visit a nearby museum with your journal. Write about one of the pieces that speaks to you.
191. Cartoon: Think of your favorite cartoon or comic. Write a poem or story that takes place in that setting.
192. Copycat: Borrow a line from a famous public domain poem to craft your own.
193. From the Roof-tops: Imagine you could stand on a rooftop and broadcast a message to everyone below – what would you say?
194. Time Travel: If there was a time period you could visit for a day, where would you go? Write about traveling back in time to that day.
195. Changing Places: Imagine living the day as someone else.
196. Neighborhood: Write about your favorite place in your neighborhood to visit and hang out at.
197. Pirates: Write about a pirate ship.
198. Interview : Write based on a recent interview you’ve read or seen on TV or heard on the radio.
199. Hiding Spaces : Write about places you like to hide things at. What was a favorite hiding spot for you as a child playing hide-and-seek?
200. Extreme Makeover: Imagine how life might be different if you could change your hair color or clothing into something completely opposite from your current style.
201. Empathy: Write about your feelings of empathy or compassion for another person.
202. Opposites: Write a poem or story that ties in together two opposites.
203. Boredom: Write about being bored or make a list of different ways to entertain yourself.
204. Strength : Think of a time when you’ve been physically or emotionally strong and use that as inspiration.
205. Hunger: Write from the perspective of someone with no money to buy food.
206. Greed: Write about someone who always wants more – whether it be money, power, etc. etc.
207. Volcano: Write about an eruption of a volcano.
208. Video Inspiration : Go to Vimeo.com or YouTube.com and watch one of the videos featured on the homepage. Write something based on what you watch.
209. Sneeze: Write about things that make you sneeze.
210. Footsteps on the Moon: Write about the possibility of life in outer-space.
211: Star-crossed: Write a short modern version of the story of Romeo and Juliet or think of real-life examples of lovers who are not allowed to be together to use as inspiration for your writing.
212. Font-tastic: Choose a unique font and type out a poem, story or journal entry using that font.
213. Schedule: Take a look at your calendar and use the schedule for inspiration in writing.
214. Grandparents: Write about a moment in your grandparent’s life.
215. Collage: Go through a magazine and cut out words that grab your attention. Use these words to construct a poem or as a story starter or inspiration for your journal.
216. Oh so Lonely: Write a poem about what you do when you are alone – do you feel lonely or do you enjoy your own company?
217. Waterfall: Think of a waterfall you’ve seen in person or spend some time browsing photos of waterfalls online. Write about the movement, flow, and energy.
218. First Kiss: Write about your first kiss.
219. So Ironic: Write about an ironic situation you’ve been in throughout your life.
220. Limerick: Write a limerick today.
221. Grocery Shopping: Write about an experience at the grocery store.
222. Fashion : Go through a fashion magazine or browse fashion websites online and write about a style you love.
223. So Close: Write about coming close to reaching a goal.
224. Drinks on Me: Write a poem or short story that takes place at a bar.
225. Online Friends: Write an ode to someone online you’ve met and become friends with.
226. Admiration: Is there someone you admire? Write about those feelings.
227. Trash Day: Write from the perspective of a garbage collector.
228. Mailbox: Open your mailbox and write something inspired by one of the pieces of mail you received.
229. Fresh & Clean: Write about how you feel after you take a shower.
230. Energized: Write about how you feel when you’re either at a high or low energy level for the day.
231. Rhyme & No Reason: Make up a silly rhyming poem using made up words.
232. Tech Support: Use computers or a conversation with tech support you’ve had as inspiration.
233. Hotel: Write from the perspective of someone who works at a hotel or staying at a hotel.
234. Underwater: Write about sea creatures and under water life. What’s under the surface of the ocean? What adventures might be waiting?
235. Breathing: Take a few minutes to do some deep breathing relaxation techniques. Once your mind is clear, just write the first few things that you think of.
236. Liar, Liar: Make up a poem or story of complete lies about yourself or someone else.
237. Obituaries: Look at the recent obituaries online or in the newspaper and imagine the life of someone and write about that person.
238. Pocket: Rummage through your pockets and write about what you keep or find in your pockets.
239. Cinquain: Write a cinquain poem, which consists of 5 lines that do not rhyme.
240. Alphabetical: Write a poem that has every letter of the alphabet in it.
241. Comedy Club: Write something inspired by a comedian.
242. Cheater: Write about someone who is unfaithful.
243. Sestina: Give a try to writing a sestina poem.
244. Fight: Write about witnessing two people get in an argument with each other.
245. Social Network : Visit your favorite Social Networking website (ie: Facebook, Pinterest, Google, Twitter, etc.) and write a about a post you see there.
246. Peaceful: Write about something peaceful and serene.
247. In the Clouds: Go cloud watching for the day and write about what you imagine in the clouds.
248. At the Park: Take some time to sit on a park bench and write about the sights, scenes, and senses and emotions you experience.
249. Sonnet: Write a sonnet today.
250. Should, Would, And Could: Write a poem or story using the words should, would, and could.
251. How to: Write directions on how to do something.
252. Alliteration: Use alliteration in your poem or in a sentence in a story.
253. Poker Face: Write about playing a card game.
254. Timer: Set a timer for 5 minutes and just write. Don’t worry about it making sense or being perfect.
255. Dance: Write about a dancer or a time you remember dancing.
256. Write for a Cause: Write a poem or essay that raises awareness for a cause you support.
257. Magic : Write about a magician or magic trick.
258. Out of the Box: Imagine finding a box. Write about opening it and what’s inside.
259. Under the Influence: What is something has impacted you positively in your life?
260. Forgotten Toy : Write from the perspective a forgotten or lost toy.
261. Rocks and Gems: Write about a rock or gemstone meaning.
262. Remote Control: Imagine you can fast forward and rewind your life with a remote control.
263. Symbolism: Think of objects, animals, etc. that have symbolic meaning to you. Write about it.
264. Light at the End of the Tunnel: Write about a time when you saw hope when it seemed like a hopeless situation.
265. Smoke and Fire : “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Use this saying as inspiration to write!
266. Railroad: Write about a train and its cargo or passengers.
267. Clipboard: Write about words you imagine on an office clipboard.
268. Shipwrecked: Write about being stranded somewhere – an island, a bus stop, etc.
269. Quotable: Use a popular quote from a speaker and use it as inspiration for your writing.
270. Mind Map it Out: Create a mind map of words, phrases, and ideas that pop into your head or spend some time browsing the many mind maps online. Write a poem, story, or journal entry inspired by the mind map.
271. Patterns : Write about repeating patterns that occur in life.
272. Scrapbook : Write about finding a scrapbook and the memories it contains.
273. Cure: Write about finding a cure for an illness.
274. Email Subject Lines: Read your email today and look for subject lines that may be good starters for writing inspiration.
275. Wishful Thinking: Write about a wish you have.
276. Doodle : Spend some time today doodling for about 5-10 minutes. Write about the thoughts you had while doodling or create something inspired by your finished doodle.
277. Chalkboard: Imagine you are in a classroom. What does it say on the chalkboard?
278. Sticky: Imagine a situation that’s very sticky, maybe even covered in maple syrup, tape or glue. Write about it!
279. Flashlight : Imagine going somewhere very dark with only a flashlight to guide you.
280. A Far Away Place : Envision yourself traveling to a fictional place, what do you experience in your imaginary journey?
281. On the Farm : Write about being in a country or rural setting.
282. Promise to Yourself: Write about a promise you want to make to yourself and keep.
283. Brick Wall : Write a poem that is about a brick wall – whether literal or figurative.
284. Making a Choice: Write about a time when you had to make a difficult choice.
285. Repeat: Write about a time when you’ve had to repeat yourself or a time when it felt like no one was listening.
286. Outcast : Write about someone who is not accepted by their peers. (for example, the Ugly Ducking)
287. Scary Monsters: Write about a scary (or not-so-scary) monster in your closet or under the bed.
288. Sacrifice: Write about something you’ve sacrificed doing to do something else or help another person.
289. Imperfection: Create a poem that highlights the beauty in being flawed.
290. Birthday Poem: Write a poem inspired by birthdays.
291. Title First : Make a list of potential poem or story titles and choose one to write from.
292. Job Interview : Write about going on a job interview.
293. Get Well : Write a poem that will help someone who is sick feel better quick!
294. Lost in the Crowd: Write about feeling lost in the crowd.
295. Apple a Day: Write about a health topic that interests you.
296. Cravings: Write about craving something.
297. Phobia: Research some common phobias, choose one, and write about it.
298. In the Moment: Write about living in the present moment.
299. Concrete : Write about walking down a sidewalk and what you see and experience.
300. Battle: Write about an epic battle, whether real, fictional or figurative.
301. This Old House : Write about an old house that is abandoned or being renovated.
302. Clutter: Is there a cluttered spot in your home? Go through some of that clutter today and write about what you find or the process of organizing.
303. Go Fly a Kite: Write about flying a kite.
304. On the TV: Flip to a random TV channel and write about the first thing that comes on – even if it is an infomercial!
305. Fruit: Write an ode to your favorite fruit.
306. Long Distance Love: Write about a couple that is separated by distance.
307. Glasses: Write about a pair of eyeglasses or someone wearing glasses.
308. Robotic : Write about a robot.
309. Cute as a Button: Write about something you think is just adorable.
310. Movie Conversation: Use a memorable conversation from a favorite movie to inspire your writing.
311. Easy-Peasy : Write about doing something effortlessly.
312. Idiom: Choose from a list of idioms one that speaks to you and create a poem around that saying or phrase. (Ie: It is raining cats and dogs)
313. Playground: Whether it is the swings or the sandbox or the sliding boards, write about your memories of being on a playground.
314. Romance: Write about romantic things partners can do for each other.
315. Rock Star: Imagine you are a famous rock star. Write about the experience.
316. Come to Life: Imagine ordinary objects have come to life. Write about what they do and say.
317. Airplane: Write about meeting someone on an airplane and a conversation you might have.
318. Health & Beauty: Take some time to peruse your medicine cabinet or the health and beauty aisles at a local store. Write a poem, short story, or journal entry inspired by a product label.
319. Determination: Write about not giving up.
320. Instrumental Inspiration: Listen to some instrumental music and write a poem that matches the mood, beat, and style of the music.
321. Wait Your Turn: Write about having to wait in line.
322. Personality Type : Do you know your personality type? (There are many free quizzes online) – write about what type of personality traits you have.
323. Decade: Choose a favorite decade and write about it. (IE: 1980’s or 1950’s for example)
324. I Believe: Write your personal credo of things you believe in.
325. Lost and Found: Write about a lost object.
326. Say it: Write a poem or story that uses dialogue between two people.
327. The Unsent Letter: Write about a letter that never made it to its recipient.
328. The Windows of the Soul: Write a poem about the story that is told through someone’s eyes.
329. Trial and Error: Write about something you learned the hard way.
330. Escape : Write about where you like to go to escape from it all.
331. What’s Cooking: Write something inspired a favorite food or recipe.
332. Records : Go through your file box and pull out old receipts or records…write something inspired by what you find!
333. Banking: Write about visiting the bank.
334. Sweet Talk: Write about trying to convince someone of something.
335. Serendipity: Write about something that happened by chance in a positive way.
336. Distractions: Write about how it feels when you can’t focus.
337. Corporation: Write about big business.
338. Word of the Day: Go to a dictionary website that has a word of the day and use it in a poem, story or journal entry you write.
339. Pick Me Up: What do you do when you need a pick me up?
340. Unfinished: Write about a project you started but never completed.
341. Forgiveness: Write about a time when someone forgave you or you forgave someone.
342. Weakness: Write about your greatest weakness.
343. Starting: Write about starting a project.
344. Mechanical: Think of gears, moving parts, machines.
345. Random Act of Kindness : Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone or someone has done for you, no matter how small or insignificant it may have seemed.
346. Underground: Imagine living in a home underground and use that as inspiration for writing.
347. Classic Rock: Pick a classic rock love ballad and rewrite it into a story or poem with a similar theme.
348. Night Owl : Write about staying up late at night.
349. Magnetic : Write about attraction to something or someone.
350. Teamwork: Write about working with a team towards a common goal.
351. Roller-coaster : Write about the ups and downs in life.
352. Motivational Poster: Look at some motivational posters online and write a poem or journal entry inspired by your favorite one.
353. Games: Write about the games people play – figuratively or literally.
354. Turning Point: Write about a point in life where things turned for the better or worse.
355. Spellbound: Write about a witch’s spell.
356. Anniversary: Write about the anniversary of a special date.
357. Gamble: Be inspired by a casino or lottery ticket.
358. Picnic: Write about going on a picnic.
359. Garage: Write about some random item you might find in a garage.
360. Review: Review your week, month, or year in a journal entry or poem format.
361. Detective: Write about a detective searching for clues or solving a mystery.
362. Camera: Take your camera for a walk and write based on one of the photographs you take.
363. Visiting : Write about visiting a family member or friend.
364. Trust: Write about putting trust in someone.
365. Congratulations : Did you write a poem, short story, or journal entry every day for a whole year? Write about what you’ve learned and celebrate your achievement!
We hope you enjoy these creative writing prompts! And of course, if you write anything using these prompts, we’d love to know about it! Tell us how you’ll use these everyday creative writing prompts in the comments section below!
And of course, if you’d like the printable ad-free version of these prompts to reference again and again or to use in your classroom, you can find them at our Etsy shop !
Chelle Stein wrote her first embarrassingly bad novel at the age of 14 and hasn't stopped writing since. As the founder of ThinkWritten, she enjoys encouraging writers and creatives of all types.
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191 comments.
I have been on a reading binge since being on vacation from school. By rereading Little House, Anne of Green Gables, and Little Women among others, one wonders about writing a book. I stumbled across this while looking up unit supplements for my kiddos, and thought, hey, write a page a day and see what happens! Thank you for this collection of prompts! I’ve linked back to this page several times so others can try their hand at writing. Thank you again!
The Flicker, The Teeth, and A Warehouse in the Dark (the warehouse prompt)
I am in a large abandoned warehouse with a flickering light The only light in the whole room. It flickered leaving me in temporal darkness It flickered again and as it was dark I swore I saw something glowing It looked like glowing teeth The lights return and I see nothing Flickers on Flickers off I see the teeth closer Flickers on I see nothing Flickers off The teeth so close Flickers on An empty warehouse Flickers off The glowing teeth are inchings away bright red blood drips from their tips Flickers on Panic rises in my chest but nothing is there Turns off The mouth of bloody teeth is before my eyes I wait for the light to flicker back on I wait in complete darkness I wait And wait And wait The teeth open wide I try to scream by the darkness swallows it A hear the crunch of my bones I see my blood pore down my chest But I wait in darkness for the pain I wait And wait And wait The mouth of teeth devours my lower half I wait for pain and death I wait And wait And wait The light flickers on I see no monster Only my morphed body And blood And blood And blood And so much blood The light flickers off The monster eats my arm Flickers on I wait for pain Flickers off I watch as the creature eats my limbs Flickers on I wait for death Flickers off Slowly the teeth eat my head All I see is dark I wait for it to flicker on Where is the warehouse light? Where is the only light in the room? Where is the flicker? Where am I? Where are the bloody teeth? I wait for the light to come back And wait And wait And wait And wait And wait And wait And wait in eternal darkness
WOW. Thank you!
This is such a helpful tool! I’ve learned a lot about my self through picking a random prompt and writing the first thing that comes to mind. I’d love to see a follow up list of possible! Definitely a recomended sight!
I agree. Very helpful.
I am new at the blogging game. You have provided some wonderful ideas for blog posts. Great ideas just to get used to writing every day. Thanks
This list is really impressive and useful for those of us who are looking for good topics to blog about. Thanks!
Thank you! That somes in handy
Very nice list. Thanks for compiling and posting it. It’s not only good for bloggers, but poets, as well.
yess im using it for my new years resolution, which is to write a poem daily!
Wow, thanks so much for all these wonderful prompts! They are lots of fun and very helpful. I love how you’ve provided 365 of them–A prompt for every day of the year! 🙂
Not if it’s a leap year…
Haha. Yea. This is great though all the same.. ;-;
Lol actually there’s 364 days in a year and 365 in a leap year so……yeah
are you fucking stupid
There are actually 366 days in a leap year so… yeah
I use this for my homeschooling-I love it! Thank you so much!! This is a wonderful list. So creative! 🙂 🙂
Thanks! I’m preparing for writing every day next year and this will come in really handy. It’s just 364 writing prompts though. 164 is missing. 😉
MiMschi is wrong 164 is there i looked
I think they meant that as a joke, 164 is called left out…
Good it is useful
no its not you nonce
You Don’t Love Me, Damn You
things left unsaid
and then some
anger strangles the baby
in its crib,
flowers wilt,
rivers dry up
harsh words clatter upon the day,
echo unfortunately
till silence smothers
in its embrace
you wish you could take it back
what’s done is done
never to be undone
though things move on
part of you remains
locked in the middle of protesting
one last thing,
mouth open,
no words emerging
why must you be misunderstood?
why must everything you say
no way of straightening things out
gestures halted mid-air
an accusatory finger
shoulders locked
in sardonic shrug
dishes smash on the floor
spray of fragments
frozen mid-air
slam the door
it doesn’t open
but in spite of yourself
you turn and look
one last time…..
(Greg Cameron, Poem, Surrey, B.C., Canada)
Love these. Thank you!
This is really amazingly deep. I love it so much. You have so much talent!!
Thanks SOOO much for the prompts but I have another suggestion!
A Recipe for disaster- write a recipe for a disastrous camping trip…
that one sounds awesome.
Haha. Reminds me of the old twin’s show.. what was it.. where the two girls switch places when they meet at camp?
Pretty sure I know what you’re talking about. The Parent Trap, right? Never seen the whole movie, but it seems funny.
and also #309, everyone should have thought of a hamster “write” away XD!
May I have permission to use this list at my next Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writers meeting. Thank you for consideration.
Hi Leah, please send some more info here: https://thinkwritten.com/contact
i am using it for my homeschooling and i love it
i am using it for my homeschooling
where is prompt 165?
sorry I meant 164, my mistake.
well kay, there is a 164 AND 165. So your head is clearly ????????????
What I like most about these is how you can combine them and get really weird ideas. For example, empathy from the rooftops: what if you shouted something positive in public every day – or if everyone did so? It might be fun to try, and then write a diary about it. Online time travel: if people could live virtually in incredibly well=constructed versions of different time periods, what would the effects be on today’s society? Could it change our language or customs?
It would be cool if we could have goggles that showed places during a certain time period. Like Seattle 1989. And you could buy special plugins, like specific people you want to hang out with, famous or non.
That one about online time travel is crazy brilliant!!! And highly thought-provoking.
It is amazing what creative writing could do to you. Daily prompts have proven to be very inspiring and overtime writers develop their own style of writing depending on how passionate they are about it. I would love to write about all 3, online, space, and time travel. cheers! and Don’t stop writing!
I belong to a writing club. We seem to have a lot of prompts to use. I love stories having to do with rain. Would you join me. I am jim
Wow! Inspiration right here.
May I use this list for a speech at my Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writers?
Love the inspiration
THANK YOU. THAT IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS THANK YOU.
What about a leap year? You’re missing one topic.
Wonderful! I love writing and these prompts are very helpful. Thank you very much! ♥
It’s been really useful in getting me to write again! Thank you very much!
I really love the list of writing ideas you have compiled here. I will be using it and others to get myself back into writing every single day if I can be away with it. Also, I have noticed a few problems with this list. One is a repeat topic. Those are numbers 76 and 162. And you skipped a number. And have only 364 days of writing. Still through! All these ideas are absolutely amazing and awesome ideas! I commend you for putting it all together in an easy to read format too. Thank you so very much.
I think we have the list all fixed now, but thanks for catching a couple of early mistakes!
Thank you for helping me edit Lora! I don’t always have a second pair of eyes + appreciated this to fix + update the post! I always say my readers are my best editors. 🙂
these days get brighter, mine gets darker, why does it has to be me , why not life.
Mirror, Mirror: What if you mirror started talking to you?
u r awesome man
Wonderful compilation of ideas! I will send your blog along to my many Creative Writing students. I’m enjoying reading your posts.
wow!! great tips! but how long did it take you to write that? its a lot of words!! lol great stuff though..
This is so cool! I love these prompts and will definitely recommend some to my teacher!!
The promise “I made a promise with my best friend, I said i’d never break, Our personalities really did blend, But then I lied awake, The people disappearing, Her gaze was always leering. I never thought she was serious, I always took it as a joke, But it really made me curious, When she was digging around that oak, My best friend is a serial killer, And i knew the truth, My life turned into a thriller, And eating at me took away my youth, I couldn’t take it any long living with this weight, To the police I went to tell my tale, Looking at me with eyes of hate, she smiled and said, without her I would fail. Now i sit in the prison cell, Waiting for my call My friend across the room smiling, my eyes begin to swell, My neck snapping on the, from my sides my hands fall
Although my writing style is dark, that’s the way I enjoy writing, and thank you for this list, even though I didn’t do one per day, scrolling through I was able to see keywords that formed ideas in my mind
I love this <3 It's amazing :))
These are really nice I absolutely love them.
This is very helpful and I’ve been finding a way to help improve my creative writing!!! Thank you very much!
You are such a life developer, who can virtually transform a life busy with unnecessary activities humans are posted to through internet. And who can restore the appetite of people to purchase pen and paper which have considered the last commodity in the market at the expense of that great vampire ‘social media’ that left both old and young paralyzed. Thanks to the proponent of this great idea.
These are great. The Closed door one gives me a great idea for a new story! Thank you so much!
man what the fuck is this shit! i was looking for short story writing prompts and I get stuck with shit like “write about the weather outside”. Damn this shit is disappointing.
Hi John, the weather might seem boring, but there are a lot of ways you can springboard from that – maybe you write a story about a character who despises the sunshine or melts if they get rained on or they live in a underground tunnel and the house gets flooded…You can also use it as an exercise in developing more descriptive writing that shows, not tells for the scenes in your story. Writing about the weather seems “easy and boring” but seriously challenge yourself to write about it in a way that makes it interesting – it is not so easy to avoid the cliches as you might think!
I LOVE IT SO MUCH i do not know why but my kids, they will just like come on this website every time it is time to have a little bit of video games! XD
The weather outside that day was dark.
It was a perfectly reasonable sort of darkness. The kind of darkness you might get if you wake up an hour before sunrise. But it was late in the morning.
He had to make sure of that. He checked his alarm clock, his microwave oven clock, and his cell phone.
The sun was supposed to be out. But the moonlit sky was starlit and clear.
And as he looked outside again, he saw that people were out, going about their business, as if none of this really mattered at all.
What was he missing here?
(There. Now you have a short story writing prompt..)
You know what “John” i think this website is great so fuck you.
yeah you tell him john
It depends on how you view it. That one topic for instance has given me a beautiful story telling. I am currently about to round up with it and trust me the feedback has been amazing.
That is great! I’m glad it helped inspire you!
Dude kids go on here so stop swearing “John”
Maybe you need to work on improving the quality of your writing. Your use of expletives is totally uncalled for. I see nothing wrong with “writing about the weather outside”. In fact, this is a great topic and can lead to awesome discussions.
Very useful indeed. Thank u
i think this is a good prompted
I think it’s awesome, I looked for inspiration, I found inspiration, thank you
well! i fall in love with all these ideas! i loved this page! thanks for sharing these amazing ideas!
Great stuff mat Keep up the good work
I LOVE THIS SO MUCH IT IS VERY HELPFUL BUT FOR A SUGGESTION YOU COULD DO DIARY STUFF MAYBE
When I read your comment, I thought you said “DAIRY,” not “DIARY.”
So… why not both? Write something based on a dairy farmer’s diary. Or… a dairy COW’S diary. Tell their stories, their private dreams. Or hidden shame…
That’s the way to think + use this list 🙂
Great idea!
Awesome list! Thank you!
Thanks so much! I’ve always been told I’m a great writer and should publish. I haven’t done a lot of leisure writing because I’m afraid I might realize I’m NOT a good writer. My therapist wants me to write more and these prompts are perfect!
This is fun i will keep doing this no matter what every year. I can’t stop writing either. Thanks for making this, it is very fun.
This helps so much! love these ideas
Can this website give me a write on the following topic. –
Imagine that the scientists could replace the human brains with computers or invent the computers with human feelings. What do you think would happen?Would the world become a better place to live in???
I’ve been looking for prompts to work through my creative art/collage journal for 2017…and love the ones you offer here….LOVE THEM! I like that they are more than just one word and give me something to think about before I start creating each day as a warm up to what is ahead.
I hope don’t mind, but I shared them on both Instagram and my FaceBook page in hopes to get my artist/creative friends to follow along with me in creating each day. I would like to include a link to your page in a near future blog post about my creative journal.
Thank you for posting and sharing you prompts…I’m excited to get started!
I’m on number 43 and I’ve already discovered a whole bunch about myself! These prompts are amazing and I can’t wait for the next 322 of them. I’ve recommended this to several of my friends. Totally worth several notebooks chock full of prompts and a years worth of writing 🙂
Very inspiring….
Hello! Is it alright if I add some of these to a little book I’m making for my Grandmother? She hasn’t opened a computer in her life but I know these prompts would do her a world of good. I believe in the importance of asking permission to use the creative property of another person 🙂 Cheers!
Hi Maxx, of course you may share with your grandmother – the only thing we would worry about is if you were to publish them for monetary gain. Enjoy! 🙂
This is really helpful. I’m glad I saw it first. ♥
OMG!! I’ve never been in this website before!!
Thank u so much this was so helpful. Idk how u came up with all thoughts prompts. It was very helpful. Thank u again.
For the first time in a long time it finally felt like I knew was going to happen next. I was gazing into her eyes and she was gazing back. I remember it like it was just yesterday, when she was still the one for me but never forgave me. I miss the sweet sound of her laughter and now all i hear are friends. I have tried to go back and apologize to her just to see if the answer will change but even I know that it will never change because I will never be enough for her. But if she ever decides that she wants me back she can have me because a life without love is one not worth living.
gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood
can u give me one using the prompt “normal”
Thanks for this!!!!! Will definitely help me in learning to tap into my creative writing genius 🙂
Thanks, this helped me a lot!
u have a typo!!!! 364
Thanks for pointing out, got it fixed 🙂 Sometimes my brain goes faster than the computer. 🙂
I wrote this, tell me what you think; prompt #4-dancing You see her tapping her toes, always listening to music. Although she doesn’t like the music, what she doesn’t know yet is it will be stuck in her head for the next year. She’s as graceful as a butterfly yet as strong as a fighter. Many only see a pretty face yet those close enough to the fire know the passion burning deep inside of her. At home she’s quiet, always in her room yet making loud noises through the floorboards. Her parents know what she’s up to but her little brothers don’t quite understand yet. All they know is that when she goes up there she’s listening to music and soon she will play it for the whole neighborhood to hear. They don’t know that she’s practicing, practicing for the most important day of the year. The one she’s been waiting for since she’s been a little girl. Tapping her toes at the table only stops when her parents beg her to rest. Even in her dreams she on stage, dancing like a swan. Yet deep down she’s scared of the failure that she will feel if this one day goes a bit to south. Tapping her toes to the beat of her music gives her a bit of pip in her pep when she walks down the halls. No one quite understands the stress she’s going through. Through her smile she’s worries, scared that one misstep might end it all for her. But she won’t let anyone see that she’s nervous. She’s used to getting bruises, she falls on the ground but always gets back up. Because she’s a dancer, the show must go on.
Brilliant. Loved it.
Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m working on a site in Danish about writing and I would love to translate these awesome prompts into Danish and use it on the site. Would that be OK? I’ll credit with links of course!
Hi Camilla, you cannot copy + post these on your site, but feel free to link to the article – our site is compatible with Google translate 🙂
Hi Camilla, this list cannot be republished, even if translated into another language. However, if you would like to link to our website that would be great, your readers are able to translate it into any language if they use a web browser such as Google Chrome.
My goal is to write all of these prompts before 2018
This is amazing! I am writing for fun and this is a list of amazing prompts!
Ha, Ha . I see what you did , #164 was missing and now it say write about being left out .
Thanks a ton !!!
This link has been really helpful for my blog, loved the ideas.
Thanks for not publishing my email address
You are welcome! We never publish email addresses. If you’d like to learn more about how we collect and use information you may provide us with on this website, you can read more on our privacy policy page. Hope that helps! https://thinkwritten.com/privacy/
I have another suggestion, What about “The Secret Journey to the Unknown”. I reckon it’s awesome!
I was wondering if you could please send new ideas to me, much appreciated thanks.
I love all of these so much and i try to write referring to these at least once everyday thank you so much for these!
Trust, It is a beautiful thing. You give it to others, For them to protect. They can keep it forever, Or they can destroy it.
Wow what a treasure! Am glad I have found the right place to begging my writing journey.Thanks guys
Super awesome! Thanks so much for this collection of writing prompts!!
Today is the last day of the year 2017. I’m proud to say that I was able to complete this challenge. Thank you for the inspiring prompts! 🙂
That is awesome! We might just have to think of some new ones!!
how about one with sports like the NBA
I thought my life was over when I couldn’t access this for a couple weeks. These prompts are excellent. I write two page short stories on one every day. I hope you guys never take down this site but I’m printing these for insurance because it truly was devastating. I’m very emotionally attached to this list. Thank you so much for sharing.
Yes, we did have a small glitch in our hosting services for a few days! Fortunately, it was only temporary and unexpected! {Though I’m sure it did feel like 2 weeks!} Good to hear you are using the prompts!
Very nice article. Very useful one for improving writing skills
Thank you Sid! Glad it is useful for you!
Oh my god.. This is something a different, thought provoking and a yardstick to those who cultivated passion on writing, like me, beginners. Wishes for this website. I really wanted to try this 365 days of writing. Thanks in tons.
Glad you find it helpful! I hope it keeps you inspired to keep growing as a writer!
i love writing too! i am writing a book and this website inspired me too!
i have been writing lots of things and am getting A + on writing
thxs for your time with the web
i am making a epic book. it is because of this website. you really help. i will share a link of my book once i am done with it to your awesome cool really helpful website! thank you for your time
That is great to hear Christopher! Would love to see some of your work when you are ready to share! 🙂
WOOOOOOOOW BEST SITE!
I’m going to write few marvelous essays based on ideas in your impressive list. Thanks!
Just to tell some people that 165 or 164 is not missing because some people probably can’t see but just to let u know that 164 is a prompt called “Left Out”
Dang. The second idea about writing about what it feels like to love someone who doesn’t love you back, I wrote something like that BEFORE I found this website.
You can always try writing it again, maybe from the other person’s perspective this time? That is the beauty of the open-ended writing prompts – you can always interpret them in a way to push and challenge you as a writer!
Thank you for these prompts! I enjoyed looking through them and writing them! They gave me great ideas and inspired me so much.
This is my favorite website to find inspiration to write. I had run out of ideas and i had a huge writers block but this made it all go away. Here’s something i wrote:
He is a mess She is beautiful He has tears streaming down his face She glides across the room as if it were her kingdom And she’s The reigning queen He’s curled up in a ball In the corner of the room He looks at me I wonder what he thinks I can’t take my eyes off her The way she subtly smiles when she realizes Someone is looking She seems to be happy all the time But I can see through the smile It’s my first time noticing It’s not complete That was the first time I wanted to say hi But I thought Why would he look at me? The nerd with all the answers in her head All the books in her hands And Her sleeves full of hearts She looked at me From the corner of her eye She saw me looking The boy with the tear stains She saw me His tears were no longer streaming He had finally stood up Tall and handsome As he is Eyes Bluer than the blue jay that sat outside my bedroom window She had opened a book and started reading She hadn’t changed pages for a while Safe to assume She was distracted She looked up and Without knowing I was in front of her “Hi” Her brown eyes Stared in to my soul Erased the memory of why the tears Were streaming in the first place “Hi”
I love it Cynthia, thank you for sharing and glad that it inspired you to keep writing! 🙂
Thank you for so many amazing ideas! I love the sound of mirror, mirror!
Glad you found it inspiring Ar!
read the whole thing and didn’t find anything I’d enjoy writing 🙁
What kinds of things do you like to write? We have a whole collection of additional writing prompts lists here. Sometimes challenging yourself to write something you don’t like all in its own can be a good exercise for writing. Hope that helps!
These are ingenious!
I love these prompts! They’re inspiring! I’ve chosen to challenge myself by using one of these prompts every day of this 2019 year. I posted my writings for the first prompt on my Tumblr and Facebook pages with the prompt and a link back to this article- I hope that’s alright. If not, I can take it down, or I would love to discuss a way I could continue to do this. I hope more people can see and use these prompts because I have already found joy in using the first one.
Hi Elizabeth! Glad you are enjoying the prompts! You can definitely post what you write with these prompts as long as you do not copy the entire list or claim them as your own. Linking back to our website or this post will help others find the prompts so they too can use them for writing! If you have any questions feel free to contact us anytime using our contact form. Thanks!
Amazing original prompts Thank you so much!
Good list, but you’re not supposed to mistake it’s for its. Not on a website for writers, of all places!
I appreciate your comment, especially because after triple checking the article AND having a few grammar-police personality type friends do the same we could not find any typos. All of the instances of its and it’s are the correct usage.
However, one thing we did remember is that it is very easy for the person reading to accidentally misunderstand and not interpret it the way as the writer intended.
To clarify when we should use it’s vs. its:
We use it’s when we intend the meaning as the contraction. This is a shortened way of writing it is . We use its without an apostrophe when we use it as a possessive noun. Any instances you may note here are correct for their intended meaning.
Some examples:
Prompt #141 It’s a Sign : In this case we intend it to be interpreted as IT IS a Sign , where the usage is a contraction.
Prompt #7 The Rocket Ship : In this case we intend it to be interpreted as the possessive form.
I hope that helps clear up any possible confusion for you!
Thank you soooo much! That helped me a lot!
You’re welcome Keira! Glad you enjoyed our list of writing ideas!
It is so rich in bright and thought-provoking ideas. Thank you so much. Get inspired to have more, please
Thanks for this. I love to write things like this. Some of these though, weren’t as interesting as I wanted it to be, not saying that they aren’t interesting. I like the help you’ve added in, such as being led into a dark room with only a flashlight to help so it gets us started. Great job!
Thanks Maya, I’m glad you like the prompts. Sometimes the prompts that seem boring are the best ones to help you practice your skills as a writer to make them interesting topics. Some of the best writers can make the most mundane topics fun!
Nice….I don’t think I’ll ever lack something to write on … I so appreciate your ideas ..,they are great
Thank you, glad you enjoyed them!
Thank you for providing these writing prompts! They are great!
Thank You so much, these are amazing to start of with to get the creative juices flowing
Thank you very much
Sweet! Thank you so much! I plan to use some of these for some creative writing on CourageousChristianFather.com
I’m glad they inspired you Steve! I always love seeing what everyone writes with these prompts – I really enjoyed your post about the cookie ad jingle! 🙂
Thanks so much for this list. I needed something to kickstart my writing. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! I just wrote #1. WooHoo!!
Thank you for your list. This is great!
I write feature articles for our church library’s monthly newsletter. Perusing this list has helped me come up with a couple dozen ideas to consider for future issues! Thanks much for putting this together – it is being used beyond the scope of what you intended, I think!
That’s wonderful Debbie! There are so many ways to apply these prompts to any sort of project – thank you for sharing how you are using them!
Thanks for your prompts, an idea I have for a prompt is write a story based on your favorite story for example I’m writing a fantasy book based on the game dungeons and dragons…
i guss its ok
cgv hbvkd vjvhsvhivhcickbcjh
Just needed to ask: I’d like to think these prompts are for free writing with no pauses? But, does one edit and polish the piece after that? I keep reading about writing every day…like brain dumping. But, there is never a mention of what one does with the piece after that??
This article has been written with sheer intelligence. Such 365 creative writing prompts has been written here. This article is worth marking as Good. I like how you have researched and presented these exact points so clearly.
Thank you for this list! You’ve inspired me to take up the challenge, though I haven’t written anything in years!
I have even created a blog to post my ideas, and keep myself accountable. I hope this is okay, I will credit, and provide a link back to this page on each post. https://thefishhavegotitright.blogspot.com/
I love it Ariadne, I’ll definitely come check out your site! Keep at it!
This is really Helpful thanks I love it😊
I never knew how much I had to write about. This should definitely keep me busy! Thank you so much for the list.
Hi! I saw a note saying this had been updated for 2020. I was curious if there are plans to update it for 2021. If so, when would the 2021-updated list become available?
Hi Gabrielle, I am not sure when we will next update this list, but feel free to check out some of our other writing prompts lists if you’ve exhausted this one! Writing Prompts for Kids {which is for grown-ups too!} and Poetry Writing Prompts are two great ones to check out. Hope that helps!
Loved this a lot! I would like to ask permission for using these prompts for my poetry and stories page on Instagram. Kindly let me know if I can use these and let my followers write on them too.
Hi, Piyusha, I’m just a user of the site like you, so I’m not “official”. But if you hit CTRL + F in your browser, that should open the “Find” dialog. Search on “Camilla”, and that will take you to a post and response concerning your request. Have a great and productive writing day. K. B. Tidwell
very informative thank you
I have always had problems finding something to write about. My problem is solved🥰 Thank you
I love this
Oh great. Good for everyone who enjoys picking the pen and writing something readable
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450+ Awesome Topics and Ideas for Top-Notch Essay
The most crucial step in preparing an essay is selecting a topic, yet most students regretfully ignore this part. In many cases, the quality of the essay depends on the topic you select. Therefore, choosing the appropriate topic simplifies composing something you'll be satisfied with.
Here are some suggestions from our college paper writing service for selecting good essay topics to ease your task.
- Find something that piques your curiosity - Your writing will reflect your zeal. Choose a perspective that could make the subject intriguing to you if you have no other alternative.
- Reduce the scope of your subject to something manageable - Whatever you choose to write on, consider if you have enough room to adequately cover the subject and support your argument. Your initial concept will almost always be overly expansive. Continue to refine it until it is reasonable.
- Begin your research - If you have a general concept of things to write essays about but don't know how to start, look through some books for inspiration. Check up on the subject online or in the news. Browse online for photographs related to the subject to see what you can discover. You could come upon the viewpoint you're seeking.
- Revive an idea - Consider whether there is a subject you have already written about that you might utilize for this essay. You might even be able to reuse studies or portions of previous writing. You might be able to just focus on a related subject or a different angle on the same concept.
- Brainstorm essays topics list - Make a list of your ideas or the items you are interested in. If your subject constitutes a great president, write down some terms that come to mind when you think of a president or list the names of politicians you respect and your reasons for doing so. Go through a dictionary and note any fascinating terms or concepts that catch your attention.
Ideas for Essay by Category
Based on your study area, you may likely face various writings in school. However, the most typical essay topics are these four. You'll probably need to produce at least a few of these pieces, particularly if you finish your undergraduate coursework.
Persuasive Writing
As the name suggests, a persuasive essay's main objective is to persuade the reader. Challenging, compelling, and rational writing should be used to convince readers. Contrary to expository essays, which may also advocate a viewpoint or particular cause, persuasive essay topics include opinion-based writing that focuses less on specific facts.
Expository Writing
In expository essays, facts are presented. They mandate that students conduct research, look into a subject, and provide a position based only on factual data instead of an opinion. Expository essay topics are written with solid reasoning and employ factual, scientific articles.
Descriptive Writing
The main goal of descriptive writing is to create a mental image of the subject. While writing descriptive essay topics, be prepared to discuss your primary subject and utilize several adjectives. You can describe an individual, a site, an event, or even a feeling. Here you won't be asked to write in the first person like you would in a narrative essay.
Narrative Writing
The purpose of narrative essay topics is often to convey a tale built on the author's personal experiences. Usually, a narrative essay uses a story to illustrate an idea. They adhere to a common essay structure (introduction, body, and conclusion) and have a motif. Characters and action are also present.
Next, we'll discuss comprehensive essay topic ideas that will serve as a source of inspiration for your upcoming assignment.
Topics for Technology Essay
In today's environment, technology is the driving force. Both cultural changes and technological improvements have significantly influenced the growth of human civilization. Thus, picking good essay topics about technology will provide you with plenty of material to draw on. Let's explore some effective essay topics recommended by our custom essay writing service.
- Technology's Effect on Communication
- Technological Development: Creation of the TV
- Making Use of E-Commerce: A Technology-Based Industry
- Little Diversity in the Technological Sector
- Medical Field to Use Blockchain Technology
- Advanced Technologies and Airport Security: Challenges
- Qualifications and Responsibilities of Information Technology Employees
- Autonomous weapons: a morally acceptable technology?
- Technological Usage in Schools: Influential Considerations
- The Incentives of Technology
- Marketing Instructors' Use of Media Platforms as Teaching Methods
- Organizational Units for Communication Technology
- The Role of Technology in Life Satisfaction
- PESTEL Analysis for Robot Technologies
- Information Technology Methods Used by the Starbucks Corporation
- Database Protection in Information Technology Fields
- Technologies of Communication in Public Health Programs
- Instrumentation and Technology in Surgery
- Technology's Effect on Global Warming
- How Technology Affects Architecture
- Homicide Issues: Using Technology to Track and Reduce Crime
- Medical Technological Patterns: Threats and Advantages
- Developing Technologies in Robotic Surgery and Nanoscience
- Technology's Influence on Criminal Legal System
- What Role Did Big Data Analytics Have in the Technological Fusion?
Cause and Effect Essay Ideas
To write on cause and effect essay topics, you should primarily identify a situation in which an action has effects or consequences. The next step is for you to describe what happened. If you're having trouble coming up with interesting essay topics, have a look through this list.
- Describe the causes and consequences of floods in Antarctica
- What are the main factors that contribute to natural disasters?
- Examine the causes and effects of Australian wildfires
- Which factors contribute to learning difficulties?
- Describe how temperament affects a child's cognitive development
- What harm does consuming junk food cause?
- Examine how social media websites have affected relationships.
- Insufficient sleep is caused by using mobile devices at night
- How does a person's social life change due to dating apps?
- Talk about the root causes of teenage schizophrenia
- What impacts does physical activity have on health?
- The effects of blue light on the circadian rhythm and eyesight
- Effects of health insurance on medical results
- Effects of domestic abuse on children
- Causes and effects of a failing market concerning bitcoin
- Does AI have an impact on the health sector?
- What effects might acne have on a teen's life?
- The various forms, symptoms, and consequences of Dementia
- What are the reasons for the persistence of racism and discrimination?
- Examine how a physical education curriculum affects college students
- How does birth order influence personality traits?
- Describe the results of working remotely
- What impact do nonprofit organizations have on neighborhood communities?
- What impact does gender disparity have on our society?
- How does smoking affect those who don't smoke?
- Hormonal changes bring about mental issues.
- Describe how evaporation contributes to the greenhouse effect.
- Consider the origins and consequences of environmental debris.
- What caused the First World War, and what were its long-term consequences?
- What are the origins and effects of work overload?
Problem Solution Essay Topics
One of their strongest features is that the problem-solution essay topic has a very obvious format. You must state the issue, discuss its significance, outline your proposed fix, and justify why it is the best option. Our essay writer will help you in your writing endeavors by compiling a list of things to write about.
- How can stroke be avoided?
- Does hiring remote employees reduce expenses?
- How wildlife reserves save species from going extinct
- Can vehicle sharing help to reduce CO2 emissions?
- One of the major issues in today's culture is body shaming. How can this problem be resolved?
- Children grow angry when they witness violent acts. What can we do to shield kids from seeing violence?
- Many students receive poor marks for reasons other than being lazy. What can we do to aid difficult students?
- Most pupils in schools and universities commit to cheating. What are some strategies to prevent this conduct?
- Increasing the minimum wage might lead to job losses. What other options are there?
- How can families support the development of children's positive body images?
- How can a depressed patient be helped?
- Is it possible to change careers in middle age? What is attainable?
- How can innovation be achieved without raising prices?
- How can one keep a normal BMI?
- What are a few strategies for lowering unemployment?
- How can inmates be transformed into useful members of society?
- How can divorces be avoided?
- What steps may be made to avert a shortage of resources?
- What actions are necessary to secure sustainable energy sources?
- How can the recovery process from oil spills in the ocean be sped up?
- How might recycling address ecological problems? How do you establish a routine for doing this?
- How should you approach your classmates with respect?
- Are you being treated unjustly by your teacher? What should one do in this circumstance?
- Why is being bullied a negative quality? How can it be stopped?
- How can a school setting be made less isolating?
- How can divorced parents support their children in achieving academic achievement, forming a healthy lifestyle, and leading fulfilling lives?
- How might the assistance system be altered to assist people in escaping generational poverty?
- How should we handle unlawful immigration?
- How can human trafficking be stopped?
- What is the greatest way to lessen the terrorist issue?
Informative Essay Topics
You may demonstrate your knowledge by writing informative essays. They all focus on educating the reader without attempting to convince or express an opinion. Let's look at some good essay topics catering to all age groups and preferences.
- The value of students' online volunteering
- How to support friends who struggle with learning difficulties
- The value of literacy in our daily life
- The finest techniques for overcoming presentation anxiety at college
- the top methods for locating a college internship
- The advantages of releasing your college scientific study
- How to overcome procrastination while in college
- The importance of love and affection in dogs
- The most typical fallacies concerning video gaming
- The various cultural interpretations of friendship
- Why do individuals see the light when they are in a coma?
- Simple safety precautions when using a telescope
- Constructing a compelling resume for LinkedIn
- Making a nursing reflection notebook
- Online property protection: what you should know
- the various religious explanations for dreams
- Social media's significance in the fight against anorexia
- what separates Republicans from Democrats
- Reporting the issue of substance addiction
- How to prepare a wonderful supper for your partner
- Foreign Languages in High School: Their Value
- Sleep Deprivation in High School Students: Causes and Consequences
- Contrasting student-athletes and non-athlete students
- Three Motivational Factors Success, Allegiance, and Power
- The Influence Of Nature On Architectural Forms
- How Do Cats React to the Sun?
- Procedure for enrolling in community services
- Sailing a boat: safety precautions and self-protection
- How to get legal assistance if you are being harassed
- What are the problems faced by the World Health Organization?
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Research Essay Topics
You may not be aware of the sheer volume of responsibilities you will likely have throughout college. When it comes to delivering research papers on time, it could leave you feeling overloaded and drained. Thankfully, our dissertation writing help provided you with excellent research essay topics.
- Can theme parks serve a purpose other than entertainment, such as education?
- Why are certain countries happy and wealthier than others?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of plastic surgery?
- Do immigrants positively or negatively influence a country's economic growth?
- Why are regulations so severe regarding single parents' ability to adopt?
- Video games and the virtual world: are they fueling increased crime and abusive behavior?
- What steps can be taken to stop cyberbullying?
- Is overeating a concern for the people of America?
- There should be a ban on unsafe sports
- Animal testing should not be permitted in research
- There should be occasional reductions in the number of working hours
- It should be illegal to clone both people and animals
- Women who choose not to participate in the feminist movement run into issues
- The risk posed by social media is lower than advertised
- While portraying murderers and criminals, do actors run the danger of mental health problems?
- What creates visual deviations like a particular frequency?
- Why is facial skin more prone to pimples and sensitivity to contact than the skin on any other body area?
- What actions may be taken in developing nations to avert ecological disasters?
- Which nations have the most effective legal systems?
- What defenses do students have against having to repay student loans?
Education Essay Topics
Certain themes always seem to come up while writing an essay on education. Some people find the constant discussion about education and schools to be a bit much, and when you're engaged in a topic, it may be challenging to come up with the ideal essay topic. Yet, to assist you in your quest for knowledge, we have compiled a list of ideas because of the importance of educational essay writing.
Good College Essay Topics
- Why is education so crucial to society?
- What are the advantages of the American educational system as it is today?
- How can students practice employing soft skills in a classroom setting?
- Is memorizing still encouraged in today's schools?
- What actions can the educational system take to encourage diversity in the classroom?
- Are school rules gender-neutral?
- How can colleges encourage students to eat well?
- How can children prepare for their futures through college and career paths?
- Students' mental well-being in college
- Given that most students will graduate with student loans, is attending college worthwhile?
- How can safety on college campuses be improved?
- What benefits and drawbacks come with studying abroad?
- What types of academic misconduct are not deemed plagiarism, and why do some students resort to illegal downloading?
- How significant is it to be a leader both as a student and a teacher?
- Explain how academic freedom is regarded and whether there is a basis for it.
Essay On School
- Should physical education be included in the core curriculum for secondary schools?
- All pupils should be required to receive the appropriate vaccinations at school, with very few exceptions.
- Public versus private education
- Which course should be the one that all high school students must take and complete to graduate?
- Describe the experience of starting a new school while moving to a new location.
Student Life Essay
- Why do we view our college years as the best of our lives?
- Speaking freely on college campuses
- Repayment of student loans
- Compensation for collegiate athletes
- Why did you decide on this university?
- What job goals do you have after graduating from college?
- To prepare for college, recent high school grads should wait a year
- Share some hilarious college recollections
- What is the most difficult aspect of college life?
- What are the differences between school life and college life?
Personal Essay Topics
Personal essay topics explore your lifestyle, ideas, and encounters. Readers will gain insight into your most private life events and thoughts from this kind of paper. The secret to success is to try to merge viewpoints and storytelling. The ideas listed below might serve as inspiration for you.
Essay About Yourself
- How did you first meet someone significant in your life?
- art pieces you admire
- Your greatest letdown
- Do you have a technology addiction?
- The worst thing that has ever occurred to you
- Have you ever come upon an animal in the wild?
- Describe your first experience being alone at home
- Describe unpleasant holidays or travels
- How do you define success?
- Your preferred outdoor activities
My Hobby Essay
- Are hobbies useful for a potential career?
- How Choosing the Right Hobby for You Will Transform Your Life
- Considering Photography as a Hobby
- Taking Up Art Collecting As A Hobby
- Traveling is A Popular Pastime
- Stamp Collecting as a Hobby
- The Future of Video Gaming as a Lifetime Hobby
- Making Your Passion A Successful eBay Business
- My passion is giving back to care facilities
- Candlemaking Is A Delightful Hobby Or Craft
Childhood Memories
- What recollections do you have of your parents as children? Mention a few defining moments
- Consider a situation in which you acted improperly. Explain the occurrence and the emotions it brought about
- Consider a situation from your upbringing that caused you to feel terrified or nervous. Explain both the actual occurrence and the emotions it brought about
- Name a game or activity you once engaged in with your sister
- What happy childhood recollections do you have? Describe a specific incident and the emotions it brought about
- Recall winning a contest at school
- What was the most enjoyable school project?
- Describe a performance you participated in as a child
- How would you describe your kindergarten teacher?
- How did your childhood summer vacations make you feel?
My Best Friend Essay
- The intimate connection of friendship
- The positive qualities of my best friend
- Explain a definition of best friends as a connection of companionship
- Distinctions between my best friend and myself
- The importance of communication between my best friend and me
- What did losing my best buddy teach me?
- False friendships and social networking sites
- Connections between women and gender stereotypes
- Why making friends is difficult for foreign students
- The universal significance of friendship
Ideas for an Opinion Essay
You may think of topics for an opinion essay as types of sentences that sum up the entire piece. The same holds for any piece of writing that expresses a viewpoint. Excellent discussion topics should relate to the core subjects and the student's strongest competencies. A good opinion essay poses an issue, formulates a question, and then makes a statement. Below are some inspirational opinion topic examples for essay writing.
- Why is it not always moral to be a GreenPeace activist?
- How does video gaming affect on-campus violence?
- Is it necessary for teachers to discipline students?
- Proven strategies to lower youth depression
- Should parents have access to social media monitoring tools?
- Is it necessary to cut back on English literature in college?
- How do earlier eras influence the culture of today?
- What distinguishes being overweight from being obese?
- How has globalization destroyed the traditional fashion trend?
- How does social media encourage polarization in the US?
- Why is it important to maintain English grammar?
- Is the American value of the family in danger?
- Is it necessary for the US to change its military strategy?
- Should medical school curricula include a study of culture?
- What warning signs indicate a generational divide?
- Why is chicken produced in bulk healthy?
- Why is it that we humans are to blame for global warming?
- Should sensitive medical information be made available to the public?
- What qualities best suit future generations?
- How does rage cause dysfunctional parenting?
Ideas for Nature Essay
Nature essay topics may examine how human activity affects the environment or how nature affects people. There are several directions that nature essays might go in. Ones that describe how beautiful nature is might motivate readers. On the other hand, an essay on pollution can be thought-provoking and encourage one to act. You may also use an informative essay on environmental pollution to explain how people harm the environment. Let's explore the next areas of nature essay ideas for more details.
Environment Essay
- Contemporary global environmental issues
- Environmental effects of global warming
- Green taxes in environmental management
- Effects of medical waste discharge on the ecosystem
- Bottled water's impact on the environment
- Environmental effects of green buildings
- The effects of population growth on the environment
- Are foods made via genetic engineering safe for the environment?
- Effect of technology on the environment
- Green energy's effects on the environment and sustainability
Essay on Deforestation
- The deforestation history
- An ecosystem's response to logging and deforestation
- Tropical rainforest destruction
- Consequences of deforestation and possible solutions
- Consequences of over-harvesting and deforestation
- Deforestation in the amazon: patterns and determinants
- Deforestation and Biodiversity in the Brazilian Amazon
- What actions should the Brazilian government take to lessen deforestation in the Amazon?
- The Initiative Tackling the Deforestation Problem
- An examination of human responsibility for deforestation in rainforests
Pollution Essay
- Climate change and air pollution
- The issue of atmospheric pollution in the contemporary age and its effects
- The impacts of noise pollution
- Traditions and historical ideas as cultural pollutants
- The technique for offsetting pollutants
- How polluted is the Arab World?
- What technology is available to reduce vehicle pollution?
- Pollution from automobiles in the US
- Chloramine in drinking water: a sign that pollution is becoming worse
- Commercial pollution's financial impacts on China
Water Pollution Essay
- Causes, consequences, and potential solutions for water pollution
- Problems associated with water pollution
- Description of the ocean pollution issue
- The effects of human activity on marine pollution
- The UAE's approach to managing water pollution
- An economic perspective on water pollution
- Causes and solutions for water pollution in the US
- Plans for preventing water pollution caused by storm
- Health hazards related to water pollution
- Problems with Coca-Cola and water pollution
My Favorite Season
- What makes summer my favorite season?
- The sun during fall
- Winter as my favorite season: Christmas spirit
- Why I love Spring the most: revival of nature
- Summer as my favorite season: summer festivals
- Why I enjoy the Fall the most: Halloween and the Thanksgiving holidays
- Snow in Winter: my happy season
- Swimming in the ocean vs. skiing on the slopes: which one do I enjoy the most
- Positive and negative impacts of cold weather on mood: why do I still love it
- List your three favorite things about each season
A Raining Day Essay
- People commonly claim that nighttime downpours help with sleep. Why do you suppose that is? Has this happened to you before?
- Consider ways to gather rainwater if your house doesn't have running water, and ensure the water is safe for consumption.
- Recall when you were safe, comfortable, and happy inside while it rained outside. Provide as much information as you can about it.
- Even though individuals frequently dislike rainy days, having regular rainfall might be crucial. When do you consider rain to be most beneficial?
- How would you construct a shelter if you were lost while wandering in the woods and it began to rain?
Psychology Topics for Essay
As psychology has several subfields, you must be aware of which ones to focus on while writing a strong essay. If you need ideas, have a look at the following psychological topics for essay:
- How to combat bullying through psychological development
- Psychological explanations on why the aging process slows down
- How parenting style affects a child's development
- Variables that have an impact on a person's ability to learn languages
- The root causes of bigotry and prejudice
- Criminals that need counseling can benefit from CBT
- The repercussions of sleeplessness in a medical setting
- What causes the multiple personality phenomenon in certain people
- The world's selfish mentality nowadays
- The causes of the surge in childhood anorexia
- The key elements that influence social cognition within a family
- How family group behavior influences human nature
- The media's part in encouraging violence
- Does psychological debriefing hurt trauma survivors?
- Should psychologists refrain from participating in coercive questioning?
- The function of hypotheses in psychological research
- Positive case studies of compliance and obey psychology
- Psychiatric bipolar disorders
- Implementing organizational psychology
- Organizational Psychology: tools and methods
- Studies in experimental and correlated psychology
- The prospects for psychology
- Ethical concerns and psychology's code of conduct
- Psychiatric disorders and their types
- Behavioral psychology: anxiety disorders
- Researching the role of sleep on human development
- Theories in personality psychology
- A look into serial killers' psychology
- Use of social psychology in education
- Applying psychology in real life
Gender Equality Essay
There are many different concerns in the field of gender studies. Nonetheless, you must select an original gender equality essay topic from among them, such as the salary gap, the bias against women in the classroom, women empowerment essay topics, etc. Here are a few pointers that may help you choose an excellent topic.
- How gender roles are shifting in families
- Literary representations of race and gender prejudices The patriarchal phenomenon
- Look at how women behave in Middle Eastern nations in terms of gender
- Talk about how gender roles have changed and evolved through the years
- Is it possible to have equality among all workers?
- Possibility of achieving gender equality
- What can society do to combat toxic masculinity?
- A lack of rights for women
- List the major female movements
- How might American culture combat gender disparity?
- What major obstacles prevent us from achieving gender equality at work?
- Why is it so important to address the challenges of gender inequality?
- Data on the gender-based median salary gap for workers of various ages
- Why is it difficult for males to follow the orders of women?
- Which gender norms are most prevalent on television?
- Is the labor split in the modern family equitable?
- Is state-enforced gender equality legislation effective?
- Women's equality in western society: Progress and Future
- Are peace and gender equality related?
- The Importance of Gender Equality for Economic Growth
Proposal Essay Topics
Proposals can be prepared for a scholarly audience like your teacher or students or a broader audience like a government entity or corporation. Everyone studying in high school or college will find our list of proposal essay topics helpful; if you find one you like, feel free to take it and begin researching.
- How can we get the next generation to quit smoking?
- Promoting academics' quest for a cancer cure
- Us government should implement a new policy
- It is important to be candid about politics' criminal history
- Fostering community cooperation to enhance the lives of war veterans
- The first issue the new president should prioritize in his policies
- Increasing technological development to improve work results
- Putting together teams to combat cyberbullying
- Keeping technological use and overuse in check
- Everyone should know the new internet safety regulations
- How to prevent players from feeling down after a match
- Changing cruel practices: hunting is not a sport
- Choosing the best pay for college and professional sportsmen
- Making speeches successful regardless of the audience
- How to reduce child entitlement problems
- Why a formal approach to negotiations is ineffective and better alternatives
- How to prevent a company from bankruptcy
- why female attendance at business negotiations is always recommended
- Putting an end to the notion that fiction affects morals
- How can you convince your people that immigration is not that costly?
Process Analysis Essay Topics
Outstanding process analysis essay topics are necessary for crafting a decent paper. Process essay topics allow you to format your piece effectively and offer your ideas to the target audience in a way they can grasp. Let's go through the list for inspiration:
- Provide instructions on how to conduct a safe chemical experiment
- Detailed tips on how to create a strong résumé
- Provide a helpful guide for giving speeches
- What procedure is used to treat wastewater?
- What steps are involved in determining milk's pH?
- Describe how to manage due dates
- How to design an atmosphere that is conducive to learning
- Good note-taking techniques
- How to set a budget while you're in college
- Describe how to prepare tomato soup
- The process of making frozen veggies
- How to write computer programs
- How to write a manual for fixing gadgets
- How to use the program to edit photos
- How does the Google Search Engine function?
- How to heal bones using natural polymers
- How are the space shuttles constructed?
- How is quantum computing implemented?
- How to be a movie director
- How to achieve success without exerting much effort
Essay Ideas on Stereotypes
Because stereotypes are such a pervasive societal problem, educators often encourage students to reflect on them. The only way to create stereotype topics for essays is to identify the societal and daily thought patterns, trace their links, and record them in writing. After learning how to create a stereotype essay, you can look for the ideal topic examples for essay. So, let's explore them together:
- How modern toys in the US reinforce gender stereotypes
- Assessing Stereotypes with the Use of Anthropology
- Media-based stereotypes
- Stereotypes of White Women in the Media
- Hollywood's Embedding of Asian Stereotypes
- Stereotype-Conducive Behavior
- Are women in the trap music industry empowered, or do they fall victim to stereotypes?
- Stereotypes, awareness, and sympathy
- Typical African female stereotype
- The Transformation Of The Stereotype Of The Schemer
- The stereotype that women are bad drivers
- Application of a stereotypical cue to assessing the level of mathematics
- The development of the Indian stereotype as a result of Americanization
- Age Variations in Cognitive Performance and Sweeping generalization Threat
- The Benefits and Drawbacks of Stereotypical image Fitting
- Western detective novels: viewpoint and stereotype
- Women's Function In Society's Stereotype Of Women
- Does the Fear of Stereotype Impact Women's Ability?
- Rap Music's Effects On The Vicious Black American Stereotype
- What Gender Stereotypes Do Ads Promote?
Ideas on Essay about COVID-19
The Coronavirus has overrun the planet, which has kept us indoors. Life, as we know it, has transformed. As a result, leaving us with far more questions than solutions. As the epidemic has affected practically every aspect of our lives, it is crucial to comprehend it by composing interesting essay topics on this matter:
- Did the pandemic cause a rise in the number of mental health issues?
- What does it imply to call the coronavirus pandemic? What have other illnesses historically been referred to as pandemics?
- What impact has Covid-19 had on the global economy?
- An examination of the hypotheses and misconceptions concerning the Coronavirus. What is the virus's place of birth?
- How have various nations handled the pandemic?
- Why did the virus affect Europe so severely?
- Examine how the Coronavirus has affected the relationship between the US and China.
- How has the media aided in spreading awareness about the virus?
- How has the spread of false information about the Coronavirus created worry and panic throughout the globe?
- Athletics and the Coronavirus. How has the virus negatively affected sports?
- How many sporting events have been postponed because of the pandemic?
- What impact has the Coronavirus had on religious practices?
- Why has the church taken so many hits because of the Coronavirus?
- Has the virus caused a rise in religious conversion or a decline in religious practice?
- An examination of the responses to the pandemic from many well-known religious figures
- In what ways has the Coronavirus altered human life?
- How have nuclear families been impacted by working from home?
- Are the pandemic's beneficial impacts on the environment long-lasting?
- How has the Coronavirus contributed to a decline in air pollution?
- What impact has the Coronavirus had on schooling globally?
Topics for Essay Based on Proverbs
Proverbs are a powerful tool for writing that may increase the impact of your points and assist your readers in believing you when you employ them. Let's examine some sayings that will make powerful topics for essays:
- 'Birds of a feather flock together.' - You might apply this as the topic of your essay to talk about how individuals prefer to hang out with those who are similar to them.
- 'You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs' - This essay topic might describe a moment when you attempted something new, and people frequently became furious. You should stop thinking about those folks and concentrate on the outcome.
- 'Actions speak louder than words’ - This might serve as the essay's title to suggest that action is required because simply saying something is insufficient.
- 'The early bird catches the worm' - You might utilize this as the subject of an essay to discuss how getting up early and starting your job can help you achieve in life.
- 'There's no such thing as a free lunch' - You might employ this as the subject of your essay to talk about how items that are given out for free usually come with a price tag.
Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
Identifying and evaluating the distinctions and patterns between two subjects that fall under the same category is the focus of a compare and contrast essay. If you've been assigned to write such a paper, you should seek engaging comparative essay topics. So, take a look at some related essay questions examples created by our essay help platform:
- Research paper vs. essay: which is harder to write?
- What strengthens your career more, a master's degree or a Phd.?
- What distinguishes high school from college?
- Which is superior between cricket and football?
- Which is preferable, using a vehicle or the subway?
- Which is more efficient, sending emails or making calls?
- What structural differences exist between fabrics made of cotton and acrylic?
- How did the cultural turn affect the humanities compared to the linguistic change?
- What distinguishes the United States Constitution from the Articles of Confederation?
- What distinctions may be made between high-throughput and large-scale DNA sequencing methods?
- What similarities exist between black tea and coffee?
- In contrast to astronomy, what do cosmologists investigate?
- How does nature differ in the Spring and fall?
- What distinguishes manga from comics?
- What are the differences between attending a public school and homeschooling?
- Which subject is more fascinating, physics or chemistry?
- What activities are available at night vs. during the day?
- What is preferable: a large birthday celebration with friends or a family gathering?
- What are the similarities between football and basketball?
- How does residing in an apartment compare to owning a home?
- What differs between left- and right-handed people?
- What distinguishes sand deserts from those covered with ice?
- Why are hot air balloons different from airships?
- What sets dolphins apart from whales?
- What's the difference between using a shared computer and having your own?
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Essay Writing Guide
Essay Topics
Last updated on: Feb 8, 2023
Essay Topics: 100+ Best Essay Topics for your Guidance
By: Nova A.
14 min read
Reviewed By: Rylee W.
Published on: Jan 29, 2019
Let’s face it, essay writing can be tedious and boring. Spending hours to write a good essay is difficult, and brainstorming essay topic ideas can be even more confusing.
This is what makes writing essays difficult and time-consuming. Luckily, you can learn essay writing with practice and by following some good examples. But before that, you should know how to choose a good and engaging topic for your essay.
To help you get started, we have categorized a list of a number of different types of essay topic lists.
On this Page
Argumentative Essay Topics
An argumentative essay investigates a topic in great detail, forms an argument over it, and defends it using supporting data.
Below are some good argumentative essay topic ideas to help you draft winning essays.
- School students should be allowed to curate their high school curriculum.
- The role of physical education in the school system.
- Should the death sentence be implemented globally?
- It should be illegal to use certain types of animals for experiments and other research purposes.
- Should the government do more to improve accessibility for people with physical disabilities?
- Do people learn the art of becoming a politician, or are they born with it?
- Social media platform owners should monitor and block comments containing hateful language.
- Does technology play a role in making people feel more isolated?
- Will there ever be a time when there will be no further technological advancements?
- It should be illegal to produce and sell tobacco.
- Girls should be motivated to take part in sports.
- Rape victims should abort their unborn children.
- Fathers should get equal paternity leave.
- Do teenagers get into trouble because they are bored?
- Individuals who have failed at parenting should be punished.
- Vaping is less harmful than smoking cigarettes.
- Covid-19 vaccination has more cons than pros.
- Social media is the real cause of teenage depression.
- Is the American education system perfect for society?
- Recycling should be made compulsory.
Choosing a strong topic is key to writing a great essay. Have a look at our blog to select good argumentative essay topics to impress the audience.
Persuasive Essay Topics
A persuasive essay is similar to an argumentative paper. However, in it, the writer wants to convince the readers of their point of view. Simple essay topics would make better essays as they help the students stay focused.
Below is a list of some good persuasive essay topics for you:
- Energy drinks should be banned in schools and colleges.
- Gambling should be banned in the United States.
- Should abortions be banned worldwide?
- Hunting is an immoral act.
- Is it okay to use animals in a circus?
- Harmful dogs should be euthanized.
- Cell phones should not be allowed in schools.
- Teachers should pass a professional exam, just like students.
- Schools should reduce the workload on students.
- Sex education should be mandatory in high schools.
- Vlogging isn’t an actual profession.
- Is LinkedIn helpful for finding a job?
- Social media has played a big role in increasing business opportunities.
- Is Java becoming obsolete?
- Should employers go through the candidate’s social media profiles?
- Animal testing should be banned.
- Violent video games should be banned.
- Parents with mental disabilities should not be allowed to adopt children.
- Alcohol consumption should be legalized in Muslim countries.
- Every person should get Covid-19 vaccination.
For your help, we have gathered a wide range of persuasive essay topics . Give it a read.
Descriptive Essay Topics
A descriptive essay describes a specific thing by using sensory data. It is done to engage the reader’s five senses (taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight).
The following is a list of descriptive essay topic ideas for the students.
- The person who is responsible for making a difference in my life.
- Describe a smartphone and its benefits to someone from the ‘60s.
- The most interesting piece of art I have ever seen.
- Describe the experience of falling in love.
- What does a place that only exists in your imagination look like?
- Describe meeting a famous person.
- Describe yourself and your personality to a stranger.
- What will life be like in 2050?
- An experience that changed my life forever.
- Your idea of the perfect day.
- My first trip abroad.
- The most significant event in American History.
- A popular book series that disappointed you.
- A look into my daily life.
- A day in the life of an ER doctor.
- A trip to the museum.
- The most interesting movie I watched during my summer vacation.
- My favorite childhood memory.
- An incident that changed my life.
- An incident that restored my faith in humanity.
Here are some more descriptive essay topics to help you find a good idea for your essay.
Narrative Essay Topics
In a narrative essay, your goal is to share a personal experience by telling a story. This creative form of writing depends on how strong and exciting the theme is. The article topics for students given here are carefully curated and would help the students do good in their essays.
Some examples and topics of narrative topic ideas are presented below.
- The experience that taught me how looks could be deceiving.
- A week without internet and technology.
- The impact your first love had on your life.
- How much did your teachers contribute to making you the person you are today?
- An experience that made you realize your parents were or weren’t always right.
- A moment when someone you didn’t like surprised you with kindness.
- The influence technology has had on your hobbies and life.
- An achievement outside of academic life?
- Which school lesson had the biggest influence on your life?
- A day when you fought procrastination.
- The time you faced rejection.
- The time when you stood against your parents.
- An experience that left you helpless.
- The time you prayed to be an only child.
- An act of kindness you can never forget.
- Death of a loved one.
- Your biggest pet peeve.
- Your definition of a perfect weekend.
- The things you regret most in life.
- Your first experience of an air trip.
Choosing interesting narrative essay topics is essential to make the content compelling for the readers.
Research Essay Topics
While writing a research essay, the most crucial step is choosing a topic for your essay. Select a topic that is broad enough to compose an entire research essay on it.
Below are some of the best topics for your research essay.
- Effects of violent cartoons on children.
- Should universities provide accommodations to disabled students?
- Events and experiences I agree are causing the increase in terrorism.
- How do technology and gadgets affect the studies of children?
- Do children who attend preschool do better in school?
- Universities are becoming business-driven.
- Does college debt affect the future lives of students?
- Why has the divorce rate changed in the past decade?
- Schools should allow the use of smartphones in school.
- Effective ways to decrease depression among our youth.
- Analyze the relationship between the United States of America and North Korea.
- Why did the UK decide to leave the EU?
- Is it true that students learn better in a same-sex school?
- How does giving kids different gadgets affect their studies?
- Compare the immigration policies of two different countries.
- Events that lead to World War I.
- Pros and cons of studying abroad.
- How has Covid-19 influenced the education system of the world?
- Individual acts that lead to Global Warming.
- Effectiveness of the policies made to control Covid-19.
Looking for more? We have an extensive range of research essay topics to make the audience fall in love with your work.
Expository Essay Topics
While writing an expository essay, you have to explain and clarify your topic clearly to the readers.
Below is a list of expository essay topics:
- Why do teenagers commit suicide?
- What is the impact of music on our youth?
- What are the consequences of skipping school?
- Why do teenagers use drugs?
- How can pets make you happy and improve your life?
- Consequences of having alcoholic drinks within a school campus.
- How does drug use affect relationships?
- Is global warming a cause of skin cancer?
- Is sodium bad for your health?
- What is the line between being overweight and being obese?
- Why do you want to pursue your desired career?
- Explain how advancements in science improve the quality of life for humans.
- What are some unconventional ways of relieving stress?
- If you could swap your lives with someone, who would it be and why?
- What are some major stress factors in a teenager’s life?
- Why is getting a degree important for job life?
- Pros and cons of getting financial aid.
- How emotional support animals help in treating mental conditions.
- How does prostitution influence society?
- The environmental causes of smoking.
5StarEssays.com has gathered an additional and extensive list of expository essay topics .
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Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
In a compare and contrast essay, you evaluate and analyze the similarities and differences between the two subjects. Your reader must be able to form an opinion after weighing the pros and cons you have set forth.
Below are some topics for you to choose for your compare and contrast paper:
- Extroverts and introverts.
- Generation Y Vs. Generation Z.
- Traditional Helicopters Vs. Lifesize Drones.
- Unemployed students Vs. students with a part-time job.
- SAT and TOEFL.
- Persuasive and argumentative essays - How are they similar?
- How were the causes of World War I different from the causes of World War II?
- Education vs. professional career: what is more difficult?
- Real-life or spending your time daydreaming.
- Consequences of earthquake and tsunami: what’s worse?
- Being popular in high school or alone?
- Part-time work or studying for a higher degree?
- Getting married at an old age or a young age?
- Fashion today Vs. twenty years ago.
- Donald Trump Vs. Hillary Clinton.
- Democracy Vs. Dictatorship
- Vietnam War Vs. War on Terror.
- Benefits of drinking tea Vs. coffee.
- Greek and Roman methodologies - Similarities and differences.
- Traditional Vs. distant learning.
Get more interesting compare and contrast essay topics at 5StarEssays.com to impress your instructors.
Cause and Effect Essay Topics
The cause and effect essay explains why something happens and what happens as a result of those happenings. A cause and effect essay is a type of expository essay.
Here are a few topics for your cause and effect essay:
- What are the causes of eating disorders?
- Effects of climate change and global warming.
- The effects of the Feminism movement.
- What are the causes of increasing depression among teenagers?
- What are the causes of suicidal thoughts?
- Is keeping a pet effective in calming your mind?
- How does divorce affects children?
- Why are men afraid of commitment?
- Effects of social media on youth.
- Has social media affected relationships among families?
- Discuss the effects of homeschooling on children.
- Causes of heart diseases.
- Causes of sibling rivalry.
- Cramming doesn't help improve test scores.
- Cause and effect of depression in the workplace.
- How do abusive parents influence the mental stability of a child?
- Causes and effects of bullying.
- Causes of obesity in teenagers.
- Effects of taking a balanced diet on health?
- Causes and effects of insomnia.
To get more ideas, visit our cause and effect essay topics that are remarkable and well-suited for a great essay.
Controversial Argumentative Essay Topics
Argumentative essay topics are quite popular assignments in universities. If you are a student searching for a captivating argumentative essay topic, here is a list of ideas you can consider.
- Third world war should be prevented by the Russian and US governments.
- Political policies and practices affecting students.
- Is gun control effective in reducing crime?
- Same-sex marriage and constitutional law.
- Is society over-regulated?
- Are leaders born or made?
- No one should be above the law.
- Monarchy: pros and cons.
- Rules on Political Activities by Federal Employees.
- The most corrupt countries in the world.
- Mercy killing should be legalized in all countries of the world.
- Death penalties should be abolished.
- Third-world countries should be provided with education plans by the developed countries.
- Muslims should not be labeled as terrorists.
- Illegal immigrants should be given equal rights.
- Abortions should be legalized.
- Live-in relationships should be encouraged.
- Professional athletes should be allowed to consume steroids.
- Should physical punishments be given to children?
- Smoking in public should be an offensive crime.
Funny Argumentative Essay Topics
Are you looking for some funny argumentative essay topics for your essay? If so, choose a topic from the following list.
- Why do people like watching funny videos?
- What your cat is really thinking.
- Why spam emails should be your favorite type of email.
- Why wearing braces is fun.
- School dropouts are the best in our society.
- Why I don't like country music.
- Types of dates.
- A better way to get things done.
- What organic food really is.
- Things guys do that girls hate.
- How to annoy your friend.
- Why do women pretend that they enjoy sports?
- Things preventing you from completing your homework in time.
- Funny things we see in wedding ceremonies.
- Why are spam emails more interesting?
- Why does Starbucks coffee taste better?
- Why are backbenchers smarter than other students?
- Clowns are scarier than funny.
- Should we be maintaining social distancing even after Covid-19?
- Why is watching movies better than reading books?
Informative Essay Topics for Students
Essay writing requires depth. However, you don’t have to choose a complex topic in middle school, high school, or college.
Here is a list of interesting essay topics for middle school, high school, and college students.
Essay Topics for College Students
- Virtual classes cannot replace the traditional class system.
- Advantages and disadvantages of online classes.
- Is there a need to reform the college education system?
- Assault weapons should not be legal.
- People with a history of mental illness should not be allowed to purchase firearms.
- The taxation system needs to be changed around the globe.
- Kids should not be the target audience in advertising.
- The number of calories should be mentioned with every meal.
- Feminists have effectively improved the workforce for women.
- Is the death penalty effective?
- How to identify fake news?
- How to maintain a healthy life?
- How to treat PTSD naturally?
- Should people be judged on their appearance?
- How is technology influencing the work performance of people?
- Private Vs. public schools
- How to choose majors in high school?
- Impact of legalizing drugs on society.
- Significance of learning social values.
- How to prevent bullying on campus?
Essay Topics for High School
- The choice to join the armed forces should be an individual decision.
- Listening to music can increase work efficiency.
- Being honest has more cons than pros.
- People who have been in an accident value life more than others.
- Embarrassing moments help boost your confidence.
- Kindness is the most valuable personal trait.
- Spontaneity can improve your life.
- Can hobbies help improve the richness of one’s life?
- Dressing properly in the office improves work efficiency
- Being organized can help in school as well as the office.
- Impact of homosexuality on society.
- What is feminism?
- How to overcome fears and phobias?
- Significance of having leadership skills in job life?
- Causes and treatments for bipolar disorder.
- Side effects of consuming antidepressants.
- How important is mental health in succeeding professionally?
- How do teaching methods influence learning abilities?
- Should specially-abled people be allowed to work in offices?
- Discrimination and racism in the US.
Paper Due? Why Suffer? That's our Job!
Essay Topics for Middle School
- Every child should have chores at home.
- There should not be any summer classes.
- Should students continue studying during summer vacation?
- Parents should pay attention to the amount of time their children spend watching television.
- Favorite family summer vacation.
- Sports should be mandatory in every school.
- Processed foods should not be part of private and public school lunch.
- Do students still use newspapers for research?
- Every individual should spend a year doing community service.
- The weekend should be 3 days long.
Hopefully, you would have selected a topic for your essay. If you are looking for more ideas, try this free essay topic generator . You will find plenty of ideas for your essay.
Still need help choosing an essay topic? 5StarEssays is a professional essay writing service that helps you get a high quality essay. We have a team of essay writers who are professionals and can do your essay .
As a Digital Content Strategist, Nova Allison has eight years of experience in writing both technical and scientific content. With a focus on developing online content plans that engage audiences, Nova strives to write pieces that are not only informative but captivating as well.
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- Describe a facet of your identity, background or story that is essential to who you are.
For this essay, try finding a part of your identity that will set you apart and highlight the unique perspective you will bring to the university. Try to avoid writing an essay that a school will most likely get a million different times — for example, an essay about your talent playing a sport or your early love of learning. Think about an aspect of your personality, family or upbringing that is truly special.
- Write about a time that you failed at something. How did that failure affect you?
Don’t be afraid to dig deep and talk about something that may feel vulnerable. Try to conclude with an example of how the failure improved the way you deal with similar situations now. It can be uncomfortable for anyone to admit they’re less-than-great at something, but that honesty can be refreshing, especially if you tell your story in an authentic, relatable way.
- Tell us about a time where you challenged your pre-existing worldview. Why? Would you do this again?
In this essay, choose a time that you were able to listen to experiences and perspectives contrary to yours with respect and maturity. Demonstrate that you are able to zoom out from your personal worldview and learn from those you may disagree with. This can not only give colleges an idea of your ability to engage in difficult ideological debates, but also your character and humility.
- Write about a problem that you have or want to solve. It can be as big or as small as you can think of!
For this question, don’t be afraid to think outside of the box. It is easy to say a typical world issue — like hunger — but a creative problem can showcase your specific passions and interests and set you apart. An admissions officer is much more likely to remember an applicant who has a very specific essay written in a unique and quirky way.
- Write about a moment that illustrated your shift from child to adult within your community or family.
If you can’t immediately think of a pivotal event for this essay, you may want to skip it and try a different one. Essays like this are best answered with significant and unique moments rather than less important ones.
- Describe a favorite book or movie where the main character has to decide something difficult. What did you think about their choice?
The defining factor for this essay is what book or movie you choose. Stay away from pop culture novels that many people may use ( Harry Potter , The Hunger Games , etc.) and try to pick a book you have read in school or something unique you read for fun that stayed with you. However, don’t use a book you didn’t enjoy! Inauthenticity will always come through in your writing.
Coordinate tutoring sessions for admission help with a sign up. SAMPLE
- Write your top 10 list.
With this prompt, get creative. Don’t simply put 10 things you enjoy — get specific! Pick something you love and give your top 10 — maybe top 10 memories of your life, top 10 favorite books, top 10 quotes, etc. Make sure you give clear explanations of the items on your list as well. The more specific your list is, the better.
- Tell us a topic that you have changed your mind on in the past three years.
For this essay, don’t hesitate to get silly or serious — but make sure you go all the way whichever side you choose! Pick an issue that doesn’t come immediately to mind. Try to pinpoint a specific “a-ha” moment your opinion changed, and make sure to give an example of how your changed perspective has influenced your behavior.
- Write about your life goals.
To answer this prompt, go beyond the generic career and family goals. Try to answer things with a personal spin — maybe talk about goals you have for yourself as a person (e.g., to be more kind) or something unique you want to check off your bucket list!
- Pick a quote that describes a lot about you, and explain why you connect with it.
For this essay, choose a quotation that the admissions officers won’t see over and over. Stay away from individuals who are constantly quoted — like Dr. Seuss — and make 100 percent certain your quote is correctly attributed! Genius Tip : Check out these 25 inspiring volunteer quotes .
- Write about your most embarrassing moment and how you learned from it.
This is a great opportunity to get creative and share a funny experience! Try transitioning the experience into a more serious explanation of how it changed you — for example, maybe it encouraged you to be more considerate toward others’ feelings.
- Tell us about a time where you had to either take a risk or stay safe. What did you do? What happened? Would you do it again?
For this situation, if you made a poor decision, focus on the way you would change it. On the other hand, if you made a good decision, focus on what influenced you to make that decision and how it has changed you. You might think you have to pick an example where you took a risk, but your essay could be more memorable if you choose a candid example of when you chose to play it safe.
- Describe something you’re passionate about. How do you learn more about it? What makes it so appealing?
This is the perfect essay to set yourself apart from other applicants. Talk about that thing you love, that obscure topic you’re an expert about — anything, as long as your passion shines through in your writing!
- Pick your own topic for this essay.
This is a great instance to use an essay you’ve already written for another college. (Make sure to include modifications as needed.) This way, you can limit the number of essays you write and focus on quality of writing over quantity of essays.
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- Tell us the best advice you’ve ever gotten, who told you it and whether or not you followed the advice.
Don’t write a generic essay — find an example of advice that was specific and personal to you. Explain why it was so important, and connect it to a specific example in which you did or did not follow it.
- Write about the role that a certain activity (sports, theater, band, etc.) has had on your life.
This prompt gives you the opportunity to talk about your passions and show off your extracurricular activities. Make sure to connect the importance of the activity to a certain experience or story to give the essay direction.
- If you could meet with any person, living or dead, for an hour, who would it be and what would you say to them?
For this prompt, stay away from figures that are likely to be written about by hundreds of potential students (presidents, Mother Teresa, etc.), and pick a figure you are actually passionate about and interested in, rather than what you think sounds most academic. If you want to go personal and choose a family member, make sure you have a memorable and unique reason.
- If you were to give a very important speech or a TED talk, what would it be about?
When writing this essay, pick a topic of interest. Additionally, make sure whatever you write about has a clear, one sentence takeaway that you can stress throughout the essay to give it direction. To prep, watch a few TED talks online to help give your essay voice.
- If you were to teach a class, what would your class be on?
This essay topic is a great opportunity for humor. Choose a unique topic that others might not think of, and whatever you choose, make sure you know a lot about it!
- Tell us a “Eureka” moment that you had and what sparked it.
For this essay, make sure you think of a turning point that’s also an interesting story. This can be an opportunity to talk about an experience from one of your jobs or extracurricular activities. Tie it in to what you learned and how you’ve taken that lesson and incorporated it into your life.
- Write an essay about a time that you had to be brave or stand up for what you believed in.
This can be a great opportunity to talk about what’s important to you and what beliefs you hold most central to who you are. Center the essay around one experience or time in your life. Don’t play this one down the middle — take a stance and defend it.
- What makes you angry? What are you doing or what have you done about it?
Take this essay as big or as small as you want, but commit to it! Whether you write a funny essay about pet peeves or write one about large social problems, go all the way.
- If you could change one day of your life, what would you change? Why?
If you can’t immediately think of a significant day, you probably don’t have a lot of material for this essay. Save this essay for an unusual experience!
- Talk about a personal accomplishment that is unrelated to academics, but that means a lot to you.
For this essay, focus on a unique accomplishment that illustrates the diversity that you can bring to your university and really tells a lot about who you are. It can be a big or small accomplishment as long as it means a lot to you.
- If you could time travel to any time and place, where would you go?
When writing this essay, either pick a historical, personally significant or futuristic moment, but make sure you are passionate about whichever moment you choose. Begin with explaining the moment’s significance and your desire to experience it, then describe your personal connection to it.
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- If you could give any advice to an incoming high school student, what would it be?
In this essay, try to stay positive. Give advice about helpful things the student could do to benefit their high school career, rather than pointing out and seemingly complaining about the negative parts of high school (unless you are really funny) and then giving advice about how to deal with it. Be honest about your high school experiences while also displaying the perspective you have gained.
- If you could stop one invention from being invented, what would it be?
Try to be unique for this prompt. Make sure to outline not only your reasons for choosing the invention, but also the impact that the invention not being created would have on the world.
- Why do you want to attend this college/university?
For this essay: BE SPECIFIC! Colleges can tell when your essay is just a form essay. Make sure your essay mentions specific and unique aspects of the college/university you’re applying to so it’s clear that your essay is not just generic. There’s so much information out there on the Internet that there’s really no excuse for a poorly researched response.
- Pick a law and explain why it is so important to you.
There are many ways to interpret this kind of prompt. Whether you talk about a political law, religious law, physical law or something else, make sure to connect it your personal experiences. The more unique you are, the more likely an admissions officer will remember your essay.
- What do you want people to know about you but are afraid to tell them?
In this essay, don’t be afraid to get vulnerable and be specific. Whether you pick a trait or simply a specific memory, connect it to what it means to you personally and why you don’t generally tell people about it.
- If you could add an amendment to the Constitution, what would you add?
Silly or serious, this essay can be fun. Just make sure the amendment is NOT already part of the Constitution, and be sure to outline the impact your new amendment would have. Go a step further by explaining your strategy for getting the amendment passed.
- Talk about a person in your life who has helped you understand yourself better.
For this essay, give a few examples of how this person has impacted you. Then, conclude the essay with how you have understood yourself better because of these experiences.
- What book would you recommend to everyone?
Stay away from books that are likely to appear many times. This might go without saying, but make sure it’s a book you’ve already read! Rather than just summarizing the book, explain why you’re recommending it.
- Who is someone you have spoken up for because he/she cannot speak for him/herself?
If you don’t have a good example for this essay, don’t massage a story to make it fit. You’ll risk sounding privileged. This essay can be good, but it needs to be about a significant moment where you spoke up for someone who couldn’t speak for him/herself.
- What is one thing you want to accomplish in college?
In this essay, focus on the interests/activities that you’re passionate about. Make sure to focus your essay around one or two focused and achievable goals. This is also a great opportunity to mention specifics about the college you’re applying to.
With these prompts and ideas, you’ll be off to a great start on your college applications. One last piece of advice: Give yourself plenty of time to outline ideas and review — don’t wait until the last minute!
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35 College Essay Prompts and Topics
12 Creative Descriptive Essay Prompts
by Suzanne Davis | Dec 12, 2019 | Writing Essays and Papers , Writing Prompts | 13 comments
“Description is what makes the reader a sensory participant in the story.” –Stephen King
Stephen King wrote about description in stories. But the same advice is correct for descriptive essays. Get your readers engaged by making them sense and connect with everything you’ve written in your essay. How can you do that? Begin with descriptive essay prompts that inspire you to write more.
Then add important details and characteristics or features about the person, place, object, or experience in your essay. The more detail and elements you add to a descriptive essay, the better it will be.
So, check out these descriptive writing topics and find the one that will work best for you.
How to Select a Descriptive Essay Prompt
Before you select a descriptive essay topic, see if you can show and not tell your readers about the characteristics, actions, and emotions in that essay.
Maybe you’ve heard writers say, “ Show Don’t Tell .” This motto is an approach some writers use to make their writing more descriptive. The word “show” means to portray or illustrate feelings and actions. And “tell” is when a writer says what the emotions and actions are.
For example, “ The black poodle snarled and growled.” (showing) vs. “The black poodle was angry and fierce.” (telling)
In the example above, the first sentence shows that the black poodle was angry because it snarled and growled. The second sentence says or tells us that the dog was angry and fierce.
Use the “ Show Don’t Tell” approach in your descriptive essay by asking these questions about the 5 senses:
- What did you see?
- What did you hear?
- What did you touch?
- What did you smell?
- What did you taste?
You probably won’t have answers to all these questions. (Or at least if you write about a mountain, I hope you can’t describe how tastes.) But write “Show Don’t Tell ” content wherever you can in your essay.
The 12 descriptive essay prompts here, give you the freedom to develop your content in different ways, and with a lot of sensory details. They are divided into 4 categories: person, place, object, and experience. Each type has 3 descriptive essay writing ideas. For each writing prompt, brainstorm how you can develop that essay.
Descriptive WritingTopics About a Person
# 1 describe the strangest person you ever met.
Strange people are easy to remember, and if you remember a different, odd, or unique person, you’ll have a lot of information you can write on. Before you choose this topic, brainstorm a few ideas about this person.
Questions to develop this essay topic : What seemed strange about this person? What characteristics did he/she possess? How did you feel about this person?
# 2 Describe a person you envied .
Envy or jealousy is a powerful emotion. When you focus on a person you were jealous of, there are reasons and characteristics for why you felt that way.
Questions to develop this essay topic: What traits or characteristics did this person have? How did that person look? How did this person act? What made you envy him/her?
# 3 Describe an inspiring friend or family member.
We remember people who inspire us. And people love to read about inspiring individuals. If you describe an inspiring person, think about the impact that a person made on you.
Questions to develop this essay topic: What did this person do that was inspiring? How did that person act toward others?
Descriptive Writing Topics About a Place
# 4 describe a spooky or haunted place ..
If you describe a scary place, include a lot of sensory details. Spooky and haunted places are memorable.
Questions to develop this essay topic: What did this place look like? Where was it located? What did you see, hear, smell, or feel at this place? Did you find someone or something that scared you? Why is this place, spooky?
# 5 Describe a place you loved as a child.
People love to know things about another person’s childhood. A great way to show who you are is to describe a place that was important to you. If you select this writing topic, make sure you remember this place well.
Questions to develop this essay topic : How did this place look? What did you do at this place? Was anyone else at this there? How did you feel about the area?
# 6 Describe a beautiful location in nature.
You could describe a mountain, body of water, campground, desert, etc. Or any other place that is outdoors and part of nature.
Questions to develop this essay topic: What did this place look like? How did you feel when you were there? Did you hear, smell, taste, or touch anything at the location? Was there anyone else with you? What did you do at this place?
Descriptive WritingTopics About an Object
# 7 Describe a lucky object.
It can be any lucky object, a good luck charm, an heirloom object, etc. Select something you believe brings you good luck.
Q uestions to develop this essay topic: What are the characteristics of this object? How is it used? What makes this a lucky object?
# 8 Describe a piece of art.
It can be a photograph, painting, sculpture, etc. There are a lot of sensory details you can include in a descriptive essay about a piece of art.
Questions to develop this essay topic: What does this work of art look? Can you touch it? If so, how does it feel? What are the emotions you have when you see this sculpture, painting, photograph, etc.?
# 9 Describe an object used in your favorite sport or hobby.
If you have a favorite sport or hobby, describe an object that is relevant to that sport. For example, if you play tennis, describe a tennis racket. Or, if you collect coins, describe a unique coin from your collection.
Questions to develop this essay topic: What are the characteristics or features of this object? How is it used? What is significant about this object? What are some sensory details you can add?
Descriptive Essay Topics About an Experience
# 10 describe the first time you drove a car or rode a bicycle..
First-time experiences are emotional and significant to people. If you haven’t driven a car or ridden a bicycle, write about another first-time experience.
Questions to develop this essay topic: What did you see, hear, touch, smell, or taste during this experience? What did you do? Were others involved? If so, what did they do? How did you feel during this experience? How do you feel about it now?
# 11 Describe a hike or special walk you took .
Do you recall a hike you took or a walk on a trail, path, or street? If so, describe that memory.
Questions to develop this essay topic: What was the place you were at like? What did you hear, see, smell, taste, or touch during this experience? What did you do? What did anyone else do?
# 12 Describe a happy memory.
Write about a happy experience you can remember clearly. This topic involves remembering what occurred and how you felt during that experience.
Questions to develop this essay topic: What made this experience happy? What happened? Who else was there? Can you describe them?
Writing a Descriptive Essay
The key to writing a descriptive essay is to show or portray to a reader the significant elements of a person, place, object, or experience. So, select an essay topic that you connect with, and develop it with sensory details. If you do this, you’ll achieve what Stephen King does in his writing and “make the reader a sensory participant.” When you do that, your readers will want to keep reading until the end.
Make them wish your essay continued so that they could read even more!
So which descriptive essay prompt inspires you? And if you want more creative writing prompts, check out my blog post, “13 Thought-Provoking Personal Narrative Prompts” https://www.academicwritingsuccess.com/13-thought-provoking-personal-narrative-prompts/.
Suzanne,I enjoy reading your articles. Loved your sense of humour ‘(Or at least if you write about a mountain, I hope you can’t describe how tastes.)’. I tried to share this article in my Pinterest account, but somehow something went wrong and it did not allow me to do it.
I’m glad you enjoyed the article. I do try to be funny whenever I can. I’m having a problem right now with my article pinning. I’m working on it.
Loved the “show, not tell” explanation. It really made sense. I’m a visual learner, so I really liked the visual for the 12 descriptive essay prompts in both written form and as a image. You gave me a lot of good ideas for starting a descriptive essay!
Terri, I’m glad you liked my infographic for the post. I love designing visual images for articles. Let me know if you use one of the descriptive essay prompts. I’d love to know how it worked for you.
Excellent. I like the sensory detail questions. It brings the writing to a new level.
Raven, thank you. Sensory details are great for developing writing. They really help writers of all ages.
Nice article, Suzanne. I love using prompts with my students. I might be nervous of the prompt “Describe the strangest person you ever met.” For many of my students I would have the starring role in that one! 🙂 Using the basic five senses to help students expand upon their writing is also very good. So many students write one sentence and then get stuck. Prompting questions can really help them broaden their thoughts.
Ron, thank you. I might be nervous about the “strangest person you ever met” prompt too. But, I’m hoping there are other strange people students could write about too!
Love these! In this generation of “just getting the point across”, it is so difficult to get some students to be descriptive in their writing.It would be hard for any student to not be descriptive using these prompts. When working on writing with students, I always use the five senses to show them how their writing will be more interesting to any reader when it is descriptive. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you,Randy. Descriptive writing is a challenge, but finding a good descriptive writing prompt and using the 5 senses makes a huge difference.
Also, that is a great quote by Stephen King!
Hi Suzanne! Excellent post! I love the creative prompts. They’re helpful, whether one is writing fiction or non-fiction.
You have a great site. Will stop by again. I know I’ll learn lots here.
P.S. Thanks for stopping by my site. I appreciate your feedback.
Hi Nadine, Thanks so much. I am glad you stopped by and checked out my post on descriptive writing prompts. I love prompts because they can make you think about writing in different ways. And sometimes I just need help getting started. I enjoyed your post on writing spaces. I’ll be visiting your site again.
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50 Writing Prompts for All Grade Levels
Sometimes students need a little push to activate their imaginations.
The collection of prompts below asks young writers to think through real or imagined events, their emotions, and a few wacky scenarios. Try out the ones you think will resonate most with your students.
As with all prompts, inform students that their answers should be rated G and that disclosing dangerous or illegal things they’re involved in will obligate you to file a report with the administration or school counselors. Finally, give students the option of writing “PERSONAL” above some entries that they don’t want anyone to read. We all need to let scraggly emotions run free in our prose sometimes.
If your class uses daybooks (an approach recommended in Thinking Out Loud: The Student Daybook as a Tool to Foster Learning ), wait for composition notebooks to go on sale at Target, the Dollar Store, or Walmart for $0.50 a piece. To organize the daybook, direct young writers to leave the first three pages blank and number and date each entry—adding these entries to a table of contents that they create as they work so they can return to specific entries later.
High School Prompts
- Should cameras on drones watch all public spaces to prevent crime, or is that a violation of privacy?
- Do Americans have it too easy? Why do you think that?
- What causes racism?
- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation hires you as a consultant to determine how best to use $20 billion to save the world. What’s your plan?
- What’s the worst thing about the internet?
- Would you rather be very beautiful or very smart? Explain.
- You can save one object before your house burns down. What is it? What makes that object important to you?
- How much control over your life do you have? What makes you say that?
- Describe your ideal life 15 years from now. What is something you can do every day to reach that goal?
- What would your friends say is your most lovable quality? Describe that quality.
- What is something scary that you would like to try? What makes it scary for you? How might you overcome that fear?
- What things do you conscientiously do to feed your brain?
- What are three of your most profound learning experiences? Where and when did they occur?
- By age 18, the average American has seen 200,000 acts of violence on TV, including 40,000 murders. What is it about television violence that is so compelling to people?
- Would you rather be loved or respected? Because?
- Does social media represent individuals authentically? Explain with examples.
- Imagine that it’s the last day of high school and you’ve been asked by a teacher to say a few words that summarize the events that have occurred over the last four years that are most meaningful to you. What do you say?
Middle School Prompts
- Which classmate would be the best to lead us through a zombie apocalypse? Why?
- What real-life situations would work out better for you if you were a different gender? Why?
- How can you tell when someone your age is feeling insecure? Are most people more insecure or anxious than they let on?
- If the internet were to crash forever, what would the benefits be for you? The drawbacks?
- Write a scene that features a) a classmate, b) $100 million, and c) magical shoes.
- What three features should your future house have? Why?
- If you starred in a television show about your life, what would the show be called? What genre would it be? (Examples: comedy, drama, thriller, romance, action-adventure, fantasy, superhero, soap opera, reality, game show, space adventure, Western, tragedy, etc.) Summarize the plot of an episode.
- In the future, what extreme sports will people be talking about?
- Is your ethnicity an important part of your identity? How so?
- You get to take one book, one food item, and one famous person (living or dead) to a deserted island. What and who do you take? Why?
- Write a powerfully supportive email to yourself 10 years from now. Send that email to yourself using FutureMe.org .
- You have been selected to be king or queen of your school. What are five rules that every kid should follow at your school? What should the punishment be for rule breakers?
- What do the five friends you hang out with most have in common? How are you most like them? How are you different from them?
- What contributes to someone becoming a bully? What can help stop someone from bullying?
- Do you make friends slowly or quickly? Describe how one of your important friendships evolved.
- Should we fear failure? Explain.
- If a wizard could tell you anything about your future, what would you most like to know?
- Do you believe in luck? Are you superstitious? How so? If not, why do you think some people are?
Elementary School Prompts
- I wish my teachers knew that . . .
- What’s the most beautiful person, place, or thing you’ve ever seen? Share what makes that person, place, or thing so special.
- Which is better, giant muscles or incredible speed? Why?
- What is your most difficult subject in school? Why is it difficult? What can you do to get better at that subject?
- Rewrite “Hansel and Gretel” from the witch’s perspective.
- Describe a scary situation that you’ve experienced.
- What is your first memory? Describe it.
- You wake up tomorrow with a silly superpower that makes you famous. What is that silly power? How does it lead to your becoming an international superstar?
- Are you a good loser? Explain.
- What are examples of things you want versus things you need?
- Last Friday, you were given one wish by a magical panda. You tried so hard to make the wish positive, but after the whacked-out events that unfolded over the weekend, you regret ever meeting that tricky panda. What did you ask for, and what happened?
- I wish my friends . . .
- Describe a routine that you often or always do (in the morning, when you get home, Friday nights, before a game, etc.).
- What things do all kids know that adults do not?
- What TV or movie characters do you wish were real? Why?
After they’ve finished an entry, ask students to read their work aloud or exchange daybooks for a read-around. If you give the entries written feedback, show that their work is respected by using a sticky note or scratch paper.
You might also incorporate background writing music one day a week—say on “Music Monday.” For some examples of music you might use in class, Pitchfork has an article called “ The 50 Best Ambient Albums of All Time .” My favorite album for composing is the Birdy soundtrack by Peter Gabriel—a good one for older kids. Other Edutopia staff and bloggers like writing to Coffitivity , Noisli , Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Alcest’s Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde .
Don’t forget to write along with your students. Why should they have all the fun?
What are your students’ favorite writing prompts?
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- April 12, 2018
Note: We have 300 new argumentative writing prompts to add to this list.
Sign up for our free Learning Network newsletter. Receive new writing prompts in your inbox every week.
Of all the resources we publish on The Learning Network, perhaps it’s our vast collection of writing prompts that is our most widely used resource for teaching and learning with The Times.
We’ve published iterations of this post in the past — 200 , 401 and even 650 prompts — but never before have we gathered all our prompts, for both personal and argument writing, into one categorized list.
Admittedly, the list is huge. In fact, there are 1,219 questions below on everything from video games and fashion to smartphones and parenting, and each prompt links to a Times article as well as to additional subquestions that can encourage deeper thinking.
To help you navigate this page, here’s an index of topics:
Technology (1-74): Social Media • Smartphones • Internet & Tech Arts & Entertainment (75-248): Music • Television • Video Games • Movies & Theater • Books & Reading • Writing • The Arts • Language & Speech School & Career (249-449): School • Learning & Studying • Education Tech • Teachers & Grading • School Rules & Student Life • College • Work & Careers Identity & Family (450-828): Parenting • Family • Childhood Memories • Growing Up • Overcoming Adversity • Your Personality • Religion & Morality • Role Models • Gender • Race & Ethnicity • Neighborhood & Home • Money & Social Class • What If... Social Life & Leisure Time (829-1,059): Friendship • Dating & Sex • Looks & Fashion • Food • Sports & Games • Travel • Holidays & Seasons • Shopping & Cars Science & Health (1,060-1,140): Science & Environment • Animals & Pets • Exercise & Health Civics & History (1,141-1,219): Guns & the Justice System • Government Policy • History & News
So dive into the hundreds of writing prompts below — and let us know in the comments how you might use them in your classroom.
Social Media
1. Is Social Media Making Us More Narcissistic? 2. Are You the Same Person on Social Media as You Are in Real Life? 3. How Young Is Too Young to Use Social Media? 4. What Advice Do You Have for Younger Kids About Navigating Social Media? 5. How Do You Use Facebook? 6. What Is Your Facebook Persona? 7. How Real Are You on Social Media? 8. What Memorable Experiences Have You Had on Facebook? 9. Does Facebook Ever Make You Feel Bad? 10. Does Facebook Need a ‘Dislike’ Button? 11. Has Facebook Lost Its Edge? 12. Would You Consider Deleting Your Facebook Account? 13. Would You Quit Social Media? 14. Do You Have ‘Instagram Envy’? 15. Who Is Your Favorite Social Media Star? 16. What’s So Great About YouTube? 17. What Has YouTube Taught You? 18. What Are Your Favorite Viral Videos? 19. What Are Your Favorite Internet Spoofs? 20. What Would You Teach the World in an Online Video? 21. Do You Ever Seek Advice on the Internet? 22. Would You Share an Embarrassing Story Online? 23. Do You Use Twitter? 24. Is Snapchat a Revolutionary Form of Social Media? 25. Why Do You Share Photos? 26. How Do You Archive Your Life? 27. What Ordinary Moments Would You Include in a Video About Your Life? 28. Are Digital Photographs Too Plentiful to Be Meaningful? 29. Do You Worry We Are Filming Too Much? 30. Have You Ever Posted, Emailed or Texted Something You Wish You Could Take Back? 31. Would You Want Your Photo or Video to Go Viral? 32. Do You Worry Colleges or Employers Might Read Your Social Media Posts Someday? 33. Will Social Media Help or Hurt Your College and Career Goals? 34. Should What You Say on Facebook Be Grounds for Getting Fired? 35. Are Anonymous Social Media Networks Dangerous? 36. Should People Be Allowed to Obscure Their Identities Online? 37. Are Parents Violating Their Children’s Privacy When They Share Photos and Videos of Them Online? 38. Would You Mind if Your Parents Blogged About You?
Smartphones
39. Are You Distracted by Your Phone? 40. Are You Distracted by Technology? 41. Does Technology Make Us More Alone? 42. Is Your Phone Love Hurting Your Relationships? 43. How Has the iPhone Affected Your Life? 44. How Young Is Too Young for an iPhone? 45. Do You Always Have Your Phone or Tablet at Your Side? 46. Do Screens Get in the Way of the Rest of Your Life? 47. Do You Experience FOMO When You Unplug? 48. How Much of Your Day is Voluntarily Spent Screen-Free? 49. Does Your Digital Life Have Side Effects? 50. Do You Think Teenagers Are Replacing Drugs With Smartphones? 51. Are You ‘Addicted’ to Texting? 52. How Many Text Messages Are Too Many? 53. Can a GIF Work Better Than Words? 54. Have You Ever Sent an Odd Message Because of Auto-Correct? 55. Do You Spend Too Much Time on Smartphones Playing ‘Stupid Games’? 56. Do Apps Help You or Just Waste Your Time? 57. What Makes HQ Trivia So Popular? 58. Is Pokémon Go a Positive Cultural Force? Or Is it Just Another Excuse for People to Stare at Their Phones?
Internet & Tech
59. Is the Internet Broken? 60. How Do You Protect Your Personal Information From Hackers? 61. How Careful Are You Online? 62. What Story Does Your Personal Data Tell? 63. Do You Worry About the Lack of Anonymity in the Digital Age? 64. Do You Wish You Had More Privacy Online? 65. Would You Be Willing to Pay for Facebook or Google in Exchange for Your Privacy? 66. Have You Ever Been Scammed? 67. Whom Would You Share Your Passwords With? 68. What Tech Tools Play the Biggest Role in Your Life? 69. What New Technologies or Tech Toys Are You Most Excited About? 70. To What Piece of Technology Would You Write a ‘Love Letter’? 71. Do Machines Represent a Threat to Humans? 72. Do You Think Recreational Drones Are Safe? 73. What Role Will Robots Play in Our Future? 74. Will Wearable Technology Ever Really Catch On?
Arts & Entertainment
75. What Songs Are on Your Favorite Playlist? 76. What Are You Listening To? 77. What Musicians or Bands Mean the Most to You? 78. What Music Inspires You? 79. Who in Your Life Introduces You to New Music? 80. Do You Think You’ve Already Forged Your Lifelong Taste in Music? 81. How Much Is Your Taste in Music Based on What Your Friends Like? 82. What Are Your Earliest Memories of Music? 83. Will Musical Training Make You More Successful? 84. What Role Does Hip-Hop Play in Your Life? 85. Which Pop Music Stars Fascinate You? 86. Who Is Your Favorite Pop Diva? 87. What’s Your Karaoke Song? 88. Which Artists Would You Like to See Team Up? 89. How Closely Do You Listen to Lyrics? 90. What Song Lyrics Do You Consider Literature? 91. What Current Musicians Do You Think Will Stand the Test of Time? 92. What Artists or Bands of Today Are Destined for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? 93. What Musician, Actor or Author Should Be a Superstar, but Hasn’t Quite Made It Yet? 94. What Artists Do You Believe Are the Future of Music? 95. What Can You Predict About the Future of the Music Industry? 96. What Artists Do You Consider ‘Sellouts’? 97. How Much Can an Artist Borrow From Earlier Musicians Before It Becomes Stealing? 98. Who Does Hip-Hop Belong To?
99. What Are Your Favorite TV Shows? 100. What Are the Best Things You’ve Watched, Read, Heard or Played This Year? 101. What Are Your TV Habits? 102. Do Your Television Viewing Habits Include ‘Binge-Watching’? 103. What Role Does Television Play in Your Life and the Life of Your Family? 104. What Television Shows Have Mattered to You? 105. How Often Do You Watch a Television Show When It Originally Airs? 106. Have You Fallen Into ‘Friends’ or Any Other Older Television Shows? 107. What Old Television Shows Would You Bring Back? 108. Why Do We Like Reality Shows So Much? 109. What Ideas Do You Have for a Reality Show? 110. What Reality TV Show Would You Want to Be a Guest Star On? 111. Should Children Be Allowed to Compete on TV? 112. What Are Your Favorite Cartoons? 113. What Are Your Favorite Commercials? 114. What Makes a Good Commercial? 115. How Much Are You Influenced by Advertising? 116. Does Reality TV Promote Dangerous Stereotypes? 117. Do TV Shows Like ‘16 and Pregnant’ Promote or Discourage Teenage Pregnancy? 118. Is ‘13 Reasons Why’ Raising Awareness About Teenage Suicide, or Glamorizing It? 119. Do You Watch Hollywood Awards Ceremonies? 120. Why Do We Like to Watch Rich People on TV and in the Movies? 121. Should the Private Lives of Famous People Be Off Limits? 122. Should We Be Privy to the Lives of Celebrities’ Children? 123. Do You Think Child Stars Have It Rough? 124. Does TV Capture the Diversity of America Yet? 125. Is TV Too White? 126. What Stereotypical Characters Make You Cringe? 127. What Makes a Good TV Show Finale?
Video Games
128. Should Video Games Be Considered a Sport? 129. What Have You Learned Playing Video Games? 130. What Are Your Favorite Video Games? 131. Do You Play Violent Video Games? 132. Should Stores Sell Violent Video Games to Minors? 133. Do Violent Video Games Make People More Violent in Real Life? 134. When Should You Feel Guilty for Killing Zombies? 135. Who Are Your Opponents in Online Gaming? 136. Do You Like Watching Other People Play Video Games? 137. How Excited Are You About the Possibilities of Virtual Reality? 138. Can a Video Game Be a Work of Art? 139. What Game Would You Like to Redesign? 140. How Sexist Is the Gaming World?
Movies & Theater
141. What Are Your Favorite Movies Ever? 142. What Were the Best Movies You Saw in the Past Year? 143. What Movies Do You Watch, or Reference, Over and Over? 144. What Movies, Shows or Books Do You Wish Had Sequels, Spinoffs or New Episodes? 145. What Have You Learned From Movies? 146. Do You Like Horror Movies? 147. Are ‘Dark’ Movies O.K. for Kids? 148. What Is Your Favorite Comedy? 149. Are There Topics That Should Be Off Limits to Comedy? 150. What Is Your Favorite Sports Movie? 151. Who Are Your Favorite Movie Stars? 152. Would You Pay Extra for a 3-D Movie? 153. Where, and How, Do You Watch Movies? 154. What Are the Best Live Theatrical Performances You’ve Ever Seen? 155. Have You Ever Stumbled Upon a Cool Public Performance? 156. Have You Ever Performed for an Audience or Shared Creative Work With Others? 157. Does Live Theater Offer Something You Just Can’t Get Watching Movies or TV? 158. Is Hollywood Becoming More Diverse? 159. What — if Anything — Does the Current Hollywood Film Industry Lack?
Books & Reading
160. What Are the Best Books You’ve Read? 161. Read Any Good Books Lately? 162. What Are Your Favorite Young Adult Novels? 163. What Do You Want to Read This Summer? 164. What Books Do You Think Every Teenager Should Read? 165. What Role Have Books Played in Your Life? 166. Do You Read for Pleasure? 167. Do You Have a Favorite Novelist? 168. To What Writer Would You Award a Prize? 169. Has a Book, Movie, Television Show, Song or Video Game Ever Inspired You to Do Something New? 170. When Have You Seen Yourself and Your Life Reflected in a Book or Other Media? 171. Who Are the Characters That Authors Should Be Writing About? 172. Do You Prefer Your Children’s Book Characters Obedient or Contrary? 173. How Much Power Do Books Have to Teach Young People Tolerance of Others? 174. Do You Read E-Books? 175. Are Paper Books Better Than E-Books? 176. Would You Trade Your Paper Books for Digital Versions? 177. Does Reading a Book Count More Than Listening to One? 178. What Childhood Classic Would You Like to See Turned Into a Movie or TV Show? 179. Are Shortened Versions of Classic Adult Literature Right for Young Children? 180. Is There Any Benefit to Reading Books You Hate? 181. Do You Read or Write Poetry? 182. What Memorable Poetry Have You Ever Read or Heard? 183. What Magazines Do You Read, and How Do You Read Them? 184. Do You Enjoy Reading Tabloid Gossip? 185. Are There Books That Should Be Banned From Your School Library? 186. Do We Still Need Libraries?
187. What Purpose Does Writing Serve in Your Life? 188. Why Do You Write? 189. Are You a Good Storyteller? 190. What’s Your Favorite Joke? 191. Do You Keep a Diary or Journal? 192. Do You Have a Blog? 193. Do You Want to Write a Book? 194. When Do You Write by Hand? 195. Do You Write in Cursive? 196. Do You Write in Your Books? 197. What Is Your Most Memorable Writing Assignment? 198. Do You Ever Write About Challenges You Face in Life? 199. What ‘Mundane Moments’ From Your Life Might Make Great Essay Material? 200. What Would You Write in a Letter to the Editor? 201. If You Had a Column in The New York Times, What Would You Write About? 202. Would You Ever Write Down a Secret and Bury It in the Ground?
203. What Is Your Favorite Type of Art? 204. What Are Your Favorite Works of Art? 205. What Work of Art Has Changed Your Life? 206. What Are the Most Memorable Works of Visual Art You Have Seen? 207. Which Photograph Stays In Your Memory? 208. What’s the Coolest Thing You’ve Ever Seen in a Museum? 209. Do We Need Art in Our Lives? 210. How Important Is Arts Education? 211. What Has Arts Education Done For You? 212. Can Graffiti Ever Be Considered Art? 213. Should Graffiti Be Protected? 214. Can You Separate Art From the Artist? 215. Is It Possible to Separate Art From the Artist Who Created It? 216. Are There Subjects That Should Be Off-Limits to Artists, or to Certain Artists in Particular? 217. Should Society Support Artists and Others Pursuing Creative Works? 218. Should Displays of Art Be Welcome in All Public Spaces? 219. Does Pop Culture Deserve Serious Study? 220. What Do You Think of the Obamas’ Portrait Choices?
Language & Speech
221. What Words Do You Hate? 222. What Words or Phrases Do You Think Are Overused? 223. How Much Slang Do You Use? What Are Your Favorite Words? 224. What Current Slang Words and Expressions Do You Think Will Endure? 225. What Words or Phrases Do You Think Are Overused? 226. What Words or Phrases Should Be Retired? 227. Why Do So Many People Say ‘Like’ and ‘Totally’ All the Time? 228. Do You Say ‘Kind of, Sort of’ More Than You Realize? 229. How Much Do You Curse? 230. Have Curse Words Become So Common They Have Lost Their Shock Value? 231. Do Laws That Ban Offensive Words Make the World a Better Place? 232. How Good Are You at Coming Up With Witty Comebacks? 233. When Did You Last Have a Great Conversation? 234. What Makes a Great Conversation? 235. How Often Do You Have ‘Deep Discussions’? 236. Do You Wish Your Conversations Were Less Small Talk and More ‘Big Talk’? 237. Are We Losing the Art of Listening? 238. How Do You Greet Your Friends and Family? 239. When Do You Choose Making a Phone Call Over Sending a Text? 240. How Much Information Is ‘Too Much Information’? 241. What Does Your Body Language Communicate? 242. Do You Sometimes ‘Hide’ Behind Irony? 243. How Good Is Your Grammar? 244. Does Punctuation in Text Messages Matter? 245. When Do You Remember Learning a New Word? 246. Where Do You Find the Meanings of Unfamiliar Words? 247. Do You Speak a Second, or Third, Language? 248. Should Everyone Learn at Least One Other Language?
School & Careers
249. Should the School Day Start Later? 250. Would a Later School Start Time Increase Student Success? 251. Is Your School Day Too Short? 252. Should Schools Cancel Summer Vacation? 253. Do You Think a Longer School Calendar Is a Good Idea? 254. Should the Dropout Age Be Raised? 255. Should We Rethink How Long Students Spend in High School? 256. Should Students Be Allowed to Skip Senior Year of High School? 257. Should Kids Head to College Early? 258. Do You Like School? 259. Are You Stressed About School? 260. Are High School Students Being Worked Too Hard? 261. What Are You Really Learning at School? 262. What Are You Looking Forward To, or Dreading, This School Year? 263. Would You Rather Attend a Public or a Private High School? 264. How Much Does It Matter to You Which High School You Attend? 265. Are Small Schools More Effective Than Large Schools? 266. Would You Want to Go to a School Like This One? 267. What Kind of Education System Do You Think Is Best? 268. How Would You Grade Your School? 269. What Can Other Schools Learn — and Copy — From Your School? 270. What Would You Miss if You Left Your School? 271. What Do You Hope to Get Out of High School? 272. Should High Schools Do More to Prepare You for Careers? 273. Would You Want to Be Home-Schooled? 274. Should Home-Schoolers Be Allowed to Play Public School Sports? 275. Should All Children Be Able to Go to Preschool? 276. What Is the Purpose of Preschool? 277. Should Kindergarten Be More About Play or Literacy?
Learning & Studying
278. Do Teachers Assign Too Much Homework? 279. Does Your Homework Help You Learn? 280. Do You Need a Homework Therapist? 281. Do You Participate in Class? 282. What Is the Right Amount of Group Work in School? 283. What Do You Think of Grouping Students by Ability in Schools? 284. Does Class Size Matter? 285. What Is Your Best Subject? 286. What’s the Most Challenging Assignment You’ve Ever Had? 287. What Is the Most Memorable Concept You’ve Learned in Science Class, and How Did You Learn It? 288. What Memorable Experiences Have You Had in Learning Science or Math? 289. Are You Afraid of Math? 290. Do We Need a Better Way to Teach Math? 291. Is Shakespeare Too Hard? 292. What Are the Best Ways to Learn About History? 293. How Would You Do on a Civics Test? 294. Does Geography Skill Make You a Better Citizen? 295. What Career or Technical Classes Do You Wish Your School Offered? 296. Does Gym Help Students Perform Better in All Their Classes? 297. Should Reading and Math Be Taught in Gym Class Too? 298. Do You Learn Better After Moving Around? 299. Do Kids Need Recess? 300. What Was Your Favorite Field Trip? 301. What Are Your Best Tips for Studying? 302. Do You Use Study Guides? 303. Is Everything You’ve Been Taught About Study Habits Wrong? 304. What Would You Like to Have Memorized? 305. Should Schools Be Teaching, and Evaluating, Social-Emotional Skills Like ‘Grit’? 306. Should Schools Teach You How to Be Happy? 307. Should Schools Teach Children How to Cook? 308. What ‘Pop-Up’ Classes Do You Wish Your School Offered? 309. Do Schools Provide Students With Enough Opportunities to Be Creative? 310. Does the Way Your Classroom Is Decorated Affect Your Learning? 311. How Much Does Your Life in School Intersect With Your Life Outside School?
Teachers & Grading
312. What Do You Wish Your Teachers Knew About You? 313. When Has a Teacher Inspired You? 314. Has a Teacher Ever Changed Your Mind-Set? 315. What Teacher Would You Like to Thank? 316. What Makes a Good Teacher? 317. Class Time + Substitute = Waste? 318. Should Students Be Able to Grade Their Teachers? 319. How Formal Should Students Be When Interacting with their Teachers and Professors? 320. Have You Ever Been Humiliated by a Teacher? How Did it Affect You? 321. Have Your Teachers or Textbooks Ever Gotten It Wrong? 322. Do You Feel Your School and Teachers Welcome Both Conservative and Liberal Points of View? 323. Do You Have a Tutor? 324. How Important Are Parent-Teacher Conferences? 325. Should Students Be Present at Parent-Teacher Conferences? 326. How Should Parents Handle a Bad Report Card? 327. Does Your School Hand Out Too Many A’s? 328. Do Girls Get Better Grades Than Boys in Your School? 329. How Well Do You Think Standardized Tests Measure Your Abilities? 330. How Seriously Should We Take Standardized Tests? 331. Do You Spend Too Much Time Preparing for Standardized Tests? 332. Should Schools Offer Cash Bonuses for Good Test Scores? 333. Do Your Test Scores Reflect How Good Your Teachers Are? 334. Should Discomfort Excuse Students From Having to Complete an Assignment? 335. Should Schools Give Students ‘Body’ Report Cards?
Education Tech
336. Are the Web Filters at Your School Too Restrictive? 337. Does Technology in the Classroom Ever Get in the Way of Learning? 338. Do Your Teachers Use Technology Well? 339. Should Tablet Computers Become the Primary Way Students Learn in Class? 340. Can Cellphones Be Educational Tools? 341. Should Students Be Barred From Taking Cellphones to School? 342. Should Teachers and Professors Ban Student Use of Laptops in Class? 343. How Do You Use Wikipedia? 344. Should There Be More Educational Video Games in School? 345. Is Online Learning as Good as Face-to-Face Learning? 346. Would You Like to Take a Class Online? 347. Is Live-Streaming Classrooms a Good Idea? 348. How Would You Feel About a Computer Grading Your Essays? 349. Who Should Be Able to See Students’ Records? 350. Does Your School Offer Enough Opportunities to Learn Computer Programming? 351. Does Your School Value Students’ Digital Skills? 352. Do You Know How to Code? Would You Like to Learn?
School Rules & Student Life
353. Are School Dress Codes a Good Idea? 354. How Does Your School Deal With Students Who Misbehave? 355. Can Students at Your School Talk Openly About Their Mental Health Issues? 356. What Role Should the Police Have in Schools? 357. What Are the Best Teaching Methods for Getting Students to Behave Well in Class? 358. Should Schools Be Allowed to Use Corporal Punishment? 359. Is Cheating Getting Worse? 360. Do You Know People Who Cheat on High-Stakes Tests? 361. Is a ‘Regret Clause’ a Good Idea for Cases of Academic Dishonesty? 362. Should Schools Put Tracking Devices in Students’ ID Cards? 363. How Should Schools Handle Unvaccinated Students? 364. How Big a Problem Is Bullying or Cyberbullying in Your School or Community? 365. How Should Schools Address Bullying? 366. How Should Schools Address Cyberbullying? 367. What Should the Punishment Be for Acts of Cyberbullying? 368. When Do Pranks Cross the Line to Become Bullying? 369. How Should Schools Respond to Hazing Incidents? 370. How Do You Feel About Proms? 371. Is Prom Worth It? 372. Do You Want to Be ‘Promposed’ To? 373. Is Prom Just an Excuse to Drink? 374. What’s the Best Party You’ve Ever Been To? 375. What Role Do School Clubs and Teams Play in Your Life? 376. Should All Students Get Equal Space in a Yearbook? 377. Should Yearbooks Include Political News? 378. Should School Newspapers Be Subject to Prior Review? 379. Should More Student Journalists Have Independent Editorial Control? 380. What Are Your Thoughts on Riding the School Bus?
381. How Necessary Is a College Education? 382. Is College Overrated? 383. How Prepared Are You For College? How Well Do You Think You’ll Do? 384. What Worries Do You Have About College? 385. Where Do You Want to Go to College? 386. Does It Matter Where You Go to College? 387. Do College Rankings Really Matter? 388. Do Other People Care Too Much About Your Post-High School Plans? 389. What Are Your Sources for Information About Colleges and Universities? 390. Should Colleges Find a Better Way to Admit Students? 391. Is the College Admissions Process Fair? 392. Should Colleges Use Admissions Criteria Other Than SAT Scores and Grades? 393. Do You Support Affirmative Action in College Admissions? 394. Are Early-Decision Programs Unfair? Should Colleges Do Away With Them? 395. What Criteria Should Be Used in Awarding Scholarships for College? 396. Should Engineers Pay Less for College Than English Majors? 397. What Is the Perfect Number of College Applications to Send? 398. What Role Has Community College Played in Your Life or the Life of Someone You Know? 399. How Much Do You Worry About Taking the SAT or ACT? 400. What Personal Essay Topic Would You Assign to College Applicants? 401. What Qualities Would You Look For in a College Roommate? 402. Would You Want to Take a Gap Year After High School? 403. What Specialty College Would You Create? 404. What Makes a Graduation Ceremony Memorable? 405. Should a College Education be Free? 406. Is Student Debt Worth It? 407. Are Lavish Amenities on College Campuses Useful or Frivolous? 408. Do Fraternities Promote Misogyny? 409. Should Fraternities Be Abolished? 410. Is a Sorority a Good Place for a Feminist? 411. Should Colleges Offer Degrees in Sports? 412. Should ‘Despised Dissenters’ Be Allowed to Speak on College Campuses?
Work & Careers
413. What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? 414. Do You Have a Life Calling? 415. What’s Your Dream Job? 416. What Jobs Are You Most Curious About? 417. What Are Your Longtime Interests or Passions? 418. Do You Think You Will Have a Career That You Love? 419. How Can You Ensure That Your Future Career is Right for You? 420. What Do You Want More From a Career: Happiness or Wealth? 421. What Investment Are You Willing to Make to Get Your Dream Job? 422. Would You Consider Moving Overseas for a Job? 423. What Do You Hope to Be Doing the Year After You Graduate From College? 424. What Would You Choose to Do If You Had Unlimited Free Time and No Restrictions? 425. Is ‘Doing Nothing’ a Good Use of Your Time? 426. Where Do You See Yourself in 10 Years? 427. Would You Like to Be Famous? 428. Would You Consider a Nontraditional Occupation? 429. Would You Rather Work From Home or in an Office? 430. Would You Want to Be a Teacher? 431. Would You Like to Be a Fashion Model? 432. What Hidden Talents Might You Have? 433. What ‘Back-to-the-Land’ Skills Do You Have, or Wish You Had? 434. Would You Like to Be a Farmer? 435. What Skill Could You Teach in Two Minutes? 436. What Have You Made Yourself? 437. What Would You Like to Learn to Make by Hand? 438. What Idea Do You Have That Is Ahead of Its Time? 439. Do You Have an Idea for a Business or App? 440. What Would You Create if You Had Funding? 441. How Did You Start Doing Something You Love? 442. Did You Ever Take a Break From Doing Something You Love? 443. What Have You Done to Earn Money? 444. Do You Have a Job? 445. Is It O.K. to Use Family Connections to Get a Job? 446. Should All High School Students Be Able to Get a Summer Job if They Want One? 447. Would You Quit if Your Values Did Not Match Your Employer’s? 448. Should Employers Be Able to Review Job Applicants’ SAT Scores? 449. How Important Is Related Experience in Doing a Job?
Identity & Family
450. How Close Are You to Your Parents? 451. How Are You and Your Parents Alike and Different? 452. Will You Follow in Your Parents’ Footsteps? 453. Are You Being Raised to Pursue Your Dreams? 454. Do You Have Helicopter Parents? 455. Do Your Parents Spy on You? 456. How Permissive Are Your Parents? 457. How Much Freedom Have Your Parents Given You? 458. At What Age Should Children Be Allowed to Go Places Without Adult Supervision? 459. Should Children Be Allowed to Wear Whatever They Want? 460. How Do Your Parents Teach You to Behave? 461. How, and by Whom, Should Children Be Taught Appropriate Behavior? 462. How Should Parents Discipline Their Kids? 463. When Does Discipline Become Child Abuse? 464. Should Parents Bribe Their Children? 465. Should Parents Make Their Children Clean Their Room? 466. How Do You Make Parenting Difficult for Your Parents? 467. How Often Do You Fight With Your Parents? 468. What Advice Would You Give to Your Mom, Dad or Guardian on How to Be a Better Parent? 469. Do Your Parents Try Too Hard to Be Cool? 470. Do You Ever Feel Embarrassed by Your Parents? 471. Do Your Parents Support Your Learning? 472. Do You Talk About Report Cards With Your Parents? 473. Do You Want Your Parents to Stop Asking You ‘How Was School?’ 474. How Much Do Your Parents Help With Your Homework? 475. Have Your Parents and Teachers Given You Room to Create? 476. How Closely Do Your Parents Monitor Your App Use? 477. Should Parents Limit How Much Time Children Spend on Tech Devices?
478. Who Is Your Family? 479. How Do You Define ‘Family’? 480. What Have You and Your Family Accomplished Together? 481. What Events Have Brought You Closer to Your Family? 482. How Has Your Family Helped or Hindered Your Transition to a New School? 483. What’s Your Role in Your Family? 484. Have You Ever Changed a Family Member’s Mind? 485. How Well Do You Get Along With Your Siblings? 486. Is Your Family Stressed, Tired and Rushed? 487. What Are Your Family Stories of Sacrifice? 488. What Possessions Does Your Family Treasure? 489. What Hobbies Have Been Passed Down in Your Family? 490. What’s the Story Behind Your Name? 491. What Are Your Favorite Names? 492. How Have You Paid Tribute to Loved Ones? 493. What Does the World Need to Know About an Important Person in Your Life? 494. What Do You Know About Your Family’s History? 495. Did Your Parents Have a Life Before They Had Kids? 496. What Family Traditions Do You Want to Carry On When You Get Older?
Childhood Memories
497. What Is Your Earliest Memory? 498. What Was Your Most Precious Childhood Possession? 499. What Is Your Most Prized Possession? 500. What Objects Tell the Story of Your Life? 501. What Do You Collect? 502. What Were Your Favorite Childhood Shows and Characters? 503. Do You Have Childhood Memories of Being Read Aloud To? 504. What Were Your Favorite Picture Books When You Were Little? 505. What Things Did You Create When You Were a Child? 506. What Places Do You Remember Fondly From Childhood? 507. What Food or Flavor Do You Remember Tasting for the First Time? 508. What Do You Wish You Could See, Hear, Read or Experience for the First Time All Over Again? 509. What Childhood Rules Did You Break? 510. Have You Ever Felt Embarrassed by Things You Used to Like? 511. Do You Wish You Could Return to Moments From Your Past? 512. Was There a Toy You Wanted as a Child but Never Got? 513. What’s the Best Gift You’ve Ever Given or Received? 514. Have You Ever Given, or Received, a Perfect Gift? 515. What’s the Most Memorable Thing You Ever Got in the Mail? 516. Have You Ever Lost (or Found) Something Valuable? 517. What Nicknames Have You Ever Gotten or Given? 518. What Are Your Best Sleepover Memories? 519. What Old, Worn Out Thing Can You Just Not Part With?
520. Is It Harder to Grow Up in the 21st Century Than It Was in the Past? 521. Is Modern Culture Ruining Childhood? 522. Are Adults Hurting Young Children by Pushing Them to Achieve? 523. Is Childhood Today Too Risk-Free? 524. Do We Give Children Too Many Trophies? 525. What Have You Learned in Your Teens? 526. What Do You Remember Best About Being 12? 527. What Personal Achievements Make You Proud? 528. What Are You Grateful For? 529. What Are Some Recent Moments of Happiness in Your Life? 530. What Rites of Passage Have You Participated In? 531. What Advice Would You Give Younger Kids About Middle or High School? 532. What Have You Learned From Older People? 533. What Have You Learned From a Younger Person — and What Have You Taught An Older Person? 534. What Can Older People Learn From Your Generation? 535. What Do Older Generations Misunderstand About Yours? 536. Do You Recognize Yourself in Descriptions of ‘Generation Z’? 537. What Should We Call Your Generation? 538. When Do You Become an Adult? 539. Do You Have ‘Emerging Adult’ Skills? 540. When You Are Old Enough to Vote, Will You? 541. When Should You Be Able to Buy Cigarettes, Drink Alcohol, Vote, Drive and Fight in Wars? 542. Does Your Generation Have Too Much Self-Esteem? 543. Is Your Generation More Self-Centered Than Earlier Generations? 544. Do You Think Anxiety Is A Serious Problem Among Young People? 545. Is Our Culture of Online Shaming Out of Control? 546. Do ‘Shame and Blame’ Work to Change Teenage Behavior? 547. Do You Think Teenagers Can Make a Difference in the World?
Overcoming Adversity
548. What Challenges Have You Overcome? 549. What Are Your Secret Survival Strategies? 550. What Do You Do When You Encounter Obstacles to Success? 551. When Have You Failed? What Did You Learn From It? 552. When Have You Ever Succeeded When You Thought You Might Fail? 553. What Life Lessons Has Adversity Taught You? 554. Does Suffering Make Us Stronger and Lead to Success? 555. Which Is More Important: Talent or Hard Work? 556. Are You Hopeful About the Future? 557. When Have You Reinvented Yourself? 558. What Work Went Into Reaching Your Most Difficult Goals? 559. Is Struggle Essential to Happiness? 560. How Often Do You Leave Your ‘Comfort Zone’? 561. What Do You Gain From Pursuing Something You Do Really, Really Badly? 562. When Was the Last Time You Did Something That Scared or Challenged You? 563. What Are You Afraid Of? 564. What Are Your Fears and Phobias? 565. What Are Your Personal Superstitions? 566. Do You Like Being Alone? 567. How Often Do You Cry? 568. Do You Ever Feel Overlooked and Underappreciated? 569. How Have You Handled Being the ‘New Kid’? 570. How Do You Deal With Haters? 571. How Do You React When Provoked? 572. What Good Can Come from Disagreements? 573. When Should You Compromise? 574. Have You Ever Changed Your Mind About a Hot-Button Issue? 575. What Role Does Stress Play in Your Life? 576. Does Stress Affect Your Ability to Make Good Decisions? 577. How Do You Relieve Stress? 578. How Important Is Keeping Your Cool? 579. Is ‘Be Yourself’ Bad Advice? 580. Do People Complain Too Much? 581. What’s Your Favorite Mood Booster? 582. How Do You Find Peace in Your Life? 583. Does Your Life Leave You Enough Time to Relax? 584. Do You Set Rules for Yourself About How You Use Your Time? 585. What Did You Once Hate but Now Like? 586. What Kind of Feedback Helps You Improve? 587. Is Trying Too Hard to Be Happy Making You Sad? 588. Does Achieving Success Always Include Being Happy? 589. Do Adults Who Are ‘Only Trying to Help’ Sometimes Make Things Worse? 590. Have You Ever Felt Pressured by Family or Others in Making an Important Decision About Your Future?
Your Personality
591. What Makes You Happy? 592. What Motivates You? 593. What Are You Good At? 594. What Is Your Personal Credo? 595. When in Your Life Have You Been a Leader? 596. Are You More of a Leader or a Follower? 597. Do Great Leaders Have to Be Outgoing? 598. How Well Do You Perform Under Pressure? 599. How Well Do You Take Criticism? 600. Are You Hard or Easy on Yourself? 601. How Full Is Your Glass? 602. Do You Have a Hard Time Making Decisions? 603. How Much Self-Control Do You Have? 604. How Good Are You at Waiting for What You Really Want? 605. What Role Does Procrastination Play in Your Life? 606. How Good Are You at Time Management? 607. What Kind of Time Management Skills Are You Learning from the Adults in Your Life? 608. How Do You Remember What You Need to Remember? 609. How Productive and Organized Are You? 610. Under What Conditions Do You Do Your Best Work? 611. How Do You Express Yourself Creatively? 612. Can Creativity Be Scheduled? 613. Are You a Good Listener? 614. When and For What Reasons Do You Seek Silence? 615. Are You a Perfectionist? 616. How Competitive Are You? 617. Do You Perform Better When You’re Competing or When You’re Collaborating? 618. Has Modesty Ever Prevented You From Celebrating an Achievement? 619. How Emotionally Intelligent Are You? 620. How Stoic Are You? 621. How Do You Cope With Grief? 622. How Good Are You at Saying Goodbye? 623. Do You Take More Risks When You Are Around Your Friends? 624. Do You Unknowingly Submit to Peer Pressure? 625. Have You Ever Felt Pressured to Betray Your Beliefs? 626. How Easy — or Hard — Is It for You to Say No When You Want To? 627. How Do You Handle Fear? 628. Do You Think You’re Brave? 629. How Much of a Daredevil Are You? 630. What Activities Make You Feel Most Alive? 631. What Pranks, Jokes, Hoaxes or Tricks Have You Ever Fallen For or Perpetrated? 632. How Impulsive Are You? 633. Are You a Novelty-Seeker? 634. How Do You Deal With Boredom? 635. How Often Do You Talk to Yourself? 636. What Annoys You? 637. Do You Apologize Too Much? 638. Do You Know How to Say ‘I’m Sorry?’ 639. Do You Have Good Manners? 640. How Materialistic Are You? 641. Are You a Saver or a Tosser? 642. Are You a Hoarder or a Minimalist? 643. Are You an Introvert or an Extrovert? 644. Are You Popular, Quirky or Conformist? 645. Are You a Nerd or a Geek? 646. What Would Your Personal Mascot Be? 647. What Assumptions Do People Make About You? 648. How Strong Is Your Sense of Smell? 649. What Animal Are You Most Like?
Religion & Morality
650. What Is the Role of Religion or Spirituality in Your Life? 651. How Important Is Your Spiritual Life? 652. Do You Believe That Everything Happens for a Reason? 653. How Much Control Do You Think You Have Over Your Fate? 654. Can You Be Good Without God? 655. Are You Less Religious Than Your Parents? 656. Can You Pass a Basic Religion Test? 657. What Can You Learn From Other Religions? 658. Do You Believe That Everything Happens for a Reason? 659. How Important Do You Think It Is to Marry Someone With the Same Religion? 660. How Trustworthy Are You? 661. How Comfortable Are You With Lying? 662. When Do You Lie? 663. Have You Ever Lied to Your Parents or Done Something Behind Their Backs? 664. Can You Spot a Liar? 665. What Ethical Dilemmas Have You Faced? 666. Have You Ever Had to Make a Sacrifice to Help Someone You Care About? 667. Have You Ever Donated Your Time, Talents, Possessions or Money to Support Anyone in Need? 668. When Is the Last Time You Did Something Nice for a Stranger? 669. Do Bystanders Have a Responsibility to Intervene When There is Trouble? 670. Do Leaders Have Moral Obligations? 671. Have You Ever ‘Paid It Forward’? 672. Can Kindness Become Cool? 673. What Acts of Kindness Have You Witnessed or Participated In? 674. Is Teenage ‘Voluntourism’ Wrong? 675. Have You Ever Taken Something You Weren’t Supposed To? 676. When Is Looting Morally O.K.? 677. Do You Ever Eavesdrop? 678. How Much Do You Gossip?
Role Models
679. Who Are the People – Famous or Not – You Admire Most? 680. Who Are Your Heroes? 681. What Is a Hero? 682. Do We Need More Diverse Superheroes? 683. Who Is Your Role Model? 684. Who Inspires You? 685. What Makes Someone a Great Leader? 686. What Acts of Bravery Have You Witnessed? 687. What’s the Best Advice You’ve Gotten? 688. What Are Some ‘Words of Wisdom’ That Guide Your Life? 689. Who Outside Your Family Has Made a Difference in Your Life? 690. If You Had Your Own Talk Show, Whom Would You Want to Interview? 691. To Whom, or What, Would You Like to Write a Thank-You Note? 692. What Leader Would You Invite to Speak at Your School? 693. What Six People, Living or Dead, Would You Invite to Dinner? 694. Who’s Your ‘Outsider Role Model’?
695. Have You Ever Been Told You Couldn’t Do Something Because of Your Gender? 696. Do Parents Have Different Hopes and Standards for Their Sons Than for Their Daughters? 697. How Do Your Parents Share the Responsibilities of Parenting? 698. How Do Male and Female Roles Differ in Your Family? 699. Do You Consider Yourself a Feminist? 700. What Does Feminism Mean to You? 701. What Have You Learned From the Women in Your Life? 702. What Experiences Have You Had With Gender Bias in School? 703. Is School Designed More for Girls Than Boys? 704. Why Do Boys Lag Behind Girls in Reading? 705. Does Separating Boys and Girls Help Students Perform Better in School? 706. Is Single-Sex Education Still Useful? 707. What Does it Mean to Be ‘a Real Man’? 708. Do We Need to Teach Boys and Men to Be More Emotionally Honest? 709. What Have Been Your Experiences With Catcalling or Other Kinds of Street Harassment? 710. What Should We Do to Fight Sexual Violence Against Young Women? 711. How Should the Problem of Sexual Assault on Campuses Be Addressed? 712. What Is Your Reaction to the #MeToo Movement? 713. Why Aren’t There More Girls in Leadership Roles? 714. Do Professional Women Need a ‘Girls’ Lounge’? 715. Why Aren’t More Girls Choosing to Pursue Careers in Math and Science? 716. Why Aren’t More Girls Pursuing Careers in Computing and Tech Fields? 717. Now That Women Can Serve in All Combat Roles in the U.S. Military, Should They Also Be Required to Register for the Draft? 718. Do Female Athletes Get Short Shrift? 719. Should Sports Be Coed? 720. Should the Boy Scouts Be Coed? 721. Do You Believe in Equal Rights for Women and Men? 722. Does the U.S. Constitution Need an Equal Rights Amendment? 723. Is It Harder Being a Girl? 724. Do We Need New Ways to Identify Gender and Sexuality? 725. Should Toys Be More Gender-Neutral? 726. Should There Be More Boy Dolls? 727. What Rules Should Apply to Transgender Athletes When They Compete? 728. Are Women Better at Compromising and Collaborating? 729. Do Boys Have Less Intense Friendships Than Girls?
Race & Ethnicity
730. Is America ‘Backsliding’ on Race? 731. Why Is Race So Hard to Talk About? 732. How Often Do You Interact With People of Another Race or Ethnicity? 733. Do You Ever Talk About Issues of Race and Class With Your Friends? 734. What Is Your Racial and Ethnic Identity? 735. Have You Ever Tried to Hide Your Racial or Ethnic Identity? 736. Have You Experienced Racism or Other Kinds of Discrimination in School? 737. Is Your Generation Really ‘Postracial’? 738. What’s the Racial Makeup of Your School? 739. Does Your School Seem Integrated? 740. Should Schools Strive for Racial Diversity Among Teachers? 741. How Should Parents Teach Their Children About Race and Racism? 742. Is ‘Black Panther’ a ‘Defining Moment’ for the United States — and Particularly for Black America?
Your Neighborhood & Home
743. How Much Does Your Neighborhood Define Who You Are? 744. What’s Special About Your Hometown? 745. What Marketing Slogan Would You Use for Your Town or City? 746. What Would You Name Your Neighborhood? 747. Who Are the ‘Characters’ That Make Your Town Interesting? 748. Who Is the ‘Mayor’ of Your School or Neighborhood? 749. What Do the Types of Dogs in Your Neighborhood Say About Where You Live? 750. What Would a TV Show About Your Town Spoof? 751. What ‘Urban Legends’ Are There About Places in Your Area? 752. Do You Know Your Way Around Your City or Town? 753. How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors? 754. What Is Your Favorite Place? 755. What’s Your Favorite Neighborhood Joint? 756. What Is Your Favorite Street? 757. Do You Hang Out in the Park? 758. How Much Time Do You Spend in Nature? 759. How Do You Get Your Nature Fix? 760. What Small Things Have You Seen and Taken Note Of Today? 761. What Buildings Do You Love? What Buildings Do You Hate? 762. What Are the Sounds That Make Up the Background Noise in Your Life? 763. What Sounds Annoy You? 764. What Public Behavior Annoys You Most? 765. Have You Ever Interacted With the Police? 766. What Local Problems Do You Think Your Mayor Should Try to Solve? 767. What Ideas Do You Have for Enhancing Your Community? 768. Where Do You Think You Will Live When You Are an Adult? 769. Do You Think That in Your 20s You Will Live in a City? 770. Would You Most Want to Live in a City, a Suburb or the Country? 771. Do You Think You Might Like Communal Living When You’re an Adult? 772. What Would Your Ideal City Look Like? 773. What City or Town Most Captures Your Imagination? 774. Would You Want a Bike Share Program for Your Community? 775. Is Your Bedroom a Nightmare? 776. What is Your Favorite Place in Your House? 777. What’s Your Favorite Room? 778. How Important Is Keeping a Clean House? 779. Do You Need to De-Clutter Your Life? 780. Does Keeping a Messy Desk Make People More Creative? 781. Do You Plan on Saving Any of Your Belongings for the Future? 782. With Your Home in Danger, What Would You Try to Save? 783. What Would You Grab in a Fire? 784. What Would You Put in Your Emergency ‘Go-Bag’? 785. Who Lived Long Ago Where You Live Now? 786. What Would Your Dream Home Be Like?
Money & Social Class
787. What Are Your Expectations About Earning, Saving and Spending Money? 788. What Choices Do You Make About Money Every Day? 789. Are You a Saver or a Spender? 790. What Have Your Parents Taught You About Money? 791. Do You Expect Your Parents to Give You Money? 792. How Much Financial Help Do You Expect From Your Parents in the Future? 793. How Important a Role Has Money, Work or Social Class Played in Your Life? 794. Do You See Great Disparities of Wealth in Your Community? 895. Is It Possible to Start Out Poor in This Country, Work Hard and Become Well-Off? 896. Should Rich People Have to Pay More Taxes? 897. Do We Need a Higher Minimum Wage? 898. Can Money Buy You Happiness? 899. Does Buying and Accumulating More and More Stuff Make Us Happier? 800. What Are the Best Things in Life and Are They Free? 801. What Causes Should Philanthropic Groups Finance? 802. Should Charities Focus More on America? 803. What Organizations Do You Think People Should Give to This Holiday Season? 804. Whom, or What, Would You Want to Help With a Crowdfunding Campaign? 805. Do Poor People ‘Have It Easy’? 806. Should People Give Money to Panhandlers? 8
807. What Would You Do if You Won the Lottery? 808. What Superpower Do You Wish You Had? 809. What Era Do You Wish You Had Lived In? 810. Would You Want to Be a Tween or Teen Star? 811. Would You Want to Be a Child Prodigy? 812. Would You Want to Grow Up in the Public Eye? 813. What Kind of Robot Would You Want? 814. What Fantasy Invention Would You Want to Exist in Reality? 815. What Would You Outsource if You Could? 816. What Would You Like to Learn on Your Own? 817. What Would You Be Willing to Wait in a Really Long Line For? 818. If You Were a Super Rich Philanthropist, What Causes Would You Support? 819. What Would You Do if You Were President? 820. What Famous Person Would You Like to Visit Your School? 821 Who Would Be the Ideal Celebrity Neighbor? 822. What Do You Want to Be Doing When You’re 80? 823. Do You Want to Live to 100? 824. What Do You Want Your Obituary to Say? 825. What Do You Want to Be Known for After Your Death? 826. Would You Like to Be Cryogenically Preserved (Frozen!) Upon Your Death? 827. If the World Was Ending, What Would You Want to Say? 828. What Items Would You Place in a Time Capsule for Future Generations?
Social Life & Leisure Time
829. Do You Spend Enough Time With Other People? 830. How Often Do You Spend One-on-One Time With Your Closest Friends? 831. Do You Have a Best Friend? 832. Do You Find It Easier to Make New Friends Online or In Person? 833. How Good a Friend Are You? 834. Do You Like Your Friends? 835. What Fads Are You and Your Friends Into Right Now? 836. How Have You Helped a Friend in a Time of Need? 837. Do You Have Any Unlikely Friendships? 838. How Do You Feel About Introducing Friends from Different Parts of Your Life? 839. Do You Ever ‘Mix It Up’ and Socialize With Different People at School? 840. Is Competitiveness an Obstacle to Making or Keeping Friendships? 841. How Should You Handle the End of a Friendship? 842. Have You Ever Felt Left Out?
Dating & Sex
843. Have You Ever Been in Love? 844. What Advice Would You Give to Somebody Who Just Started Dating? 845. Are You Allowed to Date? 846. Is Dating a Thing of the Past? 847. How Do You Think Technology Affects Dating? 848. What Are the Basic ‘Rules’ for Handling Breakups? 849. What’s the Best Way to Get Over a Breakup? 850. What’s the Best Way to Heal a Broken Heart? 851. What Are the Most Meaningful Relationships in Your Life? 852. What Are Your Beliefs About Marriage? 853. Should Couples Live Together Before Marriage? 854. Should Your Significant Other Be Your Best Friend? 855. Could Following These Directions Make You Fall in Love With a Stranger? 856. How Should Children Be Taught About Puberty and Sex? 857. Is Hookup Culture Leaving Your Generation Unhappy and Unprepared for Love? 858. Are Affirmative Consent Rules a Good Idea? 859. Should Birth Control Pills Be Available to Teenage Girls Without a Prescription? 860. Should the Morning-After Pill Be Sold Over the Counter to People Under 17? 861. How Big of a Problem Is Sexting? 862. What Advice Should Parents and Counselors Give Teenagers About Sexting? 863. How Should Parents Address Internet Pornography? 864. Do You Think Porn Influences the Way Teenagers Think About Sex? 865. How Did You Learn About Sex?
Looks & Fashion
866. Are Models Too Skinny? 867. Is There Too Much Pressure on Girls to Have ‘Perfect’ Bodies? 868. How Much Pressure Do Boys Face to Have the Perfect Body? 869. Have You Inherited Your Parents’ Attitudes Toward Their Looks? 870. Has Anyone Ever Said That You Look Like Someone Famous? 871. What Is Your All-Time Favorite Piece of Clothing? 872. Do You Have a Signature Clothing Item? 873. What’s Your Favorite T-Shirt? 874. Do You Care What You Wear? 875. Does What You Wear Say Anything About You as a Person? 876. Should You Always Have the Right to Wear What You Want? 877. What Does Your Hairstyle Say About You? 878. What’s on Your Fashion Shopping List? 879. Are You a Sneaker Head? 880. How Far Would You Go for Fashion? 881. Should You Care About the Health and Safety of Those Making Your Clothing? 882. What Are the Hot Fashion Trends at Your School Right Now? 883. What Current Trends Annoy You? 884. Do ‘Saggy Pants’ Mean Disrespect? 885. Would You Ever Consider Getting a Tattoo? 886. Who Should Decide Whether a Teenager Can Get a Tattoo or Piercing? 887. What Are Your Opinions on Cosmetic Surgery? 888. Do Photoshopped Images Make You Feel Bad About Your Own Looks? 889. Doctored Photos: O.K. or Not? 890. How Important Is It to Be Attractive in Our Society?
Meals & Food
891. What Foods Bring Up Special Memories for You? 892. What Are the Most Memorable Meals You’ve Ever Had? 893. What’s Your Favorite Holiday Food Memory? 894. What’s Your Comfort Food? 895. What Are Your Favorite Junk Foods? 896. What’s Your Favorite Candy? 897. What’s Your Favorite Sandwich? 898. What Convenience Foods Make You Happy? 899. Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, a Picky Eater? 900. What Are Your ‘Food Rules’? 901. What Messages About Food and Eating Have You Learned From Your Family? 902. How Often Does Your Family Eat Together? 903. How Much Food Does Your Family Waste? 904. Have You Ever Experienced Food Insecurity? 905. Is Breakfast Really the Most Important Meal of the Day? 906. Do You Prefer Your Tacos ‘Authentic’ or ‘Appropriated’? 907. What Food Would You Like to Judge in a Taste-Off? 908. Do You Cook? 909. What Would You Most Like to Learn to Cook or Bake? 910. What Do You Eat During the School Day? 911. Do You Eat Cafeteria Food? 912. Is School Lunch Really All That Bad? 913. Do You Think a Healthier School Lunch Program Is a Lost Cause? 914. Should French Fries and Pizza Sauce Count as Vegetables? 915. Are Your Eating Habits Healthy? 916. How Concerned Are You About Where Your Food Comes From? 917. Is It Ethical to Eat Meat? 918. Do You Pay Attention to Calorie Counts for Food? 919. Do You Pay Attention to Nutrition Labels on Food? 920. Should Sugary Drinks Be Taxed? 921. Should the Government Limit the Size of Sugary Drinks? 922. Should Teenagers Think Twice Before Downing Energy Drinks? 923. Do You Eat Too Quickly? 924. Are Manners Important? 925. What Are Your Favorite Restaurants? 926. What Restaurant Would You Most Like to Review? 927. How Long Is It O.K. to Linger in a Cafe or Restaurant? 928. Should Restaurants Do Away With Tipping?
Sports & Games
929. What’s the Most Impressive Sports Moment You’ve Seen? 930. Who Is Your Favorite Athlete, and Why? 931. Who Are Your Sports Heroes? 932. What Sports Teams Do You Root For? 933. When Has a Sports Team Most Disappointed You? 934. Do You Participate in March Madness? 935. Does Being a Fan Help Define Who You Are? 936. How Far Would You Go to Express Loyalty to Your Favorite Teams? 937. How Much Should Fans Be Allowed to Distract Opposing Teams? 938. What Fan Memorabilia Would You Pay Big Bucks For? 939. Are You a Fair-Weather Fan? 940. Are You a Football Fan? 941. Do You Watch the Super Bowl? 942. Should Parents Let Their Children Play Football? 943. Should High Schools Drop Football Because Too Many Players Are Getting Injured? 944. If Football Is So Dangerous to Players, Should We Be Watching It? 945. Are Some Youth Sports Too Intense? 946. Does a Championship Game Always Need to Have a Winner (and a Loser)? 947. Should There Be Stricter Rules About How Coaches Treat Their Players? 948. Do Fans Put Too Much Pressure on Their Favorite Professional Athletes? 949. Does Better Sports Equipment Unfairly Improve Athletic Ability? 950. Should Technology in Sports Be Limited? 951. What Extreme Sports Interest You Most? 952. Are Some Extreme Sports Too Extreme? 953. Is Cheerleading a Sport? 954. Should Cheerleading Be an Olympic Sport? 955. Has Baseball Lost Its Cool? 956. Do Sports Teams Have a Responsibility to Hold Players to a Standard for Their Personal Conduct? 957. Should Athletes Who Dope Have to Forfeit Their Titles and Medals? 958. How Big a Deal Is It That an N.B.A. Player Came Out as Gay? 959. Should Women’s Basketball Lower the Rims? 960. Should College Football Players Get Paid? 961. Should Colleges Fund Wellness Programs Instead of Sports? 962. Where Should Colleges and Sports Teams Draw the Line in Selling Naming Rights? 963. Is ‘Redskins’ an Offensive Name for a Team? 964. Is It Offensive for Sports Teams to Use Native American Names and Mascots? 965. What Are Your Thoughts on Sports Betting? 966. Should Sports Betting Be Legal Everywhere? 967. How Young Is Too Young to Climb Mount Everest? 968. Should Girls and Boys Sports Teams Compete in the Same League? 969. Why Do You Play Sports? 970. What Kinds of Games and Puzzles Do You Like? 971. Do You Enjoy Playing Games or Solving Puzzles? 972. What Are Your Favorite Board Games? 973. What Are Your Favorite Games? 974. What Rules Would You Like to See Changed in Your Favorite Sports? 975. How Would You Change Your Favorite Sport? 976. What Game Would You Like to Redesign?
977. Where Do You Want to Travel? 978. What Is Your Fantasy Vacation? 979. What Would Your Fantasy Road Trip Be Like? 980. What Crazy Adventure Would You Want to Take? 981. What Local ‘Microadventures’ Would You Like to Go On? 982. How Would You Spend Your Ideal Family Vacation? 983. How Has Travel Affected You? 984. What Kind of Tourist Are You? 985. What Are the Best Souvenirs You’ve Ever Collected While Traveling? 986. What Famous Landmarks Have You Visited? 987. What’s the Coolest Thing You’ve Ever Seen in Nature? 988. What Do You Think You Would Learn From Traveling to All 50 States? 989. How Much Do You Know About the Rest of the World? 990. Would You Like to Live in Another Country? 991. Would You Want to Be a Space Tourist? 992. If You Could Time-Travel, Where Would You Go? 993. How Good Is Your Sense of Direction?
Holidays & Seasons
994. How Do You Celebrate Your Birthday? 995. Should the United States Celebrate Columbus Day? 996. A Short Fall Break, but What Should We Call It? 997. Will You Be Wearing a Halloween Costume This Year? 998. When Does a Halloween Costume Cross the Line? 999. Should Halloween Costumes Portray Only ‘Positive Images’? 1,000. Dressing Up Like Creepy Clowns: Freedom of Expression or Public Nuisance? 1,001. Do You Like Scary Movies and Books? 1,002. What Is the Scariest Story You Have Ever Heard? 1,003. Do You Believe in Ghosts? 1,004. Do You Believe in Astrology? 1,005. What Are Your Thanksgiving Traditions? 1,006. Will Your Family Members Disagree With Each Other About Politics This Thanksgiving? 1,007. What Has Been Your Most Memorable Thanksgiving? 1,008. What Do You Look Forward to Most – and Least – During the Holiday Season? 1,009. What Are Your Tips for Enjoying the Holiday Season? 1,010. How Will You Spend the Holiday Break? 1,011. What Does Santa Claus Mean to You? 1,012. Do You Look Forward to New Year’s Eve? 1,013. Do You Make New Year’s Resolutions? 1,014. How Do You Fight the Winter Blues? 1,015. What Would You Do on a Snow Day? 1,016. What Are Your Experiences With Severe Weather? 1,017. How Do You Feel About Valentine’s Day? 1,018. How Do You Celebrate Spring? 1,019. What Would Your Fantasy Spring Break Be Like? 1,020. What Are You Looking Forward to This Summer? 1,021. What Would Your Ideal Summer Camp Be Like? 1,022. What Are Your Favorite Summer Hangouts? 1,023. What’s Your Favorite Summer Food? 1,024. What Is Your Favorite Summer Movie? 1,025. What’s on Your Summer Reading List? 1,026. Do You Have a Summer Job? 1,027. What Did This Summer Teach You? 1,028. Do You Choose Summer Activities to Look Good on Applications? 1,029. What Are the Best Things You Did This Summer? 1,030. How Do You Prepare to Go Back to School? 1,031. How Can People Make the Most of Long Holiday Weekends? 1,032. What’s Your Sunday Routine? 1,033. What Work, Sport or Pastime Do You Like to Do at Night? 1,034. Would Life Be Better Without Time Zones?
Shopping & Cars
1,035. Do You Ever Hang Out at the Mall? 1,036. How Would You Make Over Your Mall? 1,037. Do You Shop at Locally Owned Businesses? 1,038. What’s Your Favorite Store? 1,039. To What Company Would You Write a Letter of Complaint or Admiration? 1,040. To What Business Would You Like to Give Advice? 1,041. Do Politics Ever Influence How or Where You Shop? 1,042. Do Companies Have a Responsibility to Contribute Positively to Society? 1,043. Should We Think Twice Before Buying Online? 1,044. Is Amazon Becoming Too Powerful? 1,045. How Much Do You Trust Online Reviews? 1,046. Should Companies Collect Information About You? 1,047. Could You Stop Shopping for an Entire Year? 1,048. What Are the Best Things You’ve Acquired Secondhand? 1,049. Did You Take Part in Any Post-Thanksgiving Shopping? 1,050. What Time Should Black Friday Sales Start? 1,051. How Important Is It to Have a Driver’s License? 1,052. Are You a Good Driver? 1,053. Do You Have a Dream Car? 1,054. Would You Like to Ride in a Car That Drives Itself? 1,055. Should Distracted Driving Be Punished Like Drinking and Driving? 1,056. Should Texting While Driving Be Illegal in Every State? 1,057. Is Drinking and Driving Still a Problem for Teenagers? 1,058. If Teenagers Are Such Bad Drivers, Should They Be Allowed to Drive? 1,059. Are Self-Driving Vehicles the Wave of the Future?
Science & Health
Science & Environment
1,060. How Green Are You? 1,061. How Do You Try to Reduce Your Impact on the Environment? 1,062. Do You Ever Feel Guilty About What, or How Much, You Throw Away? 1,063. What Could You Live Without? 1,064. Should Single-Use Plastic Shopping Bags Be Banned? 1,065. What Are Your Thoughts About Wind Power? 1,066. Do We Crank Up the A.C. Too High? 1,067. How Concerned Are You About Climate Change? 1,068. How Should Nations and Individuals Address Climate Change? 1,069. If You Were President, What Would You Do About Climate Change? 1,070. Should Schools Teach About Climate Change? 1,071. How Do You Celebrate Earth Day? 1,072. Should Developers Be Allowed to Build in and Near the Grand Canyon? 1,073. Should Scientists Try to Help People Beat Old Age So We Can Live Longer Lives? 1,074. Should Extinct Animals Be Resurrected? If So, Which Ones? 1,075. How Do You Think Dinosaurs Went Extinct? 1,076. Given Unlimited Resources, What Scientific or Medical Problem Would You Investigate? 1,077. What Are the Five Greatest Inventions of All Time? 1,078. What Would You Invent to Make the World a Better Place? 1,079. When Is It O.K. to Replace Human Limbs With Technology? 1,080. Should Fertilized Eggs Be Given Legal ‘Personhood’? 1,081. Do You Think Life Exists — or Has Ever Existed — Somewhere Besides Earth? 1,082. Do You Believe in Intelligent Alien Life? 1,083. Will Humans Live on Mars Someday? 1,084. Would You Want to Be a Space Tourist? 1,085. What Would You Name a New Star or Planet?
Animals & Pets
1,086. How Do You Feel About Zoos? 1,087. Do Gorillas Belong in Zoos? 1,088. Is It Unethical for a Zoo to Kill a Healthy Giraffe? 1,089. Should Farm Animals Have More Legal Protections? 1,090. Is It Wrong to Focus on Animal Welfare When Humans Are Suffering? 1,091. Is It Ethical to Genetically Engineer Animals? 1,092. When Is Animal Testing Justified? 1,093. Should Certain Animals Have Some of the Same Legal Rights As People? 1,094. Should Circuses Be Animal Free? 1,095. Is This Exhibit Animal Cruelty or Art? 1,096. Should You Go to Jail for Kicking a Cat? 1,097. Should You Feel Guilty About Killing Spiders, Ants or Other Bugs? 1,098. Should Emotional Support Animals Be Allowed on College Campuses? 1,099. Are Emotional-Support Animals a Scam? 1,100. What Are the Animals in Your Life? 1,101. What’s Your Relationship Like With Your Pet? 1,102. How Well Do You Know Your Pet? 1,103. Should We Be Concerned With Where We Get Our Pets? 1,104. What Does a President’s Choice of Pet — or Choice Not to Have a Pet at All — Say About Him? 1,105. What Have You Learned From Animals? 1,106. What Are Your Thoughts on Cats? 1,107. Would You Want to Hang Out at a Cat Cafe? 1,108. Why Do We Love Watching Animal Videos So Much? 1,109. What Are Your Most Memorable Stories About Wildlife?
Exercise & Health
1,110. Do You Like to Exercise? 1,111. Do You Get Enough Exercise? 1,112. How Has Exercise Changed Your Health, Your Body or Your Life? 1,113. How Much Do You Think About Your Weight? 1,114. How Often Do You Engage in ‘Fat Talk’? 1,115. What Are Your Healthy Habits? 1,116. What Health Tips Have Worked for You? 1,117. What Rules Do You Have for Staying Healthy? 1,118. What Habits Do You Have, and Have You Ever Tried to Change Them? 1,119. Do You Have Any Bad Health Habits? 1,120. How Careful Are You in the Sun? 1,121. Do We Worry Too Much About Germs? 1,122. How Well Do You Sleep? 1,123. What Are Your Sleep Habits? 1,124. How Much of a Priority Do You Make Sleep? 1,125. Do You Get Enough Sleep? 1,126. Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered? 1,127. Should the Legal Age to Purchase Tobacco Be Raised From 18 to 21? 1,128. Should E-Cigarettes Be Banned for Teenagers? 1,129. Do You Vape? Is Smoking Still a Problem Among Teenagers? 1,130. Are Antismoking Ads Effective? 1,131. Should Marijuana Be Legal? 1,132. Should Students Be Required to Take Drug Tests? 1,133. Should Middle School Students Be Drug Tested? 1,134. How Common Is Drug Use in Your School? 1,135. If You Drink or Use Drugs, Do Your Parents Know? 1,136. Is Your School a ‘Party School’? 1,137. Have You Been To Parties That Have Gotten Out of Control? 1,138. Why Is Binge Drinking So Common Among Young People in the United States? 1,139. Should Universities Work to Curtail Student Drinking? 1,140. Would You Ever Go Through Hazing to Be Part of a Group?
Civics & History
Guns & the Justice System
1,141. What Are Some Answers to America’s Gun Violence? 1,142. What Should Lawmakers Do About Guns and Gun Violence? 1,143. Can High School Students Make a Real Impact on the Problem of Gun Violence in the United States? 1,144. What Do You Think of the #WalkUpNotOut Movement? 1,145. How Should We Prevent Future Mass Shootings? 1,146. Are We Becoming ‘Numb’ to School Shootings? 1,147. Would You Feel Safer With Armed Guards Patrolling Your School? 1,148. Should Teachers Be Armed With Guns? 1,149. Should Guns Be Permitted on College Campuses? 1,150. Would Arming College Students Help Prevent Sexual Assaults on Campus? 1,151. Where Do You Stand on Unconcealed Handguns? 1,152. What Is Your Relationship With Guns? 1,153. What Should Be the Purpose of Prison? 1,154. Should Prisons Offer Incarcerated People Education Opportunities? 1,155. Should Felons Be Allowed to Vote After They Have Served Their Time? 1,156. Should the United States Stop Using the Death Penalty? 1,157. What Do You Think of the Police Tactic of Stop-and-Frisk? 1,158. When Should Juvenile Offenders Receive Life Sentences? 1,159. Do Rich People Get Off Easier When They Break the Law? 1,160. Should All Police Officers Wear Body Cameras? 1,161. Should Prostitution Be Legal? 1,162. Should Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal in Every State? 1,163. Should Terminally Ill Patients Be Allowed to Die on Their Own Terms?
Government Policy
1,164. How Strong Is Your Faith in American Democracy? 1,165. Is America Headed in the Right Direction? 1,166. What Do American Values Mean to You? 1,167. Do You Think It Is Important for Teenagers to Participate in Political Activism? 1,168. How Would You Like to Help Our World? 1,169. What Cause Would Get You Into the Streets? 1,170. Have Your Ever Taken Part in a Protest? 1,171. What Would You Risk Your Life For? 1,172. When Have You Spoken Out About Something You Felt Had to Change? 1,173. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? 1,174. Should Voting Be Mandatory? 1,175. Does Voting for a Third-Party Candidate Mean Throwing Away Your Vote? 1,176. Do You Consider Yourself a Republican, Democrat or Independent? 1,177. If You Were Governor of Your State, How Would You Spend a Budget Surplus? 1,178. What Local Problems Do You Think Your Mayor Should Try to Solve? 1,179. Should the United States Care That It’s Not No. 1? 1,180. Do You Trust Your Government? 1,181. What Do You Think of President Trump’s Use of Twitter? 1,182. What Do You Think the Role of the First Lady — or First Spouse — Should Be Today? 1,183. What Is More Important: Our Privacy or National Security? 1,184. When Is the Use of Military Force Justified? 1,185. When Should Countries Negotiate With Their Traditional Enemies? 1,186. Should the U.S. Be Spying on Its Friends? 1,187. Should Countries Pay Ransoms to Free Hostages Held by Terrorists? 1,188. What Responsibility Do We Have to Take In Refugees From Global Humanitarian Crises? 1,189. Should Millions of Undocumented Immigrants Be Allowed to Live in the U.S. Without Fear of Getting Deported? 1,190. Should the Government Allow ‘Dreamers’ to Stay in the U.S. Without Fear of Being Deported? 1,191. Are Children of Illegal Immigrants Entitled to a Public Education? 1,192. What Do We Owe Our Veterans?
History & News
1,193. What Event in the Past Do You Wish You Could Have Witnessed? 1,194. What Are the Most Important Changes, in Your Life and in the World, in the Last Decade? 1,195. What National or International Events That You Lived Through Do You Remember Best? 1,196. What Famous Figure From the Past Fascinates You Most? 1,197. What Does Dr. King’s Legacy Mean to You? 1,198. Who Do You Think Has Been ‘Overlooked’ By History? 1,199. What Recent Events Will Most Likely Be Featured in History Museums Someday? 1,200. Why Should We Care About Events in Other Parts of the World? 1,201. What News Stories Are You Following? 1,202. How Do You Get Your News? 1,203. Are You Having More Conversations With Friends and Family About Politics? 1,204. What Is Your Reaction to the Recent Flood of Breaking Political News? 1,205. Do You Ever Get the ‘Bad News Blues’? 1,206. Are We Being Bad Citizens If We Don’t Keep Up With the News? 1,207. Is Your Online World Just a ‘Filter Bubble’ of People With the Same Opinions? 1,208. Do Your Friends on Social Media All Have the Same Political Opinions You Do? 1,209. How Do You Know if What You Read Online Is True? 1,210. Do You Think You Can Tell When Something Is ‘Fake News’? 1,211. Do You Believe in Online Conspiracy Theories? 1,212. What Are Your Experiences With Internet-Based Urban Legends? 1,213. Are Political Memes Dangerous to Democracy? 1,214. Should National Monuments Be Protected by the Government? 1,215. Should Confederate Statues Be Removed or Remain in Place? 1,216. What Supreme Court Cases, Now or in the Past, Interest You Most? 1,217. Should Free Speech Protections Include Self Expression That Discriminates? 1,218. Is It O.K. to Refuse to Serve Same-Sex Couples Based on Religious Beliefs? 1,219. What Will You Remember About President Obama and His Legacy?
Many of the questions above are still open to comment, though not all.
A few questions have been removed from this list since it was originally published.
Teachers, please let us know in the comments how you use this list, or any of our previous prompts lists, in your classes.
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- Deficit Approach
- Difference Approach
- Diversity Approach
- Dominance Approach
- Drew and Heritage Institutional Talk
- Eckert Jocks and Burnouts
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- Frozen Register
- Gary Ives Bradford Study
- Holmes Code Switching
- Intimate Register
- Labov- New York Department Store Study
- Language and Age
- Language and Class
- Language and Ethnicity
- Language and Gender
- Language and Identity
- Language and Occupation
- Marked and Unmarked Terms
- Neutral Register
- Peter Trudgill- Norwich Study
- Phatic Talk and Banter
- Register and Style
- Sinclair and Coulthard
- Social Network Theory
- Sociolect vs Idiolect
- Variety vs Standard English
- Amelioration
- Collocations
- Colloquialisms
- Compounding
- Connotative Meaning
- Denotative Meaning
- Figurative Language
- Fixed Expressions
- Formal Language
- Informal Language
- Initialisms
- Irony English Language
- Levels of Formality
- Lexical Ambiguity
- Literary Positioning
- Occupational Register
- Paradigmatic Relations
- Personification
- Rhetorical Figures
- Semantic Change
- Semantic Reclamation
- Syntagmatic Relations
- Text Structure
- Zero-Derivation
- 1984 Newspeak
- Critical Theory
- Essentialism
- Forensic Linguistics
- Lexicography
- Linguistic Determinism
- Logical Positivism
- Natural Language Processing
- Psycholinguistics
- Rhetorical Analysis
- Sapir Whorf Hypothesis
- Active Listening Skills
- Address Counterclaims
- Group Discussion
- Presentation Skills
- Presentation Technology
- Alternation
- Compound Words
- Derivational Morphemes
- Lexical Morphology
- Reduplication
- Active Reading
- Process of Elimination
- Words in Context
- Click Consonants
- Fundamental Frequency
- Interdental
- International Phonetic Alphabet
- Labiodental
- Manner of Articulation
- Monophthong
- Nasal Sound
- Oral Cavity
- Phonetic Accommodation
- Phonetic Assimilation
- Place of Articulation
- Sound Spectrum
- Source Filter Theory
- Spectrogram
- Voice Articulation
- Vowel Chart
- Alliteration
- Sound Symbolisms
- Commissives
- Communication Accommodation Theory
- Conversational Implicature
- Cooperative Principle
- Declarative
- Deictic centre
- Deictic expressions
- Expressives
- Figure of Speech
- Grice's Conversational Maxims
- Paralanguage
- Politeness Theory
- Presupposition
- Semantics vs. Pragmatics
- Speech Acts
- Aggressive vs Friendly Tone
- Curious vs Encouraging Tone
- Feminine Rhyme
- Hypocritical vs Cooperative Tone
- Masculine Rhyme
- Monosyllabic Rhyme
- Multisyllabic
- Optimistic vs Worried Tone
- Serious vs Humorous Tone
- Surprised Tone
- Tone English Langugage
- Analyzing Informational Texts
- Comparing Texts
- Context Cues
- Creative Writing
- Digital Resources
- Ethical Issues In Data Collection
- Formulate Questions
- Internet Search Engines
- Literary Analysis
- Personal Writing
- Print Resources
- Research Process
- Research and Analysis
- Technical Writing
- Action Verbs
- Adjectival Clause
- Adverbial Clause
- Anthropomorphism
- Appositive Phrase
- Argument from Authority
- Argumentation
- Auditory Description
- Basic Rhetorical Modes
- Begging the Question
- Building Credibility
- Causal Flaw
- Causal Relationships
- Cause and Effect Rhetorical Mode
- Central Idea
- Chronological Description
- Circular Reasoning
- Circumlocution
- Classical Appeals
- Classification
- Close Reading
- Coherence Between Sentences
- Coherence within Paragraphs
- Coherences within Sentences
- Complex Rhetorical Modes
- Compound Complex Sentences
- Concessions
- Concrete Adjectives
- Concrete Nouns
- Consistent Voice
- Counter Argument
- Definition by Negation
- Description
- Description Rhetorical mode
- Direct Discourse
- Equivocation
- Extended Metaphor
- False Connections
- False Dichotomy
- False Equivalence
- Faulty Analogy
- Faulty Causality
- Fear Arousing
- Gustatory Description
- Hasty Generalization
- Illustration
- Induction Rhetoric
- Levels of Coherence
- Line of Reasoning
- Missing the Point
- Modifiers that Qualify
- Modifiers that Specify
- Narration Rhetorical Mode
- Non-Sequitur
- Non-Testable Hypothesis
- Objective Description
- Olfactory Description
- Paragraphing
- Parenthetical Element
- Participial Phrase
- Personal Narrative
- Placement of Modifiers
- Post-Hoc Argument
- Process Analysis Rhetorical Mode
- Red Herring
- Reverse Causation
- Rhetorical Fallacy
- Rhetorical Modes
- Rhetorical Question
- Rhetorical Situation
- Scare Tactics
- Sentimental Appeals
- Situational Irony
- Slippery Slope
- Spatial Description
- Straw Man Argument
- Subject Consistency
- Subjective Description
- Tactile Description
- Tense Consistency
- Tone and Word Choice
- Transitions
- Twisting the Language Around
- Unstated Assumption
- Verbal Irony
- Visual Description
- Authorial Intent
- Authors Technique
- Language Choice
- Prompt Audience
- Prompt Purpose
- Rhetorical Strategies
- Understanding Your Audience
- Auditory Imagery
- Gustatory Imagery
- Olfactory Imagery
- Tactile Imagery
- Main Idea and Supporting Detail
- Statistical Evidence
- Cultural Competence
- Intercultural Communication
- Methodology
- Research Methodology
- Constituent
- Object Subject Verb
- Subject Verb Object
- Verb Subject Object
- Author Authority
- Direct Quote
- First Paragraph
- Historical Context
- Intended Audience
- Primary Source
- Second Paragraph
- Secondary Source
- Source Material
- Third Paragraph
- Character Analysis
- Citation Analysis
- Text Structure Analysis
- Vocabulary Assessment
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Sylvia Plath wrote, "Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences." 1 Although she wasn't writing an essay when she wrote those words in her journal, they offer a message of hope, success, and pleasure in writing. Responding to an essay prompt can be intimidating when you first get started, but they all follow a standard format. If you are aware of important essay features, research your prompt, and take the time to outline your essay, you'll deliver what you want to say in a compelling piece of writing.
The Different Types of Essay Prompts
Essay prompts help you to approach the topic by asking you questions. When you are faced with an essay prompt, it is important to think about how you will respond, as each essay prompt may require a different writing style or rhetorical approach.
The different essay prompts include:
- Narrative : requires you to explore a fictional experience or write a true or imagined story to convey your argument.
- Expository: requires you to explain or define a concept or idea by evaluating evidence. A specific audience needs to be kept in mind as you present your argument and the evidence to back it up.
- Persuasive: requires you to persuade or convince your audience to take a stance on a particular viewpoint or action, with certain language choices to present logical thinking.
- Descriptive: requires you to describe "in detail" an object, an experience, or an image using sensory language.
Format of an Essay
An essay comprises a beginning , a middle , and an end . Leaving out one of these parts will confuse the audience because the piece will not flow smoothly.
Beginning: Essay Introduction
The introduction is where you launch your topic. You tell the reader the subject in a few sentences and outline the main ideas. The first couple of sentences grab the reader's interest. There are a few standard ways to begin your essay:
- A quote: Find a meaningful quote that illustrates your topic. A fitting quote is effective because it mirrors your thoughts and creates believability by adding a separate voice that shares your view.
- An anecdote: An anecdote is a brief story from your life that is connected to the subject of your essay. A quick tale is a good way to establish the atmosphere and setting.
- A statistic: Opening your essay with a statistic that shocks the audience plays on their trust or distrust in the statistic as reliable information. They will keep reading to satisfy their desire to know whether or not the statistic is accurate and how this is the case.
- A question: When you are having a conversation, and someone asks you a question, the natural response is curiosity. The same holds for your writing. When you begin your narrative with a question, the audience wants to keep reading to find out the answer.
The thesis statement is typically the final sentence in the introduction. The thesis clearly defines your topic and gives the audience an overview of what will be covered.
Middle: Essay Body Paragraphs
The body paragraphs are where you'll argue your opinion, share information, or tell your story. When first getting acquainted with an essay prompt, including at least three body paragraphs is customary , and each one builds upon the information given previously. Pay attention to the way you begin and end each section because awkward transitions interrupt the readability of the text .
End: Essay Conclusion
The conclusion ties everything together and offers closure to the reader. In the conclusion, r estate your thesis and briefly touch on your main points . As with the introduction, there are a variety of ways to write a powerful ending:
Consider the information included in the essay.
Examine what the audience gains from being made aware of your topic.
Discuss the moral or theme that underlies your issue.
Features of an Impressive Essay
There are many ways you can make your essay pop, including paying attention to language choices and choosing your sources wisely.
Language Choices in an Essay
Rhetoric is the study of how we communicate. One of the things it examines is the impact of language choice and structure on effective communication. The words you choose and how you write your essay's sentences directly affect its effectiveness. As you look over your writing, ask yourself:
Is your essay clear and concise?
Are you using concrete details to support the ideas in the essay?
Look at your writing objectively. How well are you explaining the main points? Is the essay saying what you are trying to make it say?
Through a more painful objective lens – is your essay interesting to read?
Have you answered the question or prompt directly and effectively?
Choosing Sources for an Essay
Credible sources are essential for the audience to take you seriously. The CRAAP Method is a handy guide:
Currency : When you're writing an essay about a rapidly evolving subject, the age of your source matters. Make sure your facts are up-to-date and that any links you include work properly.
Relevance : Research various sources to ensure they strongly support your arguments. Use sources that match the audience level of the essay you're writing.
Authority : A website's "About" section is an excellent resource for investigating the credibility of the source's information. Look at whether any organizations are connected to the source. Then, examine the author's credentials to decide if they have the knowledge to write about the subject.
Accuracy : Verify that you can find the same information in other places and that experts have reviewed it. The sources for your essay should be grammatically correct and written in a neutral tone.
Purpose : Look at the reasons why the information exists. The "About" page of a particular website can help you decipher whether the source means to inform or entertain and whether it contains political, religious, or personal biases.
Essay Prompt Examples
If you can choose between multiple essay topics and prompts, pick the ones you'd like to learn more about because your interest will show through your writing. Ensure that your subject complements the style of the essay prompt you're responding to. Here are a few examples:
Write a story on the history of the printing press ( Narrative Essay ).
Convince us whether community gardens should be encouraged or not ( Persuasive Essay ).
Explain how to take a great nature photograph ( Expository Essay ).
Describe in detail how to make the perfect apple pie ( Descriptive Essay ).
Who was Alben Barkley? (Can you guess what the type of essay prompt this is?) .
Descriptive and Argumentative Essay Prompts
Take notes as you read through your sources and create a page that condenses your thoughts. Then, use these types of questions to come up with the main ideas of your essay:
What exactly has the Essay Prompt asked me to do?
What do you agree or disagree with in the sources you found? Why?
What stands out in the references you will use for your essay?
What evidence for your position do you see as you read?
Just like the format of the essay, an outline follows a model:
I. Introduction
A. Hook (quote, anecdote, statistic, or question used to attract attention)
B. Introduction of Topic
C. Thesis Statement
II. Body Paragraphs 1-3
A. Main Point
B. Discussion of Main Point with Source
C. Transition Sentence to Next Point/Conclusion
III. Conclusion
A. Restate Thesis
B. Summarize Main Points
C. Final Impression
Example Response to an Essay Prompt
Read the example essay below. What type of Essay Prompt could it be responding to? What word choices have you found that support your argument?
When I visited my Nonnie in the summer, I got to help with her garden. I spent my days digging in the dirt and getting tanned in the bright sunshine. I didn't like the spicy smell of marigolds exactly, but I couldn't stop myself from sniffing their stiff petals. While we watered the plants (and squirted each other with the hosepipe), she taught me how different plants work together. Some plants make a good team, but others don't do so well when paired close to each other. Companion gardening is growing your vegetables, herbs, and flowers together in ways that eliminate some of the common problems, such as pests.
Not all bugs are out to get your garden. Many beneficial insects help eliminate the need to use pesticides. To attract them, position host and shelter plants throughout the plot. Host plants attract insects that help pollinate, while shelter plants offer safe places for them to lay eggs and rest. Herbs are an outstanding choice for this role. For example, herbs in the mint family will bring "predatory wasps, hoverflies, and robber flies" that eat caterpillars, grubs, and aphids. 2 Gardening is a lot of work, so let nature do some of the work for you.
Companion planting can remove the annoyance of losing your crop to pests. Organizing the garden according to the characteristics of the vegetables, herbs, and flowers you want to plant creates a more natural, pesticide-free gardening experience. My Nonnie's tomatoes were the best I've eaten, and her company made the work all the more enjoyable, bringing yet another meaning to the benefits of "companion planting."
The anecdote attempts to gather interest in the essay. The thesis clearly defines the subject of the essay and its main points. The body paragraph supports its point using reliable evidence . Notice that the source supports your idea, not the other way around. There is a transition into the conclusion paragraph. The conclusion of the essay summarizes without repeating information word-for-word.
Essay Prompts - Key Takeaways
- An essay has an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
- A thesis statement rounds out the introduction by naming the essay's subject and main ideas.
- Choose the wording and references you include carefully to craft an effective essay prompt response. The CRAAP Method helps you decide the validity of a source.
- Use brainstorming and outlining to organize your thoughts and help make writing your essay easier.
1 Ted Hughes, and Frances McCullough, Eds. The Journals of Sylvia Plath . 1982.
2 Marie Iannotti. "Companion Planting to Control the Insects in Your Garden." 2020.
Frequently Asked Questions about Essay Prompts
--> how do i write an effective response to an essay prompt.
To write an effective response to an essay prompt, form a clear thesis and use concise language and concrete details to support explanations and assertions. Make sure the essay is engaging to the reader.
--> How long should the response to an essay prompt be?
An essay prompt response should have at least five paragraphs.
--> How should I structure a response to an essay prompt?
The structure of a response to an essay prompt includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. A thesis statement states the topic and outlines the main points.
--> What's the best way to start the response to an essay prompt?
An essay prompt response should start with a hook to get the reader's attention. A shocking statistic, illuminating quote, anecdote, or question are all effective hooks. After your hook, introduce your subject. Round out your introduction with a clearly-worded thesis statement.
--> How can I improve an essay prompt response?
These are strategies that will help you improve your essay prompt response:
- Research your topic and choose sources using the CRAAP Method.
- Brainstorm your topic to organize your thoughts.
- Structure your brainstorming session into an outline to create a blueprint for your essay.
- Follow the structure of an essay: introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion.
- Start your essay with a hook to grab the audience's attention, and choose the words you include in your essay carefully.
Final Essay Prompts Quiz
What two strategies are critical to effectively responding to an essay prompt?
Show answer
Language choice and choosing valid sources are critical to effectively responding to an essay prompt.
Show question
A _____ essay uses personal experience to examine a moral or universal truth.
How are events in a narrative essay ordered?
Events are told in chronological order in a narrative essay.
What are three things learning to write a narrative essay can improve?
Learning to write a narrative essay can improve your comprehension, your reading, and your writing abilities.
How is a narrative essay structured?
A narrative essay is structured into an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
Where is the thesis statement located in a narrative essay?
What are the two types of dialogue you can include in your narrative essay?
The two types of dialogue you can include in your narrative essay are:
- Direct (exact words)
- Indirect (a paraphrase of the conversation)
An _____ essay objectively provides information with an academic tone.
A cause and effect expository essay explores the real-life consequences of _____.
An action or idea
A process expository essay describes the way something works _____.
A _____ expository essay examines the similarities and differences between two things.
Compare and contrast
A _____ expository essay explores an object or concept in detail.
How is an outline useful to an expository essay?
An outline is useful to an expository essay because it organizes your thoughts to make the writing process easier.
What is the structure of an expository essay?
An expository essay is structured into an Introduction, Body Paragraphs, and a Conclusion.
What is a thesis statement?
A thesis statement outlines your argument and lists the main points of your essay.
Which type of essay relates both sides of an argument and allows the audience to make their own decision?
Argumentative essay
What subjects make good topics for persuasive essays?
Any subject that you can agree or disagree with can be crafted into a persuasive essay.
What are the three Elements of Rhetoric?
A, B, and C
Why should you avoid "I think" and "I feel" statements in your persuasive essay?
You should avoid "I think" and "I feel" statements because they weaken your message.
How should you structure your persuasive essay?
A persuasive essay should include a thesis statement that lays out your argument and main points in an Introduction. Argue your main points in the body paragraphs. Use your conclusion to finalize your argument while restating your thesis and summarizing your main points.
Why are persuasive essays important?
Persuasive essays help you to think critically about your beliefs.
How is a persuasive essay different from an argumentative essay?
A persuasive essay presents one side of a topic and refutes the other. An argumentative essay presents both sides and allows the audience to form their own opinion.
Who was Aristotle?
Aristotle was the Greek philosopher who developed the Elements of Rhetoric.
What are some fields that use persuasive writing?
Persuasive writing is used in advertising, the media, and by speechwriters.
Where in your essay do you initially state your opinion and main ideas?
Thesis statement
What is the CRAAP Method?
The CRAAP Method (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) is a tool to help determine whether a source is valid and reliable.
What does the "C" in CRAAP stand for?
What does the "R" in CRAAP stand for?
What does the "A" in CRAAP stand for?
What does the "P" in CRAAP stand for?
Why should you make sure to include transitional sentences in your essay?
Transitional sentences help your essay flow smoothly from section to section.
Why is choosing the right sources for your essay so important?
Choosing the right sources for your essay is important because reliable sources lend credibility, but shaky sources destroy the reliability of your argument.
What are the questions you should ask yourself when proofreading your essay?
All of the above
Which features are unique to a Narrative essay?
Why are transitions important in a Narrative essay?
Transitions are important in a Narrative essay because it's disorienting to readers to have to stop reading to figure out what's going on.
How can you leave a lasting impression in the conclusion of a Narrative essay?
Why are concrete details in a Narrative important?
Concrete details in a narrative essay are important because they draw the reader into the experience.
True or false: cover letters and personal statements are real-world applications of narrative essays.
True. Personal statements ask you to talk about yourself within the guidelines of a theme. Cover letters ask you to tell the story of how you gained your skills.
What do you learn while writing expository essays?
True or False: Before reading your expository essay, you should assume the audience knows something about your subject.
False. When writing your expository essay, you should assume the audience has no prior knowledge of the subject. Provide background information and explain technical terms.
Why is learning to write a descriptive essay important?
A _____ describes an object, place, or concept in deep detail.
Descriptive essay
What are some types of figurative language?
A _____ is an image or saying that has been overused.
Why should you follow a consistent pattern in your description?
You should follow a consistent pattern in your description because if you don't, it creates a disjointed image in the reader's mind.
Why should you research you descriptive essay topic?
Researching your descriptive essay topic helps you include concrete details in your writing.
What is a personal descriptive essay?
A personal descriptive essay describes an event that affected the author's life.
A(n) _____ essay creates an impersonal, photograph-quality image of a subject.
Formal description
A(n) _____ essay attempts to create an emotional reaction with its description.
Impressionistic
- Rhetorical Analysis Essay
- English Grammar Summary
- Linguistic Terms
- Language Acquisition
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WEEKLY WRITING PROMPTS
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Creative Writing Prompts
When the idea to start a weekly newsletter with writing inspiration first came to us, we decided that we wanted to do more than provide people with topics to write about. We wanted to try and help authors form a regular writing habit and also give them a place to proudly display their work. So we started the weekly Creative Writing Prompts newsletter. Since then, Prompts has grown to a community of more than 450,000 authors, complete with its own literary magazine, Prompted .
Here's how our contest works: every Friday, we send out a newsletter containing five creative writing prompts. Each week, the story ideas center around a different theme. Authors then have one week — until the following Friday — to submit a short story based on one of our prompts. A winner is picked each week to win $250 and is highlighted on our Reedsy Prompts page.
Interested in participating in our short story contest? Sign up here for more information! Or you can check out our full Terms of Use and our FAQ page .
Why we love creative writing prompts
If you've ever sat in front of a computer or notebook and felt the urge to start creating worlds, characters, and storylines — all the while finding yourself unable to do so — then you've met the author's age-old foe: writer's block. There's nothing more frustrating than finding the time but not the words to be creative. Enter our directory! If you're ready to kick writer's block to the curb and finally get started on your short story or novel, these unique story ideas might just be your ticket.
This list of 1800+ creative writing prompts has been created by the Reedsy team to help you develop a rock-solid writing routine. As all aspiring authors know, this is the #1 challenge — and solution! — for reaching your literary goals. Feel free to filter through different genres, which include...
Dramatic — If you want to make people laugh and cry within the same story, this might be your genre.
Funny — Whether satire or slapstick, this is an opportunity to write with your funny bone.
Romance — One of the most popular commercial genres out there. Check out these story ideas out if you love writing about love.
Fantasy — The beauty of this genre is that the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.
Dystopian – Explore the shadowy side of human nature and contemporary technology in dark speculative fiction.
Mystery — From whodunnits to cozy mysteries, it's time to bring out your inner detective.
Thriller and Suspense — There's nothing like a page-turner that elicits a gasp of surprise at the end.
High School — Encourage teens to let their imaginations run free.
Want to submit your own story ideas to help inspire fellow writers? Send them to us here.
After you find the perfect story idea
Finding inspiration is just one piece of the puzzle. Next, you need to refine your craft skills — and then display them to the world. We've worked hard to create resources that help you do just that! Check them out:
- How to Write a Short Story That Gets Published — a free, ten-day course by Laura Mae Isaacman, a full-time editor who runs a book editing company in Brooklyn.
- Best Literary Magazines of 2023 — a directory of 100+ reputable magazines that accept unsolicited submissions.
- Writing Contests in 2023 — the finest contests of 2021 for fiction and non-fiction authors of short stories, poetry, essays, and more.
Beyond creative writing prompts: how to build a writing routine
While writing prompts are a great tactic to spark your creative sessions, a writer generally needs a couple more tools in their toolbelt when it comes to developing a rock-solid writing routine . To that end, here are a few more additional tips for incorporating your craft into your everyday life.
- NNWT. Or, as book coach Kevin Johns calls it , “Non-Negotiable Writing Time.” This time should be scheduled into your routine, whether that’s once a day or once a week. Treat it as a serious commitment, and don’t schedule anything else during your NNWT unless it’s absolutely necessary.
- Set word count goals. And make them realistic! Don’t start out with lofty goals you’re unlikely to achieve. Give some thought to how many words you think you can write a week, and start there. If you find you’re hitting your weekly or daily goals easily, keep upping the stakes as your craft time becomes more ingrained in your routine.
- Talk to friends and family about the project you’re working on. Doing so means that those close to you are likely to check in about the status of your piece — which in turn keeps you more accountable.
Arm yourself against writer’s block. Writer’s block will inevitably come, no matter how much story ideas initially inspire you. So it’s best to be prepared with tips and tricks you can use to keep yourself on track before the block hits. You can find 20 solid tips here — including how to establish a relationship with your inner critic and apps that can help you defeat procrastination or lack of motivation.
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- Choosing Your College Essay Topic | Ideas & Examples
Choosing Your College Essay Topic | Ideas & Examples
Published on October 25, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on August 29, 2022.
A strong essay topic sets you up to write a unique, memorable college application essay . Your topic should be personal, original, and specific. Take time to brainstorm the right topic for you.
Some topics are easier to make work than others, but it’s possible to write an exceptional essay from a common topic.
Attend one of our upcoming livestreams and have your topic reviewed by an admissions essay coach. We’ll tell you if you’re on the right track and explain whether or not your topic has the potential to make a great college essay.
Want some extra inspiration? Watch recordings of past topic review sessions.
Table of contents
What makes a good topic, brainstorming questions to get started, discover the best topic for you, how to make a common topic compelling, frequently asked questions about college application essays, want some extra inspiration.
Here are some guidelines for a good essay topic:
- It’s focused on you and your experience
- It shares something different from the rest of your application
- It’s specific and original (not many students could write a similar essay)
- It affords the opportunity to share your positive stories and qualities
In most cases, avoid topics that
- Reflect poorly on your character and behavior
- Deal with a challenge or traumatic experience without a lesson learned or positive outlook
Spend time reflecting on and writing out answers to the following questions. After doing this exercise, you should be able to identify a few strong topics for your college essay.
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Writing about yourself can be difficult. If you’re struggling to identify your topic, try these two strategies.
Start with your qualities
After identifying your positive qualities or values, brainstorm stories that demonstrate these qualities.
Start with a story
If you already have some memorable stories in mind that you’d like to write about, think about which qualities and values you can demonstrate with those stories.
Talk it through
To make sure you choose the right topic, ask for advice from trusted friends or family members who know you well. They can help you brainstorm ideas and remember stories, and they can give you feedback on your potential essay topics.
You can also work with a guidance counselor, teacher, or other mentor to discuss which ideas are most promising. If you plan ahead , you can even workshop multiple draft essays to see which topic works best.
If you do choose a common topic, ensure you have the following to craft a unique essay:
- Surprising or unexpected story arcs
- Interesting insight or connections
- An advanced writing style
Here are a few examples of how to craft strong essays from cliché topics.
Here’s a checklist you can use to confirm that your college essay topic is right for you.
College essay topic checklist
My topic is focused on me, not on someone else.
My topic shares something different from the rest of my application.
My topic is specific and original (not many students could write a similar essay).
My topic reflects positively on my character and behavior.
If I chose to write about a traumatic or challenging experience, my essay will focus on how I overcame it or gained insight.
If I chose a common topic, my essay will have a surprising story arc, interesting insight, and/or an advanced writing style.
Good topic!
It looks like your topic is a good choice. It's specific, it avoids clichés, and it reflects positively on you.
There are no foolproof college essay topics —whatever your topic, the key is to write about it effectively. However, a good topic
- Is meaningful, specific, and personal to you
- Focuses on you and your experiences
- Reveals something beyond your test scores, grades, and extracurriculars
- Is creative and original
Yes—admissions officers don’t expect everyone to have a totally unique college essay topic . But you must differentiate your essay from others by having a surprising story arc, an interesting insight, and/or an advanced writing style .
To decide on a good college essay topic , spend time thoughtfully answering brainstorming questions. If you still have trouble identifying topics, try the following two strategies:
- Identify your qualities → Brainstorm stories that demonstrate these qualities
- Identify memorable stories → Connect your qualities to these stories
You can also ask family, friends, or mentors to help you brainstorm topics, give feedback on your potential essay topics, or recall key stories that showcase your qualities.
Most topics are acceptable for college essays if you can use them to demonstrate personal growth or a lesson learned. However, there are a few difficult topics for college essays that should be avoided. Avoid topics that are:
- Overly personal (e.g. graphic details of illness or injury, romantic or sexual relationships)
- Not personal enough (e.g. broad solutions to world problems, inspiring people or things)
- Too negative (e.g. an in-depth look at your flaws, put-downs of others, criticizing the need for a college essay)
- Too boring (e.g. a resume of your academic achievements and extracurriculars)
- Inappropriate for a college essay (e.g. illegal activities, offensive humor, false accounts of yourself, bragging about privilege)
Here’s a brief list of college essay topics that may be considered cliché:
- Extracurriculars, especially sports
- Role models
- Dealing with a personal tragedy or death in the family
- Struggling with new life situations (immigrant stories, moving homes, parents’ divorce)
- Becoming a better person after community service, traveling, or summer camp
- Overcoming a difficult class
- Using a common object as an extended metaphor
It’s easier to write a standout essay with a unique topic. However, it’s possible to make a common topic compelling with interesting story arcs, uncommon connections, and an advanced writing style.
During our livestream sessions, we invite students to submit their essay topics and receive live feedback from our essay coaches. Check out recordings of our past sessions:
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How to perfect your prompt writing for ChatGPT, Midjourney and other AI generators
Lecturer in Business Analytics, University of Sydney
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Generative AI is having a moment. ChatGPT and art generators such as DALL-E 2, Stable Diffusion and Midjourney have proven their potential, and now millions are wracking their brains over how to get their outputs to look something like the vision in their head.
This is the goal of prompt engineering: the skill of crafting an input to deliver a desired result from generative AI.
Despite being trained on more data and computational resources than ever before, generative AI models have limitations . For instance, they’re not trained to produce content aligned with goals such as truth, insight, reliability and originality.
They also lack common sense and a fundamental understanding of the world, which means they can generate flawed (and even nonsensical) content.
As such, prompt engineering is essential for unlocking generative AI’s capabilities. And luckily it isn’t a technical skill. It’s mostly about trial and error, and keeping a few things in mind.
Read more: AI art is everywhere right now. Even experts don't know what it will mean
First, let’s use ChatGPT to illustrate how prompt engineering can be used for text outputs. If it’s used effectively, ChatGPT can generate essays , computer code , business plans , cover letters , poetry , jokes , and more.
Since it’s a chatbot, you may be inclined to engage with it conversationally. But this isn’t the best approach if you want tailored results. Instead, adopt the mindset that you’re programming the machine to perform a writing task for you.
Create a content brief similar to what you might give a hired professional writer. The key is to provide as much context as possible and use specific and detailed language. You can include information about:
- your desired focus, format, style, intended audience and text length
- a list of points you want addressed
- what perspective you want the text written from, if applicable
- and specific requirements, such as no jargon .
If you want a longer piece, you can generate it in steps. Start with the first few paragraphs and ask ChatGPT to continue in the next prompt. If you’re unsatisfied with a specific portion, you can ask for it to be rewritten according to new instructions.
But remember: no matter how much you tinker with your prompts, ChatGPT is subject to inaccuracies and making things up . So don’t take anything at face value. In the example below, the output mentions a “report” that doesn’t exist. It probably included this because my prompt asked it to use only reliable sources .
Art generators
Midjourney is one of the most popular tools for art generation, and one of the easiest for beginners . So let’s use it for our next example.
Unlike for text generation, elaborate prompts aren’t necessarily better for image generation. The following example shows how a basic prompt combined with a style keyword is enough to create a variety of interesting images. Your style keyword may refer to a genre, art movement, technique, artist or specific work.
The following images were based on the prompt leopard on tree followed by different style keywords. These were (from the top left clockwise) synthwave , hyperrealist , expressionist and in the style of Zena Holloway . Holloway is a British photographer known for capturing her subjects in ethereal and somewhat surreal scenes, most often underwater.
You can also add keywords relating to:
- image qualities, such as “beautiful” or “high definition”
- objects you want pictured
- and lighting and colours.
With Midjourney, you can even use certain specific commands for different features, including ––ar or ––aspect to set the aspect ratio , ––no to omit certain objects, and ––c to produce more “unusual” results. This command accepts values between 0-100 after it, where the default is 0 and 100 leads to the most unusual result.
You can also use ––s or ––stylize to generate more artistic images (at the expense of following the prompt less closely).
The following example applies some of these ideas to create a fantasy image with a dreamlike and futuristic look. The prompt used here was dreamy futuristic cityscape, beautiful, clouds, interesting colors, cinematic lighting, 8k, 4k ––ar 7:4 ––c 25 ––no windows.
Midjourney accepts multiple prompts for one image if you use a double colon. This can lead to results such as the image below, where I provided separate prompts for the owl and plants. The full prompt was oil painting of an ethereal owl :: flowers, colors :: abstract :: wisdom ––ar 7:4 .
A more advanced type of prompting is to include an image as part of the prompt. Midjourney will then take the style of that image into account when generating a new one.
A good way to find inspiration and ideas is to explore the Midjourney gallery and style libraries .
A career of the future?
As generative AI models enter everyday life, prompting skills are likely to become more in-demand , especially from employers looking to get results using AI generators.
Some commentators are asking if becoming a “prompt engineer” may be a way for professionals such as designers, software engineers and content writers to save their jobs from automation, by integrating generative AI into their work. Others have suggested prompt engineering will itself be a career.
It’s hard to predict what role prompt engineering will play as AI models advance.
But it’s almost a given that more sophisticated generators will be able to handle more complex requests, inviting users to stretch their creativity. They will likely also have a better grasp of our preferences, reducing the need for tinkering.
Read more: No, the Lensa AI app technically isn’t stealing artists' work – but it will majorly shake up the art world
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The 2021-22 Common Application Essay Prompts
Tips and guidance for the 7 essay options on the new common application.
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For the 2021-22 application cycle, the Common Application essay prompts remain unchanged from the 2020-21 cycle with the exception of an all new option #4. As in the past, with the inclusion of the popular "Topic of Your Choice" option, you have the opportunity to write about anything you want to share with the folks in the admissions office.
The current prompts are the result of much discussion and debate from the member institutions who use the Common Application. The essay length limit stands at 650 words (the minimum is 250 words), and students will need to choose from the seven options below. The essay prompts are designed to encourage reflection and introspection. The best essays focus on self-analysis, rather than spending a disproportionate amount of time merely describing a place or event. Analysis, not description, will reveal the critical thinking skills that are the hallmark of a promising college student. If your essay doesn't include some self-analysis, you haven't fully succeeded in responding to the prompt.
According to the folks at the Common Application , in the 2018-19 admissions cycle, Option #7 (topic of your choice) was the most popular and was used by 24.1% of applicants. The second most popular was Option #5 (discuss an accomplishment) with 23.7% of applicants. In third place was Option #2 on a setback or failure. 21.1% of applicants chose that option.
From the Admissions Desk
"While the transcript and grades will always be the most important piece in the review of an application, essays can help a student stand out. The stories and information shared in an essay are what the Admissions Officer will use to advocate for the student in the admissions committee."
–Valerie Marchand Welsh Director of College Counseling, The Baldwin School Former Associate Dean of Admissions, University of Pennsylvania
Always keep in mind why colleges are asking for an essay: they want to get to know you better. Nearly all selective colleges and universities (as well as many that aren't overly selective) have holistic admissions, and they consider many factors in addition to numerical measures such as grades and standardized test scores. Your essay is an important tool for presenting something you find important that may not come across elsewhere in your application. Make sure your essay presents you as the type of person a college will want to invite to join their community.
Below are the seven options with some general tips for each:
Option #1
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
"Identity" is at the heart of this prompt. What is it that makes you you? The prompt gives you a lot of latitude for answering the question since you can write a story about your "background, identity, interest, or talent." Your "background" can be a broad environmental factor that contributed to your development such as growing up in a military family, living in an interesting place, or dealing with an unusual family situation. You could write about an event or series of events that had a profound impact on your identity. Your "interest" or "talent" could be a passion that has driven you to become the person you are today. However you approach the prompt, make sure you are inward looking and explain how and why the story you tell is so meaningful.
- See more Tips and Strategies for Essay Option #1
- Sample essay for option #1: "Handiwork" by Vanessa
- Sample essay for option #1: "My Dads" by Charlie
- Sample essay for option #1: "Give Goth a Chance"
- Sample essay for option #1: "Wallflower"
Option #2
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
This prompt may seem to go against everything that you've learned on your path to college. It's far more comfortable in an application to celebrate successes and accomplishments than it is to discuss setbacks and failure. At the same time, you'll impress the college admissions folks greatly if you can show your ability to learn from your failures and mistakes. Be sure to devote significant space to the second half of the question—how did you learn and grow from the experience? Introspection and honesty are key with this prompt.
- See more Tips and Strategies for Essay Option #2
- Sample essay for option #2: "Striking Out" by Richard
- Sample essay for option #2: "Student Teacher" by Max
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Keep in mind how open-ended this prompt truly is. The "belief or idea" you explore could be your own, someone else's, or that of a group. The best essays will be honest as they explore the difficulty of working against the status quo or a firmly held belief. The answer to the final question about the "outcome" of your challenge need not be a success story. Sometimes in retrospection, we discover that the cost of an action was perhaps too great. However you approach this prompt, your essay needs to reveal one of your core personal values. If the belief you challenged doesn't give the admissions folks a window into your personality, then you haven't succeeded with this prompt.
- See more Tips and Strategies for Essay Option #3
- Sample essay for option #3: "Gym Class Hero" by Jennifer
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Here, again, the Common Application gives you a lot of options for approaching the question since it is entirely up to you to decide what the "something" and "someone" will be. This prompt was added to the Common Application in the 2021-22 admissions cycle in part because it gives students the opportunity to write something heartfelt and uplifting after all the challenges of the previous year. The best essays for this prompt show that you are a generous person who recognizes the contributions others have made to your personal journey. Unlike many essays that are all about "me, me, me," this essay shows your ability to appreciate others. This type of generosity is an important character trait that schools look for when inviting people to join their campus communities.
- See more Tips and Strategies for Essay Option #4
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
This question was reworded in 2017-18 admissions cycle, and the current language is a huge improvement. The prompt use to talk about transitioning from childhood to adulthood, but the new language about a "period of personal growth" is a much better articulation of how we actually learn and mature (no single event makes us adults). Maturity comes as the result of a long train of events and accomplishments (and failures). This prompt is an excellent choice if you want to explore a single event or achievement that marked a clear milestone in your personal development. Be careful to avoid the "hero" essay—admissions offices are often overrun with essays about the season-winning touchdown or brilliant performance in the school play (see the list of bad essay topics for more about this issue). These can certainly be fine topics for an essay, but make sure your essay is analyzing your personal growth process, not bragging about an accomplishment.
- See more Tips and Strategies for Essay Option #5
- Sample essay for option #5: "Buck Up" by Jill
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
This option was entirely new in 2017, and it's a wonderfully broad prompt. In essence, it's asking you to identify and discuss something that enthralls you. The question gives you an opportunity to identify something that kicks your brain into high gear, reflect on why it is so stimulating, and reveal your process for digging deeper into something that you are passionate about. Note that the central words here—"topic, idea, or concept"—all have rather academic connotations. While you may lose track of time when running or playing football, sports are probably not the best choice for this particular question.
- See more Tips and Strategies for Essay Option #6
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
The popular "topic of your choice" option had been removed from the Common Application between 2013 and 2016, but it returned again with the 2017-18 admissions cycle. Use this option if you have a story to share that doesn't quite fit into any of the options above. However, the first six topics are extremely broad with a lot of flexibility, so make sure your topic really can't be identified with one of them. Also, don't equate "topic of your choice" with a license to write a comedy routine or poem (you can submit such things via the "Additional Info" option). Essays written for this prompt still need to have substance and tell your reader something about you. Cleverness is fine, but don't be clever at the expense of meaningful content.
- See more Tips and Strategies for Essay Option #7
- Sample essay for option #7: "My Hero Harpo" by Alexis
- Sample essay for option #7: "Grandpa's Rubik's Cube"
Final Thoughts
Whichever prompt you chose, make sure you are looking inward. What do you value? What has made you grow as a person? What makes you the unique individual the admissions folks will want to invite to join their campus community? The best essays spend significant time with self-analysis rather than merely describing a place or event.
The folks at The Common Application have cast a wide net with these questions, and nearly anything you want to write about could fit under at least one of the options. If your essay could fit under more than one option, it really doesn't matter which one you choose. Many admissions officers, in fact, don't even look at which prompt you chose—they just want to see that you have written a good essay.
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46 Great Essay Writing Topics for Students
Before you sit down to write, you need a topic, and these essay writing topics can help you get started.
Writing an essay is an important skill for high school and college students. Essays show a writer’s ability to think through a topic, explore their point of view and persuade or inform others of that. Yet finding essay writing topics can feel vague.
This list will help students find the right topic for a descriptive essay or argumentative essay. It outlines a number of hot topics that students can delve into in order to express their opinions and showcase their writing skills. You can use these to practice your essay writing skills or as prompts for you or students.
Best Essay Writing Topics for Middle School Students
Controversial essay writing topics for older students, persuasive essay topics for older students, compare and contrast essays for older students, narrative essay topics for older students, informative essay topics for older students, a final word on the best essay writing topics, faqs about the best essay writing topics, essay writing resources.
If you are picking an essay for a 7th or 8th-grade student, the topic needs to be something that students in that age range are interested in. This will help them want to do the research and explore their ideas. This age range will often write expository essays or narrative essays, rather than persuasive ones.
Here are some essay topics to consider:
1. Is Climate Change Real?
Climate change is a hot topic with middle schoolers, and this essay topic idea lets them explore it. This essay topic can work well for a persuasive, informative, or cause-and-effect essay.
2. The Benefits (Or Drawbacks) of Homework
Few middle school students enjoy homework, but this can be a great way to get them to dig into why the education system relies on homework. Students can give their opinion about the need for homework or why homework should be eliminated.
3. A Funny Childhood Memory
Middle school students who are not ready to write on argumentative essay topics can practice their English essay writing skills by writing about a funny thing that happened as a child. This topic should focus on entertaining, engaging storytelling.
4. Video Game Addiction
Many young students spend a lot of time playing video games, and this can translate into an essay topic. Exploring the mental health effects of too much video gameplay is a good option. Ask them to write about games they live or spend too much time playing.
5. A Dog, Cat Or The Family Pet
Sometimes younger students find it difficult to write an entire essay about a challenging topic. If that’s the case it’s much easier to write an essay about something they’re familiar with or spend time with every day. Often that’s the family dog cat or pet. They can write about what this animal means to them.
6. My Summer Vacation
This is a staple choice of teachers everywhere, particularly after the summer break. All younger students can write essays easily enough about how they spent a few weeks of school what it is and where they went. Perhaps it was time with a family member or a best friend? There is a good reason that many elementary and middle school teachers assign this as a writing assignment at the start of school.
7. A Personal Victory or Success
A student could start writing this essay by writing about when they felt like all was lost. Then, they could describe how picked themselves up off the dirt and achieved a victory.
8. What Will Life Be Like In 2050?
Will we find solutions to the problems we face today, like poverty and homelessness? Will technology enrich our lives further or be the cause of new issues?
Many young students often think about the future, and this topic allows them to let their imagination run loose.
This way they can express their ideas on how the world will look like in a few decades. It also gives you insight into the child’s personality. Do they see the positives in everything, or are they a bit more realistic?
9. A Trip To The Museum
As children, we loved going to the museum. Even today, it’s interesting to look at historical art, sculptures, and old vehicles.
This essay topic works exceptionally well right after a school holiday. Maybe the young student just witnessed some of the best historical pieces. Writing about this topic allows them to reconnect with the emotion they felt.
In this essay, ask students what they liked most about visiting the museum, important lessons they learned, and how they felt in the moment.
10. Describe Meeting A Famous Person
We all have favorite celebrities that we’d love to meet. This could be an actor, musician, or athlete.
In this essay topic, ask students to describe what it’s like to meet a famous person. How would they feel, what questions would the student ask them, and what activities would they do together.
By asking your student to write the essay as descriptively as possible, they’ll experience the positive emotions associated with meeting their idol.
As they enter high school and college, students should start transitioning from informative essays to persuasive ones. Controversial essay topics are a good way to do this. They help students develop their critical thinking skills and learn how to reason an argument. The below topics the bill well:
10. Why the Sale and Production of Tobacco Should Get Banned
Few people would argue about the health benefits of tobacco, yet it remains a top-selling product. This essay would explore the benefits of banning the sale of the product altogether.
11. Should Every Country Have the Death Sentence?
The death sentence is definitely a controversial ethical and social issue. This essay topic would explore whether or not it is a good way to punish for serious crimes and the benefit or drawback of adding it to every country across the globe.
12. Is Homeschooling Better or Worse than Public School?
Homeschooling is growing in popularity, and this school essay topic would explore the benefits or drawbacks of this particular school choice. It may pull from personal experience if the student homeschooled.
13. Is The US Election Process Fair?
Elections are an essential part of our lives. It gives us the power to determine who’ll govern our country. However, is the election process fair?
In the essay, your student will get an opportunity to voice their ideas, describe what changes they’d like to see, and how those changes will positively impact the nation.
This essay topic requires more research, and students walk away with knowledge that can help them in the long term.
14. How Can We Reduce Climate Change?
Climate change is a serious topic that impacts everyone’s life. Sea levels are rising, which makes it difficult for animals like polar bears to survive.
When writing about this essay topic, students will have to research the effect of climate change, what causes it, and how to reduce its impact.
This requires logical thinking and creativity. It’ll encourage students to come up with a plan of action. Maybe they’ll limit the number of carbon emissions released by companies, promote solar power, or decrease the price of energy-efficient appliances.
Persuasive essays work to convince a reader of the writer’s point of view. These topics lend themselves well to a great essay that focuses on persuasion.
15. Why Soda Should Not Be on Fast Food Kids Meals
Fast food kids meals target young consumers, and soda is often included. Making junk food a way of life contributes to childhood obesity, and this topic could explore alternatives to soda for these kid-centered meals.
16. Illegal Immigrants Should Not Be Jailed
When people enter a country illegally, putting them in jail does not solve the problem. Instead, alternative punishments or even help with attaining legal immigrant status can reduce the strain on an overloaded system while also helping these individuals become part of society.
17. Breastfeeding in Public Should Be Considered Normal
Babies need breast milk to survive, yet many places in society frown on women feeding their babies in public. This essay topic would explore why this is an outdated and unhealthy idea.
18. Why Gun Control Is Needed
The best topics for persuasive essays are ones that are a little controversial. Gun control fits the bill well, and it can be a good topic for an essay. Other topics include alcohol, drugs and, in some cases, religion. That said, it depends on the nature of your students and school.
19. A Turning Point In Your Life
All the students can typically point to an occasion or life event when their worldview or concept that themselves changed ask them to write about a defining life experience.
20. Should Religion Be Taught In Schools?
This essay topic is for older students and adults learners who can take a thoughtful but critical stance on the role of religion in school’s today. Should it be taught or removed from schools and why?
21. Recycling Should Be Compulsory
The average American produces 1,704 pounds of garbage per year. Most of this is thrown in landfills, which can be equally as damaging to the environment as littering. Oceans are also filled with plastic that negatively affects the lives of marine life.
However, if we can recycle all that waste, we won’t damage the environment. This essay topic encourages older students to research recycling and the pros and cons of making it mandatory.
22. Colleges Are Becoming Business Driven
Getting a tertiary education is essential. It allows you to learn a marketable skill that other people pay you for.
However, private colleges are becoming more common, leading people to think that these institutions are more focused on making money.
When writing about this topic, students need to research the cost of college tuition, how this high price negatively impacts your adult lives, and how the government can fix it.
This type of essay compares two like or unlike things, drawing ways they are the same or different. It’s useful as it provides structure for aspiring essayists that they can use to outline a longer work. Some ideas include:
23. Homework vs. Class Assignments
Which has more value, homework or assignments completed in class? This essay topic would explore the contrast between these two types of school assignments. For fun, give it to students to complete in class… and then ask them to revise it at home.
24. Social Media Vs. In-Person Interaction
Social media can keep people connected, but the increased push for social media connection can detract from in-person communication. This essay would explore the contrast between the two types of communication.
25. Physical Education Vs. Nutritional Education
Both exercise and diet play a role in health. This essay topic would explore the impact of both through the education system.
26. Life Before And After The Internet
Older students and adult learners can remember a time before we spend so much time. Is life any better now that we spend so much time connected to the Internet? This essay explores what it means to be always connected.
27. Right Side Vs Left Side of the Brian Thinkers
The right side of the brain thinkers are typically more creative and artistic. The left side of the brain thinkers are analytical and mathematical. What’s more useful in today’s society? What can each type learn from their counterpart?
28. Tea Vs Coffee
Caffeine is a staple for many students and workers. It gives you a boost of energy in the morning, which allows you to get more done. It also helps if you have a test coming up and need to study hard.
However, larger amounts of caffeine are known to cause heart palpitations, anxiety, and increased stress.
In this essay, students look at the benefits and drawbacks of tea and coffee. It empowers them with knowledge on when to limit their consumption.
29. Fashion Today Vs 20 Years Ago
Fashion is constantly changing. What looked cool 20 years ago might look weird today. Older students will also notice how their fashion choices changed from middle school to high school and from high school to college.
In this essay, students talk about what causes this change and how long it takes for the public to accept a specific style.
Sometimes an everyday life experience can make great essay material, and writing about your own life means less risk of plagiarism. Here are some ideas:
30. First Day of School Memories
The first day of school in a new school can be the fodder for a number of personal stories about school life and the social aspects of it. Writers can capture those emotions in this type of essay. It’s also a good type of essay to write as it can serve as a gateway into other types of writing like a memoir.
31. A Memorable Act of Kindness
If someone did something for you once that really stood out, transform that into an essay topic. You will enjoy remembering the action while creating your essay.
32. Your Best or Worst Holiday
What you did or didn’t do on your summer vacation as a child can be a great starting point for a narrative essay. Older students can use this essay prompt to write about past experiences and reflect on them beyond simply reportage.
33. An Experience with Peer Pressure
Peer pressure can be positive or negative, but everyone has experienced it. This essay would explore a time when peer pressure made you do something, or not do something, and what the effect of that decision was.
34. A surprising Event or Change of Fortune.
Was this change in your life for the best or the worst, and how did you respond? Describe in detail.
35. Your First Teacher
When you first met your mentor, teacher or guide. How did you respond to them, and what did they have to show you? Similarly, a student could also write an essay about a teacher they shunned or turned away from.
36. Your Idea Of The Perfect Day
When waking up in the morning, we all strive to have the perfect day. Ask students how their perfect day will look like, what activities they’d do, and with who.
By being as descriptive as possible, students picture the perfect day in their minds. This improves students’ storytelling skills and helps them structure events in chronological order.
37. Imagine A Week Without The Internet Or Technology
This fun experiment gives students insight into how reliant they are on technology and how their life will look without it.
By imagining this week in their heads, it’ll give them an idea of what other activities they’ll engage in. This could be working out, socializing, or learning a new skill.
38. A Day You Overcame Rejection
Rejection is something everyone must face at some point. Few things are scarier than rejection. But when you overcome it, you get a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.
For example, this could be asking that cute guy or girl out on a date or applying for a job at your dream company.
Sometimes the goal of an essay is not to persuade but to inform. Informative or expository essay topics need to have a lot of information behind them, so students have something to write about.. These topics lend themselves well to that:
39. How is Global Warming Changing the Environment
Global warming has many effects, and this essay topic would explore those thoroughly. The goal is simply to inform, not persuade or create change.
40. The Causes of World War II
Exploring the causes behind a global war, like World War II, can create a long essay. You can spin this essay topic easily enough by picking other historical events.
41. What Is Racism, and How Are People Sometimes Unaware of It?
Racism is a hot topic today, and this essay would explore how it can often hide in someone’s way of thinking.
42. Does Free Will Exist?
A popular essay topic in many philosophy and art classes, this is an open-ended subject. A student can use it to explore their personal philosophy and develop their critical thinking skills.
Check out this list for other philosophy questions .
43. What Reading Means to Me
Becoming a better writer means spending a lot of time reading great books. One of the best ways to encourage reading is asking readers and students to reflect on why they love reading what they learned from previous books. It’s good subject matter for an essay too.
44. The Role Of Journalists and the Media
Many people are skeptical and or don’t trust news produced by journalists. But are they right? Surely there is a bar between trustworthy and untrustworthy sources? In this essay, explore how to tell good journalism apart from bad journalism.
45. Animal Testing Should Be Banned
When testing products to see if it’s safe for humans, scientists will run tests on animals. However, this testing isn’t only cruel but ineffective. Animals don’t get certain diseases that humans do. This includes HIV, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and certain types of cancers.
In this essay, students must conduct research and present a case for why animal testing is unethical.
46. Why Do Teenagers Commit Suicide?
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for those between the ages of 10 to 24. This is a complex topic since there could be several different factors at play. Some of these include bullying, abuse, and traumatic stress.
When writing this essay, students will be encouraged to dig deeper into the main reasons why teenagers commit suicide and how we can help them as a community. This spreads awareness and gets people to take positive action.
Whether you are a high school student writing an essay for homework or you are sitting down to write a college essay as you apply for school, procrastination often occurs because you do not know what to write about. Having a list of topics handy will help.
To choose a topic, first, decide what type of essay you need to write. Then, browse this list of writing topics to find one that is interesting to you, or use the list to think of a different, similar topic. Soon you will have an essay that is engaging and informative that can showcase your writing abilities well.
If you need more inspiration, check out our guide to the 101+ best writing prompts .
What are some topics for a persuasive essay?
Persuasive essays require a controversial topic in order to give the writer the freedom to write in a persuasive manner. Some good topics for these essays include: Soda in fast food meals Breastfeeding in public Using jail to deter illegal immigrants Banning cell phones for young children
What are some good topics for an essay?
Some good topics for an essay include: Gun control Social media Personal experiences Health Social issues A life event
What is a Personal Essay?
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Nicole Harms has been writing professionally since 2006. She specializes in education content and real estate writing but enjoys a wide gamut of topics. Her goal is to connect with the reader in an engaging, but informative way. Her work has been featured on USA Today, and she ghostwrites for many high-profile companies. As a former teacher, she is passionate about both research and grammar, giving her clients the quality they demand in today's online marketing world.
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23 Hot & Evergreen Environment Essay Topics to Write About in 2023
Topics for an Essay on the Environment in the Climate Change Context
This cluster of topics deals with the most debatable aspect of environmental issues – global climate change. If you yearn to craft an extended ‘how to save the environment’ essay, you should find a relevant topic right here.
- The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Sustainable Development and Climate Adaptation
Nowadays, Artificial Intelligence is used across multiple industries, with more or less success. While the range of technology application extends by leaps and bounds, people are still struggling to realize the full potential of AI and how to use it at maximum efficiency. As many experts predict the next AI quantum leap in the nearest future, you could elaborate on how current and prospective AI capabilities can help humans maintain sustainable development and find ways to adapt to intensifying climate change.
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Control Measures
The greenhouse gas issue has been discussed for years, and various emission-reducing measures have been taken, but unfortunately, they only have temporary and limited effects. As of today, no viable solution is in sight. While scientists are looking for ways to avoid catastrophic levels of global warming, you might want to write an essay about how countries and international organizations can improve the control efficiency of the already implemented measures, as violating them is a global problem.
- Individual Carbon Footprint Reduction Strategies
The question of whether an individual or small-collective effort to reduce the carbon footprint has an impact – if any – on preventing or minimizing global climate change is always interesting to discuss. It also has so many aspects that students should easily find an individual yet compelling angle to the issue that will echo in many souls. One of such angles is actually measuring a particular individual’s carbon footprint in order to then reduce it more effectively.
- Perspectives of Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage
Contrary to the previous carbon-related topic, this one fits great not for individuals but for entire industries. Capturing carbon directly from the air is today absolutely cost-ineffective; however, this is virtually the only perspective method of reducing the amount of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and turning it into useful products like polyurethane or synthetic fuel. There are plenty of interesting things one might be able to write even in a short essay on environment protection through inventing cheaper and more efficient ways to capture and store carbon.
- Global Climate Change and Its Economic Impacts
As countries around the world experience the impacts of climate change, understanding how it affects global economics is essential. The thing is, due to ever-increasing globalization, climate-related issues or solutions applied in one part of the world can affect the supply chains or final products on another side of the planet. Also, this essay could discuss how extreme weather events, changing precipitation patterns, and other environmental factors can impact various economic sectors, i.e., agriculture and energy systems, to name a few.
Urban Environment Pollution Essay Topics
Urban spaces with industrial enterprises are one of the major sources of environmental pollution. Taking this into account, you can consider writing a protect environment essay on one of the topics highlighted below.
- Clear Air: Strategies for Improving Air Quality in Cities
Air pollution can have devastating consequences for human health and local ecosystems, especially in developing countries that use primarily fossil fuels across industries. Hence, it is vital to implement effective prevention measures to reduce emissions from plants and vehicles where possible. This topic could discuss possible strategies that governments may consider in order to reduce air pollution levels in their respective countries or regions.
- Green Building Practices Around the Globe or in a Particular Region
In recent years, green building has become quite popular not only among private homeowners but also urbanists and industrial architects. Erecting separate buildings, entire blocks or communities, and plants that are environment-friendly might be the solution to many problems of modern cities (for example, the above-mentioned air pollution issue) and also a way to partially fight worldwide deforestation. As a result, there are lots of aspects to this topic you can elaborate on and craft an outstanding piece.
- Present-Day and Prospective Waste Management Systems and Solutions
Improper waste management may cause severe pollution of urban spaces, potentially posing health risks to cities’ inhabitants. In case you decide to write an essay about this issue, you can discuss existing waste management systems available globally (landfills, incinerators, recycling centers), as well as emerging technologies like plasma gasification or conversion, etc. Apparently, the piece should focus on developing eco-friendly solutions aiming at reducing human-produced waste.
- Networked Environmental Sensors Usage Techniques and Benefits
To bring about a healthier planet, we need to be able to monitor and measure ongoing processes. Technology has made it possible with distributed networked sensors that give us real-time data about the environment, be it vast ocean spaces or cities. When writing about environmental sensors, you can describe how they help track pollutants and acidification levels in air and water, reduce waste by tracking water and energy usage within buildings and enable greater sustainability more than ever before.
Essay Topics About the Environment & Economics
Whether we want it or not, the environment and economics are closely tied. In the context of coming up with an interesting and current environmental essay topic, this provides a wide pool of ideas to develop into a full-fledged paper.
- The Economics of Climate Change
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today, and understanding its economics is essential for finding solutions. This topic could analyze how different countries have responded financially to climate change mitigation efforts and what new strategies might be developed in order to better address the issue in the future.
- Long-Term Energy Storage as a Way to a More Sustainable Economy
With the global shift to renewable energy sources, the economy faces yet another challenge. The thing is, present-day energy storage solutions (i.e., lithium-ion batteries) are great for the short term. But what about longer stretches when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind dies down? Students interested in this aspect of environmental protection and sustainable development can write about prospective methods of long-term energy storage, like molten salt, thermal batteries, integrating solar and wind power production with innovative storage solutions, etc. If these technologies can be perfected, we could wave goodbye to astronomical power prices and enjoy a more sustainable global economy.
- Best Practices and Benefits of Using Drones in Organic Farming
Organic farming involves using natural methods without chemicals or genetic modification and contributes greatly to environmental protection. Using new technology – for example, drones – to help improve “the old farming ways” can be an extremely engaging and fruitful topic for an environmental essay.
- Methane Emissions Reduction Technologies and Practices
Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases – and about a quarter of its global emission is attributed to agriculture. An essay about methane should discuss improving the technologies (i.e., scrubbers and biodigesters) used to capture emissions from cow farms. It should also cover emerging practices such as composting organic waste.
- Will Graphene Save Earth and Humankind?
Graphene is the latest revolution in planet-saving materials, and it’s much more than just a trend. Just one atom thick yet stronger than steel and thinner than paper, graphene has incredible conductive powers that can be applied to water filtration systems and superconductors for transferring energy with minimal loss over long distances, to name a few. This revolutionary material could prove to be the keystone of revamping Earth into a sustainable home.
Topics for Essays About Water Consumption & Preservation
Water is the source of life on Earth. However, if humankind doesn’t take care of this precious resource, it could beshrew all living creatures on the planet. The importance of water for the environment gives you plenty of topics to write about in the forthcoming year.
- Methods to Fight Ocean Acidification
Increased ocean acidification results from high concentrations of carbon dioxide, which gets absorbed into the water. This effect can have far-reaching consequences not only for marine life but also for humanity as a whole since oceans play a crucial role in regulating temperatures on Earth. This topic could discuss potential solutions or ways to mitigate ocean acidification and its planetary-scale adverse impacts on the environment.
- Freshwater Scarcity & Conservation Efforts
Freshwater scarcity is an increasingly pressing issue around the world due to growing populations consuming more than nature can sustainably produce. A paper on this topic could look at how different countries are addressing water scarcity issues through conservation efforts such as desalination plants or aquifer recharging systems.
- Sea Level Rise and Its Impact on Coastal Communities
As sea levels continue to rise in different parts of the world, this topic could explore ways affected communities are preparing for potential flooding by implementing adaptation strategies such as coastal defenses and mangrove reforestation efforts.
- Ways to Reduce Water Usage in Agriculture
Around 70% of the world’s freshwater is used in agriculture, and this volume has to be reduced if humankind expects to survive in the already foreseeable future. Developing an essay on this topic could talk about capturing and storing water methods, drought-tolerant crops, dry farming, compost and mulch, and conservation tillage techniques.
Essay Topics About Renewable Energy Sources and Related Technologies
It is impossible to imagine how humankind can resolve looming global environmental issues without including renewable energy sources as a critical part of the solution. Due to the variety of existing sources, this segment offers multiple topic options, all of them being interesting, innovative, and potentially groundbreaking.
- Will Humankind Be Using Renewable Energy Sources Only by the End of the 21st Century?
Renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric power are today widespread and efficient enough to pose an alternative to fossil fuels. However, implementing each technology in real life has many nuances and technical complications. Hence, it might be really interesting to research the topic and estimate whether entirely switching to renewable energy sources from oil, coal, and natural gas by the end of the 21st century is reasonable.
- Advances and Problems in Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion has the potential to become a true game-changer in power generation. Based on fusing hydrogen into helium, this process is an incredible source of renewable energy that runs the Sun and is tried to be mimicked here on Earth. What makes this especially attractive is its zero-carbon emissions and no radioactive nuclear waste — two big environmental benefits we need more than ever before. You can delve into the details of this topic and explain to your readers how nuclear fusion can save the world for future generations.
- New Approaches to Using Hydrogen in Energy Transition
Lately, hydrogen is becoming more and more important for power generation. This is directly connected with the development of renewable energy sources that are increasingly used to obtain hydrogen from water. Also, you can explore and write about the fact that hydrogen plays a crucial role in storing renewable energy. Overall, hydrogen usage in terms of environment, sustainable development, and energy transition offers many aspects you can craft your essay about.
- Solar Power: How Technological Advances Are Increasing Solar Energy Efficiency
The growth of solar energy has been extraordinary in recent decades, with solar cells now capable of producing more energy than ever. An essay about solar power may explore the advances in the technology – for example, solar glass – meant to increase its efficiency and broaden the sphere of its usage
- Public Electric Transport, Cars, and Trucks: Benefits, Challenges, and Scope for Improvement
We are now living in the electric vehicles boom era. However, the vast majority of them are produced today for private use. An eager student can write an extended essay about the effects the massive introduction of public electric transport and long-distance transportation trucks will have on protecting the environment. On the other hand, you can also describe challenges people might face during the such transition and suggest ways of overcoming them.
As you can see, there are plenty of interesting environment essay topics to choose from for your next college paper in 2023. Depending on what your interests are, there’s sure a topic on this list that will get your creative juices flowing. Yet, should so happen that you wouldn’t find anything worthy of your attention, you can always look up more topics in online databases with 100% free essays . Whichever topic you choose, make sure to write with passion and creativity – your readers will thank you for it!
72 Water Scarcity Essay Topic Ideas & Examples
🏆 best water scarcity topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 good research topics about water scarcity, 🔎 interesting topics to write about water scarcity, 💯 free water scarcity essay topic generator.
- Water Crisis in UAE Ali comments that “the consumption level of water exceeds the available sources” while Boberg asserts that “water is one of the resources that is scarce” made an analysis of the water crisis in UAE based […]
- Pesticide Usage and Water Scarcity Water management is a tool for every person to reduce the water shortage. Increase in water price is likely to reduce the consumption as this reduces water wastage.
- Water Scarcity and Its Effects on the Environment The core objective of this research paper is to examine water scarcity and its effects to the environment. This is because sufficiency of water supply depends on water conservation methods, distribution channels available in the […]
- Trend Analysis: Water Scarcity Issue This is a worrying aspect for the scarcity of water will lead to greater conflict for water. As agriculture is the sector that uses maximum water resources, with increase in population will face a dual […]
- Water Scarcity as a Global Issue: Causes and Solutions Common causes of water scarcity include overpopulation e in regions that have limited water resources, global warming, destruction of water catchment areas by human activities, and pollution of water sources.
- Global Water Scarcity Causes and Solutions The water consumption patterns across the global vary making the water scarcity and depletion of its sources worse. Concentrations of these gases increase the temperature of the surface of the planet.
- Scarcity of Water in Saudi Arabia, Africa and Australia Moreover, the destruction of forests, the destruction of water catchments, and the pollution of fresh water sources have also played together in contributing to the reduction of water resources.
- Blue Gold: Global Water Crisis The issue of water is a global affair because of the alarming rate at which limited fresh water reservoirs is depleted. Globally, the amount of fresh water is dropping and it is believed that fresh […]
- Water Crisis in the Documentary “Chinatown” Water is a critical commodity in the film because it motivates every character, causes conflicts, and affects the lives of the ranchers and farmers in the community. The movie explains why the water demands of […]
- Water Scarcity, Marketing, and Privatisation In a quick rejoinder, the report by the UNEP, excessive pumping of water from rivers and lakes to support agriculture threatens to dry up water sources.
- World Water Needs: Water Scarcity Problem in Australia Water is one of the most critical resources that support the sustainability of life and the development of a country’s economy.
- Water Crisis, Oceans and Sea Turtles Issues In the case of Mexico, it appears that the past regimes have never put a lot of focus on the utilization of water resources.
- Water Crisis Resolution and Investments Based on the factors mentioned above, it could be said that the primary goal of the paper is to discuss the issue of the water crisis, as it is of paramount importance for the survival […]
- How Saudi Arabia Can Overcome Economic Water Crisis? In Saudi Arabia, the water sector has undergone significant transformation as the government tries to mitigate water crisis. The problem of the economic water crisis in Saudi Arabia cannot be attributed only to natural causes.
- Baja California Water Crisis and Its Impact The brewery that is being constructed near the cities of Mexicali and Gallegos by a large corporation is the example of the fact that the situation tends to worsen.
- Jordan’s Water Crisis and Response In particular, the facts about enmity with Israel exacerbate the local political situation, and in the face of the shortage of this valuable natural resource, the struggle for control over the Dead Sea becomes fiercer.
- Water Scarcity: Industrial Projects of Countries That Affect the External Environment With the demise of the Yellow River in China, the government started a project to transfer water from the Yangtze River to the northern plains of the country to support farming activities.
- Newark Water Crisis: Water Pollution Problem The main problem was rooted in the fact that lead levels in the drinking water were highly elevated, which is dangerous and detrimental to the population’s health.
- Water Scarcity Problem in Sub-Saharan Africa Since the world has water in abundance, it is necessary that more be done to address the shortage of clean water.
- Flint Water Crisis: Environmental Racism and Racial Capitalism The Flint crisis is a result of the neoliberal approach of the local state as opposed to the typical factors of environmental injustice; a polluter or a reckless emitter cutting costs. The two main factors […]
- Water Scarcity in Africa and Mental Disorders Partially, the reason for the lack of meaningful changes in the policies preventing the causes lies in the social stigma towards patients with mental problems.
- The Flint Water Crisis From Marxist Perspective To understand the causes of the crisis and ways to prevent such problems in the future, it is possible to employ the Marxist approach.
- Can Virtual Water ‘Trade’ Reduce Water Scarcity in Semi-arid Countries? The Case of Spain
- Water Stress, Water Transfer and Social Equity in Northern China: Implications for Policy Reforms
- Climate Change, Water Scarcity in Agriculture and the Economy-Wide Impacts in a CGE Framework
- Global Water Crisis and Future Food Security in an Era of Climate Change
- Economic and Social Impacts of the Water Crisis
- The Relationship Between Rainfall and Human Density and Its Implications for Future Water Stress in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Water Management From Tradition to Second Modernity: An Analysis of the Water Crisis in Iran
- Creative and Innovative Solutions to Water Scarcity
- The Flint Water Crisis and Global Warming
- Electricity Prices, River Temperatures, and Cooling Water Scarcity
- Assessing the Economic Impact of North China’s Water Scarcity Mitigation Strategy
- Deficit Irrigation Under Water Stress and Salinity Conditions: The MOPECO-Salt Model
- Soil Water Content Criteria for Peach Trees Water Stress Detection During the Postharvest Period
- Future Water Scarcity in Computable General Equilibrium Models
- Using Radiation Thermography and Thermometry to Evaluate Crop Water Stress in Soybean and Cotton
- Coping With Water Scarcity: The Governance Challenge
- Estimating the Causal Effect of Water Scarcity on the Groundwater Use Efficiency of Rice Farming in South India
- Improving Household Survey Instruments for Understanding Agricultural Household Adaptation to Climate Change: Water Stress and Variability
- China’s Regional Water Scarcity and Implications for Grain Supply and Trade
- Environmental and Resource Costs Under Water Scarcity Conditions: An Estimation in the Context of the European Water Framework Directive
- Relationships Between Normalized Leaf Water Potential and Crop Water Stress Index Values for Acala Cotton
- Australian Water Crisis for Demand and Supply
- Spinach Biomass Yield and Physiological Response to Interactive Salinity and Water Stress
- Clean Water Scarcity, Its Policy, and Conservation Measures
- Preventing the Last Drop: Facing the Water Crisis
- Water Scarcity and Its Effects on the Environment
- Drought and Water Scarcity Management Policy in England and Wales
- Food Security for Sub-Saharan Africa: Does Water Scarcity Limit the Options?
- Beyond Water Stress: Structural Adjustment and Macroeconomic Consequences of the Emerging Water Scarcity
- Groundwater Pollution and Drinking Water Scarcity
- Addressing China’s Water Scarcity: Recommendations for Selected Water Resource Management Issues
- Dealing With Water Scarcity: Need for Economy-Wide Considerations and Institutions
- Groundwater Markets Under the Water Scarcity and Declining Water Table Conditions: The Upland Balochistan Region of Pakistan
- Does Water Scarcity Shift the Electricity Generation Mix Toward Fossil Fuels? Empirical Evidence From the United States
- Climate Change, Water Scarcity, and Adaptation in the U.S. Fieldcrop Sector
- Evaluating the Crop Water Stress Index and Its Correlation With Latent Heat and CO2 Fluxes Over Winter Wheat and Maize in the North China Plain
- Water Crisis in India – Side Effect of Climate Change
- Local Water Stress Impacts on Global Supply Chains: Network Configuration and Natural Capital Perspectives
- Water Scarcity and the Impact of the Mining and Agricultural Sectors in Chile
- Conflict, Cooperation, and Collective Action: Land Use, Water Rights, and Water Scarcity in Manupali Watershed, Southern Philippines
- Farm Households’ Resilience Scale Under Water Scarcity
- Agriculture, Population, Land and Water Scarcity in a Changing World – The Role of Irrigation
- Water Scarcity – Future Uses and Implications for Policy
- Potential Benefits From Innovations to Reduce Heat and Water Stress in Agriculture
- Whole-Plant Metabolic Allocation Under Water Stress
- Iran’s Water Crisis: Inducers, Challenges, and Countermeasures
- Grape Composition under Abiotic Constraints: Water Stress and Salinity
- Interaction Between Light and Water Stress in Plants
- Causes Implications and Intervention Strategies: Water Scarcity
- Water Scarcity: Economic Approaches To Improving Management
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How to use ChatGPT to help you write essays
ChatGPT's advanced capabilities have created a huge demand , with the 'app' accumulating over 100 million users within two months of launching. One of the biggest standout features has been its ability to compose all sorts of text within seconds, including songs, poems, bedtime stories, and essays.
Also: What is ChatGPT and why does it matter? Here's everything you need to know
Contrary to popular opinion, ChatGPT can do a lot more than just write an essay for you (which could be called plagiarism). What is more useful is how it can help guide your writing process. If you are a looking for ways to use ChatGPT to support your writing, here are five different ways to explore.
How to improve your writing process with ChatGPT
1. use chatgpt to generate essay ideas.
Before you can even get started writing an essay, you need to flesh out the idea. When professors assign essays, they generally give students a prompt that gives them leeway for their own self-expression and analysis. As a result, students have the task of finding the angle to approach the essay on their own.
If you have written an essay recently, you know this step is often the trickiest part -- and this is where ChatGPT can help.
Also: I wish I had ChatGPT when I was in college. But not for the reason you might expect
All you need to do is input the assignment topic, include as much detail as you'd like -- such as what you're thinking about covering -- and let ChatGPT do the rest. For example, based on a paper prompt I had in college, I asked:
Can you help me come up with a topic idea for this assignment, "You will write a research paper or case study on a leadership topic of your choice." I would like it to include Blake and Mouton's Managerial Leadership Grid and possibly a historical figure.
Within seconds, the chatbot produced a response that provided me with the title of the essay, options of historical figures I could focus my article on, and insight on what information I could include in my paper, with specific examples of a case study I could use.
2. Use the chatbot to create an outline
Once you have a solid topic, it's time to start brainstorming what you actually want to include in the essay. To facilitate the writing process, I always create an outline, including all the different points I want to touch upon in my essay. However, the outline writing process is usually tedious.
With ChatGPT, all you have to do is ask it to write it for you.
Also : ChatGPT productivity hacks: Five ways to use chatbots to make your life easier
Using the topic that ChatGPT helped me generate in step one, I asked the chatbot to write me an outline by saying:
Can you create an outline for a paper, "Examining the Leadership Style of Winston Churchill through Blake and Mouton's Managerial Leadership Grid"
After a couple of seconds, the chatbot outputted a holistic outline divided into seven different sections, with three different points under each section.
This outline is thorough and can be condensed for a shorter essay, or elaborated on for a longer paper. If you don't like something or want to tweak it further, you can do so either manually or with more instructions to ChatGPT.
3. Use ChatGPT to find sources
Now that you know exactly what you want to write, it's time to find reputable sources to get your information from. If you don't know where to start, like with all of the previous steps, you can just ask ChatGPT.
All you need to do is ask it to find sources for your essay topic. For example, I asked it the following:
Can you help me find sources for a paper, "Examining the Leadership Style of Winston Churchill through Blake and Mouton's Managerial Leadership Grid."
Also : The best AI chatbots: ChatGPT and other interesting alternatives to try
The chatbot output seven sources, with a bullet point for each that explained what the source was and why it could be useful.
The one caveat you will want to be aware of when using ChatGPT for sources is that it does not have access to information before 2021, so it will not be able to suggest the freshest sources. However, it is a start.
4. Use ChatGPT to write a sample essay
It is worth noting that if you take the text directly from the chatbot and submit it, your work could be considered a form of plagiarism, since it is not your original work. As with any information taken from another source, text generated by any AI should be clearly identified and credited in your work.
In most educational institutions, the penalties for plagiarism are severe, ranging from a failing grade to expulsion from the school.
Also : ChatGPT is changing everything. But it still has its limits
If you want ChatGPT generate a sample piece of text, put in the topic, the desired length, and watch for what it generates. For example, I input the following text:
Can you write a five-paragraph essay on the topic, "Examining the Leadership Style of Winston Churchill through Blake and Mouton's Managerial Leadership Grid."
Within seconds, the chatbot output exactly what I asked for: A coherent, five-paragraph essay on the topic which can help you to guide you in your own writing.
At this point it's worth remembering how tools like ChatGPT work: They put words together in a form that they think is statistically valid but they don't know if what they are saying is true or accurate. That means you might find invented facts or details or other oddities. It won't be able to create original work because it is simply aggregating everything it has already absorbed. It might be a useful starting point for your own work, but don't expect it to be inspired or accurate.
5. Use ChatGPT to co-edit your essay
Once you've written your own essay, you can use ChatGPT's advanced writing capabilities to edit it for you.
You can simply tell the chatbot what you specifically want it to edit. For example, I asked it to edit for essay structure and grammar, but other options could have included flow, tone, and more.
Once you ask it to edit your essay, it will prompt you to paste your text into the chatbot. Once you do, it will output your essay with corrections made. This could be the most useful tool as it can edit your essay more thoroughly than a basic proofreading tool could, going beyond spelling.
You could also co-edit with the chatbot, asking it to take a look at a specific paragraph or sentence and asking it to rewrite or fix it for clarity.
For a better document collaboration experience, try these tips
How to use ChatGPT: Everything you need to know
The best AI chatbots: ChatGPT and other interesting alternatives to try
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Good Research Topics about Women’s Movement
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Most Interesting Volcano Topics to Write about
- Review of Related Literature of Volcano Tourism in the Philippines
- The Human Response During a Calamity in A Living God by Lafcadio Hearn and the Volcano Next Door by Michael Finkel
- Investigating the Rate of Lava Flows Down the Side of a Volcano
- The Dangers of Living Too Close to a Volcano
- The Characteristics of Mount Vesuvius, the Only Active Volcano on the European Mainland
- Causes and Effect of Volcano Eruption
- The Most Famous Mount Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii
- The Devastation a Volcano Can Create Shown in a Volcanoes Path
- What Fundamental Parameters Determine the Vigor or Violence with Which a Volcano Erupts
- The History and Possible Threats of Nyiragongo in The Volcano Next Door, a Book by Michael Finkel
- Types of Volcano Eruptions
- Understanding How a Volcano Forms and Erupts
- Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens Critical
- The Mount Saint Helens and the Volcano Area in Washington State
- Planet and Live Erupting Volcano
Good Research Topics about Volcano
- The Mount St. Helen and Mount Pinatubo Volcano Eruptions
- The Most Active Volcano of The Philippines
- An Active Super Volcano Lying Underneath Yellowstone Nation Park
- The Vesuvius Volcano Eruption and the Activities of the Cities Pompeii and Herculaneum
- Why This Volcano Eruption in the Philippines May Be Especially Deadly
- Sitting on a Volcano: Domestic Violence in Indonesia Following Two Volcano Eruptions
- Volcanoes: Volcano and Broad Domed Volcano
- The Lack of Volcano Physics in the Movies
- A Look at the Destructive Power of a Volcano
- An Analysis of the Destructive Power of a Volcano as One of the Most Violent and Deadly of All Natural Forces
- The Importance and Role of Hydrothermal Vents and Underwater Volcano
- Yellowstone: Volcano and Lieutenant Gustavus Doane
- The Devastating Effects of Volcano Eruptions in the U.S
- An Analysis of the Eruption of the Mount St. Helens Volcano on the 18th of May, 1980
- Volcanoes: Volcano and Eruptions Explosive Eruptions
- Volcanoes : The Volcano of Tambora
- An Analysis of the Question Whether Germany Was Dancing on a Volcano
- The Three Systems to Faults Present in the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano Region
- An Analysis of the Soufriere Hills Volcano Eruption on Montserrat Island in 1997
Essay Questions About Volcanoes
- Why Can’t Toxic or Nuclear Waste Be Disposed of in Volcanoes?
- What Are the Four Basic Types of Volcanoes?
- What Exactly Are Super Volcanoes?
- Where Do Volcanoes Exist and How They Have Formed?
- Which Is the World’s Largest Volcano?
- What Causes Hotspot Volcanoes?
- What Are the Most Beautiful Volcanoes in the World?
- Which Are the Most Dangerous Volcanoes That Could End the World?
- Why Are Some Volcanoes More Hazardous Than Others?
- Are Volcanoes the Main Cause of Global Warming?
- What Would Be the Side Effects of Dumping Our Trash in Active Volcanoes?
- Is It Possible There Are Active Volcanoes on the Moon?
- Why Are There So Many Volcanoes in the Philippines?
- Is It Possible for Extinct Volcanoes to Ever Become Dormant or Active Again?
- Why Do Most Volcanoes and Earthquakes Occur at Plate Boundaries?
- What Are the Hazards Caused by Volcanoes?
- Why Are Plug Dome Volcanoes Considered Especially?
- What Are Most Dangerous Volcanoes in the US and Why?
- Why Can’t We Harvest Energy From Volcanoes?
- What Is the Most Interesting Thing About the Volcanoes?
- What Islands Have Volcanoes on Them?
- What Are the 3 Main Types of Volcanoes and Their Characteristics?
- Could the Earth Survive Without Volcanoes?
- Which Continent Does Not Have Volcanoes?
- Why Do Volcanoes Erupt on Mountains and Not on Flat Land?
- How Are Underwater Volcanoes Different From Land Volcanoes?
- How Often Do “Extinct” Volcanoes Become Active?
- Where Are the Most Active Volcanoes Located?
- What Is the Distribution of Volcanoes Around the World?
- How Do Volcanoes Influence Climate?
18 Ways to Teach Struggling Students to ...
Matthew Lynch
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Ideas, Inspiration, and Giveaways for Teachers
We Are Teachers
The Big List of Essay Topics for High School (100+ Ideas!)
Ideas to inspire every young writer!
Writing essays is a big part of high school education, and for good reason. Learning to write clearly, concisely, and persuasively provides big benefits throughout your life. Sometimes, though, the hardest part is just deciding what to write about. If you’re looking for ideas, check out this huge round-up of essay topics for high school. There’s something here for every type of essay, so choose one and start writing!
- Argumentative Essay Topics
- Cause-Effect Essay Topics
- Compare-Contrast Essay Topics
- Descriptive Essay Topics
- Expository Essay Topics
- Humorous Essay Topics
- Narrative Essay Topics
- Persuasive Essay Topics
Argumentative Essay Topics for High School
When writing an argumentative essay, remember to do the research and lay out the facts clearly. Your goal is not necessarily to persuade someone to agree with you, but to encourage your reader to accept your point of view as valid. Here are some possible argumentative topics to try.
- The most important challenge our country is currently facing is … (e.g., immigration, gun control, economy)
- Should physical education be part of the standard high school curriculum?
- Schools should require recommended vaccines for all students, with very limited exceptions.
- Is it acceptable to use animals for experiments and research?
- Does social media do more harm than good?
- Capital punishment does/does not deter crime.
- The government should provide free internet access for every citizen.
- All drugs should be legalized, regulated, and taxed.
- Vaping is less harmful than smoking tobacco.
- The best country in the world is …
- Parents should be punished for their minor children’s crimes.
- Should all students have the ability to attend college for free?
- What one class should all high schools students be required to take and pass in order to graduate?
- Do we really learn anything from history, or does it just repeat itself over and over?
- Are men and women treated equally?
Cause-Effect Essay Topics for High School
A cause-and-effect essay is a type of argumentative essay. Your goal is to show how one specific thing directly influences another specific thing. You’ll likely need to do some research to make your point. Here are some ideas for cause-and-effect essays.
- Humans are causing accelerated climate change.
- Fast-food restaurants have made human health worse over the decades.
- Being an only/oldest/youngest/middle child makes you …
- What effect does violence in movies or video games have on kids?
- Traveling to new places opens people’s minds to new ideas.
- What caused World War II? (Choose any conflict for this one.)
- Describe the effects social media has on young adults.
- How does playing sports affect people?
- What are the effects of loving to read?
- Racism is caused by …
Compare-Contrast Essay Topics for High School
As the name indicates, in compare-and-contrast essays, writers show the similarities and differences between two things. They combine descriptive writing with analysis, making connections and showing dissimilarities. The following ideas work well for compare-contrast essays.
- Two political candidates in a current race
- Going to college vs. starting work full time
- Working your way through college as you go or taking out student loans
- iPhone or Android
- Instagram vs. Twitter (or choose any other two social media platforms)
- Public and private schools
- Capitalism vs. communism
- Monarchy or democracy
- Dogs vs. cats as pets
- Paper books or e-books
Descriptive Essay Topics for High School
Bring on the adjectives! Descriptive writing is all about creating a rich picture for the reader. Take readers on a journey to far-off places, help them understand an experience, or introduce them to a new person. Remember: Show, don’t tell. These topics make excellent descriptive essays.
- Who is the funniest person you know?
- What is your happiest memory?
- Tell about the most inspirational person in your life.
- Write about your favorite place.
- When you were little, what was your favorite thing to do?
- Choose a piece of art or music and explain how it makes you feel.
- What is your earliest memory?
- What’s the best/worst vacation you’ve ever taken?
- Describe your favorite pet.
- What is the most important item in the world to you?
- Give a tour of your bedroom (or another favorite room in your home).
- Describe yourself to someone who has never met you.
- Lay out your perfect day from start to finish.
- Explain what it’s like to move to a new town or start a new school.
- Tell what it would be like to live on the moon.
Expository Essay Topics for High School
Expository essays set out clear explanations of a particular topic. You might be defining a word or phrase or explaining how something works. Expository essays are based on facts, and while you might explore different points of view, you won’t necessarily say which one is “better” or “right.” Remember: Expository essays educate the reader. Here are some expository essay topics to explore.
- What makes a good leader?
- Explain why a given school subject (math, history, science, etc.) is important for students to learn.
- What is the “glass ceiling” and how does it affect society?
- Describe a healthy lifestyle for a teenager.
- Choose an American president and explain how their time in office affected the country.
- What does “financial responsibility” mean?
- Describe how the internet changed the world.
- What does it mean to be a good teacher?
- Explain how we could colonize the moon or another planet.
- Discuss why mental health is just as important as physical health.
Humorous Essay Topics for High School
Humorous essays can take on any form, like narrative, persuasive, or expository. You might employ sarcasm or satire, or simply tell a story about a funny person or event. Even though these essay topics are lighthearted, they still take some skill to tackle well. Give these ideas a try.
- What would happen if cats (or any other animal) ruled the world?
- What do newborn babies wish their parents knew?
- Explain the best ways to be annoying on social media.
- Choose a fictional character and explain why they should be the next president.
- Describe a day when kids are in charge of everything, at school and at home.
- Invent a wacky new sport, explain the rules, and describe a game or match.
- Explain why it’s important to eat dessert first.
- Imagine a discussion between two historic figures from very different times, like Cleopatra and Queen Elizabeth I.
- Retell a familiar story in tweets or other social media posts.
- Describe present-day Earth from an alien’s point of view.
Narrative Essay Topics for High School
Think of a narrative essay like telling a story. Use some of the same techniques that you would for a descriptive essay, but be sure you have a beginning, middle, and end. Remember that you don’t necessarily need to write narrative essays from your own point of view. Take inspiration from these narrative topics.
- Describe a performance or sporting event you took part in.
- Explain the process of cooking and eating your favorite meal.
- Write about meeting your best friend for the first time and how your relationship developed.
- Tell about learning to ride a bike or drive a car.
- Describe a time in your life when you’ve been scared.
- Write about a time when you or someone you know displayed courage.
- Share the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you.
- Tell about a time when you overcame a big challenge.
- Tell the story of how you learned an important life lesson.
- Describe a time when you or someone you know experienced prejudice or oppression.
- Explain a family tradition, how it developed, and its importance today.
- What is your favorite holiday? How does your family celebrate it?
- Retell a familiar story from the point of view of a different character.
- Describe a time when you had to make a difficult decision.
- Tell about your proudest moment.
Persuasive Essay Topics for High School
Persuasive essays are similar to argumentative , but they rely less on facts and more on emotion to sway the reader. It’s important to know your audience, so you can anticipate any counterarguments they might make and try to overcome them. Try these topics to persuade someone to come around to your point of view.
- Do you think homework should be required, optional, or not given at all?
- Students should/should not be able to use their phones during the school day.
- Should schools have dress codes?
- If I could change one school rule, it would be …
- Is year-round school a good idea?
- Everyone should be vegetarian or vegan.
- What animal makes the best pet?
- Visit an animal shelter, choose an animal that needs a home, and write an essay persuading someone to adopt that animal.
- Who is the world’s best athlete, present or past?
- Should little kids be allowed to play competitive sports?
- Are professional athletes/musicians/actors overpaid?
- The best music genre is …
- What is one book that everyone should be required to read?
- Is democracy the best form of government?
- Is capitalism the best form of economy?
What are some of your favorite essay topics for high school? Come share your prompts on the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .
Plus, check out the ultimate guide to student writing contests .
Jill Staake is a Contributing Editor with WeAreTeachers. She has a degree in Secondary English Education and has taught in middle and high school classrooms. She's also done training and curriculum design for a financial institution and been a science museum educator. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida where she often works on her back porch while taking frequent breaks for bird-watching and gardening.
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How to Come Up with a Writing Prompt
Last Updated: January 21, 2022
wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 11 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 36,949 times. Learn more...
Writing prompts are used to help writers begin writing. They provide inspiration for a story, poem, or essay. Many writers fight writer’s block on a regular basis, and a writing prompt can help them get past their block. If you are a teacher, or lead a writing workshop, you will most likely have to come up with many writing prompts. If you don’t know how to do this, don’t worry; writing your prompts doesn’t need to be difficult—you just need to think outside the box a little bit. Take some time to brainstorm ideas before diving into the actual writing of your prompts.
Brainstorming Ideas
- What’s something funny that’s happened to you in recent memory? Maybe you saw a dog ride down the street on a skateboard.
- What’s a unique story you have from childhood? Maybe you stuck tweezers in an electrical socket and lived to tell the tale.
- What’s a weird situation you’ve found yourself in? Maybe you literally ran into the CEO of a company and both bumped your head, while you were walking to your interview with that person.
- “What if dolls came to life when you left the room?”
- ”What if people had tails?”
- ”What if the sky was electric purple?”
- What about it made it weird?
- Would other people find it weird?
- How did the situation turn out?
- "There will be little rubs and disappointments everywhere, and we are all apt to expect too much; but then, if one scheme of happiness fails, human nature turns to another; if the first calculation is wrong, we make a second better: we find comfort somewhere."
- Also, try using something visual. You could use a piece of art or an interesting photograph.
Composing the Prompt
- Where you cut the story is up to you. Give enough details to intrigue the writer but not enough to discourage them from being creative.
- Most of the prompts listed in this article would work well with fiction or poetry; for nonfiction, use a question to spark an idea based on something that happened in the writer’s life, such as “What’s the most interesting thing that ever happened to you?”
Sample Writing Prompts
Community Q&A
- Don’t force yourself to stick with a writing prompt that’s not working for you. If one writing prompt doesn’t work, you can always try another one. What works for one writer won’t work for another one. ⧼thumbs_response⧽ Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
- Use writing prompts to inspire the writers. Once the writers get going, tell them to let it take them where it wants to go. The writing prompt is a suggestion and is certainly not set in stone. ⧼thumbs_response⧽ Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
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Journal Buddies Jill | January 24, 2023 November 3, 2022 | List of Prompts
31 Brilliant Creative Essay Prompts
Creative Writing Essay Prompts and a few Bonus Quick Tips — If you are helping your students explore how to write a creatively themed essay, you may want to try these creative writing prompts. Creative essay prompts are a great way to get students excited about writing . Discover more now…
Creative essay prompts give writers a chance to express themselves, well…creatively. 😀 Plus, it’s a wonderfully fun way to write a completely new and unique essay.
Now, let me tell you, I am here to invigorate your perspective and fuel your creativity with 31 fabulous creative essay prompts for various genres to get you writing today. So get to it and take a look now and enjoy.
3 Quick Tips for Writing Your Own Creative Prompts
More essay writing resources, why use creative essay prompts.
First, let’s explore a bit about why a writer would want to use a creative easy prompts.
Let’s say…
You’re fresh out of ideas and want to write a book, but you have no idea where to start.
I get it. One of the most challenging steps in becoming a successful writer is knowing where to start. Struggling to get your creative juices flowing can be a daunting task for writers of any age or skill level. Indeed, many student writers encounter writer’s block and personal writing doubts at some point in their academic careers.
That’s why…
Whether you’re looking for inspiration for a short, creative essay, your next Amazon bestselling novel, or a short story just for fun, there is an easy way to get started. Yep…simply explore my fabulous list of creative essay prompts. (Psst…note the emphasis on creativity in this particular list of essay writing ideas!)
Take a look now and then read on to learn more about writing your very own creative essay prompts.
31 Creative Essay Prompts to Write About
Oh yeah! I hope you enjoy this list of creative essay prompts and ideas. Hopefully, these creative essay prompts will spur your creativity and spark your imagination, and, above all, may these ideas help you write a wonderfully awesome creative essay.
- Write a creative essay about the plot from a movie you saw just before sleeping is coming to life.
- A stranger gives you an ominous-looking journal. You open it to investigate and discover…
- A group of teenagers band together to fight an extraterrestrial threat.
- You stumble upon a strange house on your morning run. Upon entering, you get a text message, “Meet me outside”.
- You hear news of your next-door neighbor vanishing without a trace.
- Your social media information has been hacked and that put your loved ones in danger.
- You see a hooded figure at work staring at you from across the street. What do they want?
- The stakes are raised when you find your best friends have ulterior motives.
- Oddly, your parents tell you that they have no idea who you are!
- After receiving a mysterious box on your doorstep, you open it and find a note that says, “Caution: May Bite.”
- Write an essay on your plans to get to the bottom of an unsolved murder mystery from 20 years ago.
- Your favorite place in the city has shut down; it’s up to you to raise funds to help it reopen.
- You realize there is a different face staring at you from the mirror.
- One morning, you wake up to find out that you have been chosen to go to any planet of your choice.
- Write an essay on a horror story about a high schooler not making the state basketball team.
- You find a way to look into the future through the internet.
- Write an original poem about your spiritual journey.
- You find yourself hiding in the closet with burglars ravaging your home. Your only defense is a stack of pencils.
- You find your hard-to-kick habit is doing more damage than you thought.
- You retrace your steps to find a treasure map your younger self left behind.
- Two high school students write a novel, only to be transported into the world they created.
- Write an essay about waking up to find all prisons have been closed and the prisoners released.
- An introvert finds they’ve been talking to their childhood imaginary friend more and more.
- You go back in time with a notebook of inventions you want to take credit for when suddenly The Butterfly Effect kicks in.
- Write a creative essay about a science fiction tale set in a world where you can communicate with your pet.
- You can use a time machine to either save yourself or your best friend; which do you choose?
- A genie grants you three wishes, but with each comes consequences.
- In the year 2122, global warming has left the Earth inhabitable. It’s up to you and your robot sidekick to fix things and make them right.
Now, while there are many creative essay prompts listed in the blog post, sometimes that one perfect prompt isn’t there for some writers.
If that’s the case for you, read on to discover three simple creative essay prompt writing tips.
Creating Your Own Unique Creative Essay Prompts
As I stated previously, sometimes there is not that one perfect prompt for a writer in our list — or other lists — of creative essay prompts and writing ideas.
In this case, you may find that using one of our great creative essay prompts as a starting point can make it easier for you to think up your own unique essay topic idea list.
For this reason, I suggest you use the three simple steps to create your very own prompt outlined below.
1. Brainstorm a list of potential topics. This can be anything from personal experiences to current events.
2. Once you have a list of potential topics, narrow it down by choosing the prompt that best fits your topic.
3. If you’re still having trouble finding the perfect prompt, take a look at essay samples for inspiration.
This simple process can help you find the one amazing writing idea that works best for you. Ok, that’s all for today.
Until next time, happy writing…
- 35 Essay Topics for High School
- 33 Argumentative Essay Topics for Middle School
- 46 Essay Prompts for Elementary Kids
- 35 Essay Topics for Kids
- 27 Spectacular Space Writing Prompts
- Printable essay writing worksheets
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College essay resources
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The Ultimate List of College Essay Prompts (and How to Write Each Essay)
Brad Schiller
Congratulations on having written your personal statement!
(If you haven’t written it yet, follow our guidance and get it done — we cover the Common App and UCAS ; we also have comprehensive advice on Apply Texas and the University of California PIQs below.)
Now let’s keep going! This page isn’t about resting on your laurels — it’s about pushing you over the finish line as you plow through all the supplemental college essays that still lie ahead. Oh, those pesky colleges and their additional questions!
This is your ultimate supplemental college essay guide. We have all the prompts + all the tips for succeeding. Bookmark it now! You just might be back as you make your way through this.
Use this fail-proof way to create college essay prompt ideas
We know coming up with great college essay ideas can be like finding a needle in an intellectual haystack. There’s stuff everywhere, but nothing is exactly what you’re looking for.
This is why we’ve built some powerful tools to help you (1) figure out which essays you have to write based on your college list and (2) develop a list of perfect, personalized college essay ideas based on your unique experiences.
Create a free Prompt account and you’ll get instant access to to our essay brainstorming tools.
Save this big list of college essay prompt examples for reference
We’ve rounded up every article we’ve written on essay prompts for specific schools. Each article also tells you exactly what to do to write the essays.
Hot tip: the best way to get through your college list is application-by-application. Don’t do an essay here and there. Start with the school you’re most excited to attend, and focus on their entire application. Then move on to second-most-excited to attend.
You’re graded holistically over your entire application, not essay-by-essay. That’s why it’s so important to think about the picture of yourself you paint over the entire application; not just in any one essay.
- How to write the Purdue Supplemental Essays
- How to write every RPI essay
- How to write the Case Western University Supplemental Essays for the Pre-Professional Scholars Program
- How to answer the Indiana University prompt
- Villanova Application Essays
- Writing the Supplemental University of Washington Essay
- Write the Pepperdine Supplemental Essay
- Writing the University of Richmond Supplement Essay
- Write a great Why UW Madison essay
- How to write every TCU essay
- Writing the Why Tulane Essay
- Writing the Wake Forest application essays
- How to Write the Virginia Tech Essays
- How to write the optional William and Mary Essay
- How to answer the Loyola Marymount essay prompts
- How to write the Boston College Supplemental essays
- How to write the University of Pittsburgh essay
- How to write the Georgetown supplemental essays
- How to write the Cornell Supplemental essays
- How to write the SDSU Honors college essay
Explore our best resources on Texas college essay prompts
Applying to a college in Texas? These are your guides.
- The Complete Guide to Writing the Apply Texas Application
Get help with UC college essay prompts
Applying to a college in California? These are your guides.
If you’ll be applying to a University of California college, we recommend starting with the UC PIQs because the questions are highly re-useable in other applications. Getting them written first will help you through the entire application process.
Read Everything You Need to Know About the UC PIQs
We also have guides to the essays for the University of Southern California .
- How to write the USC WBB essays
- How to write every USC engineering essay
- How to ace your town and gown USC scholarship essay
Related: Learn about the University of California’s “test blind” system
Everything you need for the essay supplements at Harvard, UCLA, and other top schools
- The Essay Topics that Get into Harvard
- How to Go Above and Beyond on Every Harvard Essay
- How to Write the Why Yale Essay
- How to Write Five Awesome MIT Essays
- Four Steps to a Compelling Why Princeton Engineering Essay
- How to Master the Princeton Supplement
- How to Write Outstanding Stanford Essays
More articles on Prompt.com’s admissions-boosting methods:
- Work with a college essay coach
- Strong essays increase your chance of admission by up to 10x
- Don’t let influencers influence your college essays
- Should I apply test-optional?
- Early admissions: Everything you need to know
- College Essay Help Center
Weak Rough Draft
Your “Academic Score:” College Admission Data Shows Even Great Academics Aren’t Enough to Get You In
What Highly Selective Colleges Look For in College Applications
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Thanks, but no thanks: Why you should skip the New York Times’ “Best College Essays”
How parents can support kids applying to college — without driving anyone crazy
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Prompt's College Essay Help Center
Strong essays increase your chances of admissions by 10x. you don't have to tackle your essays alone..
- Written by Brad Schiller
- Posted on August 16, 2021
I am the Founder and CEO of Prompt. Our mission is to make people better writers.
- Learn more about our essay help
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For college admissions, earning a high personal score is more important than earning a high academic score. Here's why.
- By Brad Schiller
Everything you need to know about how highly selective colleges choose their applicants. Real strategies for getting in. Most highly selective colleges look for exceptional attributes. Read on to learn how can you show that in your essays.
The New York Times publishes excellent college admission essays every year. We’re not disagreeing on their quality, but we are saying not to use them as a model for your essays.
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14. The Found Poem: Read a book and circle some words on a page. Use those words to craft a poem. Alternatively, you can cut out words and phrases from magazines. 15. Eavesdropper: Create a poem, short story, or journal entry about a conversation you've overheard. Printable Ad-Free 365 Writing Prompt Cards. 16.
130 New Prompts for Argumentative Writing Questions on everything from mental health and sports to video games and dating. Which ones inspire you to take a stand? 20 Our list includes this...
41 Good Writing & Journal Prompts Get to it and use the following essay prompts for high school students (and for all!) in your classroom today to beat writer's block, help students improve their personal writing skills, and learn to love the writing process. Write about a female role model in your life. Why does she inspire you?
To write on cause and effect essay topics, you should primarily identify a situation in which an action has effects or consequences. The next step is for you to describe what happened. If you're having trouble coming up with interesting essay topics, have a look through this list. Describe the causes and consequences of floods in Antarctica
A descriptive essay describes a specific thing by using sensory data. It is done to engage the reader's five senses (taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight). The following is a list of descriptive essay topic ideas for the students. The person who is responsible for making a difference in my life.
Write an essay about a time that you had to be brave or stand up for what you believed in. This can be a great opportunity to talk about what's important to you and what beliefs you hold most central to who you are. Center the essay around one experience or time in your life. Don't play this one down the middle — take a stance and defend it.
Compose a thesis statement. Outline the question or the situation the prompt states and elaborate on it in one topic sentence. Write arguments and supporting evidence. Dedicate one body paragraph to describing the opposing argument. Remember to use transition words to ensure good writing flow.
12 Creative Descriptive Essay Prompts The 12 descriptive essay prompts here, give you the freedom to develop your content in different ways, and with a lot of sensory details. They are divided into 4 categories: person, place, object, and experience. Each type has 3 descriptive essay writing ideas.
In a persuasive essay, you would want to use words like 'convince,' 'persuade,' or 'argue.'. You could ask your students to compare or contrast. These key words would direct your students to write ...
If your class uses daybooks (an approach recommended in Thinking Out Loud: The Student Daybook as a Tool to Foster Learning), wait for composition notebooks to go on sale at Target, the Dollar Store, or Walmart for $0.50 a piece.To organize the daybook, direct young writers to leave the first three pages blank and number and date each entry—adding these entries to a table of contents that ...
In an argumentative essay, opinions matter and controversy is based on opinions, which are, hopefully, backed up by facts. If these topics are a little too controversial or you don't find the right one for you, try browsing through persuasive essay and speech topics as well. Is global climate change caused by humans? Is the death penalty effective?
Table of Contents : Step 1: Understand your audience. Step 2: Plan your content. Step 3: Complete the "big stuff". Step 4: Complete your applications college by college. Other Great College Essay Resources.
So dive into the hundreds of writing prompts below — and let us know in the comments how you might use them in your classroom. _________ Technology Social Media 1. Is Social Media Making Us More...
Essay Prompts 5 Paragraph Essay A Hook for an Essay APA Body Paragraph Context Essay Outline Evidence Harvard Hedging Language Used in Academic Writing MHRA Referencing MLA Opinion Opinion vs Fact Plagiarism Quotations Restate Summarize Summary Works Cited Argumentative Essay Emotional Arguments in Essays Ethical Arguments in Essays
Creative Writing Prompts. When the idea to start a weekly newsletter with writing inspiration first came to us, we decided that we wanted to do more than provide people with topics to write about. ... Writing Contests in 2023 — the finest contests of 2021 for fiction and non-fiction authors of short stories, poetry, essays, and more. Beyond ...
A strong essay topic sets you up to write a unique, memorable college application essay. Your topic should be personal, original, and specific. Take time to brainstorm the right topic for you. Some topics are easier to make work than others, but it's possible to write an exceptional essay from a common topic.
Image created using Midjourney. Prompt: oil painting of a child with their grandparent enjoying a moment together and looking at each other. The child's face is full of wonder and the ...
The essay prompts are designed to encourage reflection and introspection. The best essays focus on self-analysis, rather than spending a disproportionate amount of time merely describing a place or event. Analysis, not description, will reveal the critical thinking skills that are the hallmark of a promising college student.
Here are some essay topics to consider: 1. Is Climate Change Real? Climate change is a hot topic with middle schoolers, and this essay topic idea lets them explore it. This essay topic can work well for a persuasive, informative, or cause-and-effect essay. 2. The Benefits (Or Drawbacks) of Homework
Topics for Essays About Water Consumption & Preservation. Water is the source of life on Earth. However, if humankind doesn't take care of this precious resource, it could beshrew all living creatures on the planet. The importance of water for the environment gives you plenty of topics to write about in the forthcoming year.
We will write a custom essay specifically for you for only $11.00 $9.35/page. ... 🔎 Interesting Topics to Write about Water Scarcity. We will write a custom essay specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF. Learn More. Water Scarcity and Its Effects on the Environment;
1. Use ChatGPT to generate essay ideas. Before you can even get started writing an essay, you need to flesh out the idea. When professors assign essays, they generally give students a prompt that ...
Good Research Topics about Volcano. The Mount St. Helen and Mount Pinatubo Volcano Eruptions. The Most Active Volcano of The Philippines. An Active Super Volcano Lying Underneath Yellowstone Nation Park. The Vesuvius Volcano Eruption and the Activities of the Cities Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Here are some expository essay topics to explore. What makes a good leader? Explain why a given school subject (math, history, science, etc.) is important for students to learn. What is the "glass ceiling" and how does it affect society? Describe a healthy lifestyle for a teenager.
Download Article. 1. Begin writing the prompt. Now that you have a general idea of what you want to focus your prompt on, you should try to write it out. Begin by writing out the story. Use all the details you can think of in order to start figuring out what is necessary to the story, and what is not. 2.
Write a creative essay about the plot from a movie you saw just before sleeping is coming to life. A stranger gives you an ominous-looking journal. You open it to investigate and discover…. A group of teenagers band together to fight an extraterrestrial threat. You stumble upon a strange house on your morning run.
This is why we've built some powerful tools to help you (1) figure out which essays you have to write based on your college list and (2) develop a list of perfect, personalized college essay ideas based on your unique experiences. Create a free Prompt account and you'll get instant access to to our essay brainstorming tools.