Unpacking a Prompt

Unpacking a prompt

Practice for knowing what to write about​

Practice

Multiple choice

The next three slides will give you writing prompts. Once you read the prompt, choose the answer that you think BEST restates the prompt.

Multiple Choice

Everyone needs friends. What qualities make someone a good friend? How can you be a friend for someone who needs one? Write and essay that explains ways to be a good friend.

• Write a paragraph about what a good friend is.

• Write five paragraphs about good friends.

• Write at least five paragraphs about how to be a good friend. What can I do to help people when they feel lonely?

Multiple Choice

Most people have a favorite food. What is yours? Is the food a common one that most other kids would know about, or a really special type? Is it sweet or spicy? In an essay, name your favorite food and describe to your classmates using imagery. Explain why you like it so much.

• What is my favorite food and why? Would people who are not from my culture know what it is? Use taste, smell, and sight to describe the food.

• What is the best thing my mom makes?

• Do I like food that everybody else likes? Why or why not?

• Am I a picky eater? Why do I like the food that I do. Describe the foods I like in detail.

Multiple Choice

Smartphones, tablet PCs, social media, and constant connectivity are changing the ways that people live, think, work, and connect. How do these technologies shape your life? Are you plugged in or tuned out? Why? Write and essay that explains to your fellow students the ways that you connect digitally and predicts how people will connect in the future.

• Everybody has a phone or tablet. What shape are the phones? How often do you have to plug it in? How do I talk to people now and how will we talk 20 years from now?

• How will people talk to each other 50 years from now? Will it be the same or different from how we communicate now?

• Technology has changed the way we communicate with others. How do I use technology? Am I focused on the real world or the virtual world? How will we communicate 20 years from now?

• Technology has changed the way we talk. I use my phone to text but I don't talk to people face-to-face.

Practice

Fill in the blank

The next three slides will give you the original writing prompts and then re-written prompts with a blank. Once you read the prompt, write in a synonym that you believe best fills in the blank.

Practice

open-ended

The next three slides will give you the original writing prompt. Once you read the prompt, write the prompt again using your own words.

Open Ended

People do all kinds of jobs. Some people build. Others serve. Some teach. Other sell. Some people work on ships at sea, and others in skyscrapers in cities. What kind of job would you like to do? As a future worker, write and essay that names a job you would like, describes the work, and tells why you would like iob

Open Ended

We all have people we admire. They might be family members or friends. They might be singers, dancers, or actors. They might even be fictional characters. Whom do you admire most? Write an essay that names a person you admire and describes the qualities that make you like the person.

Open Ended

What are you really good at? Perhaps you can kick a goal every time. Maybe you can identify birds by their songs, or make a very delicious homemade meal. Think of a particular skill you have an could teach others. Then write an essay describing the process you use to accomplish this special feat. Provide enough detail so your reader can learn how to do the same thing.