Essay Prompts

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, restate 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.

Fig. 2. Find knowledgeable sources.

• 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?

Essay Outline

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?

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.

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.