54 Excellent, Low-Stakes Writing Prompts

Routine low-stakes writing should be part of every student’s literacy diet. Ungraded and low-pressure, this type of writing improves kids’ writing stamina and builds language fluency, says Rebecca Alber, an instructor at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education.

Under the right conditions, students can get ideas about a question or concept down quickly and with few parameters, then “share those thoughts, and feel just as successful as everyone else in the room,” Alber says. The goal is to help students feel empowered to communicate ideas clearly and convincingly, while increasing their confidence as writers in preparation for longer, higher-stakes writing. 

Prompts are an excellent starting point—but not all prompts are created equal, writes Todd Finley, a professor of English Education at East Carolina University. Superficially clever prompts may get pencils moving but often result in writing that’s neither valuable nor memorable. To improve the quality of students’ output and their level of investment, present them with prompts that require persuasive, opinion, informative, or even creative responses—and consider incorporating some student choice in the process. 

As a wrap-up, students can share their work with a partner, in small groups, or even aloud to the class. To allow everyone to fully participate in the messy work of writing and occasionally “let their scraggly emotions run free,” Finley suggests offering the option to write “personal” at the top of pages they prefer to keep private.  

We combed through dozens of lists of teacher-tested prompts to find 54 thought-provoking ones that will get students—from elementary through middle and high school—thinking, reflecting, and engaging in meaningful writing. 

Elementary School Prompts

1. I wish my teachers knew that… 
2. What things do all kids know that adults do not? 
3. Describe a routine that you often or always do (in the morning, when you get home, Friday nights, before a game, etc.). 
4. You wake up tomorrow with a silly superpower that makes you famous. What is that silly power? How does it lead to you becoming an international superstar? 
5. What are examples of things you want versus things you need? 
6. Describe something that you saw in the news recently and how it made you feel.
7. What is one thing you would do to make your school, town, or city a better place?
8. What can we do to help people with different opinions get along better?
9. If you met an alien, what three questions would you ask them?
10. Which skill would you like to be good at in the future?
11. You’re on a quest through a hidden underground world that no one has ever seen. What magical creatures do you come across? What do they look like, and how do they act? 
12. You’re the first person to ever set foot on Mars. What is it like? What do you explore first? 
13. I will never forget the day… 
14. Pretend you can trade places with someone real or imaginary, from the past or present. Describe who that person is and why you would like to trade places. Write about what you would do as that person for the day and how you would feel about it.
15. Write about the kind of job you think you might like to do someday. Be sure to explain what you know about that job and why you think it would be a good fit for you. 
16. Would a robot make a good friend? Think about all the good and bad aspects of having a mechanical buddy. Explain why you would or would not want a robot for a friend.
17. Write a story about something that happened at school one day that you want to remember for the rest of your life.
18. Describe a person who influenced your life in a positive way, someone who has made a difference in your life. Explain what this person did and how it made your life different. 

Middle School Prompts

1. How can you tell when someone your age is feeling insecure? Are most people more insecure or anxious than they let on?
2. 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. 
3. Is your ethnicity an important part of your identity? How so? 
4. You have been selected to be principal of your school. What are five rules that every kid should follow at your school, and what do you think should happen if those rules are broken? 
5. What do the friends you hang out with most have in common? How are you most like them? How are you different from them?
6. What contributes to someone becoming a bully? What can help stop someone from bullying?
7. Should we fear failure? Explain.
8. Choose an event in your life, and write about it from the perspective of someone else who was there.
9. Describe a flavor (salty, sweet, bitter, etc.) to someone who has never tasted it before.
10. Glass half-full/half-empty: Write about an event or situation with a positive outlook. Then write about it with a negative outlook.
11. Write a texting conversation between two friends who speak every day and know each other better than anyone.
12. After home and school, where do you find the strongest feeling of community?
13. Should governments do more to discourage people from smoking and vaping?
14. Sixth grade is a time of many changes. Describe the changes that have taken place in your life since you started sixth grade. For example, you could write about school, friends, family, or other changes. (Teachers: Change the grade level as necessary.) 
15. You have a computer that can be programmed to do any of the activities you’re normally responsible for. Explain the activities you would or would not assign to the machine, and why. 
16. Some say the legal driving age should be lowered from 16 to 14, and some say it should be raised to 18. Explain why you think the legal driving age should be lowered to 14, raised to 18, or left as it is at 16. 
17. A door in your school has always been kept locked. One day, as you walk past, you discover the door is open. Write a story about what happens next. 
18. What would you like to tell adults in the future about being a young person during this time period?

High School Prompts

1. A nonprofit hires you as a consultant to determine how best to use $20 billion to save the world. What’s your plan?
2. What’s the worst thing about the internet? 
3. How much control over your life do you have? What makes you say that? 
4. Describe your ideal life 15 years from now. What is something you can do every day to reach that goal?
5. What things do you conscientiously do to feed your brain?
6. What are three of your most profound learning experiences? Where and when did they occur?
7. Write about your day in five acts, like a Shakespearean play. If your day were a play, what would be the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution?
8. You have a difficult decision to make. Describe a conversation you might have with yourself about it.
9. Which beliefs and values do you think define American culture? 
10. Should everyone go to college?
11. What’s more important, practice or performance?
12. Is it my job or the teacher’s job to motivate me?
13. What is the best measure of human growth?
14. Pick two characters from different books you’ve read this year and have them get in an argument about something.
15. Which animal would judge us the most? Write a scene (based on truth or fiction) where two or more people are doing something and being observed and criticized by animals.
16. Imagine that someone says to you, “Because that’s how we’ve always done it!” Write this out as a scene. (Think: Who said it, what were the circumstances, how did you respond, etc.)
17. Is voting too hard in the United States?
18. Should politicians be on social media? 

(Sourced from Todd Finley, We Are Teachers, TeachThought, Scholastic, Birmingham City Schools, College Transitions, The New York Times, Monte Syrie, Texthelp, and PBS/KQED’s Above the Noise)