ESSAY 1 PROMPT
Many instructors write their assignment prompts differently. By following a few steps, you can better understandthe requirements for the assignment. The best way, as always, is to ask the instructor about anything confusing.1. Read the prompt the entire way through once. This gives you an overall view of what is going on.2. Underline or circle the portions that you absolutely must know. This information may include due date,research (source) requirements, page length, and format (MLA, APA, CMS).3. Underline or circle important phrases. You should know your instructor at least a little by now – whatphrases do they use in class? Does he repeatedly say a specific word? If these are in the prompt, you knowthe instructor wants you to use them in the assignment.4. Think about how you will address the prompt. The prompt contains clues on how to write theassignment. Your instructor will often describe the ideas they want discussed either in questions, in bulletpoints, or in the text of the prompt. Think about each of these sentences and number them so that you canwrite a paragraph or section of your essay on that portion if necessary.5. Rank ideas in descending order, from most important to least important. Instructors may include morequestions or talking points than you can cover in your assignment, so rank them in the order you think ismore important. One area of the prompt may be more interesting to you than another.6. Ask your instructor questions if you have any.
After you are finished with these steps, ask yourself the following:1. What is the purpose of this assignment? Is my purpose to provide information without forming anargument, to construct an argument based on research, or analyze a poem and discuss its imagery?2. Who is my audience? Is my instructor my only audience? Who else might read this? Will it be postedonline? What are my readers’ needs and expectations?3. What resources do I need to begin work? Do I need to conduct literature (hermeneutic or historical)research, or do I need to review important literature on the topic and then conduct empirical research, suchas a survey or an observation? How many sources are required?4. Who – beyond my instructor – can I contact to help me if I have questions? Do you have a writing lab orstudent service center that offers tutorials in writing
