Published on October 21st, 2021 | by Sunit Nandi

20 Essay Writing Prompts for Students

Need to write a strong essay but feel out of ideas? This situation is familiar to every student. It might be challenging to find the right topic and craft a compelling piece that will impress your teacher and classmates. Here are 20 creative essay prompts that will help you get inspiration and show your unique writing voice.

Prompt #1: Overcoming Obstacles

People are always trying to put their best foot forward. However, the challenges and obstacles that we face are sometimes even more revealing than our accomplishments. Dig deep and show how a certain obstacle has affected you, changed your perspective, or helped you grow.

Prompt #2: Solve a Problem

Identify a specific problem. Guide the reader through your thought process and explain its importance to you, your community, or society. Suggest a possible solution, and don’t forget to include a few words about its design and implementation.

Prompt #3: Explain a Moral Dilemma

Write about a moral dilemma you’ve been caught in. Ethics is a challenging subject area. If you need help with this essay prompt, delegate the task to DoMyEssay, a professional paper writing service. Ask the writer to explain the dilemma and suggest ways to handle it.

Prompt #4: Give a TED Speech

Imagine that you’ve been invited to be a TED speaker. What would you talk about and why?

Prompt #5: “Eureka” Moment

Sometimes even small insights and “aha” moments can be transformative. Think about such turning points in your life and reflect on one of them. What have you learned from it?

Prompt #6: Tell Your Story

Reflect on your personality, interests, and experiences. How do you define yourself? What do you stand for? Tell about meaningful experiences that have shaped you as a person and allow the reader to see different facets of your personality. If you need examples of this kind of essay, you can easily find samples on essayservice.com, a trustworthy essay writing service for students.

Prompt #7: My Best Failure

Every failure is a learning experience. It makes us stronger, helps to build character, and shows that there is more than one path to success. Reflect on the situation when you failed at something. How did it change you?

Prompt #8: Challenging a Belief

Have you ever found yourself in a situation when your opinion was unpopular? Write about a time when a common belief has contradicted your values and morals. Are you ready to stand up to others and defend what you believe in?

Prompt #9: Person I Admire Most

Who inspires and influences you as a person? It might be better to avoid figures like Martin Luther King Jr or Mahatma Gandhi as everyone already knows about their influence and achievements. Instead, try to find someone who has actually affected your life.

Prompt #10: Give Advice to a Student

Do you remember your first day of high school? It was an exciting yet challenging time. Now that you’re more experienced give advice to high school students to help them make the most of their experience.

Prompt #11: Identity

Identity is a multifaceted concept. Reflect on your qualities, personality, and beliefs. What makes you unique? What role have your background, family, or upbringing played in forging your identity?

Prompt #12: Life-Changing Art

A single book, song, movie, or play can turn your life around. Do you agree with this statement? Is it an exaggeration? Explain your opinion.

Prompt #13: Favorite Book

Introduce your favorite book and explain what it means to you. It’s neither a book report nor a summary. Choose a story you feel passionate about and explain its impact on your life or worldview.

Prompt #14: Accomplishment You Are Most Proud Of

Tell about an accomplishment that has changed your life. Explain how it affected you and why you consider it a major milestone.

Prompt #15: Is It Okay to Change Your Mind?

Some people refuse to consider opinions that are different from their own and are ready to stand by their beliefs no matter what. Is it a strength or weakness? Why?

Prompt #16: Is Loyalty Unconditional?

Loyalty is a virtue that is praised and recognized universally. However, does it imply unquestioning and unconditional support? Should we be critical of who and what we’re loyal to?

Prompt #17: Social Media

A lot has been said about the dangers of social media and the distractions that it causes. But does social media offer value? Is it possible to learn something from looking through your feed or creating content for your page?

Prompt #18: Summer Camp

Imagine you spend your summer at a camp. Write an essay about your experience, creating a compelling narrative. It could be a real story or fiction.

Prompt #19: Can Quitting Be Useful?

We often hear that quitting is wrong and even shameful. But is it really so? Is it important to keep trying no matter what? Is there any situation when the best a person can do is to quit?

Prompt #20: Create a Character

Try yourself at character development. Write a descriptive essay with a focus on your original character. Describe their appearance, behavior, and traits.

The Bottom Line

You can approach any of the mentioned prompts from your unique perspective and experiment with the tone and style of writing. Any option you choose might have an unlimited number of interpretations if you allow yourself to be creative and add your personality into the writing process. This is what matters most.

Tags: essay writing, prompts, students

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.