Expository Essay Prompts

1. WRITING PROMPT Everyone enjoys time with their family. What is the best day you have ever spent with your family? Think about the best day that you ever spent with your family. Think about reasons that made it the best day ever! Write a paper telling about the best day you ever spent with your family. Include at least three reasons in your paper that explain what made it the best day. Be sure to use specific details to support each of your reasons. Use vivid verbs and adjectives to make your paper interesting to read.

2. WRITING PROMPT Have you ever wanted to change the world? If you could change one thing to make the world a better place what would it be? Think about things you would change. Think about reasons you would change them. Choose one thing to change and tell your reader several reasons why it is the most important thing to change in order to make the world a better place. Remember to use specific details to support and explain your reasons. Use interesting adjectives and descriptions to make your paper interesting to read.

3. WRITING PROMPT Everyone has a favorite color. Think about what yours is and why it is your favorite. Think about things that are your favorite color and how they make you feel. Write a paper explaining several reasons why __________ is your favorite color! Remember to use specific details to support and explain your reasons. Use interesting adjectives and descriptions to make your paper interesting to read.

4. WRITING PROMPT Rainy days bring out our emotions and can bring on many feelings and memories. Think about what you do on rainy days. Do you enjoy rainy days or dislike them? Write a paper explaining several reasons why you like or dislike rainy days! Remember to use specific details to support and explain your reasons. Use interesting adjectives and descriptions to make your paper interesting to read.

5. WRITING PROMPT Everyone has an activity that they enjoy doing. It might be playing an instrument, or a sport. Think about what you like to do the most. Write a paper telling what you most enjoy doing and at least three reasons why you like this activity so well.

6. WRITING PROMPT Everyone has thought about trips they might take and places they would like to visit. Think about a place that you would like to visit. Write a paper telling where you would go if you could go anywhere in the world that you wanted to. Write at least three reasons why you would like to visit this place. Remember to use specific details to support and explain your reasons. Use interesting adjectives and descriptions to make your paper interesting to read.

7. WRITING PROMPT Best friends are special people in our lives. Think about your best friend and reasons that you like him or her. Think about things that you enjoy doing together. Write a paper telling about your best friend. Include at least three reasons why s/he is your best friend. Remember to use specific details to explain and support your reasons. Use interesting adjectives and descriptive words to make your paper interesting to read. Include a short personal story about your best friend to help explain one of your reasons.

8. WRITING PROMPT People learn things in school and in life. What is the most important thing you have ever learned? You may have learned how to do something. Perhaps you learned a valuable lesson about how to get along with people. Think about reasons why this lesson was important to you. Write an essay telling at least three reasons why what you learned was so important. Use specific details to explain and support your reasons. Include a short personal story about how what you learned helped you later, to help explain one of your reasons why what you learned was so important.

9. WRITING PROMPT Everyone has an idea of what they would like to do when they "grow up." Think about the career you would like to have when you finish school. Think about why you would like to have this career. Write a paper explaining what career you would like to have when you "grow up." Explain at least three reasons why this is what you would like to do. Use specific details to explain and support your reasons. Use adjectives and descriptive words to make your paper interesting to read.

10. WRITING PROMPT People of the world all have different personalities, but some are similar in nature. Not only do your actions reveal a lot about you, but your friends reveal just as much. Think of two friend who have different personalities. Write an essay comparing and contrasting their personality traits.

11. WRITING PROMPT In school, we learn many things. Some of these things are easy to learn; some are difficult to learn. Think about one thing you have learned in school. Write an expository essay telling this one thing you learned and why it was important to learn.

12. WRITING PROMPT A new student has moved to your school and is in your classroom.

Think about some of the things he will need to know about your classroom that will help him have a good year? Write an paper explaining some things this new student needs to know and why.

13. WRITING PROMPT Everyone has a favorite type of music. It may be rock, country, rap, classical, or some other kind. Before you begin to write, think about your favorite kind of music and why you like it. Now explain in an essay why this one type of music has become your favorite. Support your music choice with examples and details.

14. WRITING PROMPT Everyone has one item that is important to him or her. Before you begin writing, think about one item that is important to you and why. It could be something you found, made, or had given to you. Now explain in an essay why this one item is important to you. Support your ideas with examples and details.

15. WRITING PROMPT The U.S. Postal Service has honored many individuals from presidents to singers to cartoon characters, by placing their portraits on postage stamps. Whom would you nominate to honor with a postage stamp? Before you begin to write, think about why this person should have his or her own stamp. Now write an essay to tell the reader whom you would choose and explain why that person should be honored with a postage stamp. Support your ideas with examples and details

16. WRITING PROMPT If you could choose to be any animal for forty-eight hours, what would you be? Before you begin writing, think about what kind of animal you would like to be - a wild animal, farm animal, or a household pet. Now explain in an essay why you chose this animal. Support your ideas with examples and details.

17. WRITING PROMPT If you had to choose one season of the year as your favorite, which one would you chose? Before you begin to write, think about the season you have chosen and why it is your favorite. You might be thinking about the weather, certain activities in this season, or both. Now write an essay in which you explain why this one season of the year is your favorite. Support your ideas with examples and details.

18. WRITING PROMPT Voting is an important process by which citizens control how they are governed, and who will govern. Today, any citizen over the age of 18 has the right to vote. When you turn 18, will you participate in elections by voting? Think about reasons you will or will not choose to vote. Write a paper giving your reasons to participate, or not participate in elections by voting.

19. WRITING PROMPT Many experiences make us laugh out loud, cry, or feel strong emotions. Think about something that has happened to you that made you feel emotional. Write a paper about your experience, giving reasons as to how the experience made you feel.

21. WRITING PROMPT Everyone is afraid of something- heights, spiders or flying just to mention a few. What do you fear the most? Think about a time that you had to face your fear. Write a paper about what happened and what you did to overcome the fear or if it still frightens you today.

22. WRITING PROMPT School is a big part of a young person's life. Different students enjoy different aspects of school: sports, classes, friends, activities, etc. What do you like most about school and why? Now explain in an essay what you like about school and why you like it. Support your ideas with examples and details.

23. WRITING PROMPT By the time students enter high school, they have learned about many moments in history that have influenced our world today. Think about a moment in history you studied and consider its importance. Write a composition in which you discuss a moment in history. Share its importance in today’s world. Be sure to support the moment with details and examples.

23. WRITING PROMPT Everyone has had a disappointment sometime in their life. Think about a time when you were disappointed. Write a paper telling about your disappointment. Be sure to give reasons and use descriptive words.

24. WRITING PROMPT We all have someone who is very special to us. Think about someone you truly care about. Write an essay explaining why that someone is important to you.

25. WRITING PROMPT Through the years new inventions have changed the way we live. Think about one invention that has had an impact on the way you live. Now write to explain to your teacher how this invention has changed your life.

26. WRITING PROMPT Imagine your school is having a problem with graffiti. The amount of graffiti has greatly increased at your school. The members of the school board must find ways to stop the graffiti. Think of a solution to this problem. Write a composition in which you fully explain the solution the school board could use to solve this problem.

27. WRITING PROMPT There are both good things and bad things about playing on a team, such as the school basketball team or the school football team. Think about the good and bad aspects of playing on a school team. Write a composition in which you explain both what is good and what is bad about playing on a school team. Be sure to explain each point fully.

28. WRITING PROMPT A role model is a person you look up to. Think about someone you look up to. Why do you admire this person? Write a composition in which you explain to your classmates whom you admire and why you admire this person.

30. WRITING PROMPT You are serving on a committee that will design a new middle school for your community. Think about one feature for the new middle school that you will suggest to the design committee. Write a report to the committee, explaining what this feature is and why it is beneficial.

31. WRITING PROMPT By the time you are in middle school you have been in many different classes. Think about a memorable class. Write a letter to a teacher explaining why that class was memorable.