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<\/p>\nPrompts are excellent for countering the dreaded blank page during writing exercises, which many ESL students find not only intimidating but also immobilizing. After all, they’re working in a second language that might not even share the same writing system as their own.<\/p>\n
Let’s have a look at more than 50 different writing prompts and how you can use them to give students a boost in the right direction. The guide also includes top resources to find more great writing prompts.<\/p>\n
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Process writing is a good place to start with your beginner students.<\/p>\n
Simple process writing can be nothing more than a numbered list of steps written in the simple present with imperative grammar.<\/p>\n
You can also use these prompts for intermediate and advanced students by asking them to write full paragraphs using smooth transitions.<\/p>\n
When brainstorming ideas, ask your students to list the steps of how they came up with the content to write about. If you want to challenge intermediate and advanced students, have them write paragraphs describing the brainstorming process rather than writing a numbered list.<\/p>\n
For certain topics, students may need time for additional research, like when writing about science.<\/p>\n
Also, be aware of any vocabulary that may be specific to the process students are describing. For example, if they’re describing a food from their home country, students may need to define a particular ingredient (e.g. kimchi, herbs de provence<\/em>) that may not have a good English equivalent.<\/p>\n Opinions are everywhere. From social media posts to commentary on news programs, we’re constantly exposed to other opinions and ideas. For this reason, it’s important for students to be able to both express their own opinions and evaluate the opinions of others.<\/p>\n And what better way to express one’s opinions than with a written argument? Here are some prompts to help your students vocalize their opinions.<\/p>\n Before starting the assignment, review modal verbs with your class. Explain to your students that the verb, “should,”<\/em> is a signal word for opinion writing and is commonly used when expressing one’s thoughts, opinions and ideas.<\/p>\n Graphic organizers are a great way to help students think through what they believe about a given topic and get those thoughts in the right order for writing. Curriculum developer, Scholastic, has some great organizers you can print and give to your students<\/a> to help them gather their thoughts before they write.<\/p>\n Good opinion writing takes both sides of an argument into consideration. While students should devote the majority of their essay to supporting the facts they agree with, they also need to dedicate a section to addressing the opposition’s argument and explaining why it’s wrong. This is called the rebuttal and should come just before the conclusion in an opinion piece.<\/p>\n Narrative writing tells a story.<\/p>\n It has a beginning, a middle and an end, and aims to engross the reader and make them feel as if they’re experiencing the story firsthand. Moreover, narrative writing covers a sequence of events, telling the reader how these events relate to one another.<\/p>\n Absolutely essential for narrative writing, transitions ensure the sequence of events flows smoothly. Before beginning the writing exercise, take a few minutes to review transition words and phrases with your students. You can even\u00a0give them a copy of this list<\/a>\u00a0to help them get started.<\/p>\n Another important part of narrative writing is action words. Great for boosting the imagination, action words help the reader visualize the story while reading. Encourage your students to add extra color to their stories by having them brainstorm a list of action words at the beginning of the lesson.<\/p>\n Lastly, make sure that your students use proper verb tenses throughout their writing. Regardless of whether the story is being told in past or present tense, students must learn to keep the verb tense is consistent throughout the story without switching from past to present, or vice versa, unless talking about two different points in time.<\/p>\n Descriptive writing is all about writing the details, and mixing them in with sensory words and literary devices<\/a>. While there’s definitely a stylistic component to descriptive writing, anyone with a good-sized vocabulary and a little bit of practice can write a vivid story.<\/p>\n The best way to help your students master descriptive writing is to get them accustomed to using sensory words<\/a>\u2014the words that describe how something looks, sounds, smells, feels and tastes.<\/p>\n If your students are describing a person, have them start at their head and move down to their feet, or vice versa. If they’re describing a room, have them start at the door and work their way around the room clockwise. That way, their descriptions are organized and structured, making it easier for the reader to form a clear picture of the imagery in their mind as they read.<\/p>\n Everyone loves a good story, but not all people feel confident writing one of their own.<\/p>\n With a solid setting, character and conflict, anyone can come up with a gripping and exciting story\u2014even your students.<\/p>\n Here are some writing prompts to get your students expressing themselves with stories.<\/p>\n For a story to be successful, it needs three important elements: setting, character and conflict<\/a>.<\/p>\n Take a few moments to talk about each of these elements with your students before they begin the activity. Have them think about these elements and how they’ll be presented in their own stories by asking the following questions:<\/p>\n Once they can answer these essential questions, they’re ready to begin writing.<\/p>\n If you’re teaching beginner or intermediate students, separate the language from the story elements by having them write a story they already know. They can write a story of their favorite movie, rather than come up with a plot of their own.<\/p>\n Also, if your students are struggling to come up with their own stories, use comic books for inspiration<\/a>. Writing comics is also a great way to give students writing practice without requiring imagination to go along with it.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Writer\u2019s Digest<\/em>\u00a0website and magazine is full of tips and tricks for writing, interviews with authors, and insight into what it\u2019s like to be in the writing business. The prompts section contains mostly fiction and creative writing prompts, and is updated every week with a new prompt.<\/p>\n Reddit is a huge community of people who love to share things they find around the Internet, and have conversations. The Writing Prompts section has some really creative ideas, and you can even see what other people have written in the comments.<\/p>\n Tumblr is a great place to find ideas. It\u2019s a place where people can blog about whatever they want, but it\u2019s more visual than most other blogs. (That means it focuses more on pictures.) The \u201cWriting Prompts\u201d Tumblr uses pictures to share prompts, both creative and nonfiction. There\u2019s even one prompt for a song!<\/p>\n The prompts on this website are meant for school children, but they are excellent writing starters for any age. The page focuses on journal writing, so these prompts are mostly for nonfiction writing.<\/p>\n The Writing Prompts Generator on this site has a huge number of ideas for fiction and nonfiction writing, which you can see one at a time. This\u00a0website also has some fun\u00a0word games<\/a>\u00a0to get you thinking and being creative.<\/p>\n This website has over 300 prompts for you to try. Just reading through the prompts will give\u00a0you some new words to learn! Most of these prompts are for creative writing, but there are a small number of nonfiction thoughts in there too.<\/p>\n This list of creative writing prompts has 25 story starters. Just pick a first sentence and see where the story takes you! There are also some questions and ideas to explore. When you\u2019re done here, head over to the\u00a0Grammar section<\/a>\u00a0for some tips from the pros.<\/p>\n Want to get your prompts in a phone-friendly format? Try the Writing Prompts app from 21\u00d720 Media. It\u2019s not free, but at just $1.99 you get hundreds of prompts organized by type. Look through pictures, place and character ideas, and much, much more.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll find almost 500 creative writing prompts on Wrighting Words. The long list has everything from interesting story starters to fun with vocabulary words. There are even some titles and dialogue ideas. You\u2019re sure to find something to inspire you here.<\/p>\n Pinterest has many great collections of writing ideas and exercises. You can really browse the entire website for ideas and inspiration. For some more focused writing, check out the Writing Picture Prompts board linked to above, which has nearly 400 picture prompts meant to inspire you.<\/p>\n How about a prompt for each day of the year? Think Written has that. The list here focuses on words and themes, so you can write fiction or nonfiction\u2014it\u2019s up to you. For a real challenge, try following the list, doing one prompt every day. How far down\u00a0the list can you make it?<\/p>\n If you prefer to see your prompts and not just read them, you will love the Visual Prompts website. Each prompt is written over a picture that can help you imagine\u00a0what you\u2019re writing about. There\u2019s also a nice mix of creative and nonfiction prompts here.<\/p>\n The Write Prompts has almost 2,000 prompts, but you might find the word prompts the most useful. Each prompt comes with a list of vocabulary words that you have to use in your story. Can you string the words along and make an interesting story or essay?<\/p>\n The Seventh Sanctum is a collection of writing generators\u2014websites that create prompts for you. There is a nearly\u00a0infinite<\/em>\u00a0(never-ending) number of possible prompts! You can also try any of the other generators, like the\u00a0setting<\/em>\u00a0(place) one<\/a>, or the one that asks creative\u00a0\u201cWhat if\u2026?\u201d questions<\/a>. There is so much to play with here!<\/p>\n Buzzfeed is mostly known for its funny picture articles<\/a>, but this article has an excellent list of prompts for all kinds of writing. These prompts can be used in a school, but they can also be used by adults. Some of these will get you feeling creative, and some will make you think. Have fun with both!<\/p>\n The Journal is another website for nonfiction and blog writing ideas. There is even more here too\u2014get ideas for writing your opinions about topics, your memoirs (writings about yourself), and free-writing, which is when you don\u2019t stop writing for 10 or 15 minutes.<\/p>\n Education World is a website for teachers, so these prompts are meant for the classroom. This means that\u00a0they will make you think, and each prompt has a helpful tip box with some ideas for what you can write on the topic.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These are just some of the ways to get your students thinking about how to fill the page with their thoughts and ideas. A list of writing prompts and a helpful teacher can go a long way in preventing writers’ block and helping students look at every empty page as an opportunity to express themselves.<\/p>\n \r\nIf you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials<\/a>, as you can see here:\r\n<\/p>\r\n If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.<\/p><\/div>\r\n \r\nThe FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.\r\n<\/p>\r\n FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.<\/p><\/div>\r\n \r\nFor example, when you tap on the word \"searching,\" you see this:\r\n<\/p>\r\n FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\nLearn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you\u2019re learning.\r\n<\/p>\r\n FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n \r\nThe best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you\u2019re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words\u2014and reminds you when it\u2019s time to review what you\u2019ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\nStart using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Opinion Writing<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/1\/glenn-carstens-peters-npxXWgQ33ZQ-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOpinion Writing Prompts<\/h3>\n
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How to set your students up for success<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Narrative Writing<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/1\/lilartsy-333oj7zFsdg-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNarrative Writing Prompts<\/h3>\n
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How to set your students up for success<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Descriptive Writing<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nDescriptive Writing Prompts<\/h3>\n
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How to set your students up for success<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Creative Writing<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nCreative Writing Prompts<\/h3>\n
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How to set your students up for success<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Resources for Finding More Inspiring ESL Writing Prompts<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nWriter\u2019s Digest<\/a><\/em><\/h3>\n
Reddit<\/a><\/h3>\n
Tumblr<\/a><\/h3>\n
Lindsay Ann Learning<\/a><\/h3>\n
Language Is a Virus<\/a><\/h3>\n
Creative Writing Prompts<\/a><\/h3>\n
Writing Forward<\/a><\/h3>\n
Writing Prompts by <\/a>21\u00d720 Media<\/a><\/h3>\n
Wrighting Words<\/a><\/h3>\n
Pinterest<\/a><\/h3>\n
Think Written<\/a><\/h3>\n
Visual Prompts<\/a><\/h3>\n
The Write Prompts<\/a><\/h3>\n
Seventh Sanctum<\/a><\/h3>\n
BuzzFeed<\/a><\/h3>\n
The Journal<\/a><\/h3>\n
Education World<\/a><\/h3>\n
\nAnd One More Thing...<\/h2>\r\n
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<\/a>![\"learn-english-with-subtitled-television-show-clips\"](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/4\/English-2.png\")
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