WRITING+PROMPTS

WRITING PROMPTS

The best way to generate ideas for writing your personal essays is to read other authors' works. We have looked at other short essays in class, but I have included resources on this site to direct you to other essays to peruse. I have also included a variety of prompts below to give you new ways in which to dissect your word. By researching your word in a variety of genres you may also generate new ways to think and write about your word. Consider your word in the following contexts:

__**Historical**__: Has your word changed over time? Does your word carry the same weight and meaning now as it did in 1920? 1960? How has the context changed?

__**Pop Culture**__: If your word were a person, who would it be? Why? Can a person embody one quality entirely?

__**Multi-cultural**__: What does your word mean overseas? How would your word behave in another country, either as a native or a visitor?

__**Philosophical/Psychological**__: Is your word a primary component in any philosophy or school of psychology? Could it be?

__**Humor**__: How can you poke fun at your word? Is there humor buried in even a seemingly serious word?

__**Personal**__: Has this word impacted your life in a specific way? In a specific instance?

__**Gender**__: How does your word behave in the realm of gender? Are there differences in the meaning or associations of the word based on what gender perspective you take?

__**Etymylogical**__: What is the evolution of your word? What language is its origination?

__**Literary**__: Can you link your word to a specific piece of literature? Is there a story/poem/novel where the essence of this word is embodied by its characters? Does an author's canon of work embody this word?