Dissecting a Prompt

Basically, actively-read every word of your assignment sheet and annotate it keeping the above questions in mind as your guide for what to annotate.

Your annotations will also help you start brainstorming your paper and reduce "writer's block."  Awesome!

1. Points to be Addressed

Note the following in your prompt:

• Does the prompt present a question(s) that your paper needs to answer? 

• If not, does it give statements that need to be addressed?

  • If they are just statements, turn these statement into questions to help focus your attention on what topic(s) you need to write about.

    • Example: “Analyze the effect that gerbils had on the Russian Revolution" turns into, “What are the effects gerbils had on the Russian Revolution?”

2. Essay Format & Technical Requirements

The prompt should give some indication to the following:

• Page length or word count requirement

• Format (MLA, APA, Chicago Style, etc.)

• English mechanic requirements

• Etc.

Sometimes these might not be listed in your prompt.  If not, see if they are in your syllabus.  You may also ask your instructor.

3. Essay Genre

There are key words included in the prompt in the form of active verbs.  These let you know what kind of essay you should write.  Many times, you will find that you are writing using a combination of genres to help fulfil the requirements of the prompt as well as support your claims.

Use the following table to help understand what these key words mean for your essay:

4. Other Requirements

Review the prompt to see if there are any clues for the following:

• Audience: Who is meant to be reading your paper?  If it is not's indicated in the assignment sheet, assume your audience is your instructor.

• Writing style and tone: Once you know your audience, what kind of language should you be using to engage the audience: formal, informal, industry jargon, silly, angry, etc.?

Developing a working thesis is helpful because it provides direction for your paper.  If you have a working thesis, you have an idea of what your paper will be about and can now have a focus for gathering evidence and ideas to help support that claim.

Note: Remember, a working thesis statement is a work in progress.  It is meant to be altered or even changed as your paper progresses.  It is also not meant to be profoundly written; that's where revision will come in handy later.  Just get your idea out now and work-on making it pretty later.

6. Points of Clarity

As you are reviewing your prompt, is there anything that you find confusing or need more information about?  Write those questions down.  Then, seek the answers from one or more of the following:

• Google search

• YouTube search

• Asking a classmate

• Asking your instructor

• Asking a campus tutor

• Etc.

When you have researched your answers, write them down on your prompt.

Dissecting a Prompt Example

Let's dissect the following prompt using our six questions:

Select a person you know who does a good job in their profession. This person may be an entertainer, an athlete, a character in a story, or simply a successful family member.

Write a multi-paragraph essay of 700-1,000 words using standard English mechanics and an academic tone describing why you think this individual is so good at their job. Include specific examples and details to support your response.

1. What questions/points need to be addressed in this paper?

   • Who is good at their job?

   • Why is this person good at their job?

   • Include examples as support.

2. What is the format of this paper and other technical requirements?

   • Multi-paragraph

   • 700-1,000 words

3. What essay genre is this paper? What does this mean for what should be included in this paper?

   • Expository: describe with details

   • Narrative: give stories and examples creatively

4. What other requirements are needed to make this a successful paper?

   • Standard English mechanics rules

   • Academic tone

   • The audience is the instructor

5. What is my working thesis statement?

   • Ms. Leinen is good at her profession as a college instructor because she is fair, well-prepared, and genuinely cares about her students.

   • See what I did there with that working thesis statement.  :)

6. What am I unclear on with the directions that I need to research?

   • What essay formatting structure do I need to follow: MLA, APA, Chicago Style, etc.?

   • When is this paper due?

Tip: Notice that the answers to the questions were written down.  These answers can help create a checklist for you to use in order to ensure that you have met the paper's requirements.  Additionally, these answers can be the start of a brainstorm for your paper.

Wrap-Up

Good writing is about…

• Clarifying the topic/deconstructing the prompt.

• Identifying strong feelings about the topic.

• Forming an opinion about the topic.