Unpacking Academic Writing Prompts

Written by Emily Smith

When you’ve been tasked with a college-level writing assignment, reading the prompt probably seems like the easy part, right? Yet assignment prompts are often information dense, meaning they have a lot of important information that can help you understand the assignment’s purpose and your instructor’s expectations, but only if you read them carefully and methodically. Because prompts are short, many students tend to skim through them, leading writers to overlook or misinterpret key pieces of information, which in turn can impact the quality of their work. 

The good news is that you can easily avoid these issues if you take the time to read your assignment prompts closely and strategically, which is where we come in! Below you’ll find the information you need to understand, analyze, and reflect upon your assignment prompts so that you can use them as a tool to plan (and complete!) your papers with ease.

Anatomy of an Assignment Prompt

Before we discuss how you should read a prompt, let’s talk about what content you can expect to find in one. Although writing prompts can differ, depending upon your discipline or field and your instructor, they often include some basic information, particularly in lower-level college classes. Core elements of an academic writing prompt typically include:  

• An introductory paragraph:

  • Many writing assignments will begin with a short paragraph that includes an overview of the topic at hand or the context for the assignment. This content usually serves to orient you to the assignment’s topic by connecting it to concepts, texts, or activities from your class. You might also see a discussion of the purpose or learning goals for the paper, which will give you a sense of what knowledge or skills you may gain by completing the assignment. Typically, this section will end with a broad description of your assignment that identifies the core task you are being asked to complete.

• A list of requirements: 

  • After the introductory paragraph, you’ll often see that your instructor has provided a more thorough breakdown of their requirements or expectations, which might take the form of a bulleted list. This section might include a list of subtopics or questions you are expected to address through your paper, or it may provide questions to help you generate ideas. If you encounter such a list of questions, be sure to clarify whether they are required elements of the assignment. 

• Technical information: 

  • Towards the end of the prompt, you’ll usually find detailed information about your instructor’s expectations for your paper’s technical elements, including but not limited to writing style, tone, length, citation style, and other formatting considerations. 

Again, you will likely encounter assignment prompts that differ from the structure outlined above, particularly as you progress to more advanced classes where writing assignments tend to be more open-ended. However, being aware of these core elements can help you learn the basic components of academic writing assignments so that you will know what to look for and what questions to ask to aid your understanding. 

Understanding a Prompt

Once you have your assignment prompt in hand, it’s time to get to work. Start by reading through your prompt to get a general sense of what you’re being asked to do. Read slowly and actively (i.e. don’t speed or skim through it!). Then reread the prompt, highlighting key terms and noting anything that doesn’t make sense or warrants clarification. Keep in mind that you will probably reread the prompt multiple times over the course of your writing process. As you read, pay special attention to any verbs used, as those terms will indicate the kind of writing you are being asked to do. Common verbs used in writing assignments include: 

• Analyze: figure out and explain what something means, why something matters, or how something works or functions. Notice the use of “why” and “how” here, which encourage you to push beyond surface-level information to engage in more critical thought. Check out this guide on literary analysis, a common form of analytical writing, for more information! 

• Argue: adopt a position and support it using evidence. Many academic writing assignments require some form of argumentation. For detailed guidance, head to this guide on creating a strong argument.

• Compare: explain the similarities between two or more things. 

• Contrast: illustrate the differences between two or more things. You’ll often see “compare” and “contrast” appear together in assignment prompts. 

• Critique: evaluate an argument, theory, or work, providing a detailed assessment to support your reasoning. 

• Define: explain the meaning of a word, concept, etc. 

• Describe: provide specific details or characteristics of a given subject.

• Research: collect information (often from scholarly sources) about your topic, which you will then utilize in your paper, often as support for an argument you are making about your topic. If you are new to the idea of research, check out this guide on how to do research effectively. 

• Summarize: briefly explain the most important idea(s) from a given text or about a given subject. For more, check out this guide on writing from sources. 

When you have a general sense of your assignment, read and reflect on the following questions to ensure you clearly understand it: 

1. Generally, what are you being asked to do? 

   • Try to summarize your task in a sentence or so. You might also consider whether your assignment falls into a particular category or genre (e.g., researched argument, literary analysis, compare/contrast essay, lab report, etc.), since that label can give you valuable insight into a paper’s structure and content. If you’re unsure of your assignment’s central task, pause your work and check in with your instructor. See this guide on asking for help and utilizing your sources for information about how to best communicate with faculty. 

2. What is the purpose of the assignment? Why are you writing this paper? What skills or knowledge will you be using to complete it? 

   • Consider why your instructor gave you this task. Assignments are intended to teach you something new by providing an opportunity for you to practice a skill and/or gain new knowledge. Identifying what those skills are will (a) give you an idea of what to focus on while completing an assignment and (b) give you a sense of purpose while doing so. You might also consider the purpose of what you are writing: are you trying to inform? Persuade? Entertain? Clarifying this purpose can help you make strategic decisions about your paper’s content, style, and tone. 

3. Who is your audience? 

   • Obviously, your assignment will ultimately be graded by your instructor, but they aren’t necessarily your audience. Sometimes an assignment will specify a particular audience, but generally, academic writing at the undergraduate level is aimed at an informed reader, meaning a person who can comprehend your paper’s topic and follow its logic and structure, but may not know the specifics of your paper’s subject matter. Understanding who your intended audience is will help you make thoughtful decisions about how much and what kind of information to include in your paper, and intentional choices about your paper’s style and tone.

4. How should you complete the assignment?

   • Typically, an assignment prompt will identify what you need to do and how you are expected to do it. Is your instructor asking you to follow a particular process to collect information or to write your paper? Do they expect you to utilize a certain organizational pattern or address particular questions or subtopics over the course of your paper? Make note of any guidelines regarding required steps or processes you must follow, as well as any requirements related to content or structure. 

5. What resources or evidence might you need? 

   • Most academic writing will require that you utilize outside sources to add depth, specificity, and credibility to your writing. Identify what kind(s) of evidence you are expected to use and begin to reflect on how you can acquire that information. For example, if your assignment asks that you interview an expert in your field, you’ll want to plan ahead to make sure you have time to schedule and conduct that interview before integrating it into your draft. Similarly, if your instructor asks you to utilize scholarly sources, you’ll need to allocate enough time to research your topic and read a variety of sources to find those that are most relevant. For more information about using sources, check out our guide on source evaluation. 

6. What are the “rules” of the assignment? 

   • Aside from considerations about content, you’ll need to have a clear understanding of your instructor’s basic expectations for the paper. How long should it be? What citation style should you use? WHEN IS IT DUE? Are there other formatting considerations you should be aware of? Make note of these guidelines, as well as any subjective or stylistic requirements your instructor includes (e.g., “Do not use first-person pronouns.”). 

If you can confidently answer all of these questions, then you probably have a solid understanding of your assignment. However, if you have any confusion or uncertainty about any aspect of your assignment, stop what you are doing and check in with your instructor. It is much better to clarify the nature of an assignment early in your writing process than to course-correct after you have started working. Plus, your questions can help your instructor revise and clarify their prompt for future students. 

Planning Your Assignment

Aside from providing a basic overview of an assignment, a prompt can also be a valuable tool to help you strategically plan it. Here are a few ways an assignment prompt can be used as a roadmap: 

1. Establish a timeline for your writing

Once you have a clear understanding of your assignment, you can begin planning how and when you will complete it. After looking at your paper’s final deadline, you can work backwards to determine when you should complete various stages of your writing process. Some considerations you might reflect on when determining how much time to allocate for your paper include:

• Do you have a topic in mind for your paper? If not, be sure to start your paper extra early so that you can reserve plenty of time for brainstorming, either independently, with a classmate, or perhaps with your instructor during their office hours. (Important side note: take advantage of office hours!)

• What resources will you need to complete your assignment? Finding relevant sources, particularly scholarly sources, can be a bit of a process, so be sure to reserve plenty of time for your research, as you’ll need time to locate and read a variety of sources to find those that are the right fit for your paper. Check out this guide for more information on evaluating scholarly sources. 

• Do you have any mini-deadlines? Sometimes instructors will require you to turn in a rough draft so that they can provide you with feedback. If that is the case, be sure to plan your writing around that earlier deadline so that you can get a jumpstart on your work and utilize their feedback to strengthen your draft. Even if you aren’t assigned a mini-deadline by an instructor, you can give yourself one to motivate you to start writing so that you have time to seek feedback from an instructor, classmate, or writing center tutor well before your final deadline. 

2. Reflect on your assignment’s conventions

It is virtually inevitable that you’ll be tasked with writing a paper in a new discipline or from an unfamiliar genre while in college. Academic fields can have varying conventions when it comes to writing style and format, while different writing genres can have preset required structures. While it might feel a little daunting to tackle a new type of assignment or work in an unfamiliar discipline, taking the time to do a bit of research on an assignment’s writing conventions can save you time in the long run by providing you with valuable information about the dos and don’ts for your paper. For example, if you’re tasked with writing a lab report, your research on that assignment type would reveal that the structure, format, and style of a lab report are quite fixed, which should make it much easier for you to produce a strong draft.

Your instructor may provide you with information about the conventions for a given type or field of writing. However, if they do not, you might seek out samples from academic journals within your field to gauge how writers in a particular discipline structure their ideas. A discipline’s style guide can also provide valuable insight, as it will discuss issues of style and format, in addition to citation mechanics. For example, a student writing a psychology paper might read through The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (or the APA Style website) for guidance on writing conventions within that discipline. 

3. Analyze your instructor’s rubric

A rubric is essentially a guide that helps you understand how you will be graded for an assignment by defining performance levels (i.e., what quality of work will receive full or partial credit) and assigning weight to different elements of an assignment. For example, a rubric for an academic writing assignment might assign 50% of a paper’s grade to its argumentation and only 10% to grammar and mechanics. 

Although you will not always have access to a rubric, it is a useful tool when available. By closely reading a rubric, you can clarify what qualities or attributes will be rated favorably in a draft. You can also utilize your rubric to gauge which elements of an assignment are most important. Using the previous example, where argumentation is worth 50% of a paper’s grade, you could deduce that your instructor really wants you to focus your energies on that aspect of your paper by practicing those skills. Understanding how your instructor is weighing different aspects of an assignment can help you determine where you should focus your attention over the course of your writing process so that you can work efficiently. 

Final Takeaways

By now, you’ve probably realized that assignment prompts are more than just a set of instructions—they also provide valuable insight into your instructor’s expectations, which can help you assemble a strategic plan to successfully complete an assignment. Although the exact content and structure of assignment prompts can vary, there are a few basic habits that will always serve you well:

1. Read prompts early and often. Aside from reading a prompt several times when you first receive it, you should also reread your prompt over the course of your writing process. Doing so can ensure you stay on topic as your ideas evolve. You can also return to your prompt as you revise, edit, and proofread your draft(s) to ensure you have fulfilled all of the assignment’s requirements. 

2. Make sure you have access to all of an assignment’s guidelines. In addition to an assignment prompt, instructors will sometimes provide additional materials, such as rubrics, assignment samples, and/or supplemental materials (e.g., citation models, guides to analyzing texts, etc.) to assist you. Be sure to review any materials you are given and to keep them in a central location to ensure you have the resources you need to complete your assignment effectively. 

3. When in doubt, check in with your instructor. Assignment prompts are pieces of writing unto themselves, which means they can be interpreted subjectively. Always seek clarity if you have questions about the nature of an assignment. Doing so will not only ensure that you have the correct information, but will also demonstrate that you care about an assignment. Your instructors want you to be successful, so don’t hesitate to reach out for guidance as questions arise! 

Now, go forth and start writing!

Special thanks to Emily Smith for writing this post and contributing to other College Writing Center resources