{"id":423,"date":"2020-06-10T19:24:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T19:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/writing-workshop\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=423"},"modified":"2024-04-24T23:45:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T23:45:26","slug":"thinking-about-writing-prompts","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1coreq\/chapter\/thinking-about-writing-prompts\/","title":{"raw":"Thinking About Writing Prompts","rendered":"Thinking About Writing Prompts"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Describe effective methods for approaching different kinds of college writing assignments<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_894\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"]<img class=\"wp-image-894 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5208\/2020\/06\/25000555\/bright-1296538_1280-300x220.png\" alt=\"An icon of a head with a thought bubble containing a lightbulb.\" width=\"300\" height=\"220\" \/> <strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. Identifying the purpose or end goal of any given situation provides you with a sense of direction. It is no different with class assignments.[\/caption]\r\n<h2>Getting Started<\/h2>\r\nWhat exactly am I supposed to do with this assignment? What is the professor looking for? Is there a right or wrong answer? Every student asks these questions. Knowing how to think about how to approach an assignment is so important. When you are confident that you are going about your work in the right way, it makes doing that work so much easier!\r\n\r\nLet\u2019s take a simple prompt. Your instructor gives you this prompt at homework:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In 500 words, discuss the main idea of the article we read on the dangers of head injuries in American football.<\/p>\r\nLet\u2019s first focus on purpose. Students often think the purpose of these sorts of writing assignments is to check to see if you have done the reading. That is NOT the purpose. Obviously, the purpose is for you to learn, but what?\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nWhat do you think the purpose of the homework prompt above? Jot down some ideas about the purpose below.\r\n<p class=\"p1\">[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nAs you may have discussed, the purpose of this assignment might depend on the course. If you were reading an essay about the dangers of head injuries in football as part of a composition class, then the task of finding the main idea may have been designed to have you practice identifying the main idea. If, however, you were reading an essay about the dangers of head injuries in football as part of a physiology or psychology class, then your goal might have been to identify the specific issues of brain injury associated with football. For the composition class, the purpose would have been to practice identifying the main idea. For the psychology class, the purpose would have been to learn and demonstrate your understanding of some content knowledge about the brain and brain injuries.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/c917a73f-aadb-4932-b464-ba5f9a700719\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nOften, instructors in college will offer prompts with many, many questions. Especially if you were taught in high school that it was important to answer every question in the prompt, it can be very challenging to think about how to approach this kind of a prompt.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/f2040e78-b378-465d-b97f-75373cc518d3\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/bc3f07b1-9f49-4965-a5f3-7ceefc60c783\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/be40f191-a9d5-4b71-9ab4-78615220d1ee\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nLet\u2019s think about some of the ordinary situations in which we use implied questions. If you ask your father if you can have the car keys, what is the implied question? Of course, it's really\u2014Can I borrow the car? If your grandmother asks you if you would like her to drop off some cookies, she may be asking: would it be okay if I came over to see you? We use implied questions in our everyday communication all the time.\r\n\r\nYou should look for the implied question or questions especially when you see these words in a prompt: <em>discuss<\/em>, <em>examine<\/em>, <em>consider<\/em>, <em>explore<\/em>, or <em>comment on<\/em>. One way to think about this is to think about the different questions you might ask in relation to a broad prompt.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/b4538d7e-9906-4218-b12d-8d2696b29c4f\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nDo you see how any of these (and probably more that you thought of) might be implied by the original prompt? As above, the point isn\u2019t that you need to answer all of these implied questions, but that you recognize that behind many prompts there are other implied questions. Thinking about those unasked but implied questions can help you dig into the prompt and be more successful!\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/c727f1ef-7733-42c0-8198-66e308e053c6\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>Writing Workshop: Writing Prompt Reflection<\/h3>\r\nFind the Writing Prompt Reflection area of The Working Document.\r\n\r\nNow that you\u2019ve explored some of the ways to think about an essay prompt, write a paragraph to reflect briefly on what you have learned. When you receive a writing assignment, how might you think differently about the prompt? What questions might you ask yourself? How can you feel more confident about your approach to the writing task?\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Describe effective methods for approaching different kinds of college writing assignments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_894\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-894\" class=\"wp-image-894 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5208\/2020\/06\/25000555\/bright-1296538_1280-300x220.png\" alt=\"An icon of a head with a thought bubble containing a lightbulb.\" width=\"300\" height=\"220\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-894\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. Identifying the purpose or end goal of any given situation provides you with a sense of direction. It is no different with class assignments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Getting Started<\/h2>\n<p>What exactly am I supposed to do with this assignment? What is the professor looking for? Is there a right or wrong answer? Every student asks these questions. Knowing how to think about how to approach an assignment is so important. When you are confident that you are going about your work in the right way, it makes doing that work so much easier!<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a simple prompt. Your instructor gives you this prompt at homework:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In 500 words, discuss the main idea of the article we read on the dangers of head injuries in American football.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s first focus on purpose. Students often think the purpose of these sorts of writing assignments is to check to see if you have done the reading. That is NOT the purpose. Obviously, the purpose is for you to learn, but what?<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>What do you think the purpose of the homework prompt above? Jot down some ideas about the purpose below.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>As you may have discussed, the purpose of this assignment might depend on the course. If you were reading an essay about the dangers of head injuries in football as part of a composition class, then the task of finding the main idea may have been designed to have you practice identifying the main idea. If, however, you were reading an essay about the dangers of head injuries in football as part of a physiology or psychology class, then your goal might have been to identify the specific issues of brain injury associated with football. For the composition class, the purpose would have been to practice identifying the main idea. For the psychology class, the purpose would have been to learn and demonstrate your understanding of some content knowledge about the brain and brain injuries.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_c917a73f-aadb-4932-b464-ba5f9a700719\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/c917a73f-aadb-4932-b464-ba5f9a700719?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_c917a73f-aadb-4932-b464-ba5f9a700719\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Often, instructors in college will offer prompts with many, many questions. Especially if you were taught in high school that it was important to answer every question in the prompt, it can be very challenging to think about how to approach this kind of a prompt.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_f2040e78-b378-465d-b97f-75373cc518d3\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/f2040e78-b378-465d-b97f-75373cc518d3?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_f2040e78-b378-465d-b97f-75373cc518d3\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_bc3f07b1-9f49-4965-a5f3-7ceefc60c783\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/bc3f07b1-9f49-4965-a5f3-7ceefc60c783?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_bc3f07b1-9f49-4965-a5f3-7ceefc60c783\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_be40f191-a9d5-4b71-9ab4-78615220d1ee\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/be40f191-a9d5-4b71-9ab4-78615220d1ee?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_be40f191-a9d5-4b71-9ab4-78615220d1ee\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Let\u2019s think about some of the ordinary situations in which we use implied questions. If you ask your father if you can have the car keys, what is the implied question? Of course, it&#8217;s really\u2014Can I borrow the car? If your grandmother asks you if you would like her to drop off some cookies, she may be asking: would it be okay if I came over to see you? We use implied questions in our everyday communication all the time.<\/p>\n<p>You should look for the implied question or questions especially when you see these words in a prompt: <em>discuss<\/em>, <em>examine<\/em>, <em>consider<\/em>, <em>explore<\/em>, or <em>comment on<\/em>. One way to think about this is to think about the different questions you might ask in relation to a broad prompt.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_b4538d7e-9906-4218-b12d-8d2696b29c4f\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/b4538d7e-9906-4218-b12d-8d2696b29c4f?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_b4538d7e-9906-4218-b12d-8d2696b29c4f\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Do you see how any of these (and probably more that you thought of) might be implied by the original prompt? As above, the point isn\u2019t that you need to answer all of these implied questions, but that you recognize that behind many prompts there are other implied questions. Thinking about those unasked but implied questions can help you dig into the prompt and be more successful!<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_c727f1ef-7733-42c0-8198-66e308e053c6\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/c727f1ef-7733-42c0-8198-66e308e053c6?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_c727f1ef-7733-42c0-8198-66e308e053c6\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>Writing Workshop: Writing Prompt Reflection<\/h3>\n<p>Find the Writing Prompt Reflection area of The Working Document.<\/p>\n<p>Now that you\u2019ve explored some of the ways to think about an essay prompt, write a paragraph to reflect briefly on what you have learned. When you receive a writing assignment, how might you think differently about the prompt? What questions might you ask yourself? How can you feel more confident about your approach to the writing task?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-423\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Thinking About Writing Prompts. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Audrey Fisch for Lumen Learning. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Icon of head and thought bubbles. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: OpenClipart-Vectors. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Pixabay. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/vectors\/bright-contemplation-idea-1296538\/\">https:\/\/pixabay.com\/vectors\/bright-contemplation-idea-1296538\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>Other<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: https:\/\/pixabay.com\/service\/license\/<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":29,"menu_order":4,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Thinking About Writing Prompts\",\"author\":\"Audrey Fisch for Lumen Learning\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Icon of head and thought bubbles\",\"author\":\"OpenClipart-Vectors\",\"organization\":\"Pixabay\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/vectors\/bright-contemplation-idea-1296538\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"other\",\"license_terms\":\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/service\/license\/\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"03f2c2ae-c8a1-426f-89d7-75ef1b867178, 86c8f21f-2f9e-420e-9280-985ab3d0fc8a","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-423","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":339,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1coreq\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1coreq\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1coreq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1coreq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1coreq\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1652,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1coreq\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/423\/revisions\/1652"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1coreq\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/339"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1coreq\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/423\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1coreq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1coreq\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=423"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1coreq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=423"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1coreq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}