The first and second semesters of college demand a lot of writing from new students. Here are essay writing prompts for beginning an essay, or simply just for practice.
Professors of the early 101 and 102 English courses are often looking for one particular type of essay: the five paragraph essay. With a little practice, these essays are as easy as plugging in numbers in an equation and solving.
The following essay prompts are actual prompts from the Georgia Regent’s Exam, a writing exam especially formulated to test students’ abilities to write 5 paragraph essays.
30 Essay Writing Prompts for Five Paragraph Essays
Discuss the influence advertising has had on your life or the lives of your friends. Use specific examples.
Many teenagers run away from home. What are some of the primary reasons this happens?
Should American citizens be able to own and carry firearms? Give reasons as to why or why not.
Should every able-bodied American citizen be required to serve for a certain period of time in a branch of the military service? Discuss.
Obesity is explained by some as an “epidemic.” Is this the case? Explain why or why not.
Would you like to live in a big city? Explain.
What do you think are the chief reasons students drop out of college?
If the average human life span were increased to 200, what major societal changes would you expect? Discuss.
What would you place in a time capsule to allow people opening the capsule 2,000 years from now to understand like in the year 2009? Explain.
If you could make one major scientific breakthrough or discovery, what would it be, and why?
Should public agencies be required to inform parents when their legally minor children seek out birth control? Explain.
The societal changes brought about by the women’s liberation movement are generally seen as benefitting women. Do men also benefit by these changes? Discuss.
America has many regional foods. What do you recommend to a traveler who wanted to experience Southern food? Explain.
Do you believe that it is the responsibility of the young to provide financial security to the elderly? Why or why not?
If you had to choose between a job that you loved that paid $15,000 a year and one you hated that paid $40,000 a year, which job would you choose? Explain why.
There is a shortage of mathematics teachers in the secondary schools. What actions should be taken to lessen this shortage? Discuss.
According to Vince Lombardi, “Winning is not the most important thing; it’s the only thing.” Explain why you either agree or disagree with this statement.
Are robots a blessing or a curse to the labor force? Explain.
What single experience do you think every human being should have, one without which human life, in your opinion, would not be complete? Discuss.
Many college freshmen complain that they have never really learned how to study. What pointers could you give to help people with poor study habits?
One suggested partial solution to the drug problem is to furnish drugs to certified addicts, thus removing the profit for drug dealers. Is this a good or a bad idea? Discuss.
Would you rather spend a weekend with your friends or your family? Explain.
What types of reading materials do you prefer? Explain why.
What career, other than the one for which you are preparing, do you find most appealing? Explain.
Given the choice, would you rather live in the mountains or near the beach? Discuss.
Should animals be used in medical research? Discuss.
Has media scrutiny of public officials’ personal lives become excessive? Explain.
How is the threat of AIDS changing dating habits? Discuss.
Women today are waiting until they are older to marry for the first time. Why?
Name your favorite pastime and explain why you enjoy it.
Remember when writing these 5 paragraph essays that most lower-level English professors (and exam evaluators) are looking for form rather than content. Of course, content is important and a student should take pride in her writing, but pay especially close attention to that structure. For more writing prompts for the 5 paragraph essay and more detail of their structure, see 20 Essay Writing Prompts for 5 Paragraph Essays.
The copyright of the article 30 Simple 5 Paragraph Essay Prompts in Essay Writing is owned by Kristina Bjoran. Permission to republish 30 Simple 5 Paragraph Essay Prompts in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.