Sample Writing Prompts

The Make-an-Argument prompt presents an opinion on an issue and asks the students to address the issue from any perspective they wish, so long as they provide relevant reasons and examples to explain and support their views on topics such as: Government funding would be better spent on preventing crime than in dealing with criminals after the fact. 

The Critique-an-Argument prompt requires students to critique an argument by discussing how well reasoned they find it; they must do so by considering the soundness of the argument's logic (rather than agree or disagree with the position presented).