2. Sometimes you might choose a topic.
What are you going to write about?
icon
Sometimes you are given the topic or prompt.
PROMPT
NO PROMPT
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project
3. Topic
Let’s look at writing to a prompt…
Prompt
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project
4. What is a Prompt?
For example,
a prompt might instruct you to write about…
• a story you have read
• your opinion on a topic
• something you have experienced
• a research topic
Basically, a prompt is a question or an instruction
that tells you what you're supposed to write.
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project
5. Deconstructing a Prompt
To deconstruct a prompt:
1. Read it
2. Take it apart
3. Understand what you need to do
4. Determine how to respond to the
prompt correctly
(constructing means to build)
Deconstructing means to take apart
How do I
do that?
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project
6. • Pay careful attention to the wording of the prompt.
Hints
Does the prompt give you suggestions to get started?
• Look for suggestions in the prompt to get you started
(ideas to think about, verbs that tell you what to do).
• Use key words from the prompt to construct
your thesis statement.
Identifying Key Parts of a Written Prompt
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project
7. Role
What role do you take as the writer? (student, citizen, expert)
Audience
Who is your audience? (class, parent, teacher, friend)
Format
What kind of response are you writing?
(essay, letter, descriptive)
What are the verbs in the prompt asking you to do?
(advise your classmate, justify your opinion, explain why…)
Task
Strong key
words
What are the key words that you need to include in your response?
Hint: Use these words to construct your thesis statement.
You can use the word RAFTS to help you remember how to deconstruct a prompt.
Identifying Key Parts of a Written Prompt
8. Role
What role do you take as the writer? (student, citizen, expert)
Audience
Who is your audience? (class, parent, teacher, friend)
Format
What kind of response are you writing?
What are the verbs in the prompt asking you to do?
Task
Strong key
words
What are the key words that you need to include in your response?
Doing a Good Job
Select a person you know who does a good job in his or her 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 describing why you think this individual is so good at his or her job. Include
specific examples and details to support your response.
I am writing this as a student.
My audience will be the teacher.
I am writing a descriptive multi-paragraph essay.
Select a person, write an essay describing why he/she is good at his/her job, include
examples and details
Profession, successful
Example of Deconstructing a Prompt
9. Your Turn
Form Pairs
Re-read the prompt and deconstruct it
by writing your response for:
Role TaskAudience
Prompt:
Lots of people try to give us advice—parents, friends,
brothers or sisters, teachers, etc. Tell a true story about
a time you were given or gave advice. Tell if the advice
was followed or not and the results.
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project
Format
Strong
Key Words
10. Role
Audience
Format
Task
Strong key
words
Lots of people try to give us advice—parents, friends, brothers
or sisters, teachers, etc. Tell a true story about a time you were given or
gave advice. Tell if the advice was followed or not and the results.
Practice Writing Prompt
11. • Clarifying the topic/deconstructing the prompt
• Identifying strong feelings about the topic
The most important prewriting activity is to think
about what you are going to write about.
Good writing is about…
icon
• Forming an opinion about the topic
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project
12. Writing to a Prompt
Review
Write one to two complete sentences describing
how you deconstruct a prompt.
Read your sentences to a partner.
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project
