Creative & Persuasive Writing Prompts for High School

Writing prompts are used in high school to build fluency and confidence through regular practice that reduces writer’s block and helps students find their voice, while developing core writing skills such as organization, thesis development, evidence, and transitions to produce clearer paragraphs, stronger arguments, and better logical flow. They also encourage critical thinking and reasoning by prompting students to analyze texts, weigh evidence, or defend a stance, leading to deeper understanding and more persuasive writing. By practicing across genres and formats—narrative, descriptive, expository, convincing, and reflective students develop versatility and preparation for a range of test and assignment prompts.

Prompts can be designed to align with standards and assessments, such as Common Core or district goals, providing scoring clarity and transparency for students.

Top 35 Writing Prompts for High School Students

1. Write a letter to your primary school self. What would you want them to know?
2. Interview your favorite hero from your favorite movie. What questions would you ask them?
3. Explain a computer to someone from the 15th century.
4. Define what honesty means to you
5. Define what trust means to you.
6. What is the first worst incident you encountered, and how did you tackle that situation?
7. Write down your first memory. Explain it using all five senses.
8. Suppose we had no time to prepare if we lost all gas, water, and electricity for a month.  Write about how you would survive and how your life would change.
9. Is it possible for honesty to be bad?  Write a fictional or factual story about someone who gets in trouble for telling too much of the truth.
10. Who is your best mentor? Explain at least one quality that attracts you the most.
11. Rewrite a famous fairy tale from the villain’s perspective.
12. Would you rather be able to change the future or the past? Explain why
13. Write a technology essay and the role it plays in your life.
14. How do you see yourself as a villain in someone else’s story?
15. Describe the bedroom of your dreams.  Why, and what would be in it?
16. I knew something was wrong as soon as I woke up. Explain
17. Name six real-life statements that start with “I’ll never forget.”
18. “Well, I thought it was going to be a regular summer doing all our regular things,” recounts the narrative.
19. A wicker basket, a crimson balloon, and a guitar pick.  Compose a poem or a scene that incorporates these three items.
20. Write a short essay on peer pressure and how it affects all of the characters in the story.
21. Write a short story from the perspective of someone younger than you.
22. Set your story in the principal’s office.
23. Write an essay about the culture that only your family practices.
24. Write a short story about a secret.
25. The entire world smelled like this when I went outside. Put the statement at the beginning of a scene.
26. In a narrative, use these two dialogue lines: “What’s in your hand?”  “I own it.  I located it.
27. Write a children’s story.  “Once upon a time” or “Long ago in a land far away” are good places to start.  Add a mask, a dragon, and a lethal flower.
28. “Did she actually just say that?”  Include this statement in a scene you write.
29. Write about a time when you overcame a challenge.
30. Describe how a peaceful place actually looks according to your perspective.
31. Describe a time that you made a mistake.
32. Woodrow Wilson once said, “The only thing that will keep the world together is friendship.”
33. Describe the bedroom of your dreams.  Why and what would be in it?
34. I knew something was wrong as soon as I woke up.
35. Name six real-life statements that start with “I’ll never forget.”

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are writing prompts for high school students?

Writing prompts are short questions or statements that inspire students to write creatively or analytically. They help develop writing skills, critical thinking, and confidence.

2. Why are writing prompts important in high school?

They encourage regular writing practice, help students overcome writer’s block, and strengthen essential skills like organization, argument building, and reflection.

3. How do writing prompts improve essay writing skills?

Prompts train students to think clearly, structure ideas logically, and use evidence effectively—key elements of persuasive and academic writing.

4. What types of writing prompts work best for high school students?

Prompts that are relatable, open-ended, and creative—such as narrative, persuasive, descriptive, and reflective topics—engage students and inspire deeper writing.