Writing Prompts for High School Students

Making a list of Writing Prompts for High School Students is easy for me, I have taught high school students for around 15 years. Well, it’s easy today when I’m out of the fog of teaching. Sometimes I can’t think of a single one of these. These are writing prompts that I have found high school students love to write about. They are my favorite prompts, and I use them all the time. For high school students I have found they tend to life short prompts that inspire the imagination a lot. More than any other audience they do not like to pulled by the nose. They want to think for themselves, but they also like things that are familiar to them.

In today’s world no subject is off limits in the since that they have seen and heard almost everything through the internet and social media. I of course keep my prompts appropriate, but I mean nothing shocks these students. Here is an ever growing list of prompts that I use. I’ll keep add to these from time to time.

I generally use these and ask them to write AT LEAST 2 paragraphs. Enjoy our list of Writing Prompts for High School Students:

1. What will you do when the zombies take over your town?
2. Tell me a dream you had that freaked you out.
3. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
4. If you had to have your cellphone implanted in your body, where would you have it implanted.
5. If you could be advanced by technology, by adding new body parts, what would you want to alter and why. For instance you can have super legs and run fast….
6. If you could have any superpower what would it be? Explain.
7. What is your very first memory?
8. Who is someone in your life you cannot live without?
9. What is friendship?
10. Tell me what you are going to do over your break?
11. What is a perfect thanksgiving?
12. What is a perfect Christmas break for you?
13. What is the best holiday? Explain the tradition you do, and why you like it so much.
14. What is love?
15. What is the meaning of your life?
16. What is your perfect life/career?
17. Are cellphones a bad or a good thing? Do you think it makes it easier to make friends?
18. What video games to you play, and how do they relate to your life and family?
19. What is your perfect bed time? Explain.
20. If you could go back in time and change something in your life, what would it be?
21. You have just won 300 million dollars, what is the first thing you would do?
22. If you won a large lottery, describe your dream house.
23. Where do you want to be in 10 years? What will your life look like? Describe what you might have to do to get there.
24. You wake up as a bug. Your body is the body of a bug. Your mom is knowing on your door, what do you do? Tell me this story.
25. You are swimming in a lake. It’s dark, your friends are just a few feet away. You feel a hand grab your ankle and pull you down.
26. Tell me about the best day of your life.
27. Tell me about the worst day of your life.
28. Write a letter to a friend how is in love with someone who hurts them. Give them advice.
29. Write a letter to a company telling them they have a bad product (one you bought).
30. What is a perfect parent?
31. Tell me what makes you angry. Make a list of at least 10 things.
32. Tell me what makes you sad. Make a list of at least 10 things.
33. Tell me what makes you happy. Make a list of at least 10 things.
34. If you were the tallest person in the world what would you do?
35. What is your worst fear?
36. Do you have any hobbies? Tell me about them. If not, tell me any hobbies you might like to try.
37. If you could be famous for something, what would it be?
38. Tell me about a time you got lost. If you have never been lost, lie and say you have.
39. If you could change the school in someway, what would you change.
40. Explain social media to me. What is so good or bad about it?
41. What is the most fun thing you do?
42. If you were a vampire describe how you would live.
43. I hate it when my brother/sister/mother/father do this….
44. I love it when me and my friends…
45. My favorite person right now is…
46. You met an alien. He is very friendly. Describe what it is like to bring him to school.
47. You find out your mother/father/grandfather/grandmother is a werewolf.
48. Why don’t we have world peace?
49. Do you think men and women are equal today? Are they treated the same?
50. What is the hardest thing about raising a child?
51. Who do you go to when you need help the most?
52. If you could change 1 thing about yourself what would it be?

So I will add more to these, and if you teach and have found some best Writing Prompts for High School Students , please comment below. If you give your permission, I’ll add them to the post. We all know, somedays it’s really easy to come up with these, and some days it’s really really hard.

Lastly, remember we have lots more writing prompts on our site. If you are looking for more prompts, maybe they are related to high school, and maybe not, you can find them on our Writing prompts hub.

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Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) is the founder of EveryWriter and a 25-year veteran of the publishing industry. With degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology, and Education, Richard has dedicated two decades to teaching writing and literature while championing emerging voices through EveryWriter's platform. His work focuses on making literary analysis accessible to readers at all levels while preserving the rich heritage of American literature. Connect with Richard on Twitter  Bluesky Facebook or explore opportunities to share your own work on ourSubmissions page. For monthly insights on writing and publishing, subscribe to our Newsletter.

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