Have you ever built anything from scratch? Describe it.
Writing Prompts
- Who
is your favorite book character and why?
- Describe
your favorite character in a book or novel.
- What
is the best thing you have ever written?
- Describe
your best friend.
- Which
friend has had the best influence on you? Describe the friend and cite
examples.
- Who
do you admire or respect and why?
- If
you could do one thing to make the world into a better place, what would
it be?
- Describe
your favorite school teacher.
- Describe
the greatest thing you learned in school.
- What
is your favorite school subject and why.
- What
motivates you to learn?
- Describe
what you like the most about New York City.
- If
you could live in another state or country, where would it be and why?
- Who
do you want to be (professionally) when you grow up and why?
- What
mistake did you make that you learned a valuable lesson from?
- What
is the most favorite object you own? Describe its sentimental value to
you.
- What
is your favorite color? Describe why.
- Describe
your ideal day.
- Describe
a typical Sunday.
- Describe
the most recent thing you did during your spare time.
- Describe
your favorite animal at the zoo.
- What
is your favorite activity at the park?
- Where
have you traveled recently? What was the trip like?
- Have
you ever built anything from scratch? Describe it.
- What
do you wish to get as a birthday gift this year?
- What
do you think is the best invention ever?
- What
was the best movie you ever saw?
- If
you could discover a cure to a life-threatening disease, which one would
it be and why?
- Tell
us about a peer who has made a difference in your life.
- What
do you hope will change about the place where you live?
- What
is one thing that we don’t know about you that you want for us to know?
- What
is one thing you will definitely bring to school with you?
- What
is your proudest accomplishment for which you did not receive recognition?
- Have
you ever owned a pet? If not, which pet do you wish you owned?
- Describe
your favorite piece of clothing.
- Why
do you want to go to this school?
- If
you could choose any profession (such as becoming a lawyer, doctor,
pharmacist, accountant), which one would it be and why?
- If
you could give money to any charity, which one would it be any why?
- Describe
the best vacation you ever went on.
- Describe
a cell phone.
- Describe
a treasured belonging you carry with you every day.
- Describe
your favorite meal.
- Describe
your dream house.
- Describe
a memory of a place you visited as a child.
- Describe
your ideal college roommate.
- Describe
the streets or path that leads from your home to your school.
- Describe
your favorite fruit.
- Describe
a recent gift you received and its importance to you.
- Describe
a person you will never forget.
- Describe
a sport you play/ Describe your favorite sport.
- How
did you spend your last two summers?
- What’s
your favorite word and why?
- What
is your least favorite aspect of traveling? Describe a place you visited.
- Describe
a phobia (fear) you had and how you overcame it.
- Describe
what it would be like to meet a famous celebrity. If you have met one
already, describe what the experience was like.
- If
you could add a subject or class at your school, what would it be? Please
describe how this subject or class would benefit not only you, but also
all your classmates.
- Describe
an obstacle you have overcome.
- Describe
your most memorable moment.
- Describe
a specific interest or talent and how you have pursued it to date or wish
to pursue it in the future.
- Tell
us about a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or
ethical dilemma you have faced and how it impacted you personally.
- You
are required to spend the next year in either the past or the future. To
what year would you travel and why?
- We
are a community with quirks, both in language and in traditions. Describe
one of your quirks and why it is part of who you are.
- Some
students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so
meaningful. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
- The
lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later
success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure.
How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
- Reflect
on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What
prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
- Tell
us about the place, or places, you call home. These can be physical places
where you have lived, or a community or group that is important to you.
- Reflect
on your unique background and tell us about a time when you had to relate
to someone whose life experience was very different from your own. How did
you approach the difference? If put in a similar situation again today,
would you respond differently? If so, how?
If you could live in another state or country, where would it be and why?
Scructure:
Introduction: This should take up 3-6 sentences
- Must generalize the topic to a universal audience
- Must
answer the essay prompt question
- Must
NOT let the reader realize that they are reading an essay
- Must
address the supporting paragraph topics without listing them
Body Paragraphs: Each one should be 7-10 sentences
- Must stay on one SUPPORTING topic; if you start another
topic then create a new paragraph
- Must
refer back to the essay prompt question
- Must
use the SHOW DON’T TELL method
- Use
figurative language
- Have
a clear flow of ideas; Transitions should be smooth from one paragraph to
another. Should have topic sentences and a concluding sentence,
summing up the paragraph while relating back to the essay topic. DO
NOT use traditional transitions too much, i.e. for example, in conclusion,
one reason is, another reason…
- DO
NOT be repetitive
Conclusion:
- Must summarize the introduction WITHOUT repeating the
same sentences/phrases used in the introduction
- Must
answer the essay prompt question again
- Must
NOT let the reader realize that this is an essay and that this is the end
of it without saying it outright, i.e. DO NOT use the phrase: in
conclusion
- Concluding sentence must
clearly indicate that this is the end of the essay without saying it
outright, i.e. All in all Christmas is my favorite holiday and I cannot
wait for next Christmas to come quickly enough.
Describe what you like the most about New York City.
Examples of Essays
How to Approach the Essay
Describe a typical morning.
Overall Comments:
Format – The essay should be 4-5 paragraphs long; should include: An
introduction, 2/3 paragraphs, and a conclusion. THIS ESSAY IS ABOUT YOU, so use
“I” instead of you.
Spatial Awareness – DO NOT cram words closely together, DO NOT
space out words too much, DO NOT write too little (leaving many blank lines on
the essay), DO NOT write too much (going past the number of line numbers
allotted for the essay). QUANTITY & QUALITY are equally important for the
essay.
Vocabulary – Use higher-level vocabulary but only if the vocabulary word
makes sense to use in the context. Don’t just use a “big” word for the
sake of using a “big” word. You need to actually make sure the word fits into
the sentence. Only use higher-level vocabulary that you know the definition of.
SPELL THE WORDS PROPERLY. Using
vocabulary improperly or awkwardly (not the right vocabulary word for the
content of the essay) will hurt your essay grade, not help it.
Contractions – Contractions are shortening words such as cannot to can’t.
DO NOT use them because they are too informal. Again stay away from
“can’t”; instead use cannot. I don't care that you learned them for months at
school. Stop using them on your Hunter essays!
Sensory Details – Use adjectives/adverbs to describe parts of
your essay. The SHOW DON’T TELL method is key. You need to be descriptive in order to keep
the reader engaged, make the reader feel like they are in the essay, experiencing
its content rather then just reading it. Know at least 100 adjectives and be
comfortable incorporating them into your essay. Hunter is a HUMANITIES based
school. The graders spend a lot of time grading the essay.
Figurative Language – Use similes, metaphors, and idioms in your writing
to make it jump out at the reader. There are 3,000 students taking the
exam, and 3,000 essays that teachers may potentially be reading, so make yours
stand out from the competition.
Punctuation – DO NOT use exclamation points or quotation marks. This is
a personal essay, not a play or story, which means NO DIALOGUE. Kids
should especially stay away from drawing any sort of hearts or designs or
triple exclamation marks to prove a point (!!!) Watch for semicolons and
commas. Commas are used to separate 2 related phrases that CANNOT
stand-alone if the comma was replaced with a period. Semicolons are used to separate 2 related
phrases that COULD stand-alone if the semi-colon was replaced with a period.
A semicolon (;) is stronger than a comma (,) but weaker than a period.
Proof Read – You should be able to reread your essay at least twice during
the exam. Look out for awkward, unclear sentences, grammar problems, structure.
What is the best thing you have ever written?
Transitional
Words and Phrases
Using transitional words and phrases helps
papers read more smoothly, and at the same time allows the reader to flow more
smoothly from one point to the next.
Transitions enhance logical organization and
understandability and improve the connections between thoughts. They indicate
relations, whether within a sentence, paragraph, or paper.
This list illustrates categories of
"relationships" between ideas, followed by words and phrases that can
make the connections:
Addition:
Also, Again, As well as, Besides, Coupled with,
Furthermore, In addition, Likewise, Moreover, Similarly
Consequence:
Accordingly, As a result, Consequently, For this
reason, For this purpose,
Hence, Otherwise, So then, Subsequently,
Therefore, Thus, Thereupon, Wherefore
Highway traffic came to a stop as a result of an
accident that morning.
Contrast and Comparison:
Contrast, By the same token, Conversely,
Instead, Likewise, On one hand, On the other hand, On the contrary, Rather,
similarly, yet, but, however, still, nevertheless, in contrast
The children were very happy. On the other hand,
and perhaps more importantly, their parents were very proactive in providing
good care.
Direction:
Here, There, Beyond, nearly, opposite, under,
above, to the left, to the right, in the distance
She scanned the horizon for any sign though in
the distance she could not see the surprise coming her way.
Diversion:
By the way, Incidentally
He stumbled upon the nesting pair incidentally
found only on this hill.
Emphasis:
Above all, Chiefly, With attention to,
Especially, Particularly, Singularly
The Quakers gathered each month with attention
to deciding the business of their Meeting.
Exception:
Aside from, Barring, Beside, Except, Excepting,
Excluding, Exclusive of, Other than, Outside of, Save
Consensus was arrived at by all of the members
exclusive of those who could not vote.
Exemplifying:
Chiefly, Especially, For instance, In
particular, Markedly, Namely, Particularly, Including, Specifically, Such as
Some friends and I drove up the beautiful coast
chiefly to avoid the heat island of the city.
Generalizing:
As a rule, As usual, For the most part,
Generally, Generally speaking, Ordinarily, Usually
There were a few very talented artists in the
class, but for the most part the students only wanted to avoid the alternative
course.
Illustration:
For example, For instance, For one thing, As an
illustration, Illustrated with, As an example, In this case
The chapter provided complex sequences and
examples illustrated with a very simple schematic diagram.
Similarity:
Comparatively, Coupled with, Correspondingly,
Identically, Likewise, Similar, Moreover, Together with
The research was presented in a very dry style
though was coupled with examples that made the audience tear up.
Restatement:
In essence, In other words, Namely, That is,
That is to say, In short, In brief, To put it differently
In their advertising business, saying things
directly was not the rule. That is to say, they tried to convey the message
subtly through with creativity.
Sequence:
At first, First of all, To begin with, In the
first place, At the same time, For now, For The time being, The next step, In
time, In turn, Later on, Meanwhile, Next, Then,Soon, In the meantime, Later,
While, Earlier, Simultaneously, Afterward, In conclusion, With this in mind,
The music had a very retro sound but at the same
time incorporated a complex modern rhythm.
Summarizing:
After all, All in all, All things considered,
Briefly, By and large, In any case, In any event, in brief, In conclusion, On
the whole, In short, In summary, In the final analysis, In the long run, To sum
up, To summarize, Finally
Where have you traveled recently? What was the trip like?
More Writing Prompts
- Describe
a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an
intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma – anything
that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its
significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify
a solution.
- Discuss
an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal
growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
- Describe
a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all
track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when
you want to learn more?
- Share
an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already
written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own
design.
- Tell
a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates
your character or helped to shape it.
- Describe
a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the
greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making
your contribution.
- Has
there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief
challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your
beliefs?
- What
is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What’s the best part? What
advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would
listen to you)?
- Submit
an essay on a topic of your choice.
- Please
briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work
experiences.
- Your
moment has arrived. Share with us the moments or experiences that have led
you to take a test to Hunter High School.
- Great
art evokes a sense of wonder. It nourishes the mind and spirit. Is there a
particular song, poem, speech, or novel from which you have drawn insight
or inspiration?
- When
you choose Hunter High School, you will join a new community of people who
have different backgrounds, experiences, and stories. What is it about
your background, your experiences, or your story, that will enrich
Hunter’s community?
- Jesuit
education considers the liberal arts a pathway to intellectual growth and
character formation. What beliefs and values inform your decisions and
actions today, and how will Hunter High School assist you in becoming a
person who thinks and acts for the common good?
- Creativity
is found in many forms including artistic avenues, intellectual pursuits,
social interactions, innovative solutions, et cetera. Tell us how you
express your creativity.
- Tell
a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates
your character or helped to shape it.
- Describe
a problem, possibly related to your area of study, which you would like to
solve. Explain its importance to you and what actions you would take to
solve this issue.
