Writing Prompt Generator
Pick a kind of writing and get a fresh prompt on a printable page or a sheet of cut-apart cards. Free in your browser, no sign-up.
What is a writing prompt generator?
A writing prompt generator hands you a prompt to write about, so you do not have to think one up. This one draws from 300 hand-written prompts across five kinds of writing, in three age bands, and sets each one on a printable page with a picture box and writing lines. You can also print eight prompt cards to a sheet or type your own list. Press New Prompts for others, then download the PDF.
When do you use a writing prompt?
Whenever students need a reason to start writing. Three moments where a ready prompt saves the blank-page stare:
Daily writing and warm-ups
Print one prompt page for the start of class and let students write until the timer ends. Press New Prompts each day for a different one, and pick Journal for low-stakes writing with no wrong answers.
Writing units and genre practice
Choose Story, Opinion, Informative, or Personal Narrative to match the unit you are teaching. Each kind has its own title and directions on the page, so students see what kind of writing is asked for.
Early finishers and writing centers
Print a sheet of prompt cards, cut them apart on the dashed lines, and keep them in a jar or a center. A student who finishes early picks a card and writes, with no need to ask what to do next.
Core features of
a writing prompt generator
A good writing prompt maker picks the prompt and lays out the page. Here is what this one does, from choosing the kind of writing to the printed sheet.
Choose the kind and the level
Pick Story, Opinion, Informative, Personal Narrative, Journal, or Mix of All, then a Grades band for the age of your writers. A hint under the choice counts the prompts available. Each combination holds 20 prompts to draw from.
- Five kinds of writing, or Mix of All
- Three Grades bands for different ages
- A hint counts the prompts available
A prompt page ready to write on
Each prompt gets its own page. The prompt sits in a shaded box with its kind above it, a Draw a picture box follows, and writing lines fill the rest. Hide the picture box for more room, or switch to Guided lines for young writers.
- The prompt in a box, with its kind
- Picture box Show or Hide
- Plain or Guided writing lines
Cut-apart prompt cards
Set Print as to Cards and each sheet holds eight prompts, two across and four down, with dashed cut lines between them. The prompt text is sized to fit its card. Cards drop the Name and Date row, since they are cut apart.
- Eight cards to a page
- Dashed lines to cut along
- Prompt text sized to fit each card
Type your own prompts
Choose My Own and type your prompts, one per line, up to 100. They print in the order you typed them, one per page or card. A hint counts them, and New Prompts is off because there is nothing to shuffle.
- One prompt per line, up to 100
- Printed in the order you typed
- Works for pages and for cards
Download the PDF or print it
The Worksheet download button gives you a PDF with every page or card sheet. Print sends it to the printer. Choose US Letter or A4, edit the title and directions, and switch the Name and Date row off if you want.
- One PDF with all your prompts
- US Letter or A4 paper
- Editable title, directions, and Name and Date row
How to make
a writing prompt page
Five steps from a blank screen to prompts in your students' hands, and choosing the kind is the longest part.
Pick the kind of writing
Open Kind and choose Story, Opinion, Informative, Personal Narrative, Journal, or Mix of All. Choose My Own if you would rather type your prompts.
Set the level and layout
Choose a Grades band, then Pages or Cards. For pages, set Lines and Picture box. The hint under the choice shows how many prompts are in that group.
Add a title and directions
The title and directions fill in for the kind you chose, such as "Opinion Writing", until you type your own. Switch off the Name and Date row if you do not need it.
Press New Prompts for others
Not happy with the prompt? Press New Prompts to draw a different one, as often as you like. A prompt never appears twice on the same sheet.
Download or print
Choose US Letter or A4, then download the Worksheet as a PDF. Or press Print to send the pages to the printer. Raise How many first if you want more prompts.
That's the whole page
Pick a kind once and print a fresh prompt whenever you need one. The generator is at the top of this page.
Make a Writing Prompt
Get started in under 5 minutes.
Sign up and walk through the onboarding tutorial. By the end you've got your classes set up and you're ready to plan your first lesson. No credit card required.
Get Started for FreeMore than a random prompt
A list of prompts leaves you to format and print each one. This one sets the prompt on a page with directions, a picture box, and lines, and it runs in any browser, including a locked-down school laptop.
Guided lines for young writers
Switch Lines to Guided and every row gets a top line, a dashed middle line, and a base line, so early writers can keep their letters the right size.
Mix of All, labeled by kind
Mix of All draws from every kind at once. Each page or card is labeled with its own kind, such as Opinion Prompt, so you can see what you handed out.
As many as 100, never repeated
Set How many up to 100 and no prompt appears twice on a sheet. Ask for more than the group holds and a hint says what you got instead.
US Letter or A4
Pick the paper you print on and every page is laid out for it. The download is one PDF with all your prompts.
Your settings are remembered
Your choices and your own prompts stay in this browser, so you can close the tab and pick the same page up later. Nothing is uploaded.
Free, and no watermark
No account, no sign-up, and no logo across the page. The only mark is a small "Made with EMStudio" line in the footer.
Who is the writing prompt generator for?
Anyone who wants a writer to start with a good question. If thinking up prompts eats your planning time, it is for you.
Classroom teachers
Warm-ups, genre practice, and early-finisher cards. Pick the kind and level, print a page for the class, and press New Prompts for tomorrow's.
Tutors and homeschool parents
Print a prompt for today's writing session at the kitchen table. Use Guided lines for a young writer and a bigger band for an older one, and keep a few cards in a drawer.
Writers and journalers of any age
Journal prompts work well beyond school. Print a few for a writing group, a personal journal, or a rainy afternoon, and answer them in the lines on the page.
How EMStudio's writing prompt generator is different
Many prompt generators show one line on screen, add a sign-up before the download, or put a logo on the sheet. This one is built by the team behind a full teacher planner, and it treats a prompt as part of your lesson.
Free, with nothing held back
The full PDF, both paper sizes, and printing, all without an account or a daily limit. The only mark on the page is a small "Made with EMStudio" footer line.
Hand-written, not generated
Every one of the 300 prompts was written by hand for a specific kind and age band. They are not generated on the spot, so you do not have to check each one before you hand it out.
Part of a full teacher planner
A writing prompt is one small part of a lesson. When you are ready, EMStudio's lesson planner holds the rest: every class's lessons on a weekly calendar, beside your students, grades, and attendance.
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