In college, essay prompts may disappear, leaving you to choose your own topics. How do you choose a topic when there are so many possibilities?

By Norrell Edwards

When I got to college, essay prompts disappeared. Teachers no longer told us what to write about—instead, we had to choose our topics for ourselves while remaining relevant to the course materials. I found this transition overwhelming and confusing. How do you choose a topic to write about when so many possibilities exist?

In the first semester of freshman year, my anthropology professor assigned us a five-page response paper where we could write about anything. Confused, I headed to her office hours, where I received little clarity. She suggested I could write about movies or really anything as long I referred to the anthropology terms we learned during the semester. This meant the possibilities were limitless, which remained the problem. How do you choose a direction when there are so many?

I decided to query the role of anthropologists in modern society and their relationship to the marginalized communities they observed. More specifically, I critiqued my professor's book that she had assigned us. As a white anthropologist, I questioned whether she had a moral duty to deconstruct the superiority-inferiority complex she observed among the native and indigenous communities she studied and interacted.

Unsurprisingly, the paper did not go over so well with my teacher-at first, but she would later give the paper an A. In retrospect, I learned a few things from this experience. First, as I've mentioned, teachers are flawed, imperfect humans like all of us. You should be thoughtful about how harshly you criticize a text or idea they feel strongly toward. In a perfect world, all teachers could disassociate themselves from the materials they teach and not feel personally attacked by students' responses to those materials. However, we don't live in a perfect world, and grades are very subjective. You should always write an essay thinking about your audience. Your professor is your primary audience.

The second thing I learned was how to strengthen and pinpoint my perspective. As a teacher now, too often, I see students retelling and regurgitating materials they learned without critical insight. I want to know what they uniquely think about the materials they've consumed unless I've explicitly said otherwise.

If there is no prompt, it becomes a frame of what you've learned in class from your uniquevantage point. As a young, Black American maturing during our nation's first Black presidency—I constantly thought about race and equity. It was a time when Obama's presidency and the "yes, we can" movement were supposed to signify the ultimate triumph over racism. A decade from the conclusion of his first term, we now understand the trenchant reality of race in America in a new light. Ultimately, my professor saw that I thought critically about the material and had built a unique take on it. After I clarified my argument with a thesis statement, she gave me an A. Though the paper offended her initially because I had not thought about how sensitive she might be to my criticisms—it worked out for me in the end. You should develop your perspective but mediate with consideration of your audience (Truth be told: this is the primary key to all good writing across fields).

Your vantage point can emerge from anything: from your geographic or religious background or even your major. What does your burgeoning career as a computer scientist tell you about the technology in your medieval theatre class? Don't be afraid of the no-prompt prompt. Embrace it. You should ask your teacher for clarity on their expectations because they are your primary audience. After that, take joy in the opportunity to interpret your course materials through whatever lens you see fit.

Norrell Edwards

Norrell Edwards is a scholar, educator, and communications consultant for non-profit organizations. Her employment experience and research interests place her work at the nexus of global Black identity, cultural memory, and social justice. Norrell graduated with a BA in English Literature from Hunter’s College followed by a PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park in 20th and 21st Century Black Diaspora Literature.

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