1942 College Writing Prompts

Quick, get paper and pencil

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Today you can find “Writing Prompts” easily; not so much 84 years ago.

Today most are intended to help break through “writer’s block” or get one started on a memoir.

But they can be useful just for fun — and mental exercise — a bit more than working a crossword puzzle but entertaining in a wordy-way — just a few paragraphs and you’ve created something.

I found more than one hundred interesting prompts in a college English Literature textbook published in 1942. The book, Prose Readings: An Anthology for Catholic Colleges (Charles Scribner’s Sons) was edited by Vincent Joseph Flynn.

“Prompts” are by design topical and thought-provoking, and I’ve selected a few from this book, covering a wide spectrum, for your consideration.

I hope you find one that prompts you to pick up a pencil! And let me know if you do.

• The Expert as Bore

• The Utility of a Non-Utilitarian

• What Education has Done to my Friends

• The Qualities of a Good Sermon

• The Life of Grace in Ordinary Circumstances

• Poetry in the Service of Truth

• Art in Service to Liturgy

• The Evil Done by Bad Ecclesiastical Art

• Why I Shall Read the Divine Comedy

• The Type of Literature I Like Best

• Are Good Intentions Enough in Social Work?

• The Good and Evil Results of Private Charity

• My Opinion on Public Ownership of Railroads. Electricity, Waterpower, etc.

• President F. D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms

• Man’s Purpose in Life as a Guide to His Actions on Earth

• The Things Saint Thomas More Died For

• The Unity of the Human Race

• Who Are Bourgeoisie?

• My Idea of a Good Book Review

• Does the Theory of Evolution Detract from God’s Greatness?

• The Essence of Happiness

• The Use of a Missal at Mass

• Write a short story about something that happened to you in grade school or high school

• Write a short story about a doctor who cures an imaginary invalid

• Understatement as a Source of Humor

• The Essence of Holiness

• The Connection Between “Whole” and “Holy”