Writing Inspirations

Writing Inspirations is a vibrant, idea-rich collection designed to spark creativity, encourage self-expression, and support writing development in learners of all ages and proficiency levels. Built around more than 700 imaginative “Fundex” tasks, the book offers an innovative system of photocopiable prompts that teachers can use as-is or convert into a flexible card-based reference tool. Each writing inspiration fits neatly on a half-page, making it ideal for quick copying, organizing, or assembling into a customized deck of writing cards that students can browse, select from, and respond to independently.

The prompts draw from lively photographs, illustrations, and virtual realia such as maps, ads, forms, and short authentic texts. These visual and textual cues help reduce anxiety, stimulate ideas, and make writing feel approachable, even for reluctant or struggling writers. While each card is simple enough for students to use independently, the tasks are thoughtfully designed to support core elements of the writing process. Students may be asked to plan, gather information, express opinions, describe scenes, reflect on experiences, research short topics, or respond creatively to prompts that invite imagination and storytelling.

Writing Inspirations is adaptable to endless instructional contexts―classrooms, learning centers, tutoring sessions, writing stations, warm-ups, journals, fast-finishers, and independent study. The Fundex format makes it exceptionally easy for teachers to personalize lessons, differentiate instruction, and provide choice. Because the activities work for individual, pair, or small-group work, they help teachers integrate writing into a wide variety of communicative and literacy-focused lessons.

Practical, versatile, and teacher-friendly, this collection is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to bring freshness, creativity, and independence to writing instruction.

Features

• Over 700 photocopiable “Fundex” writing tasks designed for maximum flexibility and classroom ease.
• Prompts presented on half-page cards, ideal for creating custom collections or quick-reference writing decks.
• Visual prompts featuring photos, illustrations, maps, ads, forms, and authentic “realia” to activate ideas and reduce writing anxiety.
• Tasks simple enough for independent work but rich enough to support deeper stages of the writing process.
• Activities suitable for individual, pair, and small-group work across a wide range of ages and proficiency levels.
• Supports planning, discussion, information gathering, reading, and short research tasks.
• Highly adaptable for tutorials, libraries, learning labs, writing stations, and flexible classroom environments.
• Perfect for journals, warm-ups, early finishers, substitute-proof lessons, or creative writing sessions.
• Designed for teachers who want a ready-made reservoir of meaningful, engaging writing prompts.

Arlene Marcus, author of Writing Inspirations, received her master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from Hunters College. She shares the gifts of her 45-year teaching career through the motivating and effective composition topics contained in this book.