Essay Prompt Analyzer
Paste an assignment prompt and the analyzer highlights its task words — analyze, evaluate, to what extent, and more than fifty others — and says what each one asks you to do. It also pulls out word or page limits, source requirements, the citation style, deadlines, and formatting rules, lists the key terms, and turns it all into a checklist. Runs entirely in your browser; nothing is uploaded. Free, no sign-up.
Everything stays in your browser — the prompt is read on this page and never uploaded.
Paste a prompt to see its task words, its requirements, and a step-by-step plan.
What this analyzer can and can't do
It matches words and patterns; it does not understand the prompt. It can miss a requirement phrased in an unusual way or flag a word used in another sense, and it cannot tell which task matters most. Check every finding against the prompt itself, and ask your instructor when something is ambiguous.
How to Use the Essay Prompt Analyzer
- 1. Paste the whole assignment. Include the requirements section, not just the question — limits, sources, style, and due dates often sit below it.
- 2. Read the task words first. Each card says what the word means and what your response has to do. A prompt with two task words, such as to what extent and evaluate, needs an answer that does both.
- 3. Check the requirements. Lengths, source rules, the citation style, dates, and formatting are listed beside the prompt's own wording, so you can confirm each one.
- 4. Work through the plan. Tick off each step as you finish it, or copy the plan into your notes.
How Task Words Change the Answer
Task words — also called directive or command words — tell you what kind of thinking to do, and missing one is among the most common reasons a well-written essay loses marks. An essay that describes the New Deal when the prompt says evaluate has answered a different question.
| Task word | What it asks for | A response that misses it |
|---|---|---|
| Describe | An accurate account of what something is like | Judging or arguing when no judgment was asked for |
| Explain | Causes, reasons, or how something works | A description of what happened, with no why |
| Analyze | How the parts work together, with evidence | A summary of the text or the events |
| Compare | Similarities and differences on the same criteria | Two separate descriptions placed side by side |
| Evaluate / assess | A judgment against clear criteria | Strengths and weaknesses listed with no verdict |
| Discuss | Several perspectives, then your own conclusion | One side only |
| To what extent | A position on a scale, weighed against the counterevidence | A flat yes or no |
| Synthesize | Your own argument built from several sources | Source-by-source summaries |
Worked Example
Try an example loads a history prompt — “To what extent did the New Deal end the Great Depression?” — followed by a paragraph of requirements. The analyzer reports:
- Task words: to what extent and evaluate. The essay needs a measured position rather than a yes or no, and a judgment of each program against clear criteria.
- Length: 1,500–2,000 words.
- Sources: at least five scholarly sources, including at least two primary sources.
- Citation style: Chicago, with a link to the style guide. The notes and bibliography detail shows up under formatting as a bibliography.
- Formatting and submission: double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, page numbers, and a PDF submitted on Canvas.
- Deadline: Friday, March 13, 11:59 p.m.
- Key terms: New Deal (twice), Great Depression, effectiveness, and programs.
The plan turns those findings into twelve steps, from underlining the task words to rereading the prompt before you submit. The length step links to the Essay Word Count Planner, which splits the limit across your sections.
What the Analyzer Can't Do
It reads patterns, not meaning. It recognizes more than fifty task words in their common forms, counts written as digits or words, the major citation styles by name, and dates in the usual formats. It can miss a requirement phrased in an unusual way (“keep it to roughly the length of the reading”), flag a word used in another sense (contrast in a prompt about contrast agents), or list a key term that is really part of an instruction. To avoid false alarms it ignores past forms such as “as discussed in class” and “will be evaluated on”, so a task phrased that way can slip past it. It never decides which task matters most — that judgment, and any question about what your instructor meant, is yours to settle.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are directive words in an essay question?
- Directive words, also called task or command words, are the verbs and phrases that tell you what to do with the topic: analyze, compare, evaluate, discuss, explain, and so on. They decide what kind of answer earns marks, so identify them before you plan.
- What is the difference between analyze and evaluate?
- Analyzing breaks something into parts and explains how they work together; evaluating judges how good, effective, or valid it is against criteria. An evaluation usually includes analysis, but it has to end in a verdict — analysis alone does not.
- How do you answer a “to what extent” question?
- Take a position on a scale rather than yes or no — largely, partly, only slightly — and defend that degree. Weigh the evidence for and against, and make the conclusion state the extent explicitly.
- What if a prompt has more than one task word?
- Answer all of them. A prompt that says “describe and evaluate” needs a description and a judgment, so plan a section, or part of each paragraph, for each task so that neither gets skipped.
- Does the analyzer upload my assignment?
- No. The analysis runs in your browser with fixed patterns — nothing you paste is sent anywhere, and no AI is involved.
- Can it tell me how many words or sources I need if the prompt doesn't say?
- No. It reports only what the prompt states. If a requirement is missing, check the syllabus or ask your instructor; for planning, the Essay Word Count Planner can split whatever limit you have into sections.