1. Expository Essay Family Prompt

2. Expository Essay Prompt
Read the information in the box below.
Think about people in your life that you consider family.
Write an essay explaining the multiple meanings of family.
Be sure to —
clearly state your thesis
organize and develop your ideas effectively
choose your words carefully
edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”
- Jane Howard

3. 7th - Being a family means…
Whether blood-related or not, family means freely offering forgiveness for the mistakes of your loved ones; in addition, family members should be loyal to one another.
Loving each other / caring
Helping each other
You trust them no matter what
Understand who you are / willing to forgive you
Not judgmental
Stand by you even during rough times
Can be who you are without having to change your personality
Willing to die to protect them / make sacrifices to put their needs first

4. 6th - Being a family means…
Whether blood-related or not, family means putting a loved one’s needs before your own; in addition, a family will protect one another at all costs.
Caring for each other
Forgiving one another
Loving unconditionally
Putting a loved one’s needs before your own wants/needs (sacrificing)
Being connected (united team)
Trusting one another
Fight for your loved ones / protect them all costs
Emotional support

5. 5th - Being a family means…
Whether blood-related or not, being a family means sacrificing your own wants for the needs of another; in addition, family members should be loyal to one another.
Loyalty to one another / sticking by each other / there for your when you need it
Respecting one another
Loving unconditionally, so willing to sacrifice
Defending / protecting one another
Helping one another in a time of need
Family doesn’t have to be blood-related
Trusting your family
Sacrificing what you want for what they need

6. 4th - Being a family means…
Whether or not you are blood-related, being a family means sacrificing your own wants for the needs of another; in addition, a family will always be loyal to one another.
Caring for each other unconditionally
Having each other’s back / loyalty
Being honest with one another
Trusting one another
Doesn’t have to be blood-related
Having someone to look up to
Encouraging one another
Sacrificing your own wants/needs for another
Protecting them at all costs

7. 2nd - Being a family means…
Whether blood related or not, a family is a group of individuals who love one another unconditionally; in addition, a family will protect one another at any cost.
Loving unconditionally / loving no matter what
Always have each other’s backs
You’re not alone
Will protect them at any cost
Blood related
They’re always there for you
Any shape, size, or form
Will support you
Tough love / lovingly discipline you
Encourage you
Forgiving any transgression
You can tell them anything / they’re your confidant

8. 1st - Being a family means…
Whether blood-related or not, a family is composed of a group of people who sacrifice their own needs for someone else’s; in addition, a family means forgiving one another in times of heartache.
Loving one another / loving unconditionally
Staying faithful
Staying together no matter what / being close
Trusting unconditionally
Doesn’t have to be blood related
Sacrificing your own needs for someone else’s
Protecting one another at all costs
Respecting one another

9. 7th
Whether blood-related or not, family means freely offering forgiveness for the mistakes of your loved ones; in addition, family members should be loyal to one another. Because we love our family unconditionally, we understand that everyone makes mistakes, yet we’re willing to forgive them. In Homer’s Odyssey, Penelope forgives Odysseus for his mistakes. While he was away from home, he spends his time with the goddess Calypso and the enchantress Circe. Even after these errors of judgment, Penelope forgives him due to her unconventional love for him. She is willing to see past his flaws as a man in order to preserve their marital vows. True familial bonds will overcome any obstacle set before them.

10. 6th
Whether blood-related or not, family means putting a loved one’s needs before your own; in addition, a family will protect one another at all costs. Sacrificing your own needs for that of another is what family is all about. Last fall my mother was taking night classes to earn her college diploma as she wanted to be a nurse. Due to money issues, she had to drop out of the courses in order to use that money for clothes and school supplies for my brother and I. She sacrificed her personal dream of being a nurse to ensure that her children’s immediate needs were met. She made this sacrifice without any compliant as her family is what’s most important to her. Sacrificing for a loved one is a noble act.

11. 5th
Family comes in all shapes and forms. Whether blood-related or not, being a family means sacrificing your own wants for the needs of another; in addition, family members should be loyal to one another. Self-sacrificing for a loved one is a noble act. Last summer my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she became horribly ill for several weeks. Due to her treatments, she lost her hair. She was very self conscious about her appearance. To help her feel supported, I shaved my head to demonstrate my love for her. Even though others stared at my bald head all summer, I sacrificed my own vanity because my family means everything to me. Putting your own wants aside for the sake of a loved one’s needs is what it means to be family.

12. 4th
Whether or not you are blood-related, being a family means sacrificing your own wants for the needs of another; in addition, a family will always be loyal to one another. Sacrificing what you want to do for what you need to do for another is a core value of family. Last autumn my mother became ill and was hospitalized for several weeks. The doctors determined that her kidneys were failing, and they started the process of finding a donor organ. My whole family was tested to see who would be the perfect match, but I was the only one. Even though there was a risk to my own health and my life would be forever changed, the sacrifice of providing my mother with a kidney was an honorable decision. For a woman who had given so much to me, it was my time to sacrifice and give back to her.

13. 2nd
Whether blood-related or not, a family is a group of individuals who love one another unconditionally; in addition, a family will protect one another at any cost. One component of being a family is loving one another without expecting anything in return. In Homer’s Odyssey, Penelope exemplifies the trait of forgiveness when Odysseus shares with her the events that have transpired while he has been away from home. From being with the goddess Calypso to the enchantress Circe, Odysseus has made many mistakes. Even after these errors in judgment, she forgives him due to her unconditional love for him. She is willing to see past his flaws as a man in order to preserve their marital vows. True familial bonds will surpass any obstacle set before them.

14. 1st Period
Whether blood-related or not, a family is composed of a group of people who sacrifice their own needs for someone else’s; in addition, a family means forgiving one another in times of heartache. Sacrificing your own needs for another is a noble act. After Hurricane Katrina, many parents had to make tough decisions in regards to their children. Deprived of basic needs, the Love family had to separate in order to survive. The mother, Catrina Williams, had to put her two small children (aged 6 and 5 months) on a helicopter with rescue workers. Left behind, the mother had to sacrifice her own feelings of wanting to stay with her children in order to ensure that they had way to safety. Not knowing what her kids would encounter on their own, the mother had to make the heartbreaking choice to put her kids’ needs before their own.