Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text throughout your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Zoey believes that other students in school look down on her, and her peers often treat her differently.

• How do the characters in the novel disparage Zoey? (topic sentence)
• Describe three examples from the novel in which Zoey’s classmates treat her as inferior.
• In your concluding sentences, explain how Zoey overcomes the attitudes of the other students.

2. The Benefits of Being an Octopus is told from Zoey’s point of view.

• How would the story differ if the author told it from the perspective of another character? (topic sentence)
• Explain how the novel would be different if told from Matt and Fuchsia’s viewpoints.
• In your concluding sentences, explain why you believe the author uses Zoey’s perspective in the novel.

3. The socioeconomic divide is one of the novel’s central themes.