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 over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. In the novel, resources for the city of Sparks are rare.

• Why does scarcity create conflict in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Describe the scarcity the people of Sparks experience in the novel, then describe how that scarcity generates fear and bias between the people of Sparks and Ember.
• In your concluding sentences, explain whether you believe conflicts between the communities would have arisen if Sparks had plenty of resources to share.

2. Lina and Doon are inquisitive characters who seek purpose and knowledge.

• How do Lina and Doon pursue information and purpose in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Explain how Lina seeks out information in the novel, then describe how Doon collects information. Compare the way the characters collect information and draw conclusions about their environment.