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 bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The man in the yellow suit is never given a name in the novel, though the reader is somewhat aware of his origins.

• Why do you think the man in the yellow suit is never named? (topic sentence)
• Explain why you believe the man in the yellow suit is not given a name and explain whether you believe his namelessness adds or detracts from the story. Use evidence to support your response.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how naming the man might have changed the story.

2. The story’s narrator makes a note of how the hot weather of the season influenced the decisions of the characters in the novel.  

• Do you think the story would have gone the same had it been set during another time of the year?
• Explain why you believe the narrator made the claim that the hot weather was important in the story, and then explain whether you believe the story may have played out differently if it had taken place during a different season.