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. Several characters in the novel have meaningful names. Choose one such character as the basis for your response.

• What is the significance of the character’s name? (topic sentence)
• Give at least three pieces of evidence that support your interpretation.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how this name reflects the type of humor that is characteristic of this novel or supports one of the novel’s thematic elements.

2. The motif of theft runs throughout The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson. Choose two incidents involving theft to use as the basis for your response.

• What is the implied moral comparison or contrast the novel is making between these two incidents? (topic sentence)
• Give at least three pieces of evidence that support your interpretation.