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. Although the Wormsley Common Gang is comprised of young boys, the gang treats the leadership of their group with severity.

• How does the balance of power of the gang’s leadership change throughout the course of the story? (topic sentence)
• Identify and analyze two key moments in which both the leader as well as the leadership style of the gang changes.
• In which ways does the continual transfer of power among the boys speak to the larger theme of The Dangers of Populism?

2. Within the surrounding chaos of the post-WWII setting, the gang uses structure and order as a part of their decision-making process.

• In what ways does this gang represent the role of science and secularism in post-WWII Britain? (topic sentence)
• Find one or two examples from the text to substantiate your point in discussion and analysis.