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

1. The Diary of Anne Frank is a coming-of-age story, and Anne ages and matures over the course of the play.

• How would you describe the characterization of Anne’s journey and how being in hiding makes her coming-of-age atypical? (topic sentence)
• In the body of your essay, explore at least three examples from the play that support your topic sentence. How do these examples illustrate how her coming-of-age was atypical?
• Considering her exceptional circumstances, draw a conclusion about why you think audiences have found Anne’s story to be so relatable.

2. The play takes place over the course of Anne’s two and a half years in hiding, and the passage of time is noted in a variety of ways.