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. Adichie argues that women frequently experience Small Injustices in their daily lives.

• Why do women, as opposed to men, often experience Small Injustices? (topic sentence)
• Find three examples from Adichie’s essay where women endure injustices as opposed to their male counterparts.
• In what ways are these injustices linked to the broader issue of gender norms? According to Adichie, how can men be better advocates for women when they experience such injustices?

2. Adichie makes the argument that Gendered Expectations are introduced early in the childrearing stage.

• In what ways are gender norms introduced to children at an early age? (topic sentence)
• Identify three examples from the text in which decisions made by parents in the childrearing process solidify Gendered Expectations for their young children.