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. Sula and Nel have a complicated friendship that ranges from a single identity to betrayal to loss.

• What does the friendship mean to each woman? (topic sentence)
• Compare and contrast the ways in which the friendship meets each woman’s needs.
• In your concluding sentences, evaluate the value of the friendship. Does it help or harm each woman?

2. In Medallion, Helene represents respectability while Eva represents indecency.

• In what ways does respectability serve Helene and her family, and in what ways does indecency serve Eva and her family? (topic sentence)
• Compare and contrast the two women and their families in terms of respectability. Give specific examples from the novel.
• In your concluding sentences, comment on what Morrison seems to be saying about Black Womanhood and the Politics of Respectability.