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. Casiopea’s life at her grandfather’s house and her life after she escapes are very different.

• What elements of her previous life have prepared her for her new adventure? (topic sentence)
• Describe two situations from Casiopea’s life at her grandfather’s house and explain how those two situations prepare her for two situations after her escape.
• Explain how these situations develop Casiopea’s character in your concluding sentence or sentences.

2. Duality is an important concept in Gods of Jade and Shadow.

• What do the dualities symbolize? (topic sentence)
• Identify three examples of characters who represent dualities. Then, explain what the dualities are and what they represent.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how these dualities reflect a larger theme in the novel.