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

1. In Panem, power operates in different ways.

• Who has the most power in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Define and explain what makes that person or group the most powerful. Use evidence from the novel to support your analysis.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how this example of power fits or does not fit with what you believe to be right.

2. Katniss does a lot of pretending to survive the games.

• Is Katniss’s deception justified? (topic sentence)
• Explain how justified Katniss’s pretending is, using evidence and reasoning to prove your argument.
• In your concluding sentences, explain if and when lying is defensible in the Hunger Games and in Panem generally.

3. Many people in Panem face poverty, which drastically affects their lives.