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. To Kill a Mockingbird is, like Just Mercy, set in Monroe County, Alabama.

• Compare and contrast Harper Lee’s novel with Just Mercy, a work of nonfiction. In what ways do both books speak to similar themes of racism and the limits of justice? (topic sentence)
• In what ways do the works diverge? Cite at least 3 moments in Just Mercy when Stevenson is confronted with the hypocrisy and blindness of the residents of Monroeville. How are these examples different from events in the novel?
• In your conclusion, describe how the real-life Monroeville evolved (or did not evolve) in a post–To Kill a Mockingbird world, as far as Institutionalized Racism is concerned.

2. The United States is the only Western country to use the death penalty.