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. Sam and Louis’s relationship with teachers and mentors is explored periodically throughout the novel.

• To what extent do teachers and mentors impact the main characters in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Identify at least three teachers or mentors in the story. How do Sam or Louis change because of their instruction? Discuss the importance of these changes to Sam and Louis to the overall story.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize the connection between teachers or mentors and the theme of The Journey to Adulthood.

2. Sam and Louis share a special bond from the first time they meet to the novel’s conclusion.

• What quality or value might the relationship between Sam and Louis represent? (topic sentence)
• In support of your topic sentence, describe three aspects of Sam and Louis’s relationship that influence both of their lives.