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 Chapter 4, Green says that “[A]esthetic beauty is as much about how and whether you look as what you see. From the quark to the supernova, the wonders do not cease. It is our attentiveness that is in short supply, our ability and willingness to do the work that awe requires” (33).

• What does Green mean by this quote? (topic sentence)
• Give evidence from three different essays in this collection that supports your interpretation.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how this quote relates to the collection’s thematic concern with The Power of Hope and Love.

2. In this collection, Green mentions his home city, Indianapolis, several times.

• How does Green’s attitude toward Indianapolis reflect his ideas about what is best and what is worst in human nature? (topic sentence)
• Give evidence from three different essays in this collection that supports your argument.