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. Two plays by William Shakespeare feature prominently in Station Eleven: King Lear and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

• What role do Shakespeare’s plays have in Mandel’s novel? (topic sentence)
• Explain how King Lear and A Midsummer Night’s Dream play an important role in the story, describe the allusions Mandel makes to the Shakespearean plays, and explain the symbolic significance of each.
• In your concluding sentences, explain why you believe Mandel used these plays in her novel.

2. Station Eleven is a non-linear narrative, meaning that the events are not relayed in chronological order.

• Why do you think Mandel wrote her novel out of chronological order? (topic sentence)
• Describe how writing a non-linear story impacts the tone of the novel.