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. Animals appear in several scenes in the early chapters of The Bite of the Mango.

• What role do animals play in the memoir? (topic sentence)
• Give 3 examples of animals and explain the role each one plays in telling a specific part of Mariatu’s story.
• In your concluding sentences, explain why you think Mariatu included these animals and why they are important to the memoir.

2. Childhood is ideally a time of innocence, but Mariatu experiences sexual violence and mutilation when she is still a child.

• How did Mariatu’s experiences of sexual violence and mutilation steal her innocence? (topic sentence)
• Give 3 examples of how Mariatu’s experiences with sex stole her childhood innocence. Also describe how her mutilation by the rebel soldiers affects her at the time.