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. A coming of age story is one in which a protagonist progresses from youth into adulthood.

• How is this a coming-of-age story for Frank Abagnale? (topic sentence)
• In what instances do you see Frank growing into adulthood? Use details and examples from relevant scenes in the book to support your answers.
• Finally, in your concluding sentence or sentences, briefly explain the overall arc of Frank’s character.

2. Frank wears several uniforms in this novel as he slips in and out of different professions.

• What do the uniforms symbolize? (topic sentence)
• How does Frank use uniforms to carry out his schemes and his goals? Choose three instances in the memoir to support your answer.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect your discussion of uniforms to the theme of Social Scripts and Performance.