Open Prompt Student Responses

"Literature is the question minus the answer"

Student N:
This student used Voltaire's novella Candide to tackle this rather specific but at the same time dangerously open-ended prompt. The student is able to effectively discuss the central question in Candide, which he/she defines as "is this the best of all possible worlds?" While the language is not very advanced and contains numerous repeated phrases, especially in the first few paragraphs, the structure is well-organized. Appearing to focus too heavily on plot, the writer actually spends the beginning of the essay establishing a context, in this case Candide's quest to answer his question, which will then allow for clearer exploration of the prompt. The student writes a great deal developing and explaining the meaning of the central question and its ambiguous resolution. The strength of this final portion of the essay is undoubtedly what earned it a near-perfect 8.

Student J:
After a solid but brief introduction in which the student poses that the central question in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin is "what does it mean to be free?," the student uses a variety of examples from the novel to expand on this in the context of slavery and "civilization." However, the student's development is rather general and civilization could be restated as "social expectation," although the student is clearly thinking of the exact words Twain gives Huck at the end of the novel. This is not an ideal approach to begin with, because while a teacher grading the essay may notice subtle nods towards events in novels that suggest understanding, these are by nature unsubstantiated and less impressive than a developed point. The student also does not give a very thorough explanation of how the different events he/she brings up involving Jim and Huck really contribute to answering the central question, thus earning a 6.

Student U:
While not a wholly terrible essay, it is simply too short to really answer the prompt adequately. Ultimately, the student has a solid central question, but it comes far too late relative to the overall length of the essay. Had the preceding content been simply an introduction to a more developed explanation of how the village in Things Fall Apart changes or stays the same, this would have been a much stronger response. Unfortunately, possibly due to time constraints or poor preparation, the student failed to do this. The result is unfocused, unresolved, and unfocused writing that confounds  the reader.