Becoming Muhammad Ali

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. Lucky is a fictional character, but he narrates the introduction to each Round.

• What role does Lucky play in this novel? (topic sentence)
• Choose three instances in which Lucky appears, whether they are in Round introductions or in Cassius’s poems, and connect them to your thesis.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, describe how Lucky’s fictional nature connects back to the novel’s goal of explaining how Cassius Clay grew up to be Muhammad Ali.

2. Cassius frequently refers to rhythm and music in his poems.

• Why are these motifs important for Cassius as a boxer? Think about both form and content. (topic sentence)
• Use three examples from the text that mention rhythm or music to prove your argument.