Does My Head Look Big In This?

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. Amal begins wearing the hijab full-time because she wants to affirm the strength of her commitment to her faith.

• In committing to wearing the hijab, what does Amal achieve besides this affirmation of her faith? (topic sentence)
• Examine one of the following:

o The interaction between Amal’s choice to wear the hijab and the “male gaze”

o The expectation of those around Amal to account for/explain negative prejudices of Muslims and her feelings in these moments

o The visibility of wearing a hijab and the attention—both positive and negative—this brings Amal

• Find and discuss at least three details of plot, characterization, or language around one of these ideas that supports your idea about what else Amal achieves.