Ender's Game Essay Prompt

Prompt
In his article, “I Finally Figured Out Why I Hate Ender’s Game,” Walter Hickey claims that one of the flaws of the novel is that “[n]obody ever grows or changes during the course of Ender’s Game.”  In a well-organized essay, defend, challenge, or qualify the validity of this statement. Use examples from your own reading, observation, or experience to support your position.

Due date
9 Sept. 2013 (if you had Pre-AP English I last year); otherwise, 23 Sept. 2013. The due date is the LAST day I will accept your paper. If you finish early, I will do my best to give you feedback that you can use to improve your paper before the deadline.

Requirements
Your thesis paragraph should be two sentences long. Your first sentence will simply state your thesis. Your second sentence will specify the literary or rhetorical strategies you will analyze to explain your thesis.

Regardless of your thesis, you must include six (6) pieces of evidence to support your essay. As your essay will cover the entire book, your evidence should cover as much of the text as possible: Two of your pieces of evidence must come from different chapters in the set of Chapters 1-5, 6-10, and 11-15. Although you can use your own observation and/or experience, the bulk of the essay should come from analysis of the text.

Do not use first-person perspective in writing the essay. You don’t need to say “In my opinion/experience” or “I believe.” You’re the one writing the paper, I will expect that all the opinions, experiences, and beliefs belong to you.

Do not use second-person perspective, either. Don’t say “you should know” or “you now understand.” You’re not the boss of me. If your essay is persuasive, I will naturally agree with you.

This is not a research paper. Stay off the Internet.

Standard spelling, grammar, punctuation, please.