In Terry Birdgenaw's Antuna's Story, termites are banished, spiders are hunted, and soldiers are taught to hate anyone different. That makes prejudice one of the richest topics available for a high school essay unit. The challenge for teachers is writing prompts that lead students beyond "prejudice is bad" and toward specific, text-based arguments. The right prompt shapes the quality of every essay you will later have to grade.

A good prompt names a tension rather than a topic. Asking students to "discuss prejudice in the novel" invites a vague summary, but asking how the colony's fear of termites grows from a practical concern into a policy of exclusion requires them to trace change over time. That kind of prompt also gives students a built-in structure, since they can organize body paragraphs around stages in the colony's decline. Teachers benefit because essays share a recognizable shape, which makes comparison between papers easier.

Consider matching prompts to ability levels without lowering expectations. A student who needs support might compare how two characters respond to the same act of exclusion, while an advanced student might argue whether Antuna's friendships are acts of resistance or simply acts of kindness. Both students practice thesis writing, evidence selection, and analysis. The rubric can stay identical even when the prompts differ, which keeps grading fair and still allows meaningful choice.

Prompts That Work Well for Argumentative Writing

Argumentative prompts work best when reasonable readers could disagree. For example, students might argue whether the colony's leaders or its ordinary insects bear more responsibility for the persecution of termites and spiders. Both sides can be supported with scenes, so students must weigh evidence rather than repeat a class discussion. These prompts also reward students who consider counterarguments, which is a skill worth assessing explicitly on the rubric.

• How does the colony's treatment of termites reveal the way fear spreads through a society?
• Does Antuna's friendship with Spifry challenge prejudice or simply exist outside it?
• Why does the novel show the military teaching hatred rather than simply allowing it?
• Who is more responsible for exclusion in the colony, leaders or everyday insects?
• What does the insect setting let the author say about human prejudice that a human setting might not?

Keeping the Topic Sensitive but Honest

Essays about discrimination can bring personal experience into the classroom, so set expectations before students begin drafting. Explain that the focus is on analyzing how the author portrays prejudice, not on debating real people or groups. Offer students the option to connect to history or current events briefly, but require that textual evidence remain central. Clear boundaries protect students while still allowing thoughtful, honest writing.

The insect setting actually helps with this balance. Students can discuss exclusion, scapegoating, and propaganda through termites and spiders without feeling singled out. Many will naturally draw parallels on their own, and the best essays do so carefully, noting both similarities and differences. When grading, reward students who show that kind of nuance instead of treating every comparison as equal.

Grading Prejudice Essays Consistently

Consistency is difficult when essays carry emotional weight, because strong convictions can make a paper feel better than it is. Score against the rubric first, then read the comments you plan to leave and make sure they address writing quality rather than agreement with the student's opinion. A student who argues an unpopular reading with strong evidence deserves the same score as one who repeats the expected view. Rubric-driven AI feedback can serve as a useful second reader that applies criteria evenly, which helps you check your own consistency.

Feedback should push students to deepen their reasoning rather than simply praise their moral stance. A comment such as "explain how this scene shows fear turning into policy" gives a student something to revise. Comments like "great point" feel nice but rarely change the next draft. Over a unit, targeted comments on prejudice essays teach students to treat strong feelings as the starting point for analysis, not the end of it.