"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" has appeared on lists of frequently challenged books, which makes it a natural anchor for an argumentative writing unit. Students have opinions about who decides what they read, and they tend to write with energy. The teaching challenge is turning that energy into structured argument.

Frame the assignment around a policy question, not a personal reaction. Should a school library keep this novel available to high school students, and on what grounds? That wording asks for reasons and evidence and discourages a rant.

Give students sources beyond the novel. Library association statements, district review procedures, and published reviews can all serve as evidence. Students should learn to cite the book itself accurately when making claims about its content.

Be clear that they can argue either side. The rubric should reward how well the case is built, and nothing about the position they take. Say this out loud, because students often assume the teacher has a preferred answer.

Setting Up a Fair Assignment

Check your school or district policy before assigning anything on book challenges. Some places have rules about how challenged materials are discussed in class, and it is better to know them first. A short note to families can prevent confusion.

• State the policy question clearly and limit it to a specific setting, such as a high school library.
• Require at least one credible outside source alongside the novel.
• Ask students to describe the strongest opposing argument accurately.
• Score the reasoning and evidence, not the side chosen.
• Require accurate representation of the book's content, with no claims the text does not support.

What Strong Argumentative Writing Looks Like

Strong essays make a specific claim about what should happen and why. They use evidence from the novel and from outside sources, and they take on the best objection instead of the easiest one. The tone stays measured even when the topic is charged.

Weak essays lean on emotion or on generalities like "everyone should be free to read." Point these out gently and ask what specific reason the writer can offer that someone on the other side would need to answer.

Grading Without Letting Your Own View Interfere

This is the hardest part. You may hold a strong opinion, and it can leak into scoring without you noticing. Reading blind, with names covered, and scoring against written criteria helps a lot.

It also helps to have another teacher score a small sample. If your scores differ noticeably on essays that took opposite sides, that is worth discussing before grades go out.

Scaling the Grading Process

Argument essays are long and fairly complex, so a full set takes real time. Rubric-based AI tools such as GraideMind can apply the same criteria to every essay, which helps keep scoring separate from the position taken. Reviewing the output yourself, especially on the most heated papers, keeps the final judgment where it belongs.

However you handle the workload, keep the criteria public. When students can see exactly how reasoning is scored, they learn that a good argument stands on its own and does not depend on agreement.