The practice of shunning in the Mennonite community of East Village is central to A Complicated Kindness, and it shapes nearly every relationship Nomi Nickel has. When students write about it, they frequently slide from analyzing the novel into expressing strong opinions about religion in general. Teachers then face the difficult task of grading essays where passion is high but textual grounding is thin. A clear approach to assessment can keep the focus on what Toews actually shows and how she shows it.

Begin by clarifying the question your assignment asks. An essay about how shunning functions as social control in the novel is a very different task from one asking whether the community is portrayed fairly. The first invites analysis of scenes, language, and consequences for characters like Nomi's mother and sister, while the second invites value judgments that are harder to ground in the text. Telling students which kind of essay you want prevents a lot of misdirected effort.

It also helps to separate two kinds of strong claims you will see in student work. One kind makes an argument supported by quoted passages, such as how the minister's authority is maintained through public language and private fear. The other makes sweeping statements about faith that could be written without having read the book. Your rubric should reward the first kind and gently redirect the second toward evidence from the story.

Rewarding nuance over verdicts

Toews writes with affection and anger at the same time, and the best student essays reflect that tension. A student who notices that Nomi loves her town while resenting its rules is engaging with the novel more honestly than one who treats the community as simply villainous. Look for essays that acknowledge complication, since the title itself invites that reading. Grading for nuance means rewarding the writer who holds two ideas together over the one who picks a side.

• Defines shunning using details from the novel rather than outside assumptions
• Shows how shunning affects specific characters and relationships
• Distinguishes between the institution's rules and individual people's choices
• Uses at least two or three scenes as evidence instead of relying on one
• Avoids generalizing about all religious communities from a single narrator's view

Handling sensitive student perspectives

Some students in your classroom may come from religious backgrounds that make this topic personal, and others may arrive with strong assumptions. Grade the argument and the evidence, not the student's beliefs, and say so in your assignment instructions. A short note on the rubric stating that essays will be scored on textual support rather than agreement with any position reassures everyone. It also models the kind of fair-minded discussion you want in your classroom.

When an essay includes a claim that seems unfair or inaccurate about a community, respond with a question rather than a correction. Asking what passage in the novel supports that generalization pushes the writer back to the text and away from stereotypes. This approach is more effective than simply marking the sentence wrong. It also keeps the feedback focused on writing skills instead of becoming a debate.

Making feedback specific and efficient

Essays on this theme often share the same few weaknesses, including vague claims, unexamined assumptions, and plot summary standing in for analysis. Keeping a short list of common comments, adjusted to each student's actual sentences, saves time without producing generic feedback. For instance, a note asking the student to show how a particular scene demonstrates control, not just describe it, can apply to a dozen papers. Tailoring the wording to the individual essay keeps it from feeling mechanical.

Tools like GraideMind can help teachers who grade many sections by drafting comments aligned to their rubric, which the teacher then reviews and edits. That lets you spend more of your marking time on the deeper issues, such as whether an essay's argument holds together, instead of retyping the same advice. The final judgment remains yours, especially on sensitive topics where context matters. The result is feedback that is consistent but still reads as written for a particular student.

Closing the loop with students

After returning essays, spend a few minutes in class showing an anonymized example of a strong paragraph about shunning, with the reasons it works. Students learn a great deal from seeing how a peer moved from a general claim to a quoted detail and a clear explanation. Pair the example with a weaker version of the same paragraph and let the class identify the differences. This turns grading into instruction.

Invite students to revise one paragraph using your comments and resubmit it for a small amount of additional credit. Those who take the opportunity usually produce more careful, evidence-based writing the second time around. The revision also gives you a chance to see whether your feedback was clear enough to act on. Over time, the habit of grounding strong opinions in the text becomes a skill students carry into other courses.