Dear Evan Hansen

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. After Connor dies, the author includes scenes from his perspective.

• What does the author reveal about who Connor was through these scenes in his voice? (topic sentence)
• Include specific details from Connor’s voice and explain how they build a fuller picture of who he was.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, interpret a lesson readers can learn about our judgments of other people.

2. Evan, Alana, and Jared start The Connor Project, and soon, thousands of people are participating in some way.

• What does the Connor Project reveal about human nature? (topic sentence)
• Incorporate specific examples of characters interacting with the project and how that reveals larger comments about society.
• In your conclusion, explain whether overall the Connor Project was a more positive or negative force in the community.

3. The novel presents high school mainly from Evan Hansen’s perspective but also from Connor’s viewpoint, with other characters adding insights.

• What is one statement the book is making about high school? (topic sentence)
• Include at least 3 details from the novel that support that statement, providing reasoning about how the details build the larger ideas.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, articulate how accurate or inaccurate the book’s vision of high school is.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Dear Evan Hansen incorporates different forms of voicing ideas: Evan’s letters to himself, Evan’s speech, social media posts, conversations, texts, and more. How do words help heal in the novel? Consider how words help the speaker and how they help others. What details reveal the healing is happening? Include at least three quotes as well as other details from the novel to prove your ideas. What argument can you make about the duality of words to be both harmful and healing?

2. Consider Alana Beck. She helps Evan throughout much of the novel. The two also disagree at times. Compare and contrast Alana and Evan. What does Evan notice about how he and Alana are alike? In what ways do their similarities draw them together? How do their differences affect their individual experiences and their work together? Include at least three quotations from the novel as well as additional details to develop your analysis. What do Alana and Evan learn from each other?